Martin Ke, who works for Hong Kong’s Jecomtech, which sells the Onyx Boox, a Chinese e-book reader, was quoted in the July 21st New York Times:

Some books, like beautiful design books, are still nicer in print. But I think e-books are going to grow. They’re convenient, they’re portable, and, some say, they are more environmentally friendly.

Are e-books “more environmentally friendly”?  In the July 20th Wall Street Journal,
Amazon.com is quoted as claiming that their Kindle e-book reader is outselling hardbacks, one wonders about the impact of so many new electronic gadgets being produced, money changing hands for Internet fees and e-book purchases, and the amount of electricity needed to power all of these ever-increasing e-book readers. Then there is the toll on the eyes of the readers glued to pixels for hours rather than focusing on a more natural paper page.

What do you think about this new electronic revolution?

José Saramago (b. 1922) was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1998. That very same year, Lisbon was hosting the World Expo, and the Frankfurt Book Fair was hosting Portugal as the Guest of Honor.

Many authors were present for the occasion. Little did anyone know that a soon-to-be Nobel Prizewinner was among them.

Peter Weidhaas tells the story this way in See You in Frankfurt:

More than 40 Portuguese writers came to Frankfurt to present their work, and we intentionally included the Portuguese language authors from Africa and the Americas among them. There were lectures about Portuguese film and screenings of such films, translator workshops sponsored by the Gulbenkian Foundation with poets like Luís Filipe Castro Mendes, Fiama Hasse Pais Brandão, Fernando Pinto do Amaral, all whose very names seem poetic. And of course there were exhibitions on Fernando Pessoa and on topics like “Portuguese as a World Language.” These latter included José Eduardo Agualusa from Angola, Germano Almeida from Cape Verde Islands, Mia Couto from Mozambique, Teolinda Gersão from Portugal, and João Ubaldo Ribeiro from Brazil. The most popular and most heavily attended were the purely literary discussions, such as the roundtables led by Curt Meyer-Clason on Portugal—“Poetic Reflections of a Country” with Pedro Tamen, Fiama Hasse Pais Brandão and Manuel Alegre; then, moderated by Ralph Roger Glöckler, the reading of “Place and Country” with Mário de Carvalho and José Riço Direitinho. There was the introductory theme, “Lisbon—A Literary Portrait,” a reading and discussion with Lidia Jorge, João de Melo, Maria Velho da Costa, and moderated by Wilfried F. Schoeller. There was a reading as though in dialogue, led by Ray-Güde Mertin, of “Paths of the Contemporary Novel,” as trod by Agustina Bessa-Luís, Almeida Faria, José Saramago and Maria Velho da Costa.

José Saramago was already on the way to the airport when the news reached us that he had won the Nobel Prize for literature that year. We sent someone chasing after him and his wife, who were intending to fly home, and were able to catch them just before check-in. He returned to the Fair. We improvised a press conference, which was heavily attended by the world press and many international television groups, all wanting to interview the new Nobel Prize winner. In the evening this writer and everyone interested in Portuguese literature celebrated this extraordinary event with great gusto. This was a fabulous conclusion to the Portuguese guest country program at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

Read more from the BBC: Nobel-winning author Jose Saramago dies at 87

You need a LinkedIn account to take part, but with that you can join the Frankfurt Book Fair group to follow discussions, news, and connect up with other Book Fair-goers. Your membership will even show up in your LinkedIn profile. It’s a great way to show your support for the Frankfurt Book Fair!

And while you are here, we welcome you to come visit Locus Publishing (#3571) to get a preview of Peter Weidhaas’s memoirs and other new releases.

From the Shanghai Daily :

BRAZIL yesterday appointed Paulo Coelho, the author of one of the world’s most read novels, “The Alchemist,” as ambassador of the country’s pavilion at the World Expo 2010. [read more]

Coelho’s The Alchemist appeared world-wide in 1988, and has gone on to sell some 30 million copies in more than 67 languages.

In 1994, Brazil was invited to be the Guest of Honor at the Frankfurt Book Fair. The novels of Paulo Coelho were among the most memorable and celebrated of that thematic year.

You can read more about Brazil and other Guest Countries at the Book Fair in Peter Weidhaas’s upcoming memoir, See You in Frankfurt!

The World Expo 2010 will be held in Shanghai May 1–October 31, 2010.

The Publishing Perspectives news site has more background on this story about the Frankfurt Book Fair’s China Symposium.

At the 20th Frankfurt Book Fair, my first Book Fair as part of the organizational team, I participated only as an observer. As a new colleague in the exhibition department, I was not directly involved in the work of the Fair, though here and there I did my part with smaller tasks and errands. I could therefore look at the events on the fairgrounds with a certain cool composure.

It was quite the opposite for Sigfred Taubert, who despite all declarations to the contrary was deeply affected in his self-understanding as director of the Fair, something which in my opinion a few years later factored into his decision to take an early retirement.

Please read the rest at Locus International website…

Chapter 6: Going Home Again

They say that life moves forward in seven-year segments.

My childhood, the period from birth to age 7, 1938 to 1945, I can call nothing other than “happy.” The war seemed to be an adventure. Thanks to my parents’ care, I didn’t suffer any need. The bomb attacks on Berlin up until 1942 were exciting events for a young boy, who several times stood alongside the shelter supervisor at the door of the air-raid shelter to get a good look at the lights from the so-called “Christmas trees,” artificial illumination that was dropped to light up the bombing targets.

Read the rest of this story at Locus International website…