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DREAMING OF THE FUTURE OF BOOKS
COVER STORIES—Three of our staff members have just returned from a national publishers’ conference sponsored by the giant book wholesaler Ingram and its just-in-time printing-and-binding division Lightning Source. Our first story, this week, tells about three visionary issues that the 57 publishers in attendance discussed at length: The global reach of the English language today; the mind-stretching potential of audio books to bring the world’s great libraries to your ears; and the cutting-edge possibilities for personalizing books. You’re likely to be surprised by at least one of these three news items.
Then, in a second story, we zeroed in on six more news items of interest to writers and people who want to dig deeper into today’s publishing trends. These include: News about readers preferences for Fiction vs. Nonfiction—and a news item we’ve headlined The Top 5 Reasons Readers Choose Books. That story is over at our Front Edge website, where we publish our columns about book marketing and trends. Once again, we hope you’ll find this news intriguing, useful—and something you might consider sharing with a friend.
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HOW FAR WE’VE COME 1:
Rodney Curtis
LIVE FROM NEW YORK—Photographer and author Rodney Curtis travels to New York with his family to explore the Now-and-Then of life in the city’s jam-packed apartment buildings. At one point, he writes, “Simply by the random act of where we are born—into what family, what tribe, what city, what country—our paths are paved.” A column well worth pondering—and sharing with friends.
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Click the image to read Suzy’s column.
HOW FAR WE’VE COME 2:
Suzy Farbman
PICTURING A SMALL TOWN—This week, Suzy takes us to the small town of Charlevoix, Michigan, where the passion of one man led to an exceptional collection of historical photos. Bob Miles began gathering and preserving these images long before anyone else showed much interest. Thank goodness, he did! The Miles collection now is the core of a new exhibition of photos from the Charlevoix area—preserving more than a century of vibrant life in this region along Lake Michigan.
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Click the image to read about Lammas.
Holidays
LAMMAS—On August 1, an ancient festival of the wheat harvest, Lammas—or Lughnasadh—has long been called “the feast of first fruits.” Stephanie Fenton has the story, including a recipe for a Lammas Loaf.
FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION—Churches celebrate one of the greatest mysteries described in the New Testament: Jesus takes three disciples—Peter, James and John—along with him on an ascent of a mountain. Once at their destination, the prophets Elijah and Moses appear. And that’s just the beginning of the biblical story.
CELEBRATING MARY—Christianity comes together from East and West on the mid-August holiday honoring Mary, Jesus’s mother. However, there are two different names sets of traditions: The occasion is called the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Western tradition—and the Dormition of the Theotokos in Eastern churches.
Want to see all the holidays? www.InterfaithHolidays.com
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Click the movie still to read Ed’s review of Damsel.
FAITH & FILM
ED McNULTY, for decades, has published reviews, magazine articles and books exploring connections between faith and film. Most of his work is freely published. Ed supports his work by selling the Visual Parables Journal, a monthly magazine packed with discussion guides to films. This resource is used coast-to-coast by individuals who love the movies and by educators, clergy and small-group leaders.
Among Ed’s free reviews and columns are:
- DAMSEL—David and Nathan Zellner manage to upend most of the conventions of the Western genre in this adventurous comedy in the guise of a search-and-rescue tale. (4.5 out of 5 stars)
- SORRY TO BOTHER YOU—This debut film by director and screenwriter Boots Riley is as creative and thought-provoking regarding racism and the place of the black male in our society as was last year’s widely praised Get Out. (4.5 stars)
- TULLY—From the creative team of director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody, who brought us Juno back in 2007, comes this story about a mother with three children and her relationship with a new nanny. (4 stars)
- SHOCK AND AWE—Based on a true story, Rob Reiner’s Shock and Awe centers on the efforts of the staff of Knight-Ridder Newspapers to discover the truth about the government’s official reason for the pre-emptive war. (4 stars)
- THE CATCHER WAS A SPY—This is an amazing-but-true story of baseball player Moe Berg, who served as a real-life spy for the U.S. (4 stars)
- MARY SHELLEY—Haifaa Al Mansour, the director of the critically acclaimed movie Wadjda about a little girl in Saudi Arabia, is back with an impressive historical drama about the author if Frankenstein. (4.5 stars)
- WADJDA—This week, Ed reaches back a few years to celebrate the amazing movie Wadjda, the first feature filmed entirely in Saudi Arabia—and with a feminist theme! This movie is a delight and well worth seeking out on DVD, Blu-ray or streaming. (5 stars)
- FIRST REFORMED—Director/writer Paul Schrader’s latest film tackles some big issues—theological and environmental—and provides Ethan Hawke with perhaps his greatest role. (5 stars)
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