| Team OverDrive would like to wish a safe, prosperous and very happy New Year to each and every one of you!
“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language  |
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Happy New Year from OverDrive!
Top Android Apps of the Week – Jan 1 2014
| There has not been a ton of new releases this last week due to the holiday season. Most of the good stuff came out in the last few weeks and today Good e-Reader puts the spotlight on the top ones out there. All of the apps are available for download on the Good e-Reader Android App Store. Ultimate Combat Fighting – Prepare yourself for the Ultimate Combat Fighting challenge! Fight your way to become a black belt martial arts master! Learn all the moves and beat your opponents in this intensive action fighting game. Whether your style is karate, kungfu, tae kwon do, or boxing, just swipe your moves and start throwing some kicks and punches! High School Story – Play High School Story and create the school of your dreams, filled with all your friends. Throw parties, go on dates, and recruit jocks, nerds, cheerleaders, and MANY MORE classmates to unlock their stories! Plan a surprise birthday party, star in a fashion show, go on a wild spring break beach trip, and discover hundreds of other adventures, with a new quest added EVERY WEEK! Calendar Status – Calendar Status provides the easiest agenda access you have ever seen. All you have to do is pull the status bar and everything you want will be presented STYLED JUST THE WAY YOU WANT. Solar : Weather – Solar: An exquisitely designed weather app. No vector polygons, no dew point calibration and it won’t remind you to wear a jacket. Just radiant colorscapes and precision forecasting. A modern meteorological tech-cessory for the aesthetically-inspired. Ratchet and Clank: BTN - Ratchet and Clank: Before the Nexus™ brings the excitement of infinite running to the classic Ratchet and Clank™ franchise. Fight off Vendra and Neftin Prog as well as their assortment of evil minions, including the return of Thugs 4 Less! Hop between grindrails while avoiding hazards to collect bolts that can be used to upgrade Ratchet's weapons and armor. Collect Raritanium, which can be synced with your PSN℠ account and used in the exciting new PS3™ game Ratchet and Clank: Nexus Top Android Apps of the Week – Jan 1 2014 is a post from: E-Reader News |
Smashwords’ Predictions for Publishing in 2014
| This time of year brings with it a host of predictions from various entities, all of whom can lay claim to professional insight behind their ideas. In the many centuries’ old book industry, the past that used to shape the present has been ripped away by disruption and technological shift, meaning even well thought out predictions may prove to be far off base. Smashwords, an ebook distribution and self-publishing platform that has perhaps done more for the cause of indie authors than any other single entity, has released its CEO Mark Coker’s predictions for the coming year. Many of these will come as no surprise to book fans, while others may be so shocking as to be almost laughable. In the “I can see it from here” column, Coke predicts that ebooks will take up an even greater share of the reading market, as well as come down in price. In an interesting correlation to the price issue, Coker also suggests that factors other than price are going to play a huge role in book selection, especially once consumers grow accustomed to paying $4.00 or less for a book on a regular basis. But one prediction that may come as a much longed for surprise is his belief that more and more major name authors are going to at least experiment with self-publishing, if not reject the traditional industry altogether. “Multiple market forces will conspire to cause a large number of traditionally published authors to turn their backs on big publishers. Publishers will try to hold the line on their 25% net ebook royalty structures, which means big authors will see their royalties suffer as prices drop and as the unit sales advantage of low prices decreases, and as the disadvantage of high prices increases. At the same time, readers will continue to transition from print to ebooks, making the print distribution to physical bookstores less important, and thus weakening the grip big publishers once had on bigger-name authors. Big authors, eager to maximize their net, will feel greater impetus to emigrate to indieville.” Another major prediction, one that Good e-Reader wholeheartedly agrees with and has discussed in several interviews, is that subscription reading will finally take off in the way that it has for music and movies. With revenues solidly understood from these kinds of models, books are a natural medium to follow suit. Read the remained of Smashwords’ predictions for the coming year in publishing by clicking HERE.
