To Share or Not to Share
Interesting piece by book publicist Brian Feinblum* of public relations firm Media Connect, on what makes people want to share content online, and what makes them decline to do so. The riddle he's...
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Herman Graf–51 Years in the Book Biz
Last night Kyle and I were delighted to join a group of several dozen well-wishers who sprung a surprise party in honor of Herman Graf and his 51 years in publishing. Herman walked in on the hushed...
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Wendy Weil, Book Agent Extraordinaire, RIP
Very sad to read about the passing of longtime book business friend, literary agent Wendy Weil. During my days as a bookseller with Undercover Books in Cleveland, from 1978-85, we had hosted a couple...
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Reading Great Books with Will Schwalbe
Great to see that friend and author Will Schwalbe's new book The End of Your Life Book Club is having a great roll-out. Last May, Will published a Mother's Day Op-Ed in the NY Times, after which I...
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Excited with a New Assignment–Helping Protect the Freedom to Read
I'm pleased to have a new consulting client, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE), a non-profit organization that acts as the voice that independent booksellers and the book...
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May 4th, a Key Date in My Life at 3 Critical Junctures
I published a version of this post on May 4, 2012, and have now updated it for 2013-14 with additional material, such as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young's "Ohio," as you'll see below. The comments...
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#FridayReads, Sept 6–Celebrating Robertson Davies’ 100th
#FridayReads, Sept. 6--The many books of Canadian novelist Robertson Davies, which I have had the pleasure of reading and enjoying over the past 30 years. August 28, 2013, was the 100th anniversary of...
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Ernest Hebert, for Many Years Among my Favorite Novelists
Last summer I wrote a #FridayReads essay that recalled a 1979 visit to my bookstore Undercover Books by a young novelist named Stephen King--then only in the early years of what would become his...
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Celebrating Publishing Friend Jane Isay’s Success as An Author & Reflecting...
Leaving Cleveland and Finding My First Job in New York City When I moved to New York City in 1985--after working the seven years following Franconia College for the Turner family's 3-store book chain...
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Remembering Earl I. Turner, February 7, 1918-July 8, 1992
My father Earl I. Turner, about whom I've previously written on this blog, died twenty-two years ago today. Recently, my sister Pamela Turner found a letter Earl gave to his three children when we as a...
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Flashing Back to the Past–Me at Undercover Books in 1983
Undercover Books, the bookstore operated by my two siblings, Joel and Pamela, and our parents, Earl and Sylvia, opened for business on May 4, 1978. Five years later, we were enough of a fixture in the...
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Happy to be Back in Bookselling with the New Rizzoli Bookstore
To longtime readers of this blog, and many, many friends in the book business, I'm excited to announce a new venture I'm going to be part of. I'll be working as a bookseller in the soon-to-be-reopening...
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With Rizzoli Bookstore Open, Wishing them Well, Stepping Back for Now
As I reported on this blog last month, I was excited to begin working with Rizzoli to help them open their new flagship bookstore on Broadway near 26th St in Manhattan. It was gratifying to see the...
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#TBT—Remembering Joel C. Turner, All the Way Back to May 1964
In this old photo I'm getting a hug from my brother Joel at a reception celebrating his Bar Mitzvah, circa May 26, 1964, which would've been Joel's 13th birthday. I'm about 9 here. Looking at the...
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