New Books.

[keepturningleft 588]

Speedway books, like the sport, are dying and you will see fewer and fewer published in printed form in the future (although we are in the process of converting more of our previously sold-out printed books to eBook format, which cost nothing but our time and effort).

 

From experience, I can unfortunately confirm that sales are decreasing along with the potential market - and I'm not just talking about the retro sector in which we dominate. Who was the last current or ex-GP rider to bring out a book or have one published in his name? Jason Crump some 10 years ago? That tells you a lot about the viability and demand for speedway books targeted at any generation.

 

There are a number of reasons for this, apart from the blindingly obvious that the sport itself is imploding and support in general is dwindling. Social media is becoming an increasing factor, as people spend more and more of their spare time posting and browsing on Facebook, Twitter and online forums such as this one. It seems they don't have much time left to read books. Facebook, in particular, is a free and easy way for fans to get their speedway fix, especially for those who have seen their income significantly cut in recent months and years.

 

Relatively small print runs of books tailored to a very niche market are becoming increasingly costly to produce and generate little or no profit in return for the risk and effort involved.

 

Often, the ones that do make it into print nowadays are a labour of love.

There are, of course, the books from from Jeff Scott which are probably the only books about contemporary speedway.

 

How well do the books by John Chaplin and Philip Dalling, do??

[a4poster 82]

Going off on a slight tangent from this topic, do you think the collapse of the sports market could be that many "Stars" bring out books after gaining five minutes of stardom instead of sitting down at the end of the career to write there memoirs?

[teaboy279 1,038]

I used to get sports books at Christmas from various people but that seems to have stopped many still unread if I am honest and I ve struggled to give them away too.

But I would say I am actually more likely to read riders biographys now more then ever. The Internet is great for information, it's just whether it's the correct information. Hearing first hand from people involved in these stories makes it more factual and of more interest to me these days.

Not read Kenny carter's book, I asume that's available on amazon or ebay somewhere?

[The White Knight 9,039]

I have loads of Retro Speedway Books that I bought from Tracks, mainly Redcar.

 

They are all great Books. My favourite would have to be John Berry's two 'Confessions' Books. Both very well written and inciteful.

 

I have very much enjoyed all the ones I have read and I still have a few to read.

 

I pass a lot of my Books on to a place called 'Barter Books' in Alnwick. Not my Retro Speedway ones though - I keep them.

[steve roberts 9,242]

I have loads of Retro Speedway Books that I bought from Tracks, mainly Redcar.

 

They are all great Books. My favourite would have to be John Berry's two 'Confessions' Books. Both very well written and inciteful.

 

I have very much enjoyed all the ones I have read and I still have a few to read.

 

I pass a lot of my Books on to a place called 'Barter Books' in Alnwick. Not my Retro Speedway ones though - I keep them.

Super establishment...been there in the past!

[The White Knight 9,039]

Super establishment...been there in the past!

One of my favourite haunts steve.

 

I love it there.

 

I don't get so much these days.....

[speedibee 3,091]

I used to supply Alf Weedon ,with T shirts for his track shops , he always had a story to tell and knew everybody who was anybody in speedway , i said to him a few times you should write a book Alf , but he never got round to it which was a shame because it would have been an interesting read to say the least ..

[waiheke1 4,295]

 

I don't get so much these days.....

Thanks for letting us know...

[TonyMac 720]

I used to get sports books at Christmas from various people but that seems to have stopped many still unread if I am honest and I ve struggled to give them away too.

But I would say I am actually more likely to read riders biographys now more then ever. The Internet is great for information, it's just whether it's the correct information. Hearing first hand from people involved in these stories makes it more factual and of more interest to me these days.

Not read Kenny carter's book, I asume that's available on amazon or ebay somewhere?

 

Here you go . . . https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tragedy-Kenny-Carter-Love-Forget-ebook/dp/B0128VURS8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1497312323&sr=1-1&keywords=Kenny+Carter+Tragedy

I have loads of Retro Speedway Books that I bought from Tracks, mainly Redcar.

