Time Warner Unloads Bookspan on Bertelsmann

By Neal 

Although Matthew Karnitschnig leads his WSJ story with the idea that “Bertelsmann AG is betting that in an age of Amazon.com, people still want to purchase books from old-fashioned book clubs,” the actual story behind the $150 million Bookspan buyout would seem to unfold a few grafs later, with the revelation that Time Inc., the former co-owner of the book club cluster, “is under pressure to improve its online operations and has been jettisoning assets outside of its core franchises.” It looks as if Bookspan will become part of Columbia House once the deal is finalized, but rumors that Bertelsmann is obligated to buy four more book clubs over the next two years are unconfirmed at this time.

Though Karnitschnig shows how one of Bookspan’s key components, the Book-of-the-Month Club, is no longer a bargain compared to Amazon or even Wal-Mart, he turns to superagent Larry Kirshbaum to explain why the book club catalogs still matter to discerning consumers: “What you’re getting is editorial selectivity. They cut through a lot of titles and present the ones you should consider.” Karnitschnig contrasts that business model to Amazon, “which offers suggestions for books based on choices that buyers with similar tastes have made, book clubs rely almost exclusively on editors.” That sighing sound you hear is me, recalling the days when I was part of what former colleague James Marcus called “a swat team of eggheads” who performed exactly the “editorial selectivity” Kirshbaum enjoys. You can still spot our reviews of the older books here and there on the website, of course, but apparently nothing beside remains ’round the decay of that colossal wreck. (Oh, shush: I don’t really think Amazon.com’s a colossal wreck, and you know it. I just didn’t feel like using the obvious quote; what’s the fun of a liberal arts education if you can’t use it fifteen years later?)