Agatha Lira

Newton Compton is trying to change that. The Italian publishing company began producing short books by leading authors at a price of 1,000 lira (about 60 cents), complete with introduction, bibliography, and author biography.

Agatha Lira

The Newton Compton initiative could help change that mentality. Avanzini says the company receives 300 letters a week from readers, 70 percent of them related to the 1,000-lira books. In many cases, he says, the readers propose titles they would like to see offered in the future. 041b061a72