Mark Leslie's Blog

Alternative Review of Anderson's FREE

mark@markleslie.ca (Mark Leslie) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:56:53 PST

A few months back I posted a long, detailed review of my thoughts after having read Chris Anderson's book Free: The Future of a Radical Price. Shortly after I posted my review, my friend, Paula B of The Writing Show blog and podcast commented that she had a very different experience with the book and would also be reviewing it.

Paula recently did her review in podcast form. Click here to check out the review -- the full text is posted on the blog, or you can download the mp3 or listen to it online.

I have long been a fan of Paula's podcasts, and I really like her voice and style, so I preferred to listen to it. (Besides, it's easier listening to a podcast while driving -- police officers tend to frown upon me trying to read while I'm zooming down the highway)

The first thing you'll notice is that Paula and I had quite different reactions to the book.

I like that.

Because in two "writer" types (and similar writer types I might add, if I'm allowed to compliment myself by comparing Paula and I), you get almost completely opposing viewpoints of a single book -- that alone has to be interesting in and of itself.

Further, I wish she lived closer so that I could get a chance to sit down over a coffee (or two or three) and engage in a healthy debate and discussion about our differing viewpoints. But, as it stands, that's not possible, which is too bad. At least we can engage in our discussions via Skype, email and other social media comments.

The running time for the podcast is just under 40 minutes. That should tell you something about the amount of effort and detail that went into it. And that's exactly what you get in Paula's review. She doesn't just gloss over the surface of the book, doesn't just touch upon particular points, but she engages in a thoughtful analysis of some of the things that she liked and disliked about the book.

I found Paula's review immediately fascinating and I quite admire the method by which she goes through and discusses particular comments and contradictions she found in Anderson's writing. Her review and analysis certainly made me think and though I might not see things from the same viewpoint, I can definitely appreciate where she is coming from and why she was challenged by some of the statements Anderson makes.

Of course, if you read my review, then read or listen to Paula's review you hopefully come away with a balanced look at this interesting book. It would seem that I took a more "gut reaction" approach in my review and Paula took a thoughtful and analytical one. Put the two together and it makes for an intriguing well-rounded effort. (Of course, that's just me elevating my own status by comparing myself to Paula again)

Da Count - Teachers

mark@markleslie.ca (Mark Leslie) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:56:54 PST

When it came time to write the dedication for Campus Chills, I started thinking about the theme of the book. All of the stories took place on campuses across Canada. Sure, they are horror stories; wonderfully written chilling tales all centered around university and college campuses.

And what's one thing that all campuses have in common?

They are places of learning -- institutes with a primary goal of educating.

It made me think about the teachers I had throughout my life and how fortunate I have been to learn under them. Yes, I know, everyone can likely easily think about that one horrible teacher who made their life miserable for a short period of time (like Harry Potter's Professor Snape)

But I have to say that I have been extremely fortunate to be able to look back at how many wonderful, memorable and top notch teachers I have had over the years. As far back as grade school, through high school and through to my university years, I'm very lucky to have had so many great teachers. Too many to name, but these teachers all left impressions on me, allowed me to learn new things and helped shape my development and life -- and for that I'm forever grateful.

I suppose I'm lucky to be working at an academic institution right now and I still get to work alongside some really incredible faculty members at McMaster. It has been an endless stream of fortuitous learning for me virtually my whole life. And I have teachers, instructors and educators to thank for it.

And though I had many great teachers, one in particular stands in my mind as the type of teacher who transcended the learning process. Jim Turcott, who taught Math and Physics at Levack District High School was a passionate and dedicated instructor.

Though I hated and struggled with math, I loved going to Mr Turcott's classes (he was also known as Dr. T since he also DJ'd) -- Jim used his passion for math and physics creatively and made the learning process fun. Having been active in the student council and in "stage shows" at LDHS, I got a chance to work more closely with Dr. T. whom I eventually began to call Jim after I graduated from LDHS. I worked for him for many years in his DJ business and learned a great many things about the art of DJing (this was back in the day of cassette tapes -- long before mp3's existed -- so cuing up a show and responding to ad hoc requests created quite a bit of work -- intense and challenging, but fun work).

Jim and I often bickered about music -- he was passionate about that, too. Me being a teenage fan of Rush, I often tried talking him into playing their music at our school dances. He told me that while they were talented musicians, you just couldn't dance to their music. I wouldn't take no for an answer and kept pushing and pushing in my bullheaded way. Jim was right. With the exception of some of their ballads, for the most-part, this brilliant rock trio has created a wealth of music, most of which simply doesn't work well on the dance floor. I only realized that many years later, and, of course, never admitted that to him.

As I mentioned, Jim transcended teaching. He became not just the guy who taught me math, physics and certain DJing skills. He also became a mentor and a friend and taught me a lot about life.

I recently started reading Gary Vaynerchuk's book CRUSH IT which explores how he turned his life-long passion into an incredible success story. Gary's story is wonderful and his passion leaps off the page immediately.

But one interesting thing is, though Gary does a wonderful job nailing the concept that doing what you're MOST passionate about is the key to success, it's actually something that Jim taught me several decades ago just through the way he lived his life. It's one of those basic elements that makes every single day a TGIT (Thank God It's Today) rather than a TGIF (Thank God It's Friday) sort of day. Reading Gary's book reminds me about that passion that Jim demonstrated every day, whether it was in the classroom, behind the DJ station or just hanging out with his friends and colleagues.

In any case, here is the dedication for CAMPUS CHILLS:

To all of the teachers, instructors and educators
who inspire, coach and nurture young minds

Particularly to Jim Turcott
Teacher, mentor, friend 1951 - 2008

Thanks for continuing to inspire, me Jim. And thanks to so many of the teachers out there who are passionate about what they do and help continue to inspire us all . . .

HNT - Flashback N Buskin

mark@markleslie.ca (Mark Leslie) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:27:43 PST

Just a few hours ago, an old university buddy commented on a photo I had posted to the Sock 'n' Buskin Theatre Company group on Facebook -- S'n'B is Carleton's University's student theatre company where I spent a great deal of time between 1988 and 1992 and made a ton of great friends -- many of whom I am still friends with today.

The comment inspired this week's HNT post -- a shot that was taken on the set of one of the larger plays (in terms of cast size, set, lighting and production crew) that I had worked on when part of the company: Balm in Gilead. The play was written by Lanford Wilson, but the director of the play added wonderfully fitting musical interludes written by Lou Reed and John Cale into the production. Performed by three beautiful women and sung in modified tempos the music was haunting and disturbing and added wonderfully to the overall ambiance of the play.

This is a shot of four of the crew hanging out behind the bar on the set.

Robert Bell (Lighting Designer), Andrea Clasper (Stage Manager),

Steve Wilson, Mark Lefebvre (Assistant Stage Managers)

Good times! Hard to believe that was . . . yikes . . . almost 20 years ago . . .

Here are a couple of other shots from the play, taken during one of the earlier rehearsals.

Adeel Ahmad (Ernesto), James Gatto (Dopey), David O'Meara (Rake)

Dan Willis, William Murray, Stuart?