Smashwords’ Predictions for Publishing in 2014 is a post from: E-Reader News |
More Publishers Begin to Accept Unagented Submissions
| Prior to the current digital publishing and self-publishing revolutions, the process for an author to get published was tedious, beginning with the very first gatekeeper: finding an agent. The literary agent, whose role may be shifting but by no means is disappearing, was often the first entity to pass judgment on a book’s merit, accepting or rejecting the title outright. For many of the authors who have pursued self-publishing, the drive to do so was often caused by dozens of anonymous-sounding form letters, rejecting the authors’ manuscripts. For still others, the frustration with the traditional industry came at the hands of agents who quite clearly told them that their manuscripts were exceptionally stellar, but then ultimately refused to represent the book for a variety of reasons, notably a perceived lack of marketability. But with so many options open to authors now, more and more publishers are joining the ranks of professionals who are willing to let the gate slip open slightly by agreeing to consider works that have not been “vetted” or approved by a literary agent. News came this week that Bloomsbury UK was the most recent publisher to realize that authors are tiring of the hoop-jumping, as the announcement that its new YA and New Adult imprint Bloomsbury Spark would accept submissions from unagented authors. But is this too little, too late for an industry in which authors are routinely thumbing their noses at giving up as much as 85% of their royalties for the privilege of being “accepted” by the traditional industry? Some publishers, such as the ultra-disruptive Sourcebooks, have been accepting unagented submissions for some time, and have even welcomed the opportunity for authors to win the right to submit a manuscript as part of a writing contest. Tor UK, an imprint of Pan Macmillan SFF, announced its own policy earlier this year, encouraging authors to think that they have options besides self-publishing. What is interesting to see in this new shift is that Bloomsbury’s submission guidelines for this new imprint include the requirement that authors provide information on their social media standings, meaning the publisher wants to see how much reach and influence (re: built-in consumer base) the author has before agreeing to publish the work. This is similar to the publishing houses who join sites like Wattpad, sweeping up authors whose books have a significant following on the free reading and sharing platform. It will be interesting to see if authors are willing to buy into the concept of greenlight submissions as a way to bypass the first obstacle to publication, but with a host of options available to authors that don’t involve yielding their book rights and their royalties, it may prove to not be lucrative enough to convince many authors to bite. More Publishers Begin to Accept Unagented Submissions is a post from: E-Reader News |
Archos to Launch Affordable Line of Smartwatches at CES 2014
| The smartwatch segment is heating up gradually, with more players joining the race to have the smartest device on consumers’ wrists in the coming year. French manufacturer Archos is the latest to join the race, having announced plans to come up with multiple smartwatch offerings in 2014; given Archos' usual strategy to launch low cost devices, the same is expected of its smartwatch venture. Archos has already stated their smartwatch line up will be comprised of several devices, with the least priced among them to cost no more than $50. Archos has also stated their smartwatches would be based on the “Pebble” concept, which makes us wonder if they will be e-ink based. Its battery savings despite a colored display no doubt will enhance their appeal even more. Further, the Archos smartwatches will be compatible with both Android and iOS, which no doubt will increase its consumer appeal. Expect complete details at the upcoming CES event.
Archos to Launch Affordable Line of Smartwatches at CES 2014 is a post from: E-Reader News |
Freemium Apps Prove Beneficial For Google, Apple App Stores
| A new report by app analysis firm Distimo has brought an interesting revelation, that freemium apps are far more popular than anything else. Freemium apps are those that are available free, though users are required to pay to enjoy advanced services or features. It appears that is how users tend to spend, with an overwhelming 98 percent of revenue in the Google Play Store coming from freemium apps. The same goes for Apple’s app store at an equally impressive though slightly lower 92 percent. Both figures mark a healthy improvement over the 77 and 89 percent that freemium apps once contributed to the Apple and Google app stores respectively. The research further revealed that freemium gaming apps specifically contributed more to the revenue stream for both the app stores than anything else. The research also revealed that Asian markets have emerged as top contributors to the app store, with South Korea leading the way while the US continues to be among the most lucrative app markets for both Android and iOS platforms. The growth rate is an astounding 759 percent for South Korea, followed by China and Japan with respective growth rates of 280 and 245 percent. As for their ability to bring in cash for their respective companies, the Apple App Store continues to be at the top while the Google Play Store has managed to narrow down the gap considerably over the year. As pointed out by the Distimo research, Apple made more than $18 million from its top 200 apps a day in November 2013, which compares favorably against $12 million that Google made from its Play Store. However, Google has made a more comprehensive improvement considering the corresponding figures a year ago were just $3.5 million compared to $15 million for Apple. Similar research from mobile analytics firm App Annie pertaining to November 2013 has come up with interesting findings, claiming dating and cartoon creating apps to be doing quite well for Apple App Store. Dating apps Zoosk, Badoo, Grindr and AdoptAGuy are among the top ten most profitable non-gaming iOS apps, while MomentCam and Bitstrips are among the top two most downloaded iOS apps. The App Annie report also mentions Chinese firm Tiny Piece has proven to be the top publisher of kids’ gaming apps for November.
