Thursday, May 22, 2014

Review of the Noreve Saint-Tropez Kindle Fire HDX Case

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When you purchase a high end tablet you obviously want to take care of it. There are hundreds of faux leather or cheap Chinese knockoffs on the market that will do the job, but are flimsy or have a very poor build quality. Today we are looking at the Noreve Saint-Tropez leather case for the Kindle Fire HDX 7.

Noreve Saint-Tropez is a boutique French company that produces really solid leather cases for most mainstream tablets from Apple to Amazon. The case for the Kindle Fire HDX 7 is very elegant and uses top quality handcrafted leather. It has an ultra slim profile and has 3 pockets for business cards, credit cards or notes. There are plenty of customized areas that have plenty of room for you to access the volume, 3.55 mm headphone jack and croppings so the speakers are visible.

One of the most compelling aspects of the Noreve case is the kickstand. It has a ton of torque that allows you to prop it up to watch movies or interact with the touchscreen and not have to collapse on itself. If you want to bundle it up to carry it while on the go, the magnetic clip insures it will not fly open. The aspect I like the most is the tablet, once hunkered down fits nice and snug.


Review of the Noreve Saint-Tropez Kindle Fire HDX Case is a post from: Good e-Reader

Goodreads Makes it Easy to Talk to Your Favorite Author

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GoodReads is one of the largest eBook community and discussion sites in the world. It was purchased by Amazon last year with the intention of dominating the book discovery space. Readers and authors alike flock to GoodReads in droves to talk about their literary proclivities. Today there is a new feature on the site called “Ask the Author,” which gives fans the ability to ask them questions and read past replies.

54 major authors including James Patterson, Margaret Atwood and Khaled Hosseini are all participating in the launch of Ask the Author. If an author answers your question you’ll be notified, and every answer will be shared on the author’s page so that other readers can enjoy them, too. In the coming weeks, all of the 100,000+ authors in the Goodreads Author program will be able to opt in to the feature.

Ask the Author is a program that has never been done on such a large scale before. Over 100,000 self-published and traditionally purchased authors use GoodReads on a daily basis and millions of readers can easily ask their favorite literary figure questions on their writing style, questions on their book or just to engage in witty banter. Obviously the top tier authors will likely only answer a small amount of queries, so don’t give your hopes up.

Goodreads Makes it Easy to Talk to Your Favorite Author is a post from: Good e-Reader

Department of Defense Blog Posts Video Introducing NeRD (Navy eReader Device)

Earlier in the month the Navy's General Library Program revealed the NeRD, a custom-made E Ink ebook reader made specifically for active military service members while on deployment. The Department of Defense’s Armed with Science blog posted a video interview with the program assistant for the Navy General Library Program that describes the NeRD and […]

More Backlist Titles Make Their Way to Subscription eBook Services

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This week, Simon&Schuster made a huge portion of its backlist titles available to ebook subscription platforms Oyster and Scribd, and today HarperCollins followed suit with about 1,000 children’s titles for ebook subscription platform Epic! The site, which aims for the ages five through twelve readership.

Unlike typical library lending through companies like OverDrive which sells a copy of the ebook to the partner library, thus compensating the author and publisher like a typical book sale, Epic! assembles a pool of revenue for the month and that money is distributed among the rights holders based on book consumption that month. This model is more akin to how Amazon’s Kindle Select lending compensates authors whose books are borrowed each month.

Simon&Schuster has already submitted a significant portion of its backlist titles to Epic! for kids’ reading, and HarperCollin’s similar agreement today marks around 4,000 titles that Epic! users can borrow, just in time for summer reading.

One of the interesting features of Epic! is that families can enjoy multiple accounts, meaning different children within the same family can log in and view only their titles. This is an especially helpful feature for families who have wide age ranges within the same household, as content that is appropriate for an emerging reader may not be right for an older reader.

Epic!, which comes as a free iPad app and requires a $9.99 a month subscription, also has a fairly sophisticated recommendation engine, a feature that parents and educators alike will appreciate. Studies have shown that students not only consume more content but also retain that knowledge longer if they had a hand in selecting the reading material. Self-selected reading is also a key component in the Common Core standards for its ability to improve comprehension and reading fluency.