A Chilling Halloween Treat

mark@markleslie.ca (Mark Leslie) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 09:57:27 PDT

Usually, on the evening of October 31st, by the time that my son is in bed, and Francine and I are shutting the lights off and unplugging the power leading to the front yard decorations (typically a haunted graveyard scene with plenty of tombstones, scary figures either popping out of the ground or lurking among the graves, blue and red floodlights a strobe light and fog machine), I get that same feeling I used to get when I was a child and Christmas was over.

A little bit sad.

The thrill and excitement of Halloween is over for another year.

Since Halloween is the one time of year that most everybody else is in sync with the types of things I most adore (yes, I have a bit of inkling towards the macabre), I'm that much more sad.

I'll go on believing in ghosts and goblins and monsters lurking in the shadows, while the rest of the world moves in into other seasonal celebrations.

Sigh.

I've always wished that Halloween could be extended and not just culminate in a single night.

I mean, wouldn't it be neat if Halloween celebrations could last throughout the week?

Well, in my own little way of trying to extend the Halloween spirit, I'm offering a special Halloween treat.

Starting today and ending six days from now, I'm offering free copies of CAMPUS CHILLS, the anthology of terror stories set on campuses across Canada which I edited. The contest appears on Goodreads.com.

With original stories from some of Canada's finest horror authors, this wonderful collection is certain to offer you a special chill for reading during a dark and creepy fall evening.

There's one copy available for each of the seven days the contest is open.

For a chance to win, simply register your name at the Goodreads contest site. A random selection will be done, and the winners will be sent a copy of CAMPUS CHILLS. No strings attached.

Of course, I'd love if it the seven people who win a copy would be so kind as to write a review of it on Goodreads, on their own blog, on Facebook, or tell some friends if they enjoyed it -- but other than that hope, there's no catch.

Simply, it's a Halloween treat -- starting today and ending at the end of the week. The contest is open to people in the US and Canada.

So, if you're looking for a special Halloween treat and something to offer you some special chills beyond the Halloween season, go sign up for a chance to get your copy of CAMPUS CHILLS.

Best of luck to you if you enter. And if you're not a winner, please note that the book is available at a number of retail locations in Canada -- many of which take online orders and can ship to you. Ask for it at your favourite local bookstore. Tell them to check out www.campuschills.com to find out how easy it is for them to special order a copy in for YOU.

Happy Halloween! Here's hoping that the Great Pumpkin is good to you this year.

Evolve = Adapt = Survive

mark@markleslie.ca (Mark Leslie) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 03:55:21 PDT

There was a great article in the Huffington Post recently called Evolve or Die: Why Reinvent Independent Bookstores? by Praveen Madan and Christin Evans.

The article covers some startling facts, such as an average of about 200 independent booksellers closing their doors a year in the U.S.

The authors go through a list of the various factors likely leading to this dramatic extinction (or slaughter if you prefer) of an ongoing traditional fixture in local communities. It's about a dramatic explosion in competition, from price-slashing retail monsters like WalMart to the ever convenient explosion of internet book stores.

However, despite the depressing and very frightening realities that the authors discuss in their article, they make a point that all is not lost.

Here is a quote from the article

"So far you haven't heard anything new. We believe that this is a time of great opportunity for independent bookstores. What? Go back and read that again. Wait a minute, didn't we just write the obituary of the independent bookstore?

We believe that independent bookstores can have a great future and we are betting our careers on it. What makes us optimistic in the face of all the doom and gloom surrounding independent bookstores? New opportunities that can help independent bookstores reinvent and reinvigorate their businesses. New opportunities being made possible by a publishing industry in turmoil, new opportunities being served up by new technologies, new opportunities we can identify if we pay attention to the unmet needs of our customers."

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/praveen-madan/evolve-or-die-why-reinven_b_337322.html

Then they go on to list 5 potential new opportunities and supporting details for each.

1) Literary Community Building
2) Author Services
3) Enhancing the Browsing Experience
4) Print on Demand
5) New Markets

Since the article is well thought out and written, it's best for you to go read it in its entirety.

Like me, you'll likely want to keep an eye on updated articles from these authors on this subject via The Huffington Post.

HNT - Which Tie?

mark@markleslie.ca (Mark Leslie) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 03:32:13 PDT

In last week's HNT post, I speculated on whether or not I would wear the same skull tie at the Campus Chills/Haunted McMaster 2009 event that I had at the Haunted McMaster event in 2008.

Of course I did.

This year I wore it with a black shirt rather than a white one.

You've got to love those versatile skull ties.

I mean, there are only so many occasions where I can wear my Halloween/horror ties, and I do have a few of them. (The skull one is just my favourite) I need to take advantage of those occasions where it is appropriate for me to wear such a tie. Which are, basically, my appearances as a horror author at bookstore events and conventions (though you don't often dress up at a convention), and, of course, near Halloween.

I have even more Halloween underwear, and have to admit, I'm really good at only wearing them during the Halloween season. (Of course, in our house, the Halloween season begins about the last week of September -- but I do have no less than a dozen different Halloween themed boxers, so can go almost two weeks without wearing the same pair twice. No wonder they've lasted so long and my collection keeps growing. Since they get put away until the next year, there's hardly any wear on them, so they keep lasting. For example, one of my favourite pairs, my spooky eye shorts (and incidentally, the subject of my very first HNT post back in October 2005), which glow in the dark, are still in perfect shape.

And should they last that long, I imagine I'll be wearing them another 40 years from now (assuming, of course, that I also last that long too)

Campus Chills Launches

mark@markleslie.ca (Mark Leslie) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 07:18:56 PDT

The Campus Chills launches in Halifax, Hamilton, Waterloo and Edmonton went over extremely well last week, with 4 different events taking place across the country on October 22, 2009.

Here are a few of the pictures from some of the events.

Starting in Halifax at Dalhousie University bookstore, here is Steve Vernon, offering some lunchtime reading and talk treats to the audience there.

Here's a fun picture taken before the Waterloo event started, with Douglas Smith, Julie E. Czerneda and James Alan Gardner hamming for the camera with the University of Waterloo bookstore staff in the lecture hall where the readings (and Julie's story) took place, complete with eerie lighting and spooky effects.

Here's a shot of the happy family at Titles Bookstore McMaster University where Kelley Armstrong, Kimberly Foottit, (me), Sephera Giron, Michael Kelly and Edo van Belkom did readings and signed copies inside the bookstore where the haunted campus walks started and ended from.

While I have video of Susie Moloney and Brit Trogen reading at the University of Alberta Bookstore (I'm going to chunk the videos up to put on YouTube), I don't have pictures of the event, but will attempt to post them soon.

And today, if you find yourself in Ottawa, get thee over to the Algonguin Bookstore on the Woodruffe campus. Because mid afternoon Nancy Kilpatrick and Carol Weekes will be treating. Below is a shot of the Algonquin campus store mascot, Thor, getting into the Halloween spirit by checking out Campus Chills.