Freemium Apps Prove Beneficial For Google, Apple App Stores is a post from: E-Reader News |
Bioscope – old-timey-fy your movies
| We met Jon Stam at a Maker Faire last year. With Simon de Bakker, he’s made the Bioscope: a Pi-driven nostalgia machine. Part art project, part toy, it’s extremely simple: upload any digital movie onto a USB stick, pop it in the back of the Bioscope, and peep through the viewfinder. But rather than just watch the movie play away, you have to move it yourself along by turning the red handle. Pause by stopping the handle, rewind by turning it backwards: and the whole thing has a lovely jerky, old-timey feel to it; the vintage feel underscored by the 3d-printed case, which is based on a copy of an old Fisher Price movie projector toy. Jon and Simon are using the Bioscope to make an artistic statement about the way we interact with moving visual media. We like it for its satisfying shape and feel, for the way it reminds us of toys we had as kids, and for the cameo appearance of the Numa Numa guy in the above video. The Bioscope guys have created a custom PCB that sits on top of the Raspberry Pi, which allows you to power the device from a single 3.7v lithium-ion cell. You can find some more technical details of what the custom PCB adds at i.materialise, where Jon and Simon had the case 3-d printed. Right now, there don’t seem to be any firm plans to commercialise the Bioscope – we hope Jon and Simon do take it in that direction, because there’s something enormously appealing about it. We’ll let you know if we hear anything. |
Flipping the classroom: eBooks and your curriculum
| One of the latest trends in teaching is called the "flipped classroom." This technique involves providing lectures for students to view at home while what would normally be done as homework on their own time is completed in the classroom. It provides students the opportunity to ask questions and collectively problem solve with assistance from the teacher. A simple Google search will yield countless reports and success stories about how flipped classrooms are improving test scores in every subject. Your digital library can assist in implementing a flipped classroom by providing easily accessible supplemental reading. Your students can borrow recommended eBooks through your OverDrive website that correlate with the lessons they've just viewed, you can use eBooks on an Interactive White Board to discuss language structure while in class, or you can use audiobooks to supplement or substitute lectures on specific topics. With titles ranging from popular YA and fiction titles to test prep, biographies and countless education pieces, your OverDrive digital collection provides opportunities for your students to use the technology they're so used to having in their hands at all times. Flipped classrooms are centered on providing students with better collaboration opportunities, more interaction with teachers and using technology to better prepare students for their futures. Using your OverDrive Digital Library as a part of this formula gives you the chance to take this success one step further.
Adam Sockel is a Marketing Communications Specialist with OverDrive.
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Baidu Completes Acquisition of Zongheng to form China’s Largest eBookstore
| Chinese search engine giant Baidu that is often considered the country's Google equivalent has concluded the takeover of China's biggest ebookstore Zongheng. Negotiations towards this has been underway for some months now and the above conclusion can be considered to be just a step closer to it being seen as a content provider akin to what Google has shaped themselves to be off late. The deal that is worth RMB 191.5 million ($31.3 million) will add another 100,000 titles to Baidu's existing stockpile of ebooks. This will put the company is better stead against rivals Suning as well as Amazon's Kindle store. Also, this makes Baidu's fifth major acquisition of the year that has cost the company a total of $2.74 billion so far.