 

They are all great Books. My favourite would have to be John Berry's two 'Confessions' Books. Both very well written and inciteful.

 

I have very much enjoyed all the ones I have read and I still have a few to read.

 

I pass a lot of my Books on to a place called 'Barter Books' in Alnwick. Not my Retro Speedway ones though - I keep them.

 

Ah, if only the internet (Amazon) hadn't come along and killed off local, independent high street books shops, whose dedicated owners cared about the books they stocked and usually had a very good knowledge of them too.

I used to supply Alf Weedon ,with T shirts for his track shops , he always had a story to tell and knew everybody who was anybody in speedway , i said to him a few times you should write a book Alf , but he never got round to it which was a shame because it would have been an interesting read to say the least ..

 

Interesting, yes, but also unprintable!

 

Apart from working for Alf for a few years at Speedway Mail, I did have the pleasure of interviewing him at length for Classic Speedway magazine not long before he died but it was what he didn't say that intrigued me just as much. Alf knew many things about a lot of important speedway people . . .

Edited June 13, 2017 by tmc

[falkirkbandit 89]

I worked for James Thin / Ottakar's / Waterstones continuously from 1991 to 2009. When Tempus Publishing released a good few speedway titles around 2000 ish onwards, my staff discount was well used, haha! In fact, when i was made redundant from Waterstones in 2009, i had a staff voucher to spend, so ordered the Crewe Kings book that was released around that time!

 

I've bought a few Retro books, as well as others i've picked up at track stalls on my travels in recent years. I'd never sell it, but i've often wondered what i'd get IF i did sell my Kenny Carter book.

 

Jeezo, just looked on Ebay and there's only one copy......... at £48!

 

I'm still keeping it

[TonyMac 720]

I worked for James Thin / Ottakar's / Waterstones continuously from 1991 to 2009. When Tempus Publishing released a good few speedway titles around 2000 ish onwards, my staff discount was well used, haha! In fact, when i was made redundant from Waterstones in 2009, i had a staff voucher to spend, so ordered the Crewe Kings book that was released around that time!

 

I've bought a few Retro books, as well as others i've picked up at track stalls on my travels in recent years. I'd never sell it, but i've often wondered what i'd get IF i did sell my Kenny Carter book.

 

Jeezo, just looked on Ebay and there's only one copy......... at £48!

 

I'm still keeping it

 

How much longer will Waterstones struggle on before they too go out of business? Weren't they subject of a Russian takeover in recent years?

 

When we dealt with them and the likes of WH Smith it used to drive me crazy that publishers could no longer deal directly with branch managers, who understood the books' appeal and relevance to the shops' locations, and were instead told to try and deal only with some faceless, clueless bod at head office. Very frustrating.

 

Having said that, WHS Ipswich was a rare exception a couple of years back, when the manager TOLD head office that the John Louis book would sell well in his shop, he was allowed to place an order with us directly, and he was proved right. If only all the individual branch managers were given the same authority and scope to use their experience and local knowledge.

 

Before WHS and Waterstones, we had good relations with Ottakers and Books Etc - until the latter went under owing us about £2k for one of football books. Money that was never recovered.

 

Sad that the future for bookshops, particularly the smaller independents, is so bleak.

Edited June 15, 2017 by tmc

[The White Knight 9,039]

 

How much longer will Waterstones struggle on before they too go out of business? Weren't they subject of a Russian takeover in recent years?

 

When we dealt with them and the likes of WH Smith it used to drive me crazy that publishers could no longer deal directly with branch managers, who understood the books' appeal and relevance to the shops' locations, and were instead told to try and deal only with some faceless, clueless bod at head office. Very frustrating.

 

Having said that, WHS Ipswich was a rare exception a couple of years back, when the manager TOLD head office that the John Louis book would sell well in his shop, he was allowed to place an order with us directly, and he was proved right. If only all the individual branch managers were given the same authority and scope to use their experience and local knowledge.