HNT - Haunted Hamilton 2009

mark@markleslie.ca (Mark Leslie) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:23:13 PDT

Today is the launch of CAMPUS CHILLS -- an anthology of all original tales of terror by 13 extremely talented Canadian authors which I had the extreme pleasure of editing for the three campus bookstores that have produced it.

Titles Bookstore McMaster University, University of Waterloo Bookstore and University of Alberta Bookstore combined their resources to sponsor paying authors professional rates to craft stories specifically for this anthology.

Their tales are set on campuses across Canada and run the full range of horror -- from classic ghost stories to eerie "Twilight Zone" tales to the utterly disturbing and shocking. They have a couple things in common though. All of the tales draw upon some sort of speculative element (ie, some historic ghost legend, a classic "monster" or a new discovery from a campus lab) and they are brilliantly crafted tales by some of the finest writers I've ever had the pleasure of working with.

The book, which is being produced on the Espresso Book Machines at Waterloo, U of A and McMaster, (a 308 page perfect bound trade paperback retailing for $19.95) is launching and going on sale today at the following stores:

University of Waterloo Bookstore (Waterloo, ON)
University of Alberta Bookstore (Edmonton, ON)
Dalhousie University Bookstore (Halifax, NS)
Algonquin College Bookstore (Ottawa, ON)

...and, of course,

Titles Bookstore McMaster University (Hamilton, ON) where Titles is joining forces with Haunted Hamilton. The launch of Campus Chills will be taking place inside the bookstore where a series of 20 minute guided ghost walks of the campus that start and end at the bookstore will take place.

We will be featuring the following Campus Chills contributors who will be doing readings and signing copies of the anthology and their other books at the store: Kelley Armstrong, Kimberly Foottit, Sephera Giron, Michael Kelly and Edo van Belkom.

Steve Vernon, Julie E. Czerneda, James Alan Gardner, Douglas Smith, Susie Moloney and Brit Trogen will all be attending the launches in Halifax, Waterloo and Edmonton today. Plans are being draw for a pre-Halloween event in Ottawa at the Algonquin Bookstore with Carol Weekes and Nancy Kilpatrick.

Titles Bookstore did a similar event last year, branded Haunted McMaster (and yes I blogged about it last year, too) -- so, fittingly, enough, this year, we're calling it Haunted McMaster 2009.

For this week's HNT post, here's a picture of me handing out one of the many exciting door prizes from last year's event. You can count on the fact that I'll be posting pictures from tonight's event in Hamilton as well as the other ones.

The question is, will I be wearing the same "skull" tie this year?

I'm not telling.

Campus Chills Anthology Trailer

mark@markleslie.ca (Mark Leslie) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 03:34:22 PDT

I recently posted a couple of YouTube videos related to Campus Chills, an exciting new anthology that I have edited which was produced specifically for the Espresso Book Machines at the McMaster, Waterloo and University of Alberta bookstores.

The first one, is a "video book trailer" for the Campus Chills anthology. It's under 60 seconds and is relatively simple -- some text, some voice over, some creepy background music. Campus Chills features 13 original tales of terror set on campuses across Canada. It include stories by Kelley Armstrong, Julie E. Czerneda, Kimberly Foottit, James Alan Gardner, Sephera Giron, Michael Kelly, Nancy Kilpatrick, Susie Moloney, Douglas Smith, Brit Trogen, Edo van Belkom, Steve Vernon and Carol Weekes and is introduced by Robert J. Sawyer.

The second one is about "Haunted McMaster 2009" -- the combined book launch and ghost walk of the McMaster campus taking place at Titles Bookstore Thursday October 22, 2009 at 7 PM. Kelley Armstrong, Kimberly Foottit (McMaster Author), Sephera Giron, Michael Kelly and Edo van Belkom will be onhand for this book launch. The good folks at Haunted Hamilton will be offering the free ghost walks.

It Hurts Really Badly

mark@markleslie.ca (Mark Leslie) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 04:02:49 PDT

Alexander and I spent several hours Saturday and Sunday setting up the front yard for Halloween. Basically, we transformed it into a graveyard scene, adding one or two new elements to it and switching it up just a little bit from last year. (Pictures forthcoming)

As always, my son was right beside me, participating every step of the way in the creation of this annual masterpiece. He is such a hard worker it amazes me. I'd like to think it's something he gets from his old man.

Of course, there's something else I'm pretty sure he gets from me.

It's his use of adverbs and adjectives. At one point, when he was helping me hammer some boards into the rickety graveyard fence we were putting up, he caught one of his fingers under the business end of the hammer. Yee-owch!

As I was trying to console him and inspect the damage, he kept saying. "Oh, Dad, it hurts really badly." Lately, it's a phrase he often repeats when he is hurt beyond the normal fall and scrape that five year olds are prone to. And while it disturbs me when he is injured, I also find the way he says it so absolutely cute and adorable.

Then it strikes me. Cute as the statement is, he's falling into one of the traps I can sometimes fall into when writing. Tossing out adverbs and adjectives like there's a massive "going out of style" sale going on.

Of course, given that at five, my son is already demonstrating he'll soon be surpassing me in various abilities (as sons often do to their fathers as they get older), he'll likely be a better master of words than his old man. I'll still be saying things like "This pain hurts really badly" and he'll be suggesting I be more concise like "it smarts" or at least more creative like "the agony I am experiencing is unbearable."

HNT - Campus Chills

mark@markleslie.ca (Mark Leslie) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:22:08 PDT

I have spent a good amount of time in the past year working on a book called Campus Chills, an anthology of thirteen tales of terror set on campuses across Canada.

Campus Chills contains never before published stories by Kelley Armstrong, Julie E. Czerneda, Kimberly Foottit, James Alan Gardner, Sephera Giron, Michael Kelly, Nancy Kilpatrick, Susie Moloney, Douglas Smith, Brit Trogen, Edo van Belkom, Steve Vernon and Carol Weekes. It is introduced by Robert J. Sawyer.

I had asked each of these fine authors to produce a tale set on a campus anywhere in the world (they all chose Canada) and that tells a chilling story. I wanted the stories to either be traditional ghost stories drawing on history or local campus legends, or perhaps be something born from a discovery in the labs. One caveat was that I did not want any stories that were based on real-life horrors such as what happened at Virginia Tech in 2007 or at McGill in 1989. There were to be no enraged gunmen on campus -- those things were still too close to home for so many -- the horrors in their fiction were to come from some supernatural force or from something happening in a research lab.

And the authors came through beautifully. From experiments gone wrong to ghosts walking the deserted hallways at night, from creatures returning from the dead to eerie spectres forewarning danger, from the fear of a failing grade to the dread of abandonment and isolation, from outraged revenge to a desperate desire to change the past, from supernatural creatures stalking the campus to long hidden and buried passageways and secrets, this anthology covers a broad range of the horror genre from some of Canada's truly finest writers.

The book, which is available from the Espresso Book Machines at McMaster University, University of Waterloo and University of Alberta Bookstores, will be launched next week -- October 22, 2009 in a four city, three province series of events.

