What's Been Happening While I Was Away

People Are Buying Used Books: A study by the Book Industry Study Group indicates that there has been a big increase in sales of used books, particularly over the Internet. My question is, what does this mean in relation to that NEA study that indicated that literary reading is in decline? Does the surge in used book sales only involve non-literary books? Whatever they are? Are people buying lots of used books but not reading them?

Since we're talking about selling used books, I thought I'd mention The Friends of the Tompkins County Public Library Sale in Ithaca, New York. This thing is supposed to be huge. Their website says nearly 250,000 volumes. You have to take a number to get into the thing. Sorry if I've mentioned this before, but I was just in Ithaca this past weekend and they're getting reved up for this thing.

Roger Sutton Launches a Blog: Roger Sutton, editor of The Horn Book, has started a weblog. I like Sutton's Horn Book editorials, and I found him to be a very good speaker when I heard him at The University of Connecticut a number of years ago. But, oh, my gosh, I just don't know how many more blogs I can keep up with. I think I'm going to have to weed some out of my Favorites List. Maybe I'll have to make a rule that I can only add a new one if I dump an old one.

A Big Screen Beatrix Potter: Renee Zellweger is supposed to be playing Beatrix Potter in a movie. Don't they have any actresses in England? Has Emma Thompson retired? Gone to live on an island in the Pacific? When I think Beatrix Potter, I just don't think Renee Zellweger.