Book News, In Brief

Nothing sells like success catastrophe. Via The Guardian UK: The publishing deals struck at the Frankfurt Book Fair set the tone for the books trade all around the world...Publishers may still be bullish about their prospects, but the credit crunch is already driving big deals for books with a financial flavour.

The title of the piece is 'Locally and nationally, public libraries are searching for new ways to stay relevant,' but The Star-Telegram buries the reason for this way down in paragraph seven: Libraries are increasingly shifting their focus to new services that can entice younger users, many of whom are less interested in all those shelves of books. Kids: Just one of the many reasons I'm pro-choice.

Semi-related, via The Chicago Tribune: The percent of 17-year-olds who do not read for pleasure has doubled in the past 20 years, according to a recent study by the National Endowment for the Arts..."We're talking [about reading] a play, short story, novel or poem in the last 12 months...It's a low bar. We're not even saying you had to complete the book," said Sunil Iyengar, the group's director of research and analysis. (Editor's note: To have your faith in children magically restored, click here.)