Dalhousie University bookstore will host author Steve Vernon for a lunchtime reading/book signing in Halifax, NS.

Then, starting at 7 PM in Hamilton, ON at McMaster, Haunted Hamilton will be offering free custom ghost tours of campus starting and ending at Titles bookstore, while inside, after a demonstration of the printing of the book on the Espresso Book Machine, authors Kelley Armstrong, Kimberly Foottit, Sephera Giron, Michael Kelly and Edo van Belkom do readings and sign copies of Campus Chills as well as their own books.

In Waterloo, ON beginning at 9 PM at the University of Waterloo bookstore, after a demonstration of the printing of Campus Chills on the Espresso Book Machine, authors Julie E. Czerneda, James Alan Gardner and Douglas Smith will be taking customers on a journey from the bookstore to a special secret campus location where everyone will be treated to candlelit ghost stories. (Due to limited space, this free event requires pre-registration, which you can do online)

And finally, the University of Alberta bookstore in Edmonton, AB will be hosting authors Brit Trogen and Susie Moloney, engaging customers in readings, a demonstration of the printing of Campus Chills on the Espresso Book Machine and the previewing of short horror films from local independently produced film-makers.

We were unable to secure a fifth event (Montreal-based) featuring authors Nancy Kilpatrick and Carol Weekes. Otherwise, it would have been a five city, four province series of book launches featuring all contributors. But I'm still delighted that we're able to have scheduled launches across Canada for the same day and featuring 11 of the 13 contributors (okay, 12 of the 15 if you include me, as I'll be hosting the McMaster event, and Rob Sawyer, who wrote the introduction but is unable to attend due to previous commitments)

I will, of course, be talking more and more about the coming events, particularly the one in Hamilton. In the meantime, here's a picture of me reading through an Advance Reader Copy of the book that we're currently spitting out of the Espresso Book Machines . . . this book is so good that I've read it over a dozen times. (I suppose, being the editor, I'd have to read it repeatedly, and yes, I'm a little biased . . . but dammit, these authors have done a tremendous job writing some incredible stories for this anthology . . . it's unputdownable . . .)

Da Count - Fran

mark@markleslie.ca (Mark Leslie) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 08:21:28 PDT

This week's Da Count is something I neglect to count often enough, yet a thing that is so very precious to me. My relationship with Francine. She is my wife, my best friend, my lover, my confidante, my playmate, my soulmate, my partner on this life journey.

On Monday, Francine and I will be celebrating 13 years of marriage.

What I still can't believe, and which I am truly impressed by is that she actually continues to put up with me, with all my foibles and faults, all the silly things I do and the fact that though I'm 40 years of age, I am amused by the same things our five year old finds funny. More so than being the kind, wonderful, loving and nurturing gorgeous and sexy woman that I continue to fall more in love with each and every day, she actually has the infinite patience to put up with me.

I don't know how I got so lucky, but I'm certainly a better man for having Fran in my life.

And for that, I count my blessings repeatedly.

HNT - Death Of Free Time

mark@markleslie.ca (Mark Leslie) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 02:43:18 PDT

When I was cutting the lawn this past week (something I had neglected to do for close to two weeks due to me being so crazy busy at work and on personal projects, combined with the fact that whenever I WAS at home, it seemed to be raining or an ungodly time to be cutting the lawn -- I'm sure the neighbours would freak out if I started up my mower at 2 AM) I left a small patch of grass in the middle. It's one of the "games" I play with my son while we're cutting the lawn. He enjoys seeing different patterns.

Based on how divided my attention and time has been lately, and hearing myself continually using the phrase "Oh gee, I'd better get home soon or my wife is going to kill me," I thought pulling out one of our Halloween decorations a bit early and sticking in the lawn might be a fun idea.

Symbolic, perhaps of the death of free time I've been experiencing lately?

Avatar

mark@markleslie.ca (Mark Leslie) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:20:48 PDT

I hadn't thought about it much, but when I started getting into various social media platforms, I decided it would make sense for me to use a single avatar.

The avatar usage started right here on this blog. I started blogging back in 2005, and I honestly can't remember what picture I had originally used when I started or how often I changed it around. But one of my buddies from work, Taras Shuper, had small pictures of his bloggy friends on the right nav of his website, and within it included a small head shot derived from a photo I had on one of my websites.

I quite liked it -- taken from a photo of me leaning out over the railing of the Staten Island ferry with the Manhattan skyline behind me, it was simple and obviously me.

From that point forward, I updated my Blogger profile blog avatar to the cool image that Shoop had used and haven't changed it since. I also updated my MySpace avatar to include the same head shot. (Though I did create a changing gif for that one, flashing between my profile pic and my book One Hand Screaming)

Then, as I joined various different social media platforms and online groups, like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Goodreads, I used the very same avatar. Given that my original reason for going to the various social media platforms was to expand my networking as a writer and engage in various self-promotional activities (sometimes blatant and shameless, and other times subtle and quiet), I thought it might be important to have a consistent look. So if somebody followed my blog and then wanted to "friend" me on a different social media platform, they could tell, without much fuss, that it was indeed the same person.

Given that most of my social network connections use my writing name "Mark Leslie" rather than my full name "Mark Leslie Lefebvre" -- the consistent avatar also helped shed a tiny bit of confusion as to my identity. Those who knew me in person or from work should immediately recognize the tightly cropped head shot -- and those who knew me from other social networking platforms should be able to easily recognize that it was the same person.

And while I admire the fact that people frequently change the profile pictures on Facebook, matching their mood or something that is of great significance to them, or in the case of authors, changing their profile pic to their most recent book, that hasn't been something for me.

I can honestly say that since I joined Facebook I haven't once changed my profile pic from that fun headshot my buddy Taras created. I've been a "one profile picture" sort of guy from the very beginning. In fact, to celebrate, I just created a Facebook group to see how many others, like me, have maintained the same profile pic on Facebook from the beginning. I mean, why not? It's a fun social experiment, right?

As a point of interest, here is the original picture that my avatar headshot was derived from.

It was taken by my wife, Francine on the weekend of our anniversary several years ago when we were in New York. Having missed the ferry to visit the Statue of Liberty, we took a trip on the Staten Island Ferry at the top of the afternoon rush hour.

We had a fantastic time -- so one of the side-effects of using the same profile picture/avatar on so many different sites and platforms is that whenever I see it, it reminds me of the great time Francine and I had as well as of my cool buddy, Taras, whom I stay in moderate touch with online via different social networking platforms, but haven't seen in person in perhaps a couple of years.

Off the top of my head, I can think of at least 3 different online platforms/community/networking groups where I broke from this trend/habit and did NOT use that same avatar. Do you think you can you find them? I'm pretty sure you can, as at least one of them is among the more popular social media sites in use.

HNT - Pub Beat!

mark@markleslie.ca (Mark Leslie) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 06:17:28 PDT

I joined the very exciting BookNet Canada PubFight fantasy publishing game with three of my colleagues at Titles Bookstore for the fall season this year.

