Andy Unedited – Page 47 – Exploring Books, Life, and Writing

Following the Wise Men

Gift giving at Christmas is a wonderful tradition which comes to us from the wise men. They visited Jesus, and gave him gifts that honored and recognized him as king. When we give gifts to show our love and respect for each other, we follow their path.

Yet gift giving can be difficult–and not necessarily because we lack generosity. Sometimes it’s simply hard to know what to give. When so many of us are awash in material goods, it is a challenge because it seems everyone has everything.
Continue reading “Following the Wise Men”

The Obvious Solution for Publishers

Publishing faces unprecedented challenges these days, with the decline of bookstores and the rise of the Internet and ebooks. The ultimate difficulty may, in fact, be the digital dilemma.

Music, videos and news have been digitized, and which has sent those industries into chaos. And all sorts of other information have been digitized and liberated on the Internet for the greater good of the planet–at the ability of content providers to make a living, which ultimately has a negative effect on new content produced and so a negative effect on the planet. But I digress.

What is a publisher to do?
Continue reading “The Obvious Solution for Publishers”

Mr. Manners Speaks (or Doesn’t)

Okay, listen up, people. And I don’t just mean you twenty-something-Generation X-Y types either. I’m talking heavy-duty, born in the ’40s and ’50s Boomer Bambinos too.

You’re at a meal with others. Enjoying good food and good conversation. Your cell phone, smart phone, pad, pod or doodad rings, beeps, chimes, vibrates, intones or otherwise comes to life. What do you do?

A. Answer the phone and chat it up while your friends keep eating and talking.

B. Don’t answer the phone and let it ring out.

C. Get up from the table, withdraw to a secure location, and answer the phone.

The correct answer is not ever A. I’m talking (well, actually you are the one talking) mega-rudeness, galactic vulgarity, whacked-out boorish behavior.

Answers B and C are completely acceptable. A? Never!

All right. I’m done now with my very polite rant.

“I Complained to God” (Outliers 3)

Malcolm Gladwell, as I’ve noted in previous blogs here and here, makes the case in his book Outliers that success is not totally the result of individual initiative or ability. It is inextricably wrapped up in our background and historical circumstances. This doesn’t mean that individual responsibility is a myth.
Continue reading ““I Complained to God” (Outliers 3)”

Why Did Malcolm Succeed? (Outliers 2)

Why did Malcolm Gladwell succeed? Is he a self-made bestselling writer? Is his story different than the story of why some succeed and others don’t that we looked at in my previous blog about Gladwell’s book Outliers? Does he have none to thank except his own hard work and native talent? In the epilogue to his book, he offers an answer.
Continue reading “Why Did Malcolm Succeed? (Outliers 2)”

IVP Acquires Biblica Books

InterVarsity Press has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Biblica Books, the book-publishing arm of Biblica Worldwide. In the acquisition, which is expected to close by the end of the calendar year, IVP will obtain 170 current Biblica Books titles, as well as nearly 30 forthcoming books. This includes Operation World, the definitive global prayer guide that’s now in its seventh edition.
Continue reading “IVP Acquires Biblica Books”

John Stott Memorial

Since his death on July 27, more than two dozen memorial services have been held for John Stott on every continent, in such places as Addis Ababa, Auckland, Delhi, Hong Kong, Lima, Manila, Singapore and Vancouver. On November 11, a memorial was held in the United States at College Church, Wheaton, Illinois.
Continue reading “John Stott Memorial”

The Myth of the Self-Made Man–or Woman (Outliers 1)

Why do some people succeed and others don’t? Is it luck? Is it pluck? Is it talent the size of a truck?

That’s the question Malcolm Gladwell sets himself to in Outliers. The answer he finds is, often, none of these. To make his point, Gladwell compares Christopher Langan to Robert Oppenheimer.
Continue reading “The Myth of the Self-Made Man–or Woman (Outliers 1)”

HarperCollins Buys Nelson

The publishing world, and particularly the Christian publishing world, is abuzz because of the announcement today that HarperCollins (the third largest trade publisher in the United States) has purchased Thomas Nelson (which claims to be the seventh largest trade publisher). With Zondervan

and HarperOne already under the umbrella of HarperCollins (which itself is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.), half of all Christian trade publishing will be in the hands of a single entity.

What does it mean?
Continue reading “HarperCollins Buys Nelson”

The Pulitzer Legacy

One of Hungary’s great gifts to the United States was Joseph Pulitzer, founder of the Columbia School of Journalism and the Pulitzer Prize. On October 29 we mark the 100th anniversary of his death.
Continue reading “The Pulitzer Legacy”