December 1, 2011 – Peace Corps Worldwide

Mike Meyer (China 1995-97) in Italy

Dec 01 2011

[Here’s another account of ‘life in the real world’ from one of our farflung RPCV writers. This time it’s Mike Meyer on the shores of Lake Como who is keeping in touch with the OWS movement and other forms of civil unrest via the International Herald Tribune– and how many of us, as one time or the other, could claim such a routine as our own?–The difference, however, is that Meyer sums up his experience with vivid prose in a vivid villa.] I’M IN RESIDENCE FOR A MONTH at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center, on Lake Como in northern Italy. The residency provides a bedroom, bath and studio in the Villa Serbelloni, a lemon-colored mansion once owned by a princess who was an heir to the Johnnie Walker fortune. Whiskey has yet to make an appearance, but other fellows have sworn they have seen the princess herself, late at night, wafting through the upstairs library where she died. . . .

The declining sales of hard and paperback books; the rising sales of ebooks

Dec 01 2011

I got this piece of publishing news from Gallery Cat Editor, our own Jason Boog (Guatemala 200o-02) who reports daily on what is happening in the world of publishing. Jason writes: “According to the Association of American Publishers (AAP) net sales revenue report for September 2011, the adult mass paperback category declined 54 percent (to $31 million) in September compared to the same period last year. “At the same time, adult hardcover sales dropped 18 percent (to $148.3) while eBook sales doubled to $80.3 million. Above, we’ve embedded the AAP’s sales chart. “Here’s more: “With September also being the start of the 2011-2012 academic year, Higher Education showed a nearly 9% gain in net revenue vs September 2010. Additionally, there was significant growth in the category of Professional Books (in the Professional and Scholarly Publishing division) in September, increasing nearly 13% … The September report represents data provided by 80 US publishers and is produced by . . .

Archive - December 1, 2011