by Ernesto Van Dersar

John Wiley & Sons, one of the world’s largest textbook publishers, is continuing its efforts to crack down on BitTorrent piracy. The company has now named several people who allegedly shared Wiley titles online, and is demanding a jury trial against them. If these actually go ahead it will be the first time that BitTorrent-related evidence is tested in a US court.

Last fall, John Wiley and Sons became the first book publisher to go after BitTorrent users in the US.

By filing a mass-BitTorrent lawsuit the company followed mostly in the footsteps of several movie studios, who together have sued more than 250,000 people in the U.S. since early 2010. And the publisher didn’t stop at just one.

In recent months Wiley has filed more than a dozen mass BitTorrent lawsuits involving a few hundred John Doe defendants in total. The Does are all accused of sharing digital copies of titles including WordPress for Dummies, Hacking for Dummies and Day Trading for Dummies.

Wiley’s attorney William Dunnegan said previously that one of the main goals of the legal campaign is to obtain the personal details of the alleged infringers and offer them the opportunity to solve the matter through a settlement.

“Our intention is to stop the infringement and let individuals know that they are violating the law and depriving the creators of the works of rightful compensation. Our preference is to educate, settle, and prevent further infringement,” Wiley’s attorney William Dunnegan said.

However, this strategy doesn’t always work. While the courts and Internet providers have been cooperative in assisting Wiley to obtain the personal details of the alleged book pirates, a new filing suggest that some defendants are not taking the publisher’s settlement offer.

In one of Wiley’s cases four defendants have now been named in an amended complaint.

New York residents Jeff Ng, Ralph Mohr, Robert Carpenter and Xiaoshu Chen are no longer anonymous Does. Wiley is proceeding to call for a full jury trial against the quartet in which they will face accusations of copyright infringement and up to $150,000 in penalties for each offense.

Wiley’s attorney William Dunnegan declined to comment on the recent developments in these specific cases. “We are proceeding with these cases as a part of Wiley’s overall copyright enforcement and education program,” was the comment we got instead.

If one or more of the three cases indeed proceeds to a full trial it will be the first time that actual evidence against BitTorrent infringers is tested in court. This is relevant because the main piece of evidence the copyright holders have is an IP-address, which by itself doesn’t identify a person but merely a connection.

In a past RIAA court case experts described the evidence gathering techniques “as factually erroneous,” “unprofessional” and “borderline incompetent.” In addition, academics have shown that due to shoddy technique even a network printer can be accused of sharing copyrighted files on BitTorrent.

If the evidence is indeed tested in court, it should be a case to watch for sure.

That said, there’s also the chance that the lawyers are using the threat of a full trial by jury as a pressure tool to convince the defendants to settle. After all, the RIAA’s litigation campaign against individual file-sharers has shown that even when a jury awards hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages, lengthy trials cost more than they bring in.

First posted to Torrent Freak.

by Chris Savage

Today, former governor Jennifer Granholm and former First Gentleman Dan Mulhern released their new book A Governor’s Story – The Fight for Jobs and America’s Economic Future. The book is an important contribution to the conversation and debate that is occurring right now over our economic path forward as a country. The question is, will the rest of the country learn from Michigan’s experience?

A Governor’s Story is a first-person account told in Granholm’s voice. However, as is made clear from the start, it is a collaborative effort between her and Mulhern. The book tells four different stories. First, it is a history lesson about the impact on Michigan of the Great Recession of this decade, a state with seven times more manufacturing jobs per capita than any other state. Second, it is a behind-the-scenes look at how states are run at the highest level. It shows the tightrope walking that must be done, the non-stop compromising, cajoling and effort that it takes to get things done, particularly during the time when Granholm was governor and the state legislature was either partially or entirely controlled by Republicans. Third, it is an important textbook describing the successes and failures Michigan experienced as it dealt with the economic collapse—including an entire chapter devoted to outlining concrete things that can be done at the federal level to help our country out of the recession, all based on lessons painfully learned in Michigan. Finally, it is a love story between Jennifer Granholm and Dan Mulhern. Few married couples deal with the types of challenges these two did and come out of it on the other end clearly still a dynamic and loving team.