We basically get to pretend to be publishers, create our own publisher name, logo and slogon, then buy titles in an auction and set print quantities (both offset and digital print runs with varying pricing and delivery times) -- then, based on the sales data from BookNet Canada's records, we can gage how we're doing. But in order to get "sales" you need to ensure you have enough stock to meet the cross-Canada demand.

And it's not as easy as it might at first seem.

For example, last week, I got caught with my pants down and lost over half a million dollars in sales because I dramatically underestimated the incredible volume of a particular title and barely had half as many in stock as sold that week. And while I did do a giant batch of digital short-runs to try to get it in stock, I still won't have that stock until next week, so have missed out an entire week's sales this week too -- and my larger offset print run isn't coming until October 11th -- yikes -- so I just see those incredible lost sales.

The BNC PubFight game is an awesome way for booksellers to see the industry from a whole new perspective -- sure, we can manage stock at our store level and anticipate movement trends, etc. But trying to gage it at a national level and ensure there is plenty of stock out there is pretty challenging.

Over the past couple of decades I have always wondered why or how a publisher could NOT HAVE stock of a particular title that suddenly ramps up as a "sleeper" hit and starts selling like crazy . . . but now I know . . . and it has been perhaps only a half dozen years that BookNet Canada has been around and able to provide publishers with information on the state of books in the Canadian market, so how publishers did it before that I really don't know. (Did they have secret crystal balls?)

PubFight has given me a whole new respect for the incredibly intense and challenging job that publishers have in deciding whether or not to do a second print for a title (keep in mind that PubFight is extremly simplified and doesn't include the complex concept that publishers ALSO have to consider that some of the stock they have "out there" in bookstores will be returned to them, so if they print too many, they'll be sitting on a ton of extra stock after the season is over -- scary stuff) My experience so far is that this game is an incredible educational tool that I think booksellers would definitely benefit from.

Now, I still have bragging rights that among the players in my league I am ranking #1 and beating the next highest ranking publisher by almost a half million dollars -- but my lead would be incredibly further ahead and more properly secured at well over a million dollars ahead had I not fallen asleep at the publishing wheel.

In any case, I got my butt kicked in lost sales because I was sleeping. Okay, from the realm of "good excuses" I was busy at my campus store focusing on helping the rush of Sept students find their proper course materials and textbooks . . . but not paying attention for that week and a half period where it was absolutely busy was all it took to shake down my publishing house -- (Xander House - "Books worth getting excited about")

Fitting the theme of me getting my butt kicked, this week's HNT picture is a shot of me from my own university days. Yes, this goes back about 20 years. I was doing a senior level English seminar talking about "silence, violence and chaos in Michael Ondaatje's Coming Through Slaughter.

My seminar involved an interactive sort of "silence, violence and chaos" as I tried to demonstrate the impact that these things had on the reader -- I freaked a few people in my class out with the manner in which I delivered my presentation, (I used Pink Floyd's "Careful with that Axe Eugene" as my background theme music for part of my talk where things got a bit chaotic) -- but my prof was impressed and I did get an A -- so I'm pretty thrilled with that. The picture below is a test of the makeup I'd applied halfway through my presentation.

But the picture kind of matches how I feel after getting a can of whoopass opened on me this past week in PubFight.

Word On The Street 2009

mark@markleslie.ca (Mark Leslie) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 03:58:31 PDT

I spent a short bit of time at Word on the Street in Toronto on Sunday with Sephera Giron, Stephanie Bedwell-Grime and Nancy Kilpatrick in the Horror Writers Assocation booth.

I say a short bit of time because Saturday's rain pushed several of the chores and family plans that were supposed to happen Saturday back one day, meaning there was a desperate attempt to fit everything into the non-rain day.

Sephera Giron, Stephanie Bedwell-Grime, Nancy Kilpatrick

But my time at WOTS was fun, the weather turned out well and there was a huge crowd of people. We got to chat with a lot of folks interested in books as well as answer questions about the HWA, and of course see many friends and colleagues.

Besides, it was great to hang out with the ladies of horror for a while, and it had been quite a while since I'd seen Stephanie Bedwell-Grime so it was good to play catch up a little bit.

Sephera Giron, Stephanie Bedwell-Grime, Nancy Kilpatrick

Both Sephera and Nancy have stories appearing in Campus Chills, an anthology I'm editing and which is coming out October 22, 2009. Stephanie and Nancy were both in North of Infinity II, the last anthology I edited, which was released in 2006.

One of these kids isn't dressed in black like the others. Can you guess which one?

The most frustrating thing about the day was the 1 hour I spent stuck on Spadina trying to get out of town. Once I got through it all, to see that there was no construction, no road closure and no accident up ahead, AND it was a Sunday afternoon, it reminded me of why I stopped commuting to Toronto for work several years ago.

HNT - Flash Backward

mark@markleslie.ca (Mark Leslie) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 03:45:14 PDT

Tonight on ABC a new television program premieres which is based on my friend Robert J. Sawyer's novel FlashForward.

If the television show is half as good as the novel (and all the trailers, ads and teasers indicate it will not only be as good, but will take the basic underlying thought-provoking and fascinating concepts from Rob's wonderful novel and expand them into a compelling and entertaining television show) then I'm sure I'm going to enjoy it.

The basic theme from the novel is predestination vs free-will, and, as I recall (because it has been ten years since I read the novel), Rob did an incredible job of covering those themes while telling a great story. The premise for the novel is that everyone in the world gets a brief glimpse into their future for just a few minutes -- it is the way that people react to what are often unexpected surprises in store for their future that makes it so interesting.

I'm pretty sure that the television series (which has the "flashforward" everyone experiences going only about 6 months into the future), is going to do justice to the themes Sawyer explored in the novel.

But enough about the television series, let's flash backward to look at 1999, when Rob's novel first came out and a few interesting trivial facts about the novel (and the interesting way I like to tie-myself to it. I mean, we all like tying ourselves to greatness, don't we?)

