Books

Great new book from Lilit Marcus, who runs the awesome savetheassistants.com website (and also serves as the editor of TheGloss.com). I was honored to provide the following blurb:

Save the Assistants is a must-have resource for those toiling under the weight of the ground floor. Lilit Marcus, who has spent years shining a bright light on the dark-humor side of assistant life (all while on the clock as an assistant), may not save you from fetching a cup of coffee for your boss, but she will show you how to salvage your wage-slave existence and make a quick leap to a higher rung inside the workplace morass.”

Very interesting Booktwo.org post on book cover design now that we mostly see book covers as “blurred little icons” on websites. Definitely worth a read. (via @jacobbronstein)

Michelle Zaffino does video book reviews at inthestacks.tv. Check out the review of One Day below:

“I know you can’t be expected to read a whole book review in a newspaper anymore. No… You need book reviews that are fast, casual, video… So this is the first in a series of weekly VIDEO book reviews…”

Great stuff. Ron Charles is truly a totally hip VIDEO book reviewer (found via Hannah Tinti’s Twitter).

More about Bilton and his book at nickbilton.com.

This makes sense for an author like Seth Godin — he has a platform and a following, and he writes books with a very targetable audience. As Godin points out, he knows who his readers are. And with the rise of ebooks, which essentially removes the complexities and costs of distribution and inventory, the process of getting his books to his customers, though not simple by any means, is much more manageable and cost-effective.

Godin explains his decision here and in a MediaBistro interview. Jacket copy has a good post on Godin’s announcement, and the WSJ published this informative news story.

This is one of the best books that I read this year — The Tiger by John Vaillant. Definitely worth a read.

Really clever powerpoint from Jennifer Egan’s new book A Visit from the Goon Squad.

Hampton Sides discusses his new book, Hellhound On His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin.