COSIMO ATTENDS NAIBA CONFERENCE: BOOKS, INDEPENDENT BOOKSTORES AND MUCH MORE

Cosimo table at NAIBA conference

"People don't read anymore. The printed book will be dead!" Well, these statements have been made for many years now, but the facts seem to tell otherwise. According to Nielsen Book Scan, total units of print books in the U.S. sold to outlets reporting to Nielsen, were 635 million in 2014, an increase of 2.4% over 2013 and the best numbers since 2010.

"Bookstores are disappearing, especially the independents." That too seems not to be the case - although I have a hard time finding one in my Manhattan neighborhood -.  A New York Times article earlier this year stated that:  

"...in the U.S. independent bookstores have rebounded strongly from the financial crisis, increasing their numbers by 27 percent since 2009. ......The American Booksellers Association's chief executive, Oren Teicher, said American indie bookshops have filled the vacuum left by big box bookstores like Borders (which went out of business in 2011) and Barnes & Noble (which has closed hundreds of stores). They have also capitalized on a spirit of localism and urban renewal that is coursing through some American cities. “The enthusiasm and optimism is pretty staggering,” Mr. Teicher said. “Despite all the quantum leaps in technology, the fact is nothing beats a physical, bricks-and-mortar store to discover books that you didn’t know about.”

Against this backdrop of revitalized book sales and growing independent bookstores, Cosimo attended this weekend the New Atlantic Book Sellers Association ("NAIBA") Conference in Somerset, New Jersey, a regional trade show that celebrates independent bookselling, Even though....

Interview with Robert Atkinson

The last interview in the reKiosk series is with Robert Atkinson author of Mystic Journey: Getting to the Heart of Your Souls Story. 

Read the full interview here and check out Cosimo's kiosk for more great reads.

Mystic Journey: Getting to the Heart of Your Souls Story
by Robert Atkinson - See more at: http://www.cosimobooks.com/b3747_Mystic-Journey-Getting-to-the-Heart-of-Your-Soul-s-Story-1616407158-9781616407155.htm#sthash.cT5ebOMK.dpuf

Mystic Journey: Getting to the Heart of Your Souls Story
by Robert Atkinson - See more at: http://www.cosimobooks.com/b3747_Mystic-Journey-Getting-to-the-Heart-of-Your-Soul-s-Story-1616407158-9781616407155.htm#sthash.cT5ebOMK.dpuf

Essential Wall Street Summer Reading List

Andrew Ross Sorkin, journalist and financial columnist at the New York Times, has come up with his list of essential readings about Wall Street and business. Although you might not think of it, many of these books are great reads even during the long hot summer days. Let me list his recommendations and add a few of mine to round off your  financial and business "reading education" during this summer:

Bynum's The African Unconscious: Captivating Narrative of Human History

In honor of Black History Month, Cosimo has named The African Unconscious: Roots of Ancient Mysticism and Modern Psychology our February Book of the Month. It was written by award-winning psychologist Edward Bruce Bynum and was originally published over a decade ago. The information and ideas discussed in this book are just as relevant now as they were when the book was first published. 

The African Unconscious offers an exciting and captivating narrative about human history based on archaeology, genetics, and the bio-spiritual roots of religion and science. More importantly, Dr. Bynum posits that humans at their deepest core are variations on the African template. This bold, humanistic view offers a radical new vision of our collective unconscious in its daily and historical operations. Dr. Bynum goes beyond traditional “Eastern” and “Western” perspectives and presents a powerful, unifying and healing vision of our deeper shared consciousness and identity as a human species from our earliest days in Africa on to contemporary times.

Edward Bruce Bynum, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist, Director of the Behavioral Medicine Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Health Services, a Senior Fellow in the Society for Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (BICA), and a Diplomat (ABPP) in the American Psychological Association (APA). Dr. Bynum is the author of numerous books and articles, including five texts in psychology and three poetry books. He has won numerous awards, including the Abraham H. Maslow Award from the APA, and is a student and practitioner of Kundalini Yoga. He is married with two sons and lives with his family in Amherst, Massachusetts.

So, you think you're ready to write a book? (and other writing tips)

Being in the business of publishing, we get a lot of questions from authors and would-be authors about the publishing process, the time it takes from acquisition to publication, ebooks, distribution channels, marketing, and everything in between. These questions are valid and important, but sometimes in the midst of all the excitement of getting a book published and learning about the ins and outs of the publishing business, authors forget about the importance of focusing on their book.