Rob won the 2000 Prix Aurora Award (Canada's top honour in SF & Fantasy) for "Best Long-Form Work in English" for FlashForward.
Incidentally, Rob also won in the category of "Best Short-Form Work in English" with his story "Stream of Consciousness" beating me in that category. My story "Erratic Cycles" was nominated that year. I couldn't have lost to a nicer guy.
Interestingly, Rob's story "Stream of Consciousness" was edited by Julie E. Czerneda, who was also in the running against Rob in the Long-Form Work category for her novel Beholder's Eye.
Also up against Rob in the Long-Form Work category was Edo van Belkom for his short story collection Death Drives a Semi.
Also up against Rob in the Short-Form category was Douglas Smith (he had two stories nominated that year - "State of Disorder" and "Symphony"
I republished Doug's story "State of Disorder" in the anthology North of Infinity II. Rob's story "Forever" was also reprinted in that anthology.
Julie, Doug and Edo (who are wonderful writers) are featured in an anthology I am editing and which is coming out in a few weeks called CAMPUS CHILLS -- all all original collection of short stories born from the dark shadows of campuses across Canada by some of Canada's finest writers of speculative fiction.
Rob wrote a wonderfully brilliant introduction to CAMPUS CHILLS.
In the novel FlashForward, Rob has two characters walk into their local bookstore and request an "on demand" book. Then they sit down to have a coffee at the adjacent coffee shop while the book is being printed and bound on the spot in the bookstore. (Hmm, does that sound anything like the Espresso Book Machine that I currently have in my bookstore? Did I only purchase the machine so I could see this scene in Rob's novel unfold right before me?)
CAMPUS CHILLS (which Rob wrote the introduction for, and which Julie, Doug and Edo appear in) is being printed on the Espresso Book Machines located at McMaster, Waterloo and University of Alberta bookstores. Each location is holding a really cool book launch simultaneously on October 22, 2009 featuring 10 of the 13 contributors to the anthologies. Julie will be at Waterloo (she is an Alumna from there), as will Doug (he's an Alumnus), Edo will be at McMaster; and our friend Rob will be unable to attend because he is attempting to "hermit" himself away to finish work on the third novel in his WWW trilogy
I own a first edition hardcover of FlashForward (pictured below)
Interestingly, my hardcover copy of FlashForward is one of the few novels of Rob's that I don't have signed. I'll have to rectify that the next time I see him.
I'm pretty sure that after I see the television show based on Rob's novel, I'll want to read FlashForward again.
I'm pretty sure that after YOU see the television show, YOU'LL want to read Rob's novel too. And I encourage you to do so (That's why I already have a nice display of Rob's book in my store, complete with an 11 X 17 poster of the cover of the book -- because anyone who gets the fact this show is based on a Canadian author's novel is likely to be asking for it on Friday)
But do be warned. Rob is an incredibly talented writer and storyteller. Once you read one of his novels, you're likely to want to read the other 18 or so that he has written. The GREAT news is that you won't be disappointed. I have loved every single novel Rob has written.

Doing It Right Digitally

mark@markleslie.ca (Mark Leslie) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 03:28:22 PDT

I complain a lot about the broken textbook industry and how things continue to spiral out of control in a "chicken and egg" battle involving bookstores, publishers and students. The price of textbooks goes up -- sales go down. Prices go higher. Sales plummet further. It's a vicious cycle.

Everyone is pointing the finger at everyone else with very few parties actually looking for real solutions.

But sometimes there is good news -- a glimmer of light among the gathering storm cloud. Sometimes one or more of the groups out there tries something a bit different in an attempt to break the vicious and maddening cycle.

Not that many days ago, I blogged about a university department working with a publisher to offer a workable and very promising solution that I believe was good for the publisher, I know was good for the bookstore, and which I also believe was beneficial for students. A wonderful three way win situation.

And here is some hope in the world of digital books/ebooks that I'm quite delighted with.

First off, I'm very proud to be a member of the CCRA (Canadian Campus Retail Associates) and to know that the time and money we're investing in working together to come up with solutions like this that can actually benefit students and save them money on their textbooks.

Campus E-Bookstore is an initiative to allow for ePub format books to be downloaded by students. The initial offering, or phase one of the platform is a selection of the most popular public domain titles being used most often in North American campuses being offered for free. Full details can be seen on a NACS press release announcing the partnership between CCRA and NACS Media Solutions.

The idea is to help individual campus stores be able to provide easy links to these texts for those students looking for an alternative or compliment to existing course materials. With the ability to create dynamic links and an easy way to get a decent DSV (or Digital Study Version) copy downloaded with as little hassle as possible. These study versions have been produced in the EPUB format, enabling them to be viewed on most mobile reading devices, such as the Sony Reader.

I believe that a project like this is definitely a step in the right direction.

Just to reiterate -- a group of campus stores paid money to create digital material to be given out to students for free.

My own experience having access to POD technology in my bookstore has continued to demonstrate that even when students can get a public domain or open access textbook for free (via Project Gutenberg, etc), they will likely purchase a hard copy of the book if it is a REASONABLE PRICE. I use upper case for the words "reasonable price" because reasonable means different things to different people. But I have seen the positive effect of giving something away for free and offering a low-cost alternative hard copy. Those who wish not to or cannot afford to purchase the product but still access the content are happy -- those who want a hard copy for a decent price are happy. And sales of the reasonably priced hard copy typically increase.

Of course, FlatWorld Knowledge is another entity out there that has the right idea -- in a similar fashion, they offer free online versions of textbooks and reasonably priced hard copies available for sale.

There is a fantastic interview from CBC's Spark with Nora Young that you can download and listen to where Eric Frank explains the concept of Open Textbooks.

At the end of the day, I'm delighted to see another glimmer of hope in these two wonderful efforts to put a stop to the madness.

Building A Better Wasp Trap

mark@markleslie.ca (Mark Leslie) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:15:28 PDT

The wasps and hornets have pretty much been taking over this past summer. Not a good thing for enjoying the back yard. (And since the summer weather seems to have finally come in September, we're spending more time outside now than we did in June or July)

My wife Francine came up with a great easy-to-make wasp trap which I think she read about in one of the many places she finds things (and I honestly don't know if it was from a magazine or newspaper article or something she found online) -- but in any case, because it worked so well for us, I thought I'd share the simple wasp trap.

(And, for the record, when I say wasp, I'm talking about the flying stinging insects and NOT White Anglo Saxon Protesants)

What You Need
- 1 2 litre clear bottle (ie, a Coke bottle)
- 1 cup of fruit juice (apple, cranberry or mixed fruit)
- 1/2 cup of liquid dishwashing soap

How To Do It
You take 1 to 1.5 cups of sweet juice beverage (we have used apple juice, cranberry juice and mixed fruit juice drinks which all work equally well) and mix it with about half a cup of dishwashing liquid soap. Pour it into an empty clear 2 litre bottle and you're done.

It's a simple, yet effective trap. The insect is drawn into the opening by the sweet smell but is unable to find its way back out.

Each trap we have set up in the months of August and Sept have attracted three dozen or more of these flying stinging insects. And the great thing is that they seem to attract wasps and hornets and not bees. I've watched cute little bumble-bees fly on past to our flowers while the hornets climb inside the bottle and are unable to escape.

(Oh, and one last thing -- for best effect, you need to place the "trap" outside -- it works better there -- unless your house is infested and over-run with wasps and hornets like those terrifying scenes in a horror novel or movie -- in which case, don't bother with the traps, listen to that evil moaning voice booming: "Get Out!" in a thundering voice and run like hell as fast as you can out of there . . .)

Little Mr Pizza Man

mark@markleslie.ca (Mark Leslie) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 03:41:24 PDT

This past Saturday, the owner of a local Pizza Pizza franchise that we regularly visit at 833 Upper James (near Mohawk), invited Alexander to come behind the counter and make his own pizza.

Prior to this delightful event, the owner, Ismet, explained to me that he has been doing this for several decades and has a photo album of the various children who have learned the joy and wonder of professional pizza making in his kitchens. Some of whom have gone on to work with him when they grew up.

