Amazon, Up in Flames

Nancy Pearl, who has done as much to promote reading as anyone this side of Oprah, has been caught in the crossfire here.

Pearl is the Seattle librarian who popularized the notion of having everyone in a city read the same book at the same time. Her “Book Lust” series of volumes recommended thousands of titles. She was Library Journal’s Librarian of the Year in 2011. A superhero action figure was created in her likeness, and a tribute band named after her. There are some books that Ms. Pearl wants people to read that are not in print. Her agent, Victoria Sanders, shopped a rediscovery line to 20 publishers. None were interested. Last month Amazon made a deal with her. And that’s when the furor started. The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association, which just gave Ms. Pearl its lifetime achievement award, described the reaction among its members as “consternation.” In Seattle, it was front-page news. “Betrayal” was a word that got used a lot.

Was Amazon sincerely trying to rescue lost classics or was it cynically buying a local hero’s endorsement to cover up its aggressive tactics? A month later, the debate is unresolved.