Sunriver Books & Music

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World Book Night, April 23^rd, was a lovely success. We had the great pleasure of joining other giving volunteers from the Sunriver area in spreading the joy of reading. We spanned out across the community with each volunteer giving 20 books donated by World Book Night, all excellent selections. As we passed out books in Sunriver, volunteers across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ireland were passing out books in their communities. 2012 was the first year for World Book Night in the USA; we expect it to be even bigger next year! It was great fun to see the smiles when we passed out books that should delight, entertain, and hopefully inspire. Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare would be pleased. The date for World Book Night was chosen to remember the death of Cervantes and the birth and death of Shakespeare.

Here are a few images of people enjoying World Book Night.

At Marcello’s Roberta Beck and Autumn Persinger peruse copies of Bel Canto by Ann Patchett on World Book Night.

At Marcello’s Laurie Wolfley examines her copy of Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. I have hopes that Bel Canto may inspire Laurie to join our book club. She seems like she would be a great addition and a lot of fun.

Erin Murray and Amelia Persinger take a moment at Marcello’s to savor books.

These are just a few images from World Book Night in Sunriver.

May’s author events are a lively line up. On May 5^th at 5:00 PM William Sullivan will give a slide show on his updating hiking guide 100 Hikes In The Central Oregon Cascades.

Here is a link to his event page:

http://www.sunriverbooks.com/event/william-sullivan-100-hikes-in-the-central-oregon-cascades

On Saturday May 19^th at 7:00 PM Jane Kirkpatrick will feature her latest historical fiction, Where Lilacs Still Bloom, set in Woodland Washington. Here is a link to her event page:

http://www.sunriverbooks.com/Jane%20Kirkpatrick-Where%20Lilacs%20Still%20Bloom

Then on Sunday May 20^th at 11:30 AM Jane Kirkpatrick will lead a 3.1 mile walk in Sunriver to Benefit Newberry Habitat For Humanity. Tickets are $10. Here is a link to the event page:

http://www.sunriverbooks.com/event/jane-kirkpatrick-where-lilacs-still-bloom-newberrry-habitat-humanity-benefit-walk

Saturday May 26^th Sere Prince Halvorsen will give a presentation on The Underside of Joy, a lovely novel set in the Redwood forest. Here is a link to her event page:

http://www.sunriverbooks.com/Sere%20Prince%20Halverson-The%20Underside%20of%20Joy

In 2011 Jane Kirkpatrick led a walk to benefit Newberry Habitat For Humanity. It was such a success that with Jane’s generous permission we are making it an annual event. This year’s walk will take place on Sunday May 20^th at 11:30 AM. Tickets are $10 with all proceeds going to Newberry Habitat For Humanity. Contact Sunriver Books & Music at 541-593-2525 or via e-mail at sunriverbooks@sunriverbooks.com to arrange to purchase your ticket. The walk will be about 5K along Sunriver’s picturesque bike paths.

Jane’s walking companion was her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Caesar. He is pictured below with Jane and Jerry’s German Shorthair Beau.

Craig Johnson’s erudite, entertaining mystery series featuring Sheriff Walt Longmire will be a television series very soon. Craig is returning to Sunriver Books & Music on June 23^rd for an event on his latest book, As The Crow Flies. Craig’s events are the highpoint of our year! He is wildly popular and puts on a great show so sign up early to attend. This year the event will be held at the sumptuous new SHARC Center. Here is a link to the event page:

http://www.sunriverbooks.com/event/craig-johnson-as-the-crow-flies

For information on the books for book clubs at Sunriver Books & Music click the link below:

http://www.sunriverbooks.com/book-clubs-2012

Check out May's new releases here:

http://www.sunriverbooks.com/may-2012

Six major publishers and Apple came under fire from the US Department of Justice. In an attempt to stop Amazon.com from reaching a monopoly on the sale of e-books the six publishers initiated “agency pricing” where they set the price for their books. This is not unusual, companies that make word games, fine pens, and many other products set the price of their creations to protect the integrity of their brand. Amazon.com had been selling e-books, as it sells print books, at or near wholesale cost. This left no room for competition and gave Amazon.com a lock on the market. Why would a company sell a product for cost? The math will not work long term. Perhaps when competition is gone there would be another price? So the justice department filed suit, not against the company gaining a monopoly, but on the publishers trying to stop the monopoly. While Penguin and MacMillan fight on, the other publishers have settled, not because of any wrong doing but because they cannot financially survive a ruinous legal battle against the unlimited financial resources of the US Department of Justice (those would be our tax dollars at work). If I could have my way, we would all get along with cooperation and good will; Authors, Amazon.com, Independent Bookstores, and Publishers each as a part of the book world. Knowing you are book lovers, I thought this might be of interest to you. The CEO of Macmillan has written an open letter. It may be the last communication from him because of the lawsuit, but we wanted to share this brave man’s words.

Here is Mr. Sargent’s letter:

Today the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Macmillan's US trade publishing operation, charging us with collusion in the implementation of the agency model for e-book pricing. The charge is civil, not criminal. Let me start by saying that Macmillan did not act illegally. Macmillan did not collude.

We have been in discussions with the Department of Justice for months. It is always better if possible to settle these matters before a case is brought. The costs of continuing--in time, distraction, and expense-- are truly daunting.

But the terms the DOJ demanded were too onerous. After careful consideration, we came to the conclusion that the terms could have allowed Amazon to recover the monopoly position it had been building before our switch to the agency model. We also felt the settlement the DOJ wanted to impose would have a very negative and long term impact on those who sell books for a living, from the largest chain stores to the smallest independents.

When Macmillan changed to the agency model we did so knowing we would make less money on our e book business. We made the change to support an open and competitive market for the future, and it worked. We still believe in that future and we still believe the agency model is the only way to get there.

It is also hard to settle a lawsuit when you know you have done no wrong. The government's charge is that Macmillan's CEO colluded with other CEO's in changing to the agency model. I am Macmillan's CEO and I made the decision to move Macmillan to the agency model. After days of thought and worry, I made the decision on January 22nd, 2010 a little after 4:00 AM, on an exercise bike in my basement. It remains the loneliest decision I have ever made, and I see no reason to go back on it now.

Other publishers have chosen to settle. That is their decision to make. We have decided to fight this in court. Because others have settled, there may well be a preponderance of references to Macmillan, and to me personally, in the Justice Department’s papers – often without regard to context. So be it.

I hope you will agree with our stance, and with Scott Turow, the president of the Author's Guild, who stated, "The irony of this bites hard: our government may be on the verge of killing real competition in order to save the appearance of competition. This would be tragic for all of us who value books and the culture they support."

Since we are now in litigation, I may not be able to comment much going forward. We remain dedicated to finding the best long term outcome for the book business, for Macmillan and for the work you have entrusted to our care.

Mr. Sargent,

Sunriver Books & Music is fully supportive of your brave words and we thank you for your ethical and courageous stand. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help. We are most grateful to Macmillan, Penguin, and Apple for standing up for what is right.

We thank you.

Deon and Rich Stonehouse