After a quick tour where Ismet showed us where the dough and ingredients were kept, he and Alexander proceeded to make two small pizza's -- Ismet made one with Alexander and then watched over while Alexander made the second one completely without any help. (The only parts Alexander wasn't able to do were placing the pizzas in the oven and cutting the slices)

The very first step was a lesson in proper hand-washing. (Alexander was delighted that this is a task he is intimately familiar with)

After rolling the dough, they moved onto the spreading of sauce.

Then, a nice layer of cheese.

Some pepperoni.

Don't forget the bacon.

Now, into the oven.

And then eagerly await the finished pizza. (Look at that delighted smile)

And voila. Two beautiful pizza's.

Not only was this an exciting and memorable event for Alexander, but it was also very informative and educational for all of us. We got to learn a few of the tricks that professional pizza makers use when creating their masterpieces as well as little things that you don't think about but are critical in the food service business, like the half dozen different coloured handle pizza cutters that are used for cutting different types of pizza (ie, vegetarian, meat, etc) to prevent cross-contamination for both sanitary and religion reasons.

But this isn't just a cute story of a five year old getting to learn the process of pizza making from a professional.

It's an example of a big-hearted local business owner who went out of his way to make the day of three customers.

I am currently reading Mitch Joel's book SIX PIXELS OF SEPARATION. And while the book is about integrating digital marketing, social media and personal branding into entrepreneurial activities, Mitch regularly comes back to and focuses on the humanity behind it and the in-person touch-points that can result. Ironically, in this great book about the harnessing of the digital environment, it's really all about connecting with people.

And that's what Ismet is doing. He is focusing effort and energy on connecting with people in his community. He didn't have to take the time to share information and skills with a five year old. No, he did it out of kindness and a desire to make someone's day, to give them a cherished experience. (Interestingly, it not only speaks to what Mitch Joel regularly brings it all back to in his wonderful new book, about it being about the connection between people, but it also ties in nicely with the FISH philosophy inspired by the Pike Place Fish Market which includes: Play, Make Their Day, Be There and Choose Your Attitude.)

And one side-effect of this personal touch he added to our lives is the loyalty that he now has now secured in three of his customers.

The next time we decide we're going to get pizza for lunch or dinner, or someone asks us to recommend a local pizza place, where do you think will be top on our minds? The faceless owner of whoever has the best television or radio ad? Or the friendly and neighbourly owner of a local franchise who took the time one afternoon to personally connect with some customers and create a memorable experience?

Da Count - Moose Light Lime

mark@markleslie.ca (Mark Leslie) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 03:44:44 PDT

Some friends just got back from a trip to Eastern Canada. Knowing how eager I was to sample Moosehead's latest offering, a Canadian-brewed version of the lime beer craze, they brought a couple of cases back for me.

I was delighted and sampled my first one last night after waiting several hours for the beer to cool to the proper temperature in my fridge. (That was a really long couple of hours)

Delicious. It has just the right touch of lime flavour. Some of the other brands I have tasted have too strong of a lime taste where you lose out on the actual beer flavour and it tastes more like some sort of vodka cooler. But this one is just right.

Of course, a few hours later, I read some online updates that the product has finally arrived at LCBO locations in Ontario and is in stock in Hamilton. Just a few days ago, I popped into a local LCBO location and was told their computer system did finally list the product and that it was on order (this was good news because just a week earlier it wasn't even in their database)

So now I can go out and purchase Moose Light Lime locally.

But I'm still delighted to have such good friends that they made a point of helping me get this beer, which, looked for the longest time like it might not make it here this summer season. They are awesome and I am absolutely thrilled and lucky to have such great friends. One of the beers that used to be my brand of choice used the line "good friends you can count on" in one of their ad jingles -- it was a great marketing tie-in because that sense of reliable friendship really spoke to me. That sense of friendship still does speak to me. Interesting, since those ads haven't been on the air in close to 20 years.

But now I can sit back, warm with the comfort of knowing I'm so lucky to have great friends, and when these two cases run out, I can enjoy pop over to The Beer Store or LCBO and enjoy two distinct lime beers made by independent Canadian breweries -- Moosehead and Brick.

HNT - Web Cam Double Espresso Book Launch

mark@markleslie.ca (Mark Leslie) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 03:37:06 PDT

It's interesting enough that it's the busiest time of year for a campus bookstore.

But on top of that, we've got a world first going on Friday at Titles Bookstore McMaster University.

It's being called a Double Espresso Book Launch.

S. Minsos, author of Squire Davis and the Crazy River, will be doing a book launch for Spotted Cow Press at the University of Alberta bookstore (the first location in Canada to get an Espresso Book Machine) -- Spotted Cow Press has been an innovator and using the Espresso Book Machine for their publications. Since we have an Espresso Book Machine and the book is of significant local interest to Brantford and area, we'll also have the book availale via our Espresso Book Machine and will be broadcasting the live event at Titles Bookstore at McMaster and offering our customers a chance to ask questions via a live web cam feed back to the U of A.

The historic event takes place Friday September 18th 5 PM Hamilton time (EST) and 3 PM Edmonton time (MST). Anyone excited about the very recent Googl e and Espresso Book Machine / On Demand Books announcement should come check it out to see just how good the books that come out of the machine are.

Yesterday, we spent some time nailing down the technology we'll be using to broadcast between U of Alberta bookstore and the campus bookstore at McMaster. I'm pretty delighted to be offering a live feed between the two locations. Our colleagues at the U of Alberta bookstore are always a delight to work with.

When I was printing some required textbooks late into the night last night and working on my laptop near the Espresso Book Machine, I forgot that my laptop web cam was still on.

Thus the following pic was captured. Do I look overworked, tired and frustrated? Don't worry, I tend to get that look on my face every September.

When I realized the camera was still on, I figured I'd reposition the web cam, grab one of the Minsos books we're launching Friday and pose for a HNT photo.

Then I deleted the few dozen shots of my frustrated look while I was trying to play catch up on emails that had come in throughout the day.

A bit more info about our particular location's launch for this event can be found on the following Facebook event page: Double Espresso Book Launch.

Doing It Right

mark@markleslie.ca (Mark Leslie) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 07:23:12 PDT

[Overheard regularly at Titles Bookstore McMaster University on a daily basis for the past couple of weeks]

Student: "Excuse me, sir. Do you sell this Chemisty textbook on its own?"

Me: "I'm sorry, we only sell it as a package. The textbook on it's own sells for anywhere between $120 and $190."

Student: "Gulp. So how much does this three part package cost?"

Me: "$97.95. You get the hardcover textbook, the paperback solution manual and an interactive software media pack."

Student: "Oh!"

There's a reason the student's reaction is typically a really stunned look or that they eye me suspiciously for a long time and usually back away slowly, careful not to turn their back to me.

It's because by the time they find this package, which is being used in almost all of the first year Chemistry courses being taught at McMaster, they're used to being ripped off. But I think this is a case of an academic institution and a publisher working together and doing it right.