More Backlist Titles Make Their Way to Subscription eBook Services is a post from: Good e-Reader

Tim Hortons Adds Support for Mobile Payments

TImmyMe Mobile App

The only way to improve on your first cup of coffee in the morning, is to make buying it a little easier (and faster). Just in case we needed another reason to love Tim Hortons, the updated TimmyMe app means that you can take advantage of handy scan-to-pay barcode technology while keeping your change tucked safely inside your wallet. This new payment system in the stores is much akin to the tremendous success Starbucks has garnered.

Using the new mobile payment service is simple: register a Tim Card on your smartphone or online and you are ready to pay for your purchases with a simple scan at participating locations (with more locations being added soon)! Those who frequent Starbucks may already be familiar with the process, as the coffee-rival has featured the ability to pay from your mobile devices using their app for quite some time.

This support for mobile payments comes in addition to the existing features of the TimmyMe app, including: the ability to locate a restaurant near you, help organizing a TimmyRun, reloading your Tim Card, as well as being able to reference nutritional information for the items on their menu.

Tim Hortons Adds Support for Mobile Payments is a post from: Good e-Reader

Weekly eHighlights: Adult

Don’t miss this week’s eHighlights: all about adult fiction audiobooks!

To shop for the titles in this newsletter click here:

eHighlights Adult Fiction Audiobooks May 22, 2014

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Nancy Atherton, read by Teri Clark Linden – Aunt Dimity and the Wishing Well
Dreamscape Media, LLC

When a strapping young Australian named Jack MacBride arrives in Finch to wrap up his late uncle’s affairs, heads turn in the sleepy English village. But when Lori volunteers to help Jack clear out his uncle’s overgrown garden, they discover something even more shocking than a stranger turning up in Finch.

 

Ace Atkins, Robert B. Parker, read by Joe Mantegna - Cheap Shot
Books on Tape

The iconic, tough-but-tender Boston PI Spenser returns in an outstanding new addition to the New York Times-bestselling series from author Ace Atkins.

 

David Baldacci, read by Will Robie – The Target
Blackstone Audio, Inc.

The President knows it’s a perilous, high-risk assignment. If he gives the order, he has the opportunity to take down a global menace, once and for all. If the mission fails, he would face certain impeachment, and the threats against the nation would multiply. So the president turns to the one team that can pull off the impossible: Will Robie and his partner, Jessica Reel.

 

Steve Berry, read by Scott Brick – The Lincoln Myth
Books on Tape

New York Times bestselling author Steve Berry returns with his latest thriller, a Cotton Malone adventure involving a flaw in the United States Constitution, a mystery about Abraham Lincoln, and a political issue that’s as explosive as it is timely–not only in Malone’s world, but in ours.

 

Miranda Beverly-Whittemore, read by Cassandra Campbell – Bittersweet
Books on Tape

In every glossy picture of the American society pages, there’s an Ev Winslow. Disarmingly beautiful, tall, athletic, with a smile that’s perfect. Small-town Mabel Dagmar has never known anyone like Ev, and now she’s sharing her college dorm – even if she is completely ignored. But suddenly they’re friends and Mabel can hardly believe her luck when she finds herself summering at the Winslow family’s luxurious estate, Winloch, in Vermont.

 

Maeve Binchy, read by Sile Bermingham – Chestnut Street
Books on Tape

Across town from St. Jarlath’s Crescent, featured in Minding Frankie, is Chestnut Street, where neighbors come and go. Behind their closed doors we encounter very different people with different life circumstances, occupations, and sensibilities.

 

Cynthia Bond, read by Cynthia Bond – Ruby
Books on Tape

The epic, unforgettable story of a man determined to protect the woman he loves from the town desperate to destroy her–this beautiful and devastating debut heralds the arrival of a major new voice in fiction.

 

Wahida Clark, read by Cary Hite – Blood, Sweat, and Payback
Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Someone wants every member of the consortium dead, and they’ll stop at nothing to make that happen. Everyone is gunning for Dark, and with The List in the hands of Cisco’s wife, Joy, Dark’s chances of taking over Detroit are threatened more than ever before. Everyone is fueled by fire and seeking the ultimate revenge.

