Sarah has an interesting post about mass market paperback ghettoization. She writes:

But sometimes, it makes sense for a writer to be published in mass market PBO. Especially if they haven’t been heard from in some time. After the jump, I’ll talk of two writers being re-introduced using a marketing strategy that’s worked well in romance and might prove useful for mysteries as well.

She points to Paul Levine and John Ramsey Miller, among many others, as examples. And while Sarah’s dealing specifically with mysteries, I should point out that if it’s an author’s intention of being read, the mass market paperback route might yield better results than a hardcover or even a TPB — assuming, of course, that a regular audience picking up a book at an airport is the audience. Which begs the question: Is it viable for a literary title (say, a midlister) to be released in mass market paperback format? Might today’s publishers be losing a younger audience by not releasing their hot literary titles in MMP?

Beyond this, the most immediate example of an author using the MMP route that comes to mind is Gregory McDonald, whose Fletch books were released solely in paperback and drew an audience this way. (And in an entirely unrelated note, McDonald used the series format to jump around in sequence. The limitations of Fletch, for example, being in Rio with $3 million forced him to think creatively about Fletch’s aftermath.)

International Herald Tribune: “A statement Friday said that Menezes’ ‘clothing and his behavior at the station added to their suspicions,’ apparently referring to reports that he was wearing a bulky jacket on a summer day.”

Wired:”Cell phones know whom you called and which calls you dodged, but they can also record where you went, how much sleep you got and predict what you’re going to do next….People should not be too concerned about the data trails left by their phone, according to Chris Hoofnagle, associate director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center. ‘The location data and billing records is protected by statute, and carriers are under a duty of confidentiality to protect it,’ Hoofnagle said.”

Shurrrrrrrrrrrrrre, Hoofnagle. And the Patriot Act wasn’t just extended for another ten years. And there’s a bridge in Brooklyn I’d like you to buy.

Slate: “The Kite Runner — Do I really have to read it?”

This article — did you really have to write it?

Salon: “Since 2003, the perception that Bush is ‘warm and friendly’ has dropped from 70 to 57 percent. In that time, the notion that the president is ‘well-informed’ has fallen from 59 to 52 percent. However, 48 percent of the respondents still feel that the president ‘cares about people like me,’ though that number has fallen somewhat.”

I don’t know what’s more hilarious. The fact that Bush can be compared to “warm and friendly” (which, if you’ve ever been involved with voiceover, is the standard catch-all description that a producer will tell you to shift your voice to*) or the fey phrases used to quantify public opinion.

* — Yes, I had a brief career in voiceover. I was even paid professionally for a local FM radio commercial. But when I heard my voice on the radio used to sell a product, I felt as if I had commited adultery and vowed never to do it again. The irony here is that I’ve never been married. But during this brief time of lunch hour auditions and bringing my green apple and water bottle to these recording sessions, every producer would say, “Ed, do warm and friendly!” And it became almost a joke. It was almost as bad as the deep-throated Caucasian male that these producers were looking for and which apparently I could provide.