THE POLITICAL & ECONOMIC HISTORY OF MICHIGAN — 2003-2011
When Granholm took over as governor, she immediately faced a plethora of challenges. John Engler had depleted the state’s large rainy day fund to mask the devastation he had done to the state budget. Our roads and other infrastructure were in terrible shape, and the state faced a massive budget deficit that would only get worse as other actions taken by the Engler administration phased in. Shortly after she took office there were riots in Benton Harbor, a massive blackout that took down much of the northeastern part of the U.S. and the near-bankruptcy of the Detroit Medical Center, the state’s largest health care system. As the book points out, all of these crises and their impacts could be traced back to a lack of investment by previous administrations.

As is typical, Michigan, with its large manufacturing base, was the first to feel the impacts of the impending economic crisis. An ever-tightening state budget was further strained by diminishing tax revenues. As her first term was ending, many of Granholm’s campaign promises had not been attended to, mainly because so much of her time was spent in crisis-management mode. As she moved into her second term, things only got worse. As someone who pays attention to politics and the news and who has lived in Michigan his whole life, I was surprised to realize how bad things were during that time. It made me realize that I, like many others, never really faced the reality of how desperate our situation was. A timeline in the beginning of the book tells the tale in stark and frightening terms. One particular part of the book dramatically tells the tale:

On December 2, 2008, the November sales numbers were released. They were shocking. GM sales had plummeted 41.3 percent; the company needed $18 billion in loans, $4 billion just to survive the rest of the year. Chrysler reported a 47 percent sales drop; it was seeking a $7 billion bridge loan to stay afloat. Ford reported a 31 percent drop; it, too, was hoping for government aid.

The next day, at a meeting of governors in Philadelphia convened by the president-elect, I sat next to Governor Janet Napolitano, who would soon be secretary of homeland security.

“How’s it going?” she asked.

“Candidly, we’re drowning. If Congress doesn’t give loans to the auto industry, I can’t tell you what it will be like. Janet,” I asked on a whim, “how many WARN Act notices do you think you’ve received in Arizona?” The federal WARN Act requires a company to notify a governor when it intends to do a “mass layoff”, defined as fifty or more workers. She looked a me curiously.

“I don’t know, maybe a handful since I’ve been governor,” she said. “Why? How many have you received?”

“Fifty-five in the past thirty days,” I answered.

In the next six months, Granholm would receive another 316 WARN notices. Hotlines set up to help the unemployed were taking 800,000 calls per day.

Despite this economic catastrophe, the Granholm administration never relented. Their outreach to other countries brought in 48 new companies, $2 billion in new investments and 20,000 new jobs. Over 10,000 state employee jobs were eliminated and $600 million in state worker concessions were negotiated. During her tenure, no less than 99 business tax credits/cuts were enacted and 17 different individual tax breaks. The personal tax burden in Michigan went from 12th highest in 2000 to 39th by 2008.

Perhaps most frustrating for Granholm was the fact that Michiganders during this time continued to believe that state government was bloated and that she was raising their taxes. The lack of acknowledgement or awareness of the reality of Michigan’s plight by its own citizens is a common theme in A Governor’s Story.

BEHIND THE SCENES: A FIERCE ADVOCATE FOR MICHIGAN
One of the recurring themes in A Governor’s Story is the energy and determination that Granholm brought to the governor’s office. During her time in office she traveled the state, the country and the world pursuing new opportunities. She worked with other governors to share best practices and maintained a close relationship with the Obama administration as it worked to pull the country back from the economic precipice. Her insistence on the importance of education, diversification and investment in new industries like green energy was in nearly perfect unison with Barack Obama’s own philosophy. But, even while she was working with the country’s leaders, she was also grounded in the reality of Michigan’s hardest hit citizens. At one point when things were at their lowest ebb, the Governor went to a Constituent Services office where state workers were fielding calls from out-of-work Michiganders to thank them for doing a very difficult job.

I had a half-hour available, so I went down to the floor below to thank the beleaguered team answering the phones. I touched shoulders and offered thanks between calls. Then, in the spirit of teamwork, I sat at an empty cubicle and picked up the ringing phone.

“Governor Granholm’s office, how can I help you?” I mimicked those around me.

“That stupid governor!” the caller burst out, not realizing who had answered the phone. “She needs to quit talking to Obama and order those plants to stay open!”

“She doesn’t have the power to do that, ma’am,” I began, as politely as possible.

“Well, if she doesn’t have the power, then what good is she anyway?” The woman slammed the phone in my ear.