 

Michael Cunningham, read by Claire Danes – The Snow Queen
Macmillan Audio

Cunningham follows the Meeks brothers as each travels down a different path in his search for transcendence. In subtle, lucid prose, he demonstrates a profound empathy for his conflicted characters and a singular understanding of the human soul. Beautiful, unexpectedly comic and truly heartbreaking, The Snow Queen proves again that Cunningham is one of the great novelists of his generation.

 

Jeffery Deaver, read by Edoardo Ballerini – The Skin Collector
Blackstone Audio, Inc.

A new killer is on the loose: a criminal inspired by the Bone Collector. And Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs must untangle the twisted web of clues before the killer targets more victims—or Rhyme himself.

 

Emma Donoghue, read by Khristine Hvam – Frog Music
Blackstone Audio, Inc.

San Francisco, 1876: a stifling heat wave and smallpox epidemic have engulfed the City. Deep in the streets of Chinatown live three former stars of the Parisian circus: Blanche, now an exotic dancer at the House of Mirrors, her lover Arthur and his companion Ernest.

 

Joshua Ferris, read by Campbell Scott – To Rise Again at a Decent Hour
Hachette Audio

Paul O’Rourke is a Manhattan dentist with a thriving practice leading a quiet, routine-driven life. But behind the smiles and the nice apartment, he’s a man made of contradictions, and his biggest fear is that he may never truly come to understand anybody, including himself.

 

Emily Giffin, read by Sofia Willingham – The One and Only
Books on Tape

Thirty-three-year-old Shea Rigsby has spent her entire life in Walker, Texas–a small college town that lives and dies by football, a passion she unabashedly shares. But when an unexpected tragedy strikes the tight-knit Walker community, Shea’s comfortable world is upended, and she begins to wonder if the life she’s chosen is really enough for her.

 

Darynda Jones, read by Lorelei King – Sixth Grave on the Edge
Macmillan Audio

Most girls might think twice before getting engaged to someone like Reyes Farrow—but Charley Davidson is not most girls. She’s a paranormal private eye and grim reaper-in-training who’s known to be a bit of a hell-raiser. Her beloved Reyes may be the only begotten son of evil, but he’s dark and sultry and deeply sexy and everything Charley could hope for.

 

Josh Malerman, read by Cassandra Campbell – Bird Box
HarperCollins

Written with the narrative tension of The Road and the exquisite terror of classic Stephen King, Bird Box is a propulsive, edge-of-your-seat horror thriller, set in an apocalyptic near-future world—a masterpiece of suspense from the brilliantly imaginative Josh Malerman.

 

Peter Mayle, read by Erik Davies – The Corsican Caper
Books on Tape

The beloved author at his effervescent best: his master sleuth, Sam Levitt, eating, drinking, and romancing his way through the South of France-even as he investigates a case of deadly intrigue among the Riviera’s jet set.

 

Walter Mosley, read by Bahni Turpin – Debbie Doesn't Do It Anymore
Books on Tape

In this scorching, mournful, often explicit, and never less than moving literary novel by the famed creator of the Easy Rawlins series, Debbie Dare, a black porn queen, has to come to terms with her sordid life in the adult entertainment industry after her tomcatting husband dies in a hot tub.

 

Jo NesbØ, read by Gildart Jackson – The Son
Books on Tape

Sonny is a model prisoner. He listens to the confessions of other inmates, and absolves them of their sins. But then one prisoner’s confession changes everything. He knows something about Sonny’s disgraced father. He needs to break out of prison and make those responsible pay for their crimes.

 

Michael Palmer, read by Robert Petkoff – Resistant
Macmillan Audio

When Dr. Lou Welcome fills in last minute for his boss at a national conference in Atlanta he brings along his best friend, Cap Duncan. But an accident turns tragic when Cap injures his leg while running. Turning to the Centers for Disease Control for help, Lou Welcome uncovers a link to a shadowy group known as One Hundred Neighbors that has infiltrated our society and is using our health institutions as hostages.

 

James Patterson & Maxine Paetro, read by January LaVoy – Unlucky 13
Blackstone Audio, Inc.

The Women’s Murder Club is stalked by a killer with nothing to lose. San Francisco Detective Lindsay Boxer is loving her life as a new mother. With an attentive husband, a job she loves, plus best friends who can talk about anything from sex to murder, things couldn’t be better. Then the FBI sends Lindsay a photo of a killer from her past, and her happy world is shattered.