I'll be the first one to admit -- the textbook industry is broken. It's a horrible mess. It's a legacy monopoly environment that keeps spiraling out of control. For the longest time academic publishers sold millions of books because instructors "adopted" them and students had no choice but to buy them. But in the past ten years particularly, sales stopped going up. The price got to a point that students couldn't afford the books and so started looking for other solutions, which include buying used books, using the library, international editions or other illegal methods, or simply opting NOT to purchase the textbook at all.

In fact, unit sales of textbooks have consistently been going downhill for many years now and publishers are spending more and more to try to stay relevant, produce additional value in their course materials and compete with one another for the elusive "textbook adoption" -- but the additional millions upon millions of dollars they are spending to compete with one another is having a negative effect on the textbook price -- it's driving the prices upwards. And thus the frustrating death-spiral.

CCRA (Canadian Campus Retail Associates) stores across Canada launched a great promotion last year called WeirdBlame. With the phrase "Don't blame the bookstore, we didn't pick your roommate either" the site attempts to use humour to help educate frustrated students on where things went wrong.

CCRA and other campus stores are doing their best to work with student groups and publishers on solutions to help fix this broken market. Titles Bookstore at McMaster is a member of many such groups and we are constantly looking for new solutions to these problems before the textbook industry goes the way of the auto industry. The writing should be on the wall -- it's too bad so many intelligent people who DO know how to read aren't seeing it.

But in the meantime, rather than point out the obvious negatives, I wanted to return to spotlighting one particular approach taken done by a faculty at McMaster which I think created a win-win situation for students, the publisher and the bookstore.

Three years ago, the Chemistry Department at McMaster negotiated a deal with Pearson Education Canada. As I understand it, it was done after a lengthy RFP-type plan put out to a number of publishers. But, in a nutshell, McMaster's Chemistry department agreed to "lock in" the same textbook package for the majority of their first year Chemistry classes provided that the publisher whose textbook was chosen locked in the textbook package at a reasonable price.

The result is that first year Chemistry students at McMaster for the past three years have been able to purchase the Petrucci Package for a fantastic and very reasonable price.

The package includes the 9th edition of the Petrucci General Chemistry textbook (which normally retails on its own for between $120 and $190 -- if you don't believe me, check out Amazon's listing for the book, which at the time of me writing this, lists the book for $140 US), plus the paperback Solution Manual (which I've seen listed for between $60 and $90), plus a software Media pack (a kind of interactive "Study Guide" to assist students, which usually retails for under $30 on its own) for the price of $97.95.

I applaud the wonderful efforts made by McMaster's Department of Chemistry as well as the folks at Pearson who made this possible. When I think of the millions of dollars that both parties have helped to save students over the past three years at McMaster it makes me proud to have been a part of it.

But what, business-wise, is the end result?

From the bookstore's perspective, I can tell that in the past three years we have sold thousands upon thousands of units of this package. Having personally unpacked thousands of boxes and broken down dozens of skids of the textbook (that were selling like Cabbage Patch Dolls or the lastest iPhone release from Apple), I have continually witnessed the effect of a reasonably priced textbook package.

And even though our bookstore is admittedly aggressive in the pursuit of used books in order to save students money, and we did sell a lot of used packages for about $73, more than 90% of our sales in this case were for the NEW BOOK PACKAGE.

Simply put, this is a textbook package that the students can easily see the value in and which most are willing to purchase new. (Value is tough to nail because it's weighed on two elusive tiers. On one side, the price needs to be "reasonable" and on the other, the students need to actually use MOST of the material in the book. When both things are true, the students tends to find "value" in their purchase. If you ask the average student to define what a good priced book should be, most are likely to say "it depends" because of these elusive factors -- that is one of the things that makes the business of creating textbooks at a reasonable price so frustrating for publishers. There are no hard numbers to rely on.)

I don't know the figures at Pearson with respect to this package and sales at McMaster, but I'd like to believe that they did okay and actually made some money on this deal. Despite all the arguments I often get into with publishers over outrageous textbook prices, I respect the money they invest into their products and recognize that they are businesses and need to generate a profit in order to stay in business. I just prefer that the profits are made from making smart business decisions and when expenditures aren't placed onto the backs of the students.

So I really would like to believe that Pearson also saw this as a worthwhile return on their investment. I'd like to believe that because I think that THIS is one of many solutions that can help publishers and help students at the same time. And if a publisher can make money while students can spend less and get a good deal, then that's a good thing that can last and break the vicious cycle of what the textbook industry has devolved into.

Since we're at the end of the 3 year commitment for this package at McMaster, I am eagerly awaiting to see what the Chemistry Department does next and which publisher will step up to the plate this time around -- but I truly hope that a similar deal can be struck for the next three years.

For the sake of students and for the sake of the death spiral this industry is so desperately trying to avoid.

A Good Problem For Brick To Have

mark@markleslie.ca (Mark Leslie) — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 04:07:06 PDT

Last week in a rambling blog post about lime beer, I rambled on about how I hate it when the mega-breweries push around the independent, Canadian-owned smaller brewers.

But yesterday, when I went to buy more of the Red Baron Lime beer, I discovered that The Beer Store was out of stock.

While a bit disappointed, I was delighted to learn that local Brick Brewing Co. is doing so well with sales of their locally produced, better priced light lime beer.

Rock on, Brick! Good for you.

I celebrated the fact that they were out of Red Baron Lime by purchasing Brick's Waterloo Dark.

I mean, if I can't get my extra serving of fruit in a beer, then at least I can drink a dark beer which is better for me - right?

Da Count - Project 2,996

mark@markleslie.ca (Mark Leslie) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 03:31:50 PDT

It has been 8 years since September 11, 2001.

For several years now, on the anniversary of the tragic day where 2996 people lost their lives, blogger D. Challenger Roe has headed up Project 2,996 -- an exercise in bringing bloggers together to remember the victims of Sept 11, 2001. The main purpose was for bloggers to take the time to get to know one of the victims and to celebrate and remember their lives rather than focus on the tragedy that befell them that fateful day.

Though I had participated in the past, this year I failed to properly research and celebrate a different person who I hadn't known or researched before who'd been lost that day. But I still believe Project 2,996 is a worthwhile cause and wanted to link back to some of the people who I have remembered in previous years.

In 2006, I remembered Raymond Meisenheimer. Click on his name or picture below to read about Raymond.

In 2007, I remembered Deora Francis Bodley. Click on her name or picture below to read about Deora.

In 2008, I remembered David Reed Gamboa Brandhorst. Click on his name or picture below to read more about David.

This year, as I mentioned, I haven't done the proper research into remembering another person. But I still couldn't let this day pass without spotlighting the people whose lives I learned a little bit about -- enough to remember them and pause to celebrate all those things they were before they were taken away.

So I'm counting the fact that there are bloggers out there like Dale Challenger Roe and the many people who participated in Project 2,996 this year and in previous years. So far there are 1080 tributes assigned this year. I'd like to encourage any bloggers reading this to take the time and either read a few of the existing tributes or perhaps write your own.

What I absolutely love about this project is that it brings bloggers together to celebrate something important -- lives lived; and that it demonstrates the fact that social networking activities like blogging really can bring people together to share and connect. That's definitely something worth counting.