The book recounts in great detail the day-to-day, hands-on approach taken by Granholm and her staff to work with the Detroit Three auto companies and other major employers to help stave off complete failure. Even as the namesake of Comerica Park in Detroit where the Tigers play baseball left the state to set up shop in Texas, Granholm’s team was intimately involved in trying to soften the blow to Michigan workers.

MICHIGAN AS AMERICA’S ECONOMIC LABORATORY— LESSONS LEARNED, LESSONS TAUGHT
Perhaps the most important aspect of A Governor’s Story is that Granholm and Mulhern have some critical observations and recommendations for the country based on failures and successes in our state. The final chapter is devoted to nine specific recommendations.

In their suggestions, Granholm and Mulhern show that a laissez-faire, let-the-market-lead approach is devastating in a time economic crisis. We aren’t just competing among our own domestic companies. Even at the local level, companies are competing against companies in other countries, some a half a world away. And these foreign competitors typically enjoy a business climate helped by government assistance, universal health care (which relieves them of the health care burden borne by U.S. companies), and inexpensive labor. We need to help our own companies compete on that global playing field. “Why do Americans say they hate an active government, then get mad when government does nothing while their jobs disappear?” Granholm asks. “How can we compete against rivals like these when we insist on government passivity?”

Granholm and Mulhern also advocate strategic investing in regionally important and otherwise crucial industries. While conservatives rail against governments “picking losers and winners,” Granholm and Mulhern point out that businesses do this every day in our country.

“Businesses do it all the time,” she writes. “They invest to capitalize on their strengths and their need. They choose based upon their company’s strategic direction. What’s the problem with the U.S. government being smart and strategic, too?” They also point out that, while they decry “picking winners & losers,” conservative governors across the country are doing this very thing to bring business to their states even as they condemn doing it at the national level.

One of the crucial lessons Granholm and Mulhern convey is that tax cuts are decidedly not the sole answer to today’s economic challenges. Despite the Granholm administration’s 99 business tax incentives and nearly Pyrrhic efforts to keep companies like Electrolux in our state, at the end of the day, Michigan’s tax rate is not the cause of our shrinking manufacturing base. High taxes aren’t driving companies away. Infinitesimal wages in other countries are drawing companies away. “To be clear,” she writes, “the cuts did create many jobs…but not necessarily in America. Michigan’s tax cuts, and those championed by President George Bush at the national level, freed up capital for investors and companies. But much of that capital was being invested far from Michigan and away from our country altogether.” We must create an environment where companies want to come back — a state full of highly-educated, talented workers and cities that attract these people, according to Granholm and Mulhern.

Finally, Granholm and Mulhern extol the vital role played by education. The Granholm administration’s No Worker Left Behind program is a model for the country. By last year, because of this program, Michigan had displaced workers being retrained at a level four times the national average, an effort that is clearly beginning to pay dividends.

THE GRANHOLM-MULHERN LOVE STORY
The love story aspect of A Governor’s Story isn’t one you’re likely to read about in other reviews. It’s not an explicit theme in the book, yet you cannot read it without coming away impressed by this dynamic couple. Both are ambitious, talented and capable. Dan Mulhern gave up a successful business to take over the business of raising a family and maintaining a household while Granholm governed the state — a non-traditional role, to be sure. During this time, he was an important foil and sounding board for her ideas, even while he continued to work and write. Despite the strains their situation put upon their relationship and their family, they came through it as a team with successful children and a strong partnership. Their mutual admiration is palpable throughout A Governor’s Story. In the book’s introduction, Granholm writes:

Dan and I wrote this book together because we lived through the story together. We are best friends, with deeply shared values, equally combative minds, and a mutual devotion to our family, state, and country. We brought very different perspectives to our journey together, and we hope they enrich this account. Dan insisted that the book be written in Jennifer’s voice, and she insisted that he be listed as coauthor. Like all the important projects we’ve undertaken in our lives together, this book has been a true partnership, which has enriched the process enormously for both of us.

FINAL THOUGHTS
There are, of course, some revelations in A Governor’s Story. For example, Granholm reveals that their Catholic bishop met with them privately to inform her that, because she was a pro-choice politician, she was not worthy to receive communion. She tells how Andy Dillon flaked out in a crucial budget negotiation, ruining weeks of effort, rather than helping show a united front. In the book, we learn that Granholm was uncertain about running for a second term and suggested that Michigan Senator Carl Levin should be recruited.

