Amazon and Wal-Mart are engaging in a price war for some “highly anticipated hardback titles” with prices at both retailers dropping below $10.00. Wal-Mart is also offering free shipping.

For the details, see Book wars! Wal-Mart, Amazon slash costs from MSNBC and Book price war: Wal-Mart vs. Amazon.com from ABC.

I ran across these links on Friday’s Publib list digest. Here’s a link to the thread.

Especially interesting were the stock price reactions for not just Wal-Mart (up) and Amazon (down slightly), but also for Borders (down) and Barnes & Noble (down), both of which seem unlikely to be able to compete with the two behemoths.

Commented Margaret Neill, a librarian from Los Cruces, New Mexico:

And libraries have dropped their prices even lower! 🙂

How true! Trust a librarian to put things into their proper perspective!

Time

What is time?  It can be a short time, a long time, an easy time, or a hard time, but for an inmate it can also be a slow time.  Time seems to pass slower in prison, for many a day can seem like a week or a month.  Years don’t fly by in prison, they crawl and it can truly feel like an eternity.  Books help the time pass and let you forget where you are for a while.

Reading

Reading takes on a new meaning for some inmates as they try to keep in touch with their children. Many of the inmates will try to read the same books that their children are reading at home. Currently one father is reading the Monster Manor series by Paul Martin, trying to stay one book ahead of his daughter. Not only does it give him something to talk about with his daughter, but the experience is even more valuable. By showing an interest in something his daughter enjoys and being able to discuss it with her, shows a great amount of respect for her. This will help him build a lasting relationship even while incarcerated. Reading is a joy, but sometimes reading for others provides so much more.

The following is a comment made by an inmate at the Washington Corrections Center for Women:

“I am 40 years old and I have read more in the 2 months I have been here @ WCCW than I have my entire life I tell my Daughter the Books I check out and she goes and checks out the same book and we read the Book together and talk about it. the Library not only helps me but it is Helping my Daughter with her reading ability this is something we plan to continue even after my release Thank you you are all a wonderful treasure. My Daughter is only 12 but is now reading at Adult level.”