This will be the first in a series of posts offering tips to authors who are curious about the publishing business. I'll not only address all of the usual concerns mentioned above, but also things like query letters, agents, submitting unsolicited manuscripts, finding the right publisher for you, what to expect (and not to expect) from your publisher, and how to focus on the goal for your book. To begin, we'll talk about whether you're even ready to write a book, let alone publish it.

Cosimo’s Classic of the Month: A book from the 19th Century Martha Stewart.

In the interest of spring cleaning Cosimo has chosen a classic that would make Martha Stewart proud: Mrs. Beeton's Cookery Book and Household Guide by Isabella Mary Beeton.  Mrs. Beeton was the 19th century's Martha Stewart, and she is responsible for organizing the rules of domestic life into the first easy-to-follow guide. She was a British writer who caused a sensation in 1861 when she published her guide to proper Victorian housekeeping, known under various unofficial titles, including Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management.

Though you may have your doubts this book is still highly useful today. Beeton's tome is a masterly compendium of practical information, and covers such essential topics as:

• recipes of cooking all manner of meat, fish, vegetable, pudding, and pastry
• hints on the proper arrangement of a functional kitchen
•  ideas for table decorations (including the correct way to fold napkins)
• tips for carving poultry
• charts on the seasons and prices (in the 1800s, of course) of all manner of edibles

This charming replica of the "new and greatly enlarged" 1890 edition features all of the original diagrams, illustrations, menus, lists, and other particulars and minutiae that made this work so beloved in its day, and continues to ensure its popularity today. Organizers, neat freaks, home makers, and Martha Stewart enthusiasts will love this easy to follow guide into Victorian home making.

Review of Understanding Dreams

In Understanding Dreams, Markku Siivola offers a practical, clear, easy-to-follow formula for conducting dream groups according to the Montague Ullman method. The beauty of this method is that it can be applied by anyone prepared to follow it to the letter, and requires no prior knowledge of, or training in, dream theory. Siivola likens a dream to an artwork, a fine sculpture, whose different sides and aspects can be revealed by illuminating it from different angles, until the dreamer receives an emotional connection – an aha – that enlightens his personal understanding of his dream. Siivola is careful to state that the goal is not dream therapy or psychotherapy, but simply that the dreamer reaches an understanding of his dream, though this in itself can be therapeutic for both the dreamer and the dream group participants.

Siivola is at his best in his final chapter where he freely explores and adores the sense of mystery inherent in and beyond dream reality. He draws on physics, quantum physics, biology, brain science, philosophy, metaphysics, spirituality, and art, to entice us toward connecting with the deeper realities of our existence.

-By Jane Teresa Anderson, Dream Therapist, author of Dream Alchemy

Happy First Day of Spring!

This year, in a somewhat refreshing change of pace which can surely be blamed on global warming, winter barely made an appearance before spring began to bloom. It's difficult, I'll admit, to really see fault in the early onset of warm weather, unless it becomes cold again in a few weeks. But we all know it's there. Lurking beneath the sunny warmer days is the cold fact of global warming. It's upon us and there's nothing we can do to stop it. There are, however, things we could do to prevent an overall worsening. Some things are simple and can be done on an individual basis. Other things will require a more global movement and awareness, which will take time. So while you may be basking in the wonderful rays of the warm sun on this glorious day, consider the small ways you could change your lifestyle/routine to help the planet. Visit Green Living Tips to find out more.

Maybe you're already committed to helping the planet. Maybe you've already done a great deal to change your lifestyle so that everything, or most everything, you do is as green as it possibly can be. Ready to do more? Yeah? Check out Earth Fever: Living Consciously with Climate Change. This book touches on more than climate change and living green. It's a book filled with solutions for global warming, lifestyle change, and soul searching. It is a comprehensive look at how you can better your life and better the planet all in one journey.

Saint Patrick's Day, more than just a break from lent

Saturday is Saint Patrick’s Day. A day that has become associated with leprechauns, beer, and corned beef, is really a celebration of Saint Patrick who was responsible for bringing Christianity to Ireland. His technique of using the Shamrock to describe the Holy Trinity is well-known and one of the reasons he was chosen as the Patron Saint of Ireland. 