Granholm also laments the state of politics in America today where politicians are punished for being honest about what is needed to make our country successful. During the 2006 campaign, she and Dick DeVos did not “tell people the things that deep down [they] both knew to be true” about the future of Michigan and what it would take to turn our state around. “American political campaigns don’t reward that sort of thoughtful analysis,” she writes. “If anything, they punish those who attempt it.”

An interesting piece in light of the current race for the Republican nomination are the things Republicans said about the so-called “bailout” of the Detroit Three automakers. Granholm and Mulhern remind us, for example, that Mitt Romney wrote a New York Times op-ed suggesting that the companies not be given assistance. Jon Huntsman, also a contender, called the loans given to these companies “a big mistake”. Tim Pawlenty, who was once in the running for the GOP nod, said saving the auto companies and other Obama administration efforts would make America look “like some sort of republic from South America circa 1970s”. Finally, Newt Gingrich, still in the race, said that the saving of the automotive industry was evidence that President Obama is “the most radical president in American history.” All of these men have been proven quite wrong in their assessment of the wisdom of saving the Detroit Three and tens of thousands of Americans across the country whose jobs are in some way related to vehicle manufacture are thrilled they were ignored.

One piece I felt was missing from A Governor’s Story was the role of Lt. Governor John Cherry. Although he is mentioned a couple of times in passing, it’s hard to imagine that he was Lt. Governor for eight years without playing a more prominent role than is described in the book. Other members of Granholm’s staff are mentioned far more frequently. The book also downplays much of the vicious political rancor that went on during her administration. The division is there, for sure, but my memories of the game-playing and downright ugly political maneuvering that played out on the news and in the media are actually much more colorful than this account.

The parallels between Jennifer Granholm’s time in office and what Barack Obama is confronting in his first term as president are unmistakable. Both came to office facing frightening economic challenges but with bold ideas for change. Both faced stiff headwinds from ideologically-motivated opponents intent on thwarting everything they attempted. Both are, frankly, blamed for things that were beyond their control. As Granholm and Mulhern exit stage left, they are leaving us with a thoughtful, well-informed and honest account of what went right, what went wrong and what lessons we can learn from Michigan, a state Granholm called a “laboratory of democracy” in a New York Times interview this week. Whether you are a Democrat or Republican, conservative or liberal or independent, A Governor’s Story teaches important lessons. Let’s hope our leaders are willing to learn from them.

Every year, the Michigan Department of Education’s Library of Michigan and its Michigan Notable Books program choose 20 of the most notable books published in the year. According to the Notable Books web site, “The selections are reflective of Michigan’s diverse ethnic, historical, literary, and cultural experience.” The program is supported by sponsors such as Wayne State University Press, the University of Michigan Press, and ProQuest. The sponsors underwrite a reception honoring the authors, printing costs of the Notable Books poster, medallions and bookmarks, and for the statewide author tour.

This year’s author tour will hit libraries in the Upper Peninsula, mid-Michigan and, of course, lower Michigan. It will not, however, make a stop at the Ann Arbor Public Library, even though one of the books chosen this year was published by the University of Michigan Press. Laura Kasischke, author of Eden Springs: A Novella, lives in Ann Arbor.

The Library of Michigan Night for Notables, the reception in honor of this year’s authors, will be held on May 7, 2011, 5:00 P.M. – 8:30 P.M., in The Library of Michigan, 702 West Kalamazoo Street, Lansing. To attend, R.S. V.P. to (517) 373-4692 by April 29, 2011. The cost to attend is $25.00. The complete list of Michigan Notable Books for 2011 appears below. Click here to view a PDF of the event poster.

Apparition & Late Fictions: A Novella and Stories by Thomas Lynch (W. W. Norton & Co.)

Lynch has gained national attention for his work as a poet and essayist on death and dying. His first work of fiction is a powerful collection of stories focusing on what makes us all human. Lynch’s “day job” as a funeral director allows him a certain familiarity with death that resonates in his stories. Set in Michigan’s north woods, on Mackinac Island or distant cities the stories are linked by the memories and longing for divorced spouses, deceased parents and missed loved ones. Love and redemption play a central role in each of Lynch’s stories.

