Book News, In Brief

Click here to view the most depressing photo we booksellers will see today (barring anything involving war, famine or any of the other apocalyptic horsemen).


Dare Comics is holding a one-time eBay auction for a 'perpetual' display ad that "will run in every digital comic book the company ever publishes." If you're one of the rare few who have actually (a.) heard of Dare Comics or (b.) wasted your time clicking banner ads, you can place your bid here.


Terrorist Book News, In Brief:
1. A British judge sentenced the three men responsible for the arson attack on the home of The Jewel of Medina publisher, Martin Rynja, to 4½ years in prison each.
2. Four members of the militant Jewish Defense League were arrested Wednesday over an attack on a Paris bookstore run by pro-Palestinian activists.


IndyWeek.com has a long article about corporate giants co-opting the term 'local' in their branding and marketing. About a third of the way down is this choice nugget:
Rather than making direct claims using the word "local," some companies are pushing marketing messages that work by association. One example that caught Dan Cullen's eye was a CVS television commercial that begins in a Main Street bookshop, following the owner around as she tends to her customers. The bookshop then transforms into a CVS. The bookshop owner is now the customer. The feel is still very much Main Street. "Suddenly, the kind of unique, enjoyable, grassroots bookstore experience morphs into a CVS experience," said Cullen. "There's a Potemkin facade that a lot of chains are trying to put up because consumers now want something other than a cookie-cutter experience."
To read the whole thing, click here.