Throwing The Book At Book Thieves – Texas Style

Poor Jory Enck! He borrowed a GED study guide in 2010. He got it at the Central Texas community of Copperas Cove located about 70 miles northwest of Austin.

In September 2013, a new law came into effect that defines the failure to return library books as thef, which is a felony. The new law makes sense; non-returning of library books drains recourses. In Texas alone, the libraries loose an estimated $18 million in “lost” books (around 1 million items). Since many communities have to deal with shrinking budgets and rising costs, they are looking for ways to have their library items returned in time.

The Texas procedure is as follows. Any library item that is not returned within 20 days carries a fine of $200. If this fine is not paid in time, a warrant will be issued by the municipal court for theft.

That’s what happened to Mr. Enck. The police went to his address due to a reported disturbance. Once they arrived, they arrested based on a previous warrant for theft of the study guide. He was promptly arrested for theft since he failed to return his overdue library book.

Mr. Enck was released on a $200 bond, and returned the book in question to library. He also turned to the media to state that he wouldn't set foot in a library again.

He also said: "I think I will probably just purchase a book from Amazon."

Mr. Eck forgot to mention that he had not been able to return the guide earlier since he had to serve a three-year prison sentence for robbery.

Texas is not the only state cracking down on people like Mr. Enck. Iowa jails this kind of offenders for one week. A man from Newton (Iowa) served jail time of more than a week for not returning six CDs and eleven library books with a total worth of a whopping $770. Vermont and Maine are also cracking down people that don’t return their library items.

The Enck incident is for now an oddity. However, it could happen far more frequently in the (near) future, especially since after such an arrest, long overdue library items are suddenly returned.

So what do you think? Are libraries (and the government) correct to crack down on people like Jory Enck to preserve their assets?

Sales of Pippa Middleton's Party-planning Book Fall Flat

Pippa Middleton penned a party-planning book “Celebrate: AYear of British Festivities For Families And Friends”. The book only ranked #177 on the Amazon best-selling book list.

Publisher Penguin invested heavily in publicity and paid a whopping £400,000 in advance to Ms. Middleton the Younger.

To boost sales, Penguin discounted the book from £25 to £12.50. Up till now, it only sold around 2,000 copies in its first week.

On Amazon's US list, the book ranked #303 in the book charts.

At the launch of her book, PM stated: "I just feel really fortunate to be able to build a career as a writer."

Not everybody agrees that she is a writer. Critics deemed her 416-page book to be “banal”.

One reviewer wrote: "You would think, with the amount of PR and media interest in the author of this book that she might have written her book carefully, or perhaps even taken some expert advice.”

"For reasons best known to Miss Middleton, she has traveled the globe, shamelessly promoting an unbelievable pile of rubbish. The book is uninspiring, verging on insulting."

On the bright side, she is in good company. Many big names have flopped with books before. Alec Baldwin’s book “A Promise to Ourselves:a Journey through Fatherhood” only sold 12 copies, raking in the grand total of £175.01.

Note to all writers: if possible, make sure that you get that book advance in full!