Blues in Black and White: The Landmark Ann Arbor Blues Festivals by Michael Erlewine, Stanley Livingston (photographer) and Tom Erlewine (designer) (University of Michigan Press)

Erlewine’s words and Livingston’s images successfully document the early days of the Ann Arbor Blues Festival. The 1969 and 1970 Ann Arbor Blues Festivals brought together the greatest blues performers in the world and exposed them to a larger audience. The festivals sparked a national explosion in the interest in blues-based roots music and brought long lasting attention to the musicians that created the music. Performers included: John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf, B.B. King, Big Momma Thornton, Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, T-Bone Walker and Mighty Joe Young. The festivals were not professionally recorded, so Livingston’s photographic treasures are the best documentation of the early festivals.

Chrysler’s Turbine Car: The Rise and Fall of Detroit’s Coolest Creation by Steve Lehto (Chicago Review Press)

In 1964, Chrysler built a fleet of turbine cars (automobiles with jet engines) and loaned them to members of the public to be tested. Over 1,000,000 miles were logged in the turbine cars and the designers considered the test a huge success. However, two years later, Chrysler crushed or burned most of the cars and the automobile industry’s experiment with turbine engines was over. Lehto’s book is a love letter to a car that explores where the program went wrong and why future development was halted. Jay Leno, avid car collector and host of the “Tonight Show” wrote the introduction.

Detroit Disassembled by Andrew Moore (Damiani/Akron Art Museum)

Photographer Andrew Moore finds beauty in what many consider Detroit’s decay. With the decline of the auto industry, sections of Detroit resemble a war zone. Moore’s photographs capture the earth’s/nature’s recapturing of spaces that were once populated with spectacular architecture and entwined in the heartbeat of a vibrant city. Former Detroiter and Pulitzer Prize winning poet, Philip Levine, provides an introductory essay championing the unshakable spirit that makes Detroit special.

The Detroit Electric Scheme: A Mystery by D.E. Johnson (Minotaur Books)

Will Anderson is drunk and heartbroken over the breakup with his fiancé and barely able to keep his job at his father’s leading electric car manufacturing company in Detroit. When Will panics and leaves the scene after discovering a dead body at his father’s factory the police quickly identify him a the leading suspect. Johnson’s debut novel is a fast-paced ride through early 1900s Detroit involving murder, blackmail, organized crime, the development of a wonderful friendship and the history of Detroit’s early electric cars.

Eden Springs: A Novella by Laura Kasischke (Wayne State University Press)

Eden Springs is set at the House of David colony in Benton Harbor in 1923. When a suspicious death is discovered at the colony, King Benjamin and his closest followers attempt to cover it up. Kasischke’s historical fiction beautifully documents the decline of the colony and the dangers associated with the cult of personality. Using actual newspaper clippings, legal documents and accounts of former colonists Kasischke unravels the mystery.

Freshwater Boys: Stories by Adam Schuitema (Delphinium Books)

Michigan native Schuitema’s debut collection contains 11 short stories set in and around the Great Lakes in Michigan. Michigan landscapes and lakes serve as central characters in the stories. Men and boys collide in Michigan’s woods, dunes and lakesides in a struggle to understand what it means to be a man. Lake Michigan and the concept of a “third coast” figure prominently in these well-written and engaging stories.

The Hanging Tree: A Starvation Lake Mystery by Bryan Gruley (Simon & Schuster)

When the “wild girl” that left town 18 years ago is found dead of an apparent suicide after her homecoming, it sends shock waves through Starvation Lake. Reporter Gus Carpenter sets out to solve the mystery and as a result is forced to return to Detroit, the scene of his humiliating past. The second book in Gruley’s Starvation Lake series is a well-written story about family and friendship, sex and violence and love’s failure to fix all of life’s problems.

Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon (McPherson)

Gordon’s fourth novel is the 2010 National Book Award winner for fiction. She has taught writing at Western Michigan University since 1981. Lord of Misrule is set at an out of the way half-mile horseracing track in the early 70s. Gordon masterfully captures “the language” of horse racing and the romance of rooting for long shots. A failing trainer attempts to revive business by making quick money with well-trained, but unknown horses. Washed up horses and people search for redemption in Gordon’s award-winning dark horse novel.

A Michigan Polar Bear Confronts the Bolsheviks: A War Memoir
by Godfrey J. Anderson, Gordon Olson (editor) (William B. Eerdman’s Publishing Co.)

Set against the harsh and frigid winter of Russia, this west Michigan soldier’s memoir details his experiences as a member of the 337th Field Hospital Unit during the ill-fated “Polar Bear Expedition” against the Soviet Bolsheviks in 1918-1919. Michigan soldiers comprised a large number of the total U.S. forces in Russia, and have been honored with the Polar Bear Monument at White Chapel Cemetery in Troy.

