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The shameful business model of Wilder Publications

Last week I ordered Cold Comfort Farm, by Stella Gibbons, from barnesandnoble.com. The edition I purchased came from Wilder Publications. I didn’t do any due diligence, in part because this is Barnes & Noble, right? I should have known better, since barnesandnoble.com is a related company but is not the bookstore chain. The edition arrived, a 50- or so page booklet that was a crude summary of a classic novel. It was chopped up and Read more…

By Patrice Sarath, ago

Jane Austen’s aunt tried for shoplifting

“In 1800, Jane Austen’s aunt, Jane Leigh Perrot, was tried for stealing a card of white lace from a milliner’s in Bath. She was wealthy and well connected. In her defense she explained, ‘Placed in a situation the most eligible that any woman could desire, with supplies so ample that I was left rich after every wish was gratified; blessed in the affections of the most generous man as a husband, what could induce me Read more…

By Patrice Sarath, ago

The riding life

Despite the billion-degree heat, I’ve continued my riding lessons. I’ve switched over to Western for a couple of reasons. I wasn’t progressing with my English lessons, and in fact I was getting worse. I was also intrigued by the “new” Western riding style, which borrows elements from both disciplines. And after seeing the documentary “Buck,” and that awesome and elegant series of side-passes that Buck performed on his trusty horse, I realized that all of Read more…

By Patrice Sarath, ago