Baidu Completes Acquisition of Zongheng to form China’s Largest eBookstore is a post from: E-Reader News |
Monday, December 30, 2013
Marvel Suspends Single Issue Comic Sales to Chapters and Indigo
| Marvel has officially acknowledged the suspension of single issue comic sales to major bookstores in the USA. Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million and many other stores have verified with Good e-Reader that they are unable to order anything other than graphic novels. Today, Chapters and Indigo Books, the largest bookstore chain in Canada has verified they will no longer carry single issue comic books published by Marvel. In most stores they have even taken down their comic racks and are not selling comics at all anymore. Marvel provided CBR News with the following statement from Senior VP of Sales David Gabriel: “The overwhelming majority of print readers get their monthly comics from direct market locations (i.e. brick and mortar comic shops). There's no denying that the direct market is a much stronger business model for monthly single issues than newsstand distribution. This has been the case for some time. New single issues haven't been available in the overall newsstand market for nearly two years now and in book stores for at least three months without notice. We're currently working with Barnes & Noble and Books-A-Million on a stronger, more mutually beneficial distribution model. And to be clear, this in no way affects sales of graphic novels in either chain which have continued, as many have pointed out, on an uphill trend in the past year!” Graphic Novels by Marvel are still being sold and ordered by BOM, B&N and Indigo Books. This is primarily due to the fact that they are sourced by Hachette, and not ordered directly from Marvel. Indigo would not speculate on the reasons why comic sales have tapered off or why Marvel would suspend their relationship with them over single comic sales. I visit Chapters bookstores at least once a week to buy magazines or books. The only people I see with single issue comic books are reading them in the store and not actually buying them. You can easily breeze through an issue in under ten minutes. This could be the wider trend of diminishing comic book sales and a high return rate. Many avid comic book readers have stopped buying their single issues at bookstores or grocery stores. Most have switched to a pure digital format and do business with companies like ComiXology. The company has grown significantly and recently has celebrated their 200 million download milestone. Marvel Suspends Single Issue Comic Sales to Chapters and Indigo is a post from: E-Reader News |
Podcast – Top eBooks & Publishers of 2013
| Welcome to the last edition of the Good e-Reader Radio Show for 2013! Jeremy Greenfield of Digital Book World and Michael Kozlowski bring you another exciting show! Today, they discuss the breaking news of Marvel suspending single comic sales to major bookstores all over the US. As well, they go into the top eBooks and publishers of 2013. Excited about wearable tech? Smart watches, Fitbit, and Google Glasses have increased sales by over 500% in the first half of 2013. What does the future hold for this segment? Good e-Reader will be at CES 2014, bringing you all the latest news. We give you a short preview on what to expect and what the industry needs to do to improve their products. Podcast – Top eBooks & Publishers of 2013 is a post from: E-Reader News |
iPad Tops Tablet Sales in 2013, Chromebook Surprise Hit of 2013
| With 2013 drawing to a close, it’s that time of the year to look back at how the tech scene has fared. With special emphasis on the personal computing segment and tablet devices in particular, the iPad has emerged as the most used tablet, outselling every other brand by a comfortable margin. However, while this can be expected, what has come as a surprise is the rise in sales of Chromebooks that has now outstripped that of the MacBook Air by five to one. The iPad accounted for 15.8 percent of all personal computing device sales, which can be a good measure of the clout that Apple wields in the tablet segment. That figure is far more than any single brand of tablet sold on the planet while being almost twice that of its competitors. Android and Windows account for 8.7 and 2.2 percent of the tablet segment, respectively. However, what should still be worrying Apple is that both Android and Windows have registered more than a two fold increase in sales of tablet devices compared to a year ago (respective sales of Windows and Android tablets have been 0.8 and 4.2 percent in 2012). In comparison, iPad sales declined 1.3 percent from the 17.1 percent sales that Apple tablet had registered in 2012. However, what should be pinching Apple even more is the emergence of Chromebook, that has risen from virtual obscurity to the limelight in just about a year's time. Chromebooks have gone on to register sales of 1.76 million, which represents a 22.72 percent jump over the 400,000 Chromebooks sold in 2012. With its portion now 21 percent of the entire notebook segment is worrisome enough for both Apple and Microsoft, with the latter even more precariously poised in the fast changing computing landscape. While Apple can take some solace from the sale of its iPad devices, Microsoft is yet to establish a firm foothold in the tablet and smartphone segment while its traditional forte, that of desktops and notebook/laptops, is fast eroding. With Chromebooks, Google has a winning formula that neither Apple nor Microsoft can match. Chromebooks run on Chrome, a web based OS which like Android is devoid of license fees, which helps drive down price. Further, with the Chrome OS being web based, the entire focus is on online apps, which again nullifies the need for the device to have high end specs, another cost saving option for the manufacturers. All in all, the Chromebooks present a win-win situation for both consumers and manufacturers, which has just added another layer of concern to traditional players such as Apple and Microsoft.
iPad Tops Tablet Sales in 2013, Chromebook Surprise Hit of 2013 is a post from: E-Reader News |
LG to Launch First WebOS Powered Smart TV Soon
| LG Electronics promised a WebOS powered smart TV back in March after acquiring the beleaguered platform from HP in February, and its good to see the South Korean company sticking to it. This should infuse new life into the OS that failed to make a mark in the smart connected devices segment. However, the OS should make a comeback of sorts thanks to LG, the world's second largest maker of TVs; this should also be seen as an important decision on part of LG, which derives 40 percent of its revenue from its TV segment. Details are scant at the moment and the only thing that is known right now is that LG will retain the card system of UI that represents a stack of pop-up displays arranged on top of another, representing different apps. Those who have spent time with the OS should find themselves at home with LG TV powered by WebOS, though that fact remains, they make for a very niche segment. All of HP's efforts with the WebOS platform bombed, which include the epic failure of the TouchPad device. With such a not-so-impressive history behind it, it will be interesting to see how the platform fares in the smart TV segment and whether LG also goes on to design new smartphone and tablet devices with WebOS. Hopefully more details will be available at the upcoming CES 2014.
