long tail?

Two weeks knee-deep in the 1600s, and last week hip-deep in other people's books.

I was helping with the United Way booksale at the university Student Union Building, and a right object lesson in humility for fiction writers it was.
See, it turns out that the hardest category to sell, even for $2 a pop is ...

Hardcover fiction.

Doesn't matter which genre. We had stacks of mysteries, thrillers, romance, Canlit, bildungsroman, small-town angst, wry slackers, picaresque, in shiny clean dustjackets and shabby library brodarts, sitting there yearningly like unattractive Babylonian women in that Herodotus story.
In the meantime, nonfiction, maps, and mass-market paperbacks were trundling steadily out the door.
Sarah the amazing co-op student and I made up gift baskets of thrillers, mysteries and romances with props like martini glasses, teacups, teabags and candles, in hopes of moving a few more, but even this did little to thin the ranks.

I took pity and took a few home at sale's end. For Christmas presents, of course.
Really. I'm not adding more books to my library when I should be weeding. Of course I'm not.

Japan benefit reading

Most of interest to those on the BC Lower Mainland, so I can't myself attend, but just in case anyone reading this blog has the chance, here's the info:

*Japan Earthquake Benefit *

***Friends Across the Pacific: An Evening of Readings & Performances**

Join us in supporting relief efforts in Japan. The BC Japan Earthquake Fund and the Asian Canadian Studies Society invites you to an evening of poetry, fiction, and performance, with some of Vancouver's finest writers:

Daphne Marlatt, Joanne Arnott, Proma Tagore, Roy Miki, Lydia Kwa, Hiromi Goto, Fred Wah, and more!

Thursday, March 31, 2011, 8pm. Doors open at 7:30pm

VIVO Media Arts Centre, 1965 Main Street, Vancouver

By donation. All donations will go to the Canadian Red Cross through the BC-Japan Earthquake Relief Fund.

** All welcome. Must be 19 years of age or older to purchase alcohol. ID required.**

The BC Japan Earthquake Relief Fund (BC-JERF) is a coalition of volunteers; we are individuals, community groups and businesses concerned for the well-being of the people in Japan in the wake of the recent earthquake, tsunami, and unfolding nuclear threats. Our purpose is to vet and act as an organizational hub for BC communities' fundraising efforts and to facilitate the delivery of this financial aid to the affected people in Japan. Funds raised through BC-JERF-endorsed campaigns and events will be donated in full to reputable charities operating on the ground in Japan, such as the Japanese Red Cross.

Community Partners: VIVO Media Arts Centre, Powell Street Festival Society and Vancouver International Centre for Contemporary Asian Art.

For more information contact: Julia Aoki, Communications Coordinator at julia@bc-jerf.ca