Mine Towns: Buildings for Workers in Michigan’s Copper Countryby Alison K. Hoagland (University of Minnesota Press)

The complex relationship between company management and immigrant labor is explored in this history of mining towns across the Upper Peninsula’s Copper Country. Utilizing maps, architectural plans, historical photographs, and more, Hoagland shows that the companies’ paternalistic vision dramatically shaped and impacted the architecture and physical layout of mining towns, including their churches, schools, and homes.

Picturing Hemingway’s Michigan by Michael R. Federspiel (Wayne State University Press)

In this vividly illustrated look into the famous writer’s time at Walloon Lake, which provided the setting and influences for his early formative writing, readers get a glimpse into Hemingway himself, his family, and summertime life in northern Michigan.

Reimagining Detroit: Opportunities for Redefining an American Cityby John Gallagher (Wayne State University Press)

A clear vision for a vibrant and more livable Motor City emerges from this thoughtful analysis of a Detroit faced with deindustrialization and population loss. A journalist for the Detroit Free Press, Gallagher explores the landscape of city planning, including urban agriculture, vacant lots, roundabouts, bike lanes, and entrepreneurship.

Sawdusted: Notes from a Post-boom Mill by Raymond Goodwin (University of Wisconsin Press)

Colorful personalities abound in this delightful memoir of the author’s time spent working in a northern Michigan sawmill. A vivid depiction of blue-collar life and the Milltown community emerges in Goodwin’s coming-of-age tale.

Sixty to Zero: An Inside Look at the Collapse of General Motors and the Detroit Auto Industry by Alex Taylor III (Yale University Press)

General Motors’ bankruptcy captured headlines in 2009. Alex Taylor III’s extensively researched book details how GM’s problems were actually 40 years in the making. Taylor’s book benefits from his more than 30 years experience as a reporter covering the auto industry. 60 to Zero provides information on the numerous mistakes GM and its competitors have made that resulted in a crisis for automobile manufacturers.

The Sweetness of Freedom: Stories of Immigrants by Stephen Ostrander and Martha Bloomfield (Michigan State University Press)

Demonstrating the ethnic diversity of the Michigan experience, this book draws on the compelling testimonies and family artifacts of Michigan immigrants from around the world, including Germany, Poland, Korea, Vietnam, and Tanzania, as they left their homeland to create better lives for their families in Michigan.

To Account for Murder by William C. Whitbeck (Permanent Press)

This debut legal, political thriller set in post-World War II, follows Charlie Cahill’s tension-filled journey filled with love, corruption, and murder. Whitbeck’s story is set primarily Lansing and culminates in an unforgettable ending at the Jackson State Penitentiary. Whitbeck is a Judge of the Michigan Court of Appeals, having previously served as Chief Judge from 2002-2007.

Working Words: Punching the Clock and Kicking Out the Jams edited by M.L. Liebler (Coffee House Press)

In this engaging anthology of the working class and labor, Liebler collects an impressive array of talent. Poems, essays and short stories by prominent poets, historians, rock stars and social activists praise the efforts of the “working man.”. Works by Michigan luminaries including Dudley Randall, Thomas Lynch, Michael Moore, and Jack White (The White Stripes) can be found in Liebler’s collection.

Wounded Warrior: The Rise and Fall of Michigan Governor John Swainson by Lawrence M. Glazer (Michigan State University Press)

Prior to being indicted in 1975 on federal charges of bribery and perjury, Swainson served as Michigan’s 42nd Governor (1961-1962) and as a Michigan Supreme Court Justice (1971-1975). This political biography explores both the remarkable highs and the tragic lows of a fascinating figure in Michigan history.

You Don’t Look Like Anyone I Know: A True Story of Family, Face- Blindness, and Forgiveness by Heather Sellers (Riverhead)

Diagnosed with prosopagnosia, a neurological disorder that makes it difficult to reliably recognize people, Sellers delivers an inspiring story of love, forgiveness, and perspective. This powerful memoir explores how a dysfunctional childhood and life struggles became a journey of self-discovery.

What is culture? I guess you could define it as high-brow, artsy stuff, but the sociologist in me thinks of this concept more as it applies to society—a cohesive unit in which the members work together for their own individual benefit or to benefit the society as a whole.

In this way, “book club culture” is something of an oxymoron.

