The complete set of seven Harry Potter “deluxe” first editions signed by J. K. Rowling sold at Cameo Fine Art Auctioneers in Midgham, Berkshire for £17,800. The Illustrated hard covers were in near fine condition, signed, but without dedication, went to an anonymous overseas buyer. Apparently the lots were not true first editions, but the first in Bloomsbury’s ‘deluxe’ series, but still, £17,800 is not a bad figure for the seller, and one wonders what the price the books would fetch if they were first editions.

Alastair Harper writes on the Guardian blog that in a recent meeting with fellow bloggers they bemoaned the reduction in pages given to broadsheet book reviews as a result of the expansion of blogging. He points out that there is a culture among modern newspaper reviews that prevents people writing as they would like, and a real tendency not to be too rude about anything reviewed in the papers.

He also writes that the answer isn’t to read an Amazon review that might rate a book a 1 star based on it’s cover design, and cares little for reading blog reviews since he isn’t interested in the canapé taster approach of reviews of books. He simply believes part of that experience is finding out if a book works or not.

He concludes “Reading is a personal act. It’s rare for friends to share the same bag of favourite authors; and, indeed, it would be depressing if they did so. Part of loving books is wandering shops or libraries, reading the anecdotes of other writers on books that changed their world, stalking the bookshelves of friends when they’re looking the other way, and finally coming back home, opening the book and finding it a piece of trash. Or, as the case may be, a treasure.”

BookRabbit.com’s philosophy is mirrored in a study by Scholastic out June 11, 2008, they report that two-thirds of kids age 9-17 who go online have extended the reading experience via the Internet. These online reading extenders say they learn what other people think about a book, learn new things about an author and connect with other readers. Also kids and teens aged 5-17 agree with the statement; “No matter what I can do online, I’ll always want to read books printed on paper,” and 62% of them surveyed say they prefer to read books printed on paper rather than on a computer or handheld device.

The 2008 Kids & Family Reading Report™

(conducted by Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, and TSC, a division of Yankelovich, a leader in consumer trends research), also found that those who go online to extend the reading experience, by going to book or author websites or connecting with other readers - are more likely to read books for fun everyday. (Connecting with other readers is what BookRabbit.com is all about)

Heather Carter, Director of Corporate Research said “Despite the fact that after age eight, more children go online daily than read for fun daily, high frequency Internet users are more likely to read books for fun every day. That suggests that parents and teachers can tap into kids’ interest in going online to spark a greater interest in reading books”

“Kids are very forward-thinking about ways technology can complement book reading,” said Kristen Harmeling, Senior Researcher at Yankelovich. “They envision a time when most books are read digitally and when they can tag and share parts of books with other people online, making online reading a gateway to social activities; yet they still want printed books.”

One of the key reasons kids say they don’t read more often is that they have trouble finding books they like – a challenge that parents underestimate. Kids who struggle to find books they like, are far less likely to read for fun daily or even twice a week. Parents are a key source of book suggestions for their children, but nearly half of all parents say they have a hard time finding information about books their child would enjoy reading, and especially parents of teens age 15-17 (62%)

BookRabbit provides that solution, only it works for adults too

I’m very excited to let you know that we have got our hands on a great selection of signed editions including a Philip Pullman and the new David Lodge. You can have a look at the full selection at:

http://www.bookrabbit.com/catalogue/browsecategory/categoryid/1239/Signed-And-Special-Editions

We also have a small number of Nick Harkaway’s ‘Gone Away World’ which is a beautiful book in a custom slipcase, it is a signed first edition of 1,000 copies. We’re expecting it to get some real buzz over the next few weeks so snap up your copy now.

http://www.bookrabbit.com/catalogue/detail/bookid/4877045/The-Gone-Away-World-Signed-Limited-Edition-Only-1000-copies-in-print-

Quick before they sell out, first come first served of course!