LG to Launch First WebOS Powered Smart TV Soon is a post from: E-Reader News |
Reading Improves Brain Function…Who Knew?
| Your fifth grade English teacher was right, you should read a book. According to the study “Short- and Long-Term Effects of a Novel on Connectivity in the Brain,” by Emory University researchers Gregory S. Berns, Kristina Blaine, Michael J. Prietula, and Brandon E. Pye, reading a novel causes recordable, distinct physiological changes in the reader’s brain. In this study, twelve women and nine men underwent daily MRI scans before, during, and after they read the book Pompeii, chosen for its plot, story line, and pacing. The results of the MRIs showed that brain activity not only increased during the days when the subjects read nightly portions of the book, but also in the days following the completion. The researchers likened the increased brain function in the days following the reading to “muscle memory,” noting significant connections in the language receptors and sensory motor areas of the participants’ brains. What remains to be isolated is how long the effect lasts, a phenomenon that could be hard to accurately measure since few readers finish a novel and then never read again. The subjects scans continued to show this heightened level of connectivity in the brain for all five days after completing the book that the subjects returned for scans. One key element of this type of research, though, is the practical application. Educators have long known that certain types of music can stimulate brain development and memory in children, and researchers have already found a correlation between memorizing poetry and staving off the effects of Alzheimer’s and dementia. Studies such as the Emory study can help populations support personal reading, while providing evidence for policy makers where widespread access to literature is affected.
Reading Improves Brain Function…Who Knew? is a post from: E-Reader News |
No More Woof
| No, it isn’t April 1. I have to admit: we’re very sceptical about the science behind this latest successful Raspberry Pi-powered Indiegogo, which is still at the concept stage; it’s an adorable idea, but backers should be aware that it’s not very likely to bear useable results. But enough people out there love their dogs to have put scepticism behind them, so No More Woof is now funded. I’ll show you the creators’ video so you can find out what it’s all about. I found myself the caretaker of a cocker spaniel called Fred for a year about a decade ago. Fred belonged to my landlady, who wasn’t around much, so it fell to me to look after him. The really striking thing about Fred was that he was clearly incapable of using his brain to do anything other than wee on things. Fred was from a tragically dumb family. His father died when he jumped from a car window at 40 mph, having decided to chase some of the trees that were sprinting so fast and so enticingly by the side of the road. Fred himself was a racist, and had to be kept on the opposite side of the road from any people with skin darker than that of his owners, because he would lunge threateningly and make wolf-noises if allowed within savaging distance. It was worse if he liked you, in which case he would try incompetently and stickily to have sex with your legs. He was broadly untrainable, only responding to commands about 10% of the time, and then usually the wrong ones. He could not be left alone in the house, or he’d start to bark at the walls for hours on end, annoying the neighbours, and then set to eating your handbag. And subsequently weeing on what was left. And trying to have sex with it. Fred, in common with many dogs (yours excluded, dear reader), was very, very dim. So much so that I’m a little hard-pressed to consider him as an entity that actually had thoughts of any kind: intellectually, Fred was more like a highly developed mollusc. Fred was a being of pure sensation. Fred lived in a world of smell and movement – he did not stop to consider the lilies, or much else. This causes certain issues for those attempting to parse the thinking of dogs. So, acknowledging this problem, No More Woof’s team have set their sights low, and will not be aiming to “translate” more complex dog-thoughts than “hungry”, “tired” and “curious”. (There is no point in making one of these for cats. I can tell you what Mooncake’s thinking right now: “asleep”.) If you imagine a bold future in which you can strap an EEG monitor to your own dog’s head and use a Raspberry Pi to find out what he wants to wee on, you can still back the project, which has 47 days left. We await the team’s results with great interest. (Fred has long gone to the great kennels in the sky. I like to think that he’s happy, chasing Elysian handbags, and weeing on them.)
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The books that influence influential people
| They say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. This is never truer than when news websites and blogs share stories about the world's most successful people. We want to know the workouts they do, the food they eat and what motivates them so we can do those same things. Perhaps mostly though, we want to know what they read because books have the power to do many things. They can move us, inspire us to be better people and even change how we see the world. Sometimes they can even change the course of our lives.