You see, a book club is a very unique entity. Think about the types of people that are driven to participate in literary discussion groups—go ahead and form a picture in your mind. This person is probably wearing glasses, carrying a book crooked under her arm, walking with her head pointed toward the ground, and giving your an awkward smile as she passes by.

The stereotypical book club member is a socially stunted introvert. I’m allowed to say this with the utmost confidence, because I am this stereotype. That shy awkward girl that just formed as a pixilated picture in your mind, she is me. I’m such a book club geek that I’ve even started my own discussion group (http://www.meetup.com/Ann-Arbor-Classics-Book-Group/), which now has over three-hundred members, so yeah, I know a thing or two.

Now I want to tell you a bit about this ludicrous concept, about how a group can form of members who all mostly just want to be left alone. This is what book club culture looks like, folks:

1. We want people to listen to us, but we don’t want them to look at us—Most members fix their eyes firmly on the table in front of them or address their comments solely to the leader of the discussion. We’ve put in the hard work of reading the book, and we want to get the most out of discussion that we possibly can. To that end, everyone is clamoring to have his or her voice heard. Listen to my words, friend, but don’t look at my face. I’m more than my face; I’m also this brilliant mind.
2. We have a burning need to showcase our intelligence for the others—Each book club discussant has already dedicated hours to reading and researching the featured book prior to discussion. To that end, we’ve all had a lot of time to think about the novel, its themes, and what we’re going to say about it. Due to our desperate need to show off, we also tend to take wild and crazy tangents. Gee, I know PETA’s not exactly relevant to Orwell’s “Animal Farm,” but I just know so much about it; I know the others definitely want to hear about it, so here goes…
3. We’re proud of ourselves for doing something so valuable with our time—We are the elite intellectuals. We know the value of a Saturday afternoon spent snuggled up with a classic Russian novel is much higher than the value of a Saturday afternoon spent outdoors in the park or at the movie theater with friends. We definitely judge others for not having it as together as we do. That couple walking their dog past the coffee shop window, that teenager browsing the book store’s music collection, that barista working her 11-7 shift—none of them are doing anything that’s anywhere near the same level of importance as this—reading and then talking about books.
4. We have a hard time talking about the issues without offending someone—Well, clearly we have to talk about the holocaust when discussing Jonathan Safran Foer’s “Everything is Illuminated,” and we simply must discuss race as it relates to Toni Morrison’s “Bluest Eye.” Unfortunately, since most of us don’t have the best social skills, we have a hard time discussing these pertinent issues without going too far and becoming offensive. It’s something of a catch-22, perhaps if we were better at dealing with people, we’d be able to get through discussion without somebody vowing eternal hatred for somebody else, but if our social skills were to improve, we might actually spend time engaging with other people in our day-to-day lives, which would seriously cut into reading time.
5. We all want to be the leader, but none of us are effective in this role—Listen to me; it’s my turn to talk. That’s very nice, but now it’s my turn to talk. Let me talk about X. In response to X, I’ll say Y—it’s true Y has nothing to do with X, but it’s my turn now. Have you ever had a sideways discussion with someone? This happens when you’re talking about one thing and your “conversation” partner is talking about something completely different. You both keep up your own end of the conversation, but you’re not really engaging with each other. Book club is sideways talking to the extreme. It’s true that most of our discussion points will be somewhat related within the larger context of the work we’re discussing, but otherwise it’s all over the map. Each person wants to lead the discussion in the direction that she sees best fit; few are willing to give up their chance to steer the conversation back to their favorite topic—themselves.

All kidding aside, I love book club. I’ve been leading my own group for over two years now, but my heart still races and my palms still drip with sweat every time I’m in group. I continue to leave each discussion with a vague sense of having said something wrong and a persistent worry that somebody may not have liked me. One can’t ever really overcome these in-built introverted tendencies, but it gets easier to fake it on the outside. Book club will help the more apt introverts to improve their social skills, but some cases are completely hopeless.