 

Laline Paull, read by Orlagh Cassidy – The Bees
HarperCollins

Born into the lowest class of her society, Flora 717 is a sanitation bee, only fit to clean her orchard hive. Yet Flora has talents that are not typical of her kin. And while mutant bees are usually instantly destroyed, Flora is reassigned to feed the newborns, before becoming a forager, collecting pollen on the wing. Then she finds her way into the Queen’s inner sanctum, where she discovers secrets both sublime and ominous. You'll never look at bees the same again.

 

Douglas Preston, read by Scott Sowers – The Kraken Project
Macmillan Audio

NASA is building a probe to be splashed down in the Kraken Mare, the largest sea on Saturn’s great moon, Titan. It requires the probe to contain artificial intelligence software. To this end, Melissa Shepherd, a brilliant programmer, has developed “Dorothy,” a powerful, self-modifying AI whose true potential is both revolutionary and terrifying. When miscalculations lead to a catastrophe during testing, Dorothy flees into the internet.

 

Ruth Reichl, read by Julia Whelan – Delicious!
Books on Tape

Billie Breslin has travelled far from her California home to take a job at Delicious, the most iconic food magazine in New York and, thus, the world. When the publication is suddenly shut down, the colorful staff, who have become an extended family for Billie, must pick up their lives and move on. Not Billie, though. The well-known restaurant critic and memoirist writes her first novel.

 

Kimberla Lawson Roby, read by Peter Jay Fernandez – The Prodigal Son
Blackstone Audio, Inc.

The Reverend Curtis Black hasn’t spoken to his son, Matthew, in over a year—not since Matthew dropped out of Harvard to marry his girlfriend, Racquel, and be a full-time father to their infant son.

Reverend Curtis Black series.

 

James Rollins & Grant Blackwood, read by Scott Aiello – The Kill Switch
HarperCollins

The mission seems simple enough: extract a pharmaceutical magnate from Russian soil, a volatile man who holds the secret to a deadly bioweapon. But nothing is as it appears to be. A desperate call from Painter Crowe, director of Sigma Force, thrusts Tucker and Kane into a frantic race to rescue the brilliant-but-deluded Abram Bukolov from a cadre of skilled assassins, a deadly team backed by a shadowy Russian general, a figure bent on revenge and power.

 

*Geographical rights may vary by title.

 

Reading to remember: Memorial Day

Nonfiction gives us a unique window into the lives of others, including connecting us with soldiers from the past and present. As we honor and remember those who died while serving in the armed forces this Memorial Day, we've put together a list with some inspiring stories to share.

memorialdaycompiledvPowerful first-person accounts form the backbone of the narrative nonfiction list below. Click on each title to learn more or read a sample.

The Guns of August

Unbroken

Women Heroes of World War II

I am a Seal Team Six Warrior

Courage has no Color

Fearless

1861: The Civil War Awakening

Into the Fire

Code Name Pauline

You are Not Forgotten

The Monuments Men

Ghosts of War

Code Talker

Lone Survivor

Double Victory

 

**Some titles may have limited regional or platform availability.

Laura Ruttig is an Account Executive at OverDrive.

‘Educating with Raspberry Pi’ at Maker Faire

You may have noticed on Twitter (or from their absence) that some of our team were away in San Francisco last week for Maker Faire. Clive, Carrie Anne and Alex Bradbury joined forces with Pimoroni and ran a stall promoting Raspberry Pi and its use in education.

Here’s a video MAKE put out, featuring Clive talking about some of our recent developments such as the free educational material for everyone to teachlearn and make with Raspberry Pi:

The team spoke to a lot of people at Maker Faire, gave talks, visited hackspaces and crammed a lot of outreach in to the trip – so once they’ve recovered we’ll be sharing their experiences and adventures in further blog posts.

I’ve just booked a trip to America myself – I’ll be doing a tour of the States this summer, from 4th – 21st August starting and ending in New York City. We’ll put out a post about this later, but I’ll be looking to visit as many hackspaces, schools and communities as possible while I’m out there – particularly areas the team hasn’t covered before (I quite fancy a taste of Albuquerque for some reason…) – so watch this space for the call for visit requests! Or whet my appetite in the comments below.

