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News stories from the book world in May 2004

May 2004

Book Aid makes a real difference

31 May 2004

'If education is the road out of poverty, books are the wheels needed for the journey.'

Richard Crabbe, former chairman of the African Publishers Network  Read more

Eats, Shoots - and Sells

24 May 2004

Much to everyone's surprise, Lynnne Truss's witty little book about punctuation (see News Review 19 from 19 January) has been a big hit all over the world. In the UK it passed 600,000 sales last month and is still heading the non-fiction bestseller lists, having held this dizzying position for 20 weeks.  Read more

Bad news/good news

17 May 2004

Book sales in the two biggest English language markets seem to be set on diverging paths.

In the US recent Book Industry Study Group figures for 2003 show a decline in general adult books of 2.6%, whilst children's book sales fell 0.7%. The BISG forecast is that adult book sales will continue to decline, but children's will show growth, starting with this year.  Read more

Free Culture is free online

10 May 2004

Lawrence Lessig has put his money where his mouth is - and his publisher has helped him do so. Lessig, already well-known in some circles for his book The Future of Ideas, has long argued for the free dissemination of material on the web.  Read more

Crisis in the libraries

3 May 2004

The publication of a damning new report on libraries in the UK has turned the spotlight on to what they are and should be doing. The report, published by the library charity Libri , can be found at www.libri.org.uk. It is by Tim Coates, an ex-MD of Waterstone's, well-known in the book trade as a forceful character who does not mince his words.  Read more