Saint Patrick’s Day is traditionally celebrated with a church service in the morning, the color green, and an Irish Feast. Many countries now celebrate this holiday and each has their own way of doing so. Ireland has a five day festival that includes parades. Argentina holds an all night party and those in attendance drink nothing but beer. Canada celebrates with one of the longest running St. Patrick’s Day parades in North America. Even Japan celebrates this day with some parades and fun. The United States celebrates with the typical feast, drinking, green adorned celebrations, and of course parades. 

While all these celebrations are great in their own way, they all are focused on one thing: celebrating Saint Patrick, a man who many know very little about. If you’re an avid St. Patrick’s Day celebrator, then perhaps this year you’d like to know a little about the man you’re celebrating. Read The Life of St. Patrick and His Place in History by J.B. Bury to find out more about this fascinating saint who is more widely celebrated than any other saint.

March's Book of the Month Falls in Line with National Reading Month and Women's History Month

March is women’s history month and national reading month. Combining both of those themes, Cosimo picked The Power of Yin, Celebrating Female Consciousness by Hazel Henderson, Barbara Marx Hubbard, and Jean Houston. When three of the most influential feminist philosophers of the 1970s meet over two weekends to discuss the challenges facing society in the late 20th century, it’s an event that should be documented. Their revelatory, inspiring conversations were reproduced into a fresh and relevant book.  This book has an uplifting spiritual perspective on the human experience and uniquely feminine approach to interacting with the universe, which fit perfectly into this month’s overall celebrations. 

The Power of Yin is more than a brilliant conversation. It is an invitation to women and men everywhere to express their own genius and empower their highest values and goals, to seek out others who attract them in this quest for personal development, to form ever deeper friendships, and to join together in spirit and in action to help evolve the human community on planet Earth. 

HAZEL HENDERSON is a world-renowned futurist, evolutionary economist, and consultant on sustainable development. JEAN HOUSTON is advisor to UNICEF in human and cultural development, and a principal founder of the Human Potential Movement. BARBARA MARX HUBBARD is president of the Foundation for Conscious Evolution and a cofounder of Washington D.C.'s Committee for the Future.

Cosimo's Book of the Month, African Unconscious, Relevant for Black History

The African Unconscious: Roots of Ancient Mysticism and Modern Psychology by award-winning psychologist Edward Bruce Bynum was originally published over a decade ago. The information and ideas discussed in this book are just as relevant now as they were when the book was first published. Now Cosimo is bringing this monumental book back to the public with a fresh cover.

The African Unconscious offers an exciting and captivating narrative about human history based on archaeology, genetics, and the bio-spiritual roots of religion and science. More importantly, Dr. Bynum posits that humans at their deepest core are variations on the African template. This bold, humanistic view offers a radical new vision of our collective unconscious in its daily and historical operations. Dr. Bynum goes beyond traditional “Eastern’ and “Western” perspectives and presents a powerful, unifying and healing vision of our deeper shared consciousness and identity as a human species from our earliest days in Africa on to contemporary times.


Edward Bruce Bynum, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist, Director of the Behavioral Medicine Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Health Services, a Senior Fellow in the Society for Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (BICA), and a Diplomat (ABPP) in the American Psychological Association (APA). Dr. Bynum is the author of numerous books and articles, including five texts in psychology and three poetry books. He has won numerous awards, including the Abraham H. Maslow Award from the APA, and is a student and practitioner of Kundalini Yoga. He is married with two sons and lives with his family in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Valentine’s Day and Its Effect on the Economy

Hazel Henderson, co-author of The Power of Yin, Celebrating Female Consciousness and foreword writer for Dare to Care: A Love-Based Foundation for Money and Finance and Earth Fever: Living Consciously with Climate Change , is quoted in an interesting article about the evolution of Valentine’s Day and the effects it has on the economy.

The article, Love, marriage and Valentine's Day, looks at the development of Valentine’s Day and how it came to be a commercial holiday. This can be traced back to when marriage stopped being about money, wealth, and status and started to be more about love. The article is informative, well researched and looks at the past as well as into the future. Whether you have romantic plans or not, this is an interesting article about the development of Valentine’s day and what it does for our currently sinking economy. Read the article here.