To Kill a Mockingbird – now available for the first time in eBook format

killamockingbirdYou may have seen the recent big news that Harper Lee has finally agreed to allow an eBook version of To Kill a Mockingbird to be released for the very first time. We're happy to announce that the title is ready for sale in OverDrive Marketplace now, though its release date is not until July. You can add it to your catalog immediately, and accept holds that will be filled when the eBook is published.

To order this classic title and see some other very big authors and titles newly available in eBook format, check out this cart: Starring Harper Lee: Best of the Backlist. You'll find bestselling titles from authors like Arthur Hailey, James Michener, Isabel Allende and more—newly available in eBook format. Enjoy!

Cindy Orr is a Collection Development Analyst at OverDrive.

 

The Difference Between Tablets and eBook Readers

Occasionally I get asked what is the difference between tablets and ebook readers. That’s a pretty easy question to answer, so here it goes… Generally speaking, the main difference between an ebook reader and a tablet is the screen. Tablets use backlit LCD screens, whereas ebook readers have E Ink screens. E Ink screens are […]

How to Address Employment Gaps in Your Resume

Many people experience a large gap between jobs for one reason or another. Explaining a period of unemployment on your resume can be tricky, but hopefully these tips can help.

How to Get an E Ink Tablet for $35

E Ink ebook readers have been on the decline for the past couple of years, and innovation has slowed to a crawl thanks to Amazon’s utter dominance of the ebook market. If you happen to live in Europe or parts of Asia there are lots of choices for ebook readers, but in the United States […]

Is Flipkart Poised to Become the New Amazon?

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People who’ve made a study of the rise of Amazon’s retail empire can attest to the fact that in the early days of introductory meetings, publishers loved Jeff Bezos. He offered them a new opportunity to sell what they thought would only be their print books, at would only be their established prices. But with the growth in product content Amazon was able to sell, the prices became lower, the consumer response was greater, and the bargaining power for the best terms in the industry fell squarely on Amazon.

Given that history and recent example, it will be interesting to see if publishers and producers alike are more cautious about the sudden growth spurt India’s Flipkart has experienced. Besides being the top ebook distributor in its market, reaching a country with the second highest population in the world, Flipkart has now signed a deal to absorb fashion e-tailer Myntra. What was already a giant in online retailing is now poised to become even bigger.

The growth of digital reading in the country may actually have had a hand in developing both Flipkart and its competitor Snapdeal’s massive strongholds on the online commerce market. India was a surprising front runner in global ebook adoption, with both the launch of a number of low-cost tablets designed for school children to consume digital textbooks, and an internet broadband infrastructure designed to make digital consumption possible throughout the country’s schools. Once device penetration and connectivity became abundant, online communities and marketplaces were a logical follow up.

India’s online retail space is already a goldmine for distributors, especially given the reported $300 million or so that Flipkart put up to acquire Myntra. The current rate of growth projects online retailing to become a $22 billion industry within the next few years. With Amazon already selling in India, it remains to be seen if Flipkart, Snapdeal, and other retailers can keep this growth going in order to stay on top.

Is Flipkart Poised to Become the New Amazon? is a post from: Good e-Reader

eBooks a Priority with the American Library Association

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The American Library Association is holding its annual conference in Las Vegas, starting June 26th. There is one major session that is a must for librarians looking to find out the latest happenings for their digital collection.

ALA and Moving Ahead with Digital Content is can’t miss program that takes place Saturday, June 28, 2014, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. in the Las Vegas Convention Center, room N255/257. During the program, a panel of experts will explore future directions and important digital content trends, including key policy issues that impact libraries. The session will include an interactive question-and-answer period, and attendees are welcome to provide their thoughts on these important issues.

Robert Wolven, Columbia University librarian and ALA Digital Content Working Group co-chair will moderate the session. Panelists will include – Gretchen Caserotti, Sari Feldman, Alan S. Inouye, and James Neal.

Good e-Reader will be live on the scene in Vegas to cover ALA Annual. We will be reporting on trends in the library industry when it comes to digital and talk to the some of the leading innovators in the technology sector.

eBooks a Priority with the American Library Association is a post from: Good e-Reader