Sammy Younan

Championship Ignorance

Sometimes you know something yet you really don’t know something.

In the NBA the Championship Trophy is called the Larry O’Brien. Right? Common knowledge.

It’s named after commissioner Larry O’Brien who expanded and fortified the NBA from 1975 to 1984: just as Jordan was coming in and David Stern was taking over.

I believe most people know that.

What I just clued in was that’s the same Larry O’Brien who had an office in the Watergate complex: it was broken into on June 17, 1972 which ultimately led to the resignation of President Nixon. Yeah!

The penny finally dropped reading Pete Croatto’s fascinating NBA book: From Hang Time to Prime Time: Business, Entertainment, and the Birth of the Modern-Day NBA.

I dunno why I’ve been pantslessly wandering this earth thinking those were 2 different Larry O’Briens.

Sometimes you know something yet you really don’t know something. And knowing is half the battle.

-28-

Literary world overwhelmed by 600 books to be published on one day

This sounds like a problem but it really isn’t: it’s a non-issue. The numbers doesn’t matter. If 100 books comes out which sounds more manageable and they don’t fit the bookstore or the bookstore’s readers: it’s an easy call.

Books like all of pop culture should be heavily curated: let readers, bookstores and anybody else involved choose. Marketing for books is always gonna be hard because they require the hardest audience commitment.

It’s easy to listen to a 3 minute pop song…a movie is 2 hours tops and knowing the actors/directors makes it easy. Most people got time for music and can make time for movies…books start to thin out the herd.

Are lots of quality books and hard working authors gonna fall through the cracks? Yeah. But that happens all the time.

Which goes back to curators. May the best ones have a large platform and an influential distinct voice.

~ Sammmy Younan

How to open a bookstore during a pandemic: Prepare for delays and lots of cleaning.

“Sales have been strong, particularly considering how much smaller the store is compared to our [Union Square] location.” The pandemic has taught us to be humble and to deepen our appreciation for our institutions.

This is an encouraging sign…a long as people continue to invest in books and just as importantly continue to read books we have a fighting chance. To survive; to build; to dream and to hope.

There’s power in pages.

~ Sammy Younan

If you’re Canadian…eh you can enjoy The Booksellers on CBC Gem.

It’s a documentary all “about” New York’s rare book world.

If ya can’t go to bookstores then bring bookstores to you via CBC Docs!

My fav moment is the Library of the History of Human Imagination! I mean look at this place…give me a strong cup of tea and a gloomy rainy day please and thank you!

~ Sammy Younan

Bela Lugosi’s Iconic Dracula Returns In Legendary Comics’ New Graphic Novel

“Bela Lugosi, who was best known for his iconic take on Count Dracula in the 1931 film, will posthumously reprise his role as the vampire for the upcoming graphic novel, Dracula, from Legendary Comics.

Unfortunately “the comic will be an adaptation of Bram Stoker’s original 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula, with art by El Garing.” Would be cool if it was a whole new story you know?

Dracula goes on sale on Oct. 6 from Legendary Comics.

~ Sammy Younan

How the Publisher of Simon & Schuster Gets It Done

“I pray on things, I get a lot of opinions, and then I try — and this is the most difficult part — to hone in on my voice. Once I make a decision, I don’t believe in looking back — and I have no regrets in my career.“

Pretty much. You can doubt your path; you can doubt your choices but never ever doubt your skills. Social media sharing of anxiety is boring.

~ Sammy Younan

The Library Is A Hell Of A Drug

After months of being separated, the Library and I reunited. And it feels so good. Cause we understood.

Only now the experience is like a cop TV show/Colombian cartel movie drug deal.

At the appointed date and time—you get a time and a date when the deal is going down. When your shipment has come in.

I step up to the table, make eye contact and wordlessly place my library card on the table and take 2 steps back.

She takes 2 steps forward, looks down at my card and she looks up at me: scanning. I’m not carrying a wire or heat: either a gun or coronavirus fever.

She nods. I nod back.

We good. She has the stuff and is willing to give it to me. Which is a deep relief because I’ve been jonesing since I quit cold turkey back in mid-March.

I step up to the table, make eye contact, and wordlessly place my library card on the table and take 2 steps back making eye contact the entire time.

It’s not said but I know: Make. No. Sudden. Movements.

I’m nervous. I wanna make a “joke” to evict the tension. I can feel a drop of sweat slowly sliding down my back like a lover’s gentle one finger caress.

I take two steps forward maintaining eye contact, in one sweeping motion grab the bag and grab the card turn and walk briskly to my car. In the car, I tear open the bag and yep…that’s the stuff.

Smells so good. I exhale. I didn’t realize I was holding my breath this whole time. I start the car thinking this should tide me over but the Library and I know…that’s not true. I’ll be back.

They got the stuff I want.

-28-

New Book Alert: April 13-17, 2020

Sammy Younan

Girth Radio Presents…

My weekly collection of new and notable books for your pop culture pleasure and edification: #ReadMoreTweetLess.

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Morning Tea: Net Neutrality

The media tends to do an awful job with complex issues like Net Neutrality. (Technically the media sucks at most complex issues: fools’ strong Twitter opinions ain’t much better. There’s gotta be lots of context and nuance and clear thinking.).

Useful? Check out the book: After Net Neutrality: A New Deal for the Digital Age by David Elliot Berman and Victor Pickard. It’s short but packed. I’m always on the hunt for concise and context and clarity. I hafta understand the issues and what solutions are possible before I can get upset.

Lotta media on this issue is like eating McDonalds it just makes me sick not informed or fulfilled. Frustrating.