If you’re itchin’ to jump on the book club bandwagon, check out my 5-part series on how to start or join a book club: http://emlynchand.com/reading/bookclub/

About The Culture Vulture:

From an early age, books have been Emlyn Chand’s best friends.  She loves to hear and tell stories and emerged from the womb with a fountain pen grasped firmly in her left hand (true story). Her affinity for the written word extends to absolutely every area of her life—she has written one-and-a-half novels, has two freelance columns, leads a classics book group with over three-hundred members, and most recently has started an author service business called “Novel Publicity.” She loves networking with other writers, so please don’t hesitate to connect with her on Twitter (http://twitter.com/#!/emlynchand), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/emlynchand), YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/user/emlynchand), or on either of her websites: www.novelpublicity.com and www.emlynchand.com

 There was a brief period when I chose to believe that the cheapest way to buy a book was to go in a Borders bookstore and pay for one with a coupon, an outrageously good deal of a coupon that seemed to appear in my inbox in a slightly different form every day: 30 percent off bestsellers one day; 50 percent off any one book the next. I decided that if I was already in the vicinity of a Borders, buying a book from Borders was cheaper than buying through Amazon (and with the coupons, cheaper than the Strand), and better for the planet because I would be doing the shipping of the book, via subway, to my house.

I got a number of paperbacks for under $8 this way, as well as hardcovers for under $15. But approaching the Borders register was always kind of sad: the cashiers were grumpy, even more so when I presented them with a coupon. One time, in my money-saving giddiness, I said something like, “It’s great…that you do this,” referring to the fact that I was paying $7.68 for a copy of Wolf Hall. The cashier responded with a terse “Yeah,” and frowned, shoving the book under the bar code scanner.

Borders is, by all accounts, about to shutter for good. Bloomberg reported that the company may be filing for bankruptcy this week. In that report, a spokesperson said the company is “doing everything possible” to “maintain relationships” with the publishers and distributors that stock it; in other words, to stay afloat. There was talk of a merger with Barnes & Noble, which is also foundering, though its stock is worth upwards of $16 a share, versus Borders’ pitiful value, which hovers around 50 cents. Anyway, that deal never happened.

Still, the most forgotten of brick-and-mortar booksellers continues to try to get customers to buy it some more time, and the ways in which is does so are becoming increasingly desperate. Being a subscriber to Borders’ e-mails, the only way to get a hold of those coupons, I’m privy to these attempts and all their overzealous subject lines, which seemed to culminate in a rather startling offer with this morning’s e-mail. In chronological order, here’s a selection of how it’s gone over the past few weeks. These are merely the subject lines of the e-mails:

December 27: WATCH ALL WEEK! 2-Day Deals — Deal #2: 50% off bestsellers
December 31: 50% OFF ANY ITEM! Don’t Miss the Last of Our 2-Day Deals!
January 3: Ring in the New Year with Big Books & BIG SAVINGS!
January 6: $10 in BONUS Borders Bucks — Limited Time Only!
January 6: Eat This, Not That — Shop Here, Not There… And SAVE! [Two e-mails in one day...things are getting serious.]
January 10: 500 Million People Like This [Not Borders, of course — Facebook. This was a Facebook-themed e-mail tied to the release of The Social Network on DVD. Clever.]
January 13: WOW! A Wireless eReader Under $100 — 4 Days Only!
January 20: 4 DAYS LEFT! A Wireless eReader Under $100 [Wasn't that deal over on January 17?]
January 21: Snowed In? SAVE UP TO 46% at Borders.com [Winter-themed e-mails!]
January 24: Don’t Miss the Book BOGO: Buy 1, Get 1 50% Off
January 27: MUAH! Be My Valentine — Gift Ideas & SAVINGS! [Gross, Borders]
January 31: FREE SHIPPING — No Minimum Purchase! Stop Shoveling, Start Shopping!
February 3: Life Is Good with FREE SHIPPING & Ultimate Mochas! [What?]
February 7: Dare to Compare! Kobo Wireless eReader Now $99.99 Every Day! [Oh, so that deal is on for four consecutive days, repeatedly, forever]
February 9: 6 Hand-Selected Wines for $6.99 Each — Plus a Free Gift [?!?!?!]

Recap: at some point in time, Borders’ e-reader offering, the rarely-discussed Kobo, was worth about the same as a Kindle: more than $100, less than $150. In the New Year, and in a telling move, the company reduced the price to $99 for four days, then kept that offer up for another four days, then just gave in, and is keeping the price at $99 indefinitely. Is this enough to save the company? Definitely not. Is it kind of embarrassing, and an example of how the company has ridden the coattails of company (Barnes & Noble) that itself is riding the coattails of another company (Amazon)? Certainly.

And as for that last subject line, it would appear Borders’ person in charge of e-mail marketing is just completely drunk now, and is offering you bottles from his own personal wine cellar in lieu of books. He might be onto something.

Originally posted to Thought Catalog.