Anyone Got Any Good Ideas for Barnes & Noble?

William Lynch, the CEO of Barnes & Noble, resigned this week after less than two years on the job, having failed to turn around the earnings of the Last Remaining Book Store by selling color tablets. So, uh... anybody have any other ideas? For making money?
Banning Short Selling Is Dumb
Oh good: due to the general sense of panic afflicting the financial world, European regulators are considering a temporary ban on short selling. This is stupid.
Desperate Pee Song Fails to Get Girl Into Harvard
The hard-hearted dream-destroyers of Harvard's admissions office have spoken: Grace Oberhofer, the Washington teen who became a viral star begging to get off Harvard's waitlist, did not get into Harvard. Instead she will go to Tufts, where she will spend the next four years deflecting "safety school" jokes. […
All Books Must Now Appeal to Cracker Barrel Patrons
Now that Borders is dying, book publishers are collectively asking themselves, "Huh, where do we sell all these stupid books, now?" I mean Barnes & Noble is okay and all, but it's gonna take more shelf space than that to show off all those fancy attractive book covers designed to make people forget they could be…
Woman Wants Sex More Than Man
A Turkish man living in Germany fled to the local police station this week seeking protection from his wife, whose insatiable demands for sex have caused him to sleep on the couch for the past four years. Wacky, wacky stuff.
Now Michael Dukakis Is Giving Advice to the White House
The Democrats' 1988 presidential candidate, Michael Dukakis, who's familiar with a determined GOP attack machine, recently "popped in" to the White House to go over midterm strategy with the president's aides. About time "The Duke" came to the rescue!
Conde Nast Now in the Restaurant Business
When Conde Nast announced early this year that it would be pursuing "brand extensions" to try to scare up some cash, we took it as a joke. But it's all too real! A cafe...named for GQ...in Istanbul? Sure, why not?
Libraries Move To Shopping Malls, Still Can't Compete With Food Court
Libraries are moving into shopping malls in an effort to get Americans to read books.
Boring Airport Book Contract Better Than No Book Contract
Alain de Botton is a respected European writer who was ready to bite the arms off anyone standing in the way of his contract to spend a week sitting in an airport, writing a boring airport book. Writing careers suck.
Harvey Weinstein Is Micro-Marketing the Hell Out of Inglourious Basterds
Harvey Weinstein is so desperate for Inglourious Basterds to succeed that he's flogging tchochkes on a tiny invitation-only web site for millionaires. Keep an eye out—you might just spot him on the street wearing a sandwich board.
The New York Times Is Now a Bodega
The New York Times Co., which you may know from glancing at your local news stand, is now also selling wine. Good wine! Not that cheap shit. Hey buddy, need some wine?
New York Times Will Take Any Damn Ad
Look at this nasty ad for shingles medication. It is featured prominently on the New York Times home page today. Is there no gross ad the Hobo NYT will not display, in exchange for precious money? (Click for full grossness!)
New York Observer Bribes Readers
It's not unheard of for questionnaires to be accompanied by a dollar bill, to encourage recipients at least to open the envelope, and guilt some of them into replying. But the New York Observer is more desperate than that: the weekly newspaper, supposedly for Manhattan's elite, encloses a $5 note in its latest reader…
"Hot" Straight Men Of Book Publishing: The Bottom Of The Barrel
We keep trying to come up with a new word or phrase for "slim pickings." Previously our term of choice has been "skinniest girl at fat camp" but that's not very femiladyist and also, we've said it about twelve too many times. "Shallow bench?" Anyway, this is the last semifinal round of "Hot" Straight Men Of Book…
