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For the love of books

John Eklund, a longtime book rep working out of Milwaukee, has written a long piece for Inversion Magazine on the degenerating state of book retailing and marketing. “The bulk of the promotional resources in the publishing industry are directed toward getting a shrinking array of mainstream titles on bestseller lists,” writes Eklund. “These books, which typically have a shelf-life of six months, are obsessively focused on while the vast majority of published books are left to chance.” But the piece is more than a screed against the commodification of literature. Eklund talks about many of his favourite books and authors, and he ends the piece on a positive note: “Superb books are plentiful in every bookstore and library. While the commercial publishing conglomerates chase the next mega-selling piece of fundamentalist pornography, literary treasures and surprises await those with open eyes and ears.”

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Read the inversionmagazine piece

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