 

Before WHS and Waterstones, we had good relations with Ottakers and Books Etc - until the latter went under owing us about £2k for one of football books. Money that was never recovered.

 

Sad that the future for bookshops, particularly the smaller independents, is so bleak.

As a Book lover - I cannot argue with you. I have a lot of Speedway Books, mostly yours, which as I said earlier, I keep.

 

I also have a big collection of Books on World War One and the American Civil War which I will mostly keep.

 

I will mourn the loss of Bookshops. I actually spend a lot of time in them, I always have.

[falkirkbandit 89]

 

How much longer will Waterstones struggle on before they too go out of business? Weren't they subject of a Russian takeover in recent years?

 

When we dealt with them and the likes of WH Smith it used to drive me crazy that publishers could no longer deal directly with branch managers, who understood the books' appeal and relevance to the shops' locations, and were instead told to try and deal only with some faceless, clueless bod at head office. Very frustrating.

 

Having said that, WHS Ipswich was a rare exception a couple of years back, when the manager TOLD head office that the John Louis book would sell well in his shop, he was allowed to place an order with us directly, and he was proved right. If only all the individual branch managers were given the same authority and scope to use their experience and local knowledge.

 

Before WHS and Waterstones, we had good relations with Ottakers and Books Etc - until the latter went under owing us about £2k for one of football books. Money that was never recovered.

 

Sad that the future for bookshops, particularly the smaller independents, is so bleak.

 

Yes, i believe a Russian billionaire bought them over two or three years back, after the HMV group sold them to try to raise funds to keep their failing music chain going.

 

I was the goods in guy for 18 years and i loved the job. Booking in all the deliveries, seeing the reps for the various publishers to organise returns etc. That all changed when Waterstones took over Ottakar's. I remember that took a wee while to go through with the Monopolies and Mergers Commission. It was a sad day and it pretty much killed High Street bookselling for good.

 

I had a great 10 years with James Thin before they went under, and after a few nervous months Ottakar's came to the rescue. They were great to work for. I got a whiff that they were opening a branch in Falkirk in 2004. My whole family is here and mum and dad moved back in '99. So i put in for a transfer down here from Inverness to help set up the shop and that was that. Great times. Every Ottakar's store was individual to that town or city. And as you mentioned above, you dealt with the staff who looked after that section and bought the stock for it.

 

When Waterstones built the central warehouse down south, the writing was on the wall for us goods inner's. Rather than book various publishers deliveries onto the system, and off again for returns. One barcode to be scanned told you what was in the box, although before i got my jotters, it was very rarely 100% correct. One of my old colleagues is still in the Falkirk branch, and the shop floor staff have to deal with the deliveries still, including searching for customer orders that may be in the delivery. They basically turned vibrant Ottakar's shops into carbon copies of their HMV music shops. No individuality, just all looking the same. I used to say that it was more than just the outside paint job they turned black after the takeover!

 

I'll give you an example of their centralised returns process. In ye olden days of seeing the reps for say Harper Collins. I'd check the sales of newer titles that were just over three months old. Say there were 15 copies of Stephen King's latest. I'd keep five and request to return 10. The centralised system requested 14 back, but then re-order and other 5. The one remaining copy would sell and then other customers would enquire, so sales were lost to WHS no doubt, which used to be next door. It was absolute madness. Funnily enough, the head honcho at the time that implemented all these ideas got the heave a while later himself i remember. I bet he didn't need to queue at the Job Centre twice a fortnight for 22 months though.

[steve roberts 9,242]

I've just received by latest 'Classic Speedway' magazine and apparently there's a book about Bob Kilby...definitely a must buy for yours truly!

[The White Knight 9,039]

I've just received by latest 'Classic Speedway' magazine and apparently there's a book about Bob Kilby...definitely a must buy for yours truly!

Just received mine today too. It looks excellent again. :approve:

 

I look forward to reading it, only looked at the pictures so far.................. Must finish my BackTrack first though.