yawn

[dream_labyrinth]

I was one of over 100000 people at the book fair this weekend (actually, I think I was two, as I have been there both Saturday and Sunday).
Saturday was hell, way too many people cramped in between the booksellers, not enough time to really look around and only made bearable by a few cool people.
The comic and anime fair had a larger area this year and there were a lot of girls dressed as their favorite anime characters. There also were some gorgeous looking goth girls. Is there are rule that you can only be a goth girl if you have a figure like Venus herself?

Saturday afternoon I went to meet my grandma and stayed quite a while with her, she was kinda depressed and I cheered her up.
Then in the evening I met some former fellow students which was interesting. Looks like there aren't many of us already working. One of the gals even started studying something else while looking for a job.
Sunday I went to Leipzig again and looted the booksellers. I got about 12 free copies of books for the library, and met some publishers that are important for us. Personal contact is really important in this business, I might even get the books for less even though that is not actually allowed. (in Germany, books have fixed prices but if the publisher decides to cheat himself - and the bookstores - who am I to complain.)

I left for Hammelburg much later than expected and got to bed late, I am really tired today and my shoulders are sore from carrying heavy bags of books and book catalogues.

tuva send me a beautiful card that really made my day! Thanks a lot!!

Comments

[tuva.livejournal.com]

WOW, 100 000 people is A LOT! Must have been fun though, and while thinking about books, I'd really like to find something to read this easter, as I'm not as stuffed with homework as I usually am. Any ideas?

It's great that you've got yourself a job then! :D I'm not sure how it is with librarians here, most of those I have seen are pretty old, so I'm not even sure if anyone really chooses that education here.

And I'm glad you liked the card! ;)

[dream-labyrinth.livejournal.com]

Oh, giving reading suggestions is so hard!
I like crime stories, so I read Martha Grimes, Henning Mankell, Donna Leon or Minette Walters.
For light reading with a bit of a historical background I take Georgette Heyer. Very interesting in that area is also "Desirée" by Annemarie Selinko.
But I think you aren't all that fond of history, are you?
Maybe Noah Gordon could be something for you. Or Isabelle Allende.
And of course there's always Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. And Terry Pratchett's Disc World novels.

[cleverusername2.livejournal.com]

Damn, I wish I was hanging out with you this weekend!

[dream-labyrinth.livejournal.com]

Hey, catch a plane and come over! I'd love to see you.

[cleverusername2.livejournal.com]

You're certainly on the list of LJers I want to visit. I'm hoping to catch chickbrarian on my way to New Orleans.

[jonthedull.livejournal.com]

in Germany, books have fixed prices

Interesting... You mean in every book store the books all sell for the same price? Does the library get a discount on the books either because it's a library or becuase it simply purchases large numbers of books? Do book stores all get the same discount as other bookstores or as the libary?

[dream-labyrinth.livejournal.com]

The publisher sets the price and then every bookseller has to sell for that price. (Actually, it is a contract between the publishers and the booksellers, it is theoretically possible not to join this contract, but then as a bookseller you would find that most publishers aren't interested in selling you books.)
So no matter where you buy a book, it costs the same. After a while the publisher can let the booksellers change the price, basically tell them do what you want. But then the bookseller has the right to return the books to the publisher if they think nobody buys it for the original price and they would lose money if they sell it for less.
Libraries get a 10 percent discount because they are libraries (I think for academic libraries it can be even more).
The whole idea is that if booksellers and publishers are in a normal competition, it wouldn't help improve the quality of the product, as it happens with other products, but that only cheap, well-selling books would be published. Also, small bookshops couldn't survive.
So the consequence that is feared is: no novels by unkown authors, very little poetry, cheap bindings and paper, very few bookstores.
IN England, where they used to have fixed prices and then changed it, some of this really happened.