Bleary-eyed blogging

I made some fantastic progress yesteday on my current manuscript, and since I couldn't tear myself away from it until almost dawn, I'm operating this morning on just three hours of sleep. So I probably skimmed right past all sorts of fascinating stuff just now as I made my morning rounds in blogland. I didn't come across anything I felt moved to post about, which says more about my sluggish mental state than the quality and content of my favorite blogs, but my eyes did open a little when I came across this article in today's The Book Standard:

A shopper walking through the main floor of Marshall Field’s flagship department store on Chicago’s State Street will pass a number of branded boutiques, ranging from high-end clothing shops, like BCBG and Max Azria, to one less-expected carve-out: Barbara’s Bookstore. While a decade or more ago, many department stores had in-house book departments, few, if any, indie booksellers—of which Barbara’s is one of the Chicago area’s most beloved—have ever taken up residence in one. But now, as the department store business attempts to reinvigorate itself, more branded storefronts are being invited into large retail centers. Should Barbara’s prove successful on State Street, indie bookshops may just show up all over, wedged between Crate & Barrel and The Gap.

A consummation devoutly to be wished. I love the idea of books being sold everywhere.

If you'll excuse me now, I have rather a lot to do today, and I'm not exactly operating at top speed, so I'd better move on.