Below you will find a collection of these titles (available in Marketplace) with links to preview them through search.overdrive.com. Who knows, perhaps all you need to become the next Richard Branson is a book!
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey
Mandela's Way, Richard Stengel
How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie
The Four Hour Work Week, Timothy Ferriss
Motherless Daughters, Hope Edelman
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, Susan Cain
The Emperor of All Maladies, Siddhartha Mukherjee
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, Doris Kearns Goodwin
Sherlock Holmes, Michael Kurland
The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand
The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, Larry Bossidy
Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
Who Moved My Cheese, Spencer Johnson
Stumbling on Happiness, Daniel Gilbert
Against the Gods, Peter L. Bernstein
Childhood's End, Arthur C. Clarke
The Baroque Cycle, Neal Stephenson
Adam Sockel is a Marketing Communications Specialist with OverDrive.
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Recently, LinkedIn created a new channel called Sunday, December 29, 2013
Digital Comics Best-Sellers for December 29, 2013
| The DC graphic novel sale made a big impact on this week’s comiXology and Kindle best-seller lists, and Fox Trot, Allie Brosh, and Coldplay all make appearance on this week’s lists as well. 1. Forever Evil #4 DC takes half the slots in this week’s comiXology top ten with the Forever Evil crossover, the latest Justice League, and three of the Batman graphic novels, which are marked down to $5.99 at the moment. It’s unusual to see a sale make this big an impact on comiXology’s best-seller list, but these are DC books, and this was a sparse week for new comics. Saga #17 makes the list for the second week in a row, and the first issue of Timestorm 2009/2099, which envisions the 2099 versions of Spider-Man, Ghost Rider, and the X-Men someow makes an appearance on the list although it’s not a new title by any means. 1. The Essential Calvin and Hobbes That DC graphic novels sale is having a big impact on Kindle users as well. Interestingly, Allie Brosh’s Hyperbole and a Half, which is a book based on her very popular blog (which has comics elements to it) makes it to the number 2 slot. That Fox Trot book isn’t new, but it suggests a lot of kids got tablets or Amazon gift cards, or indulgent parents were buying that one thing for the kids. Overall, this is a pretty diverse list, even more so than usual for Kindle. 1. The Sandman: Overture #1 Those DC graphic novels are “on sale” for $9.31 apiece at Barnes and Noble’s Nook store, so it’s not surprising that they aren’t cracking the top ten. The Nook best-seller list is almost the same every week, and this week is no exception. iBooks 1. My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic #12 This week’s iBookstore list is a bit different than usual: The ponies and zombies are joined by Mylo Xyloto, the comic by the band Coldplay, which was marked down to 99 cents this weekend—and advertised with a single Tweet from the Coldplay account, although I’m sure that signal was boosted by their followers. The sixth and final comic in the series made the number 12 slot. Digital Comics Best-Sellers for December 29, 2013 is a post from: E-Reader News |
eBook Review: The Redhead Plays Her Hand by Alice Clayton
| Verdict: 5 Stars In the final installment in the series which Clayton started with The Unidentified Redhead and The Redhead Revealed, “older” actress (she really hates to be called that) Grace Sheridan has a hit new series, a heartthrob sexy actor boyfriend, and a new house in LA. Unfortunately, she also has all of the baggage that goes with it, including stalker paparazzi, a manager who insists that Grace and Jack not take their relationship public for business reasons, sleazy egotistical fellow actors, and a producer who’s at his breaking point that she hasn’t lost another twenty pounds. Add to that the blogs, Facebook posts, and Twitter rants from fans who are outraged that the studly star of the hottest movie franchise of the decade is dating this Sheridan “cow,” and Grace is ready to turn her back on the dream she worked so hard to achieve. When Jack’s superstar behavior takes him down the path of all-night partying and illegal drugs, Grace is ready to give up on him, too. In a book series that is both highly sexually charged and hilarious, Clayton has managed to create a girl-next-door persona out of a major name actress. As readers who watched Grace’s star slowly rise through the first two books, we are both enthralled and surprised when she makes it big in Hollywood. This feels more like reading a text message conversation with our best friend than a novel about the lives of the Hollywood elite. If there was any criticism to dish out, it would be that Grace is far too willing to let Jack off the hook, sending the mildly irritating message that celebrities get special treatment. Ironically, Jack hits rock bottom for that very reason when he tires of being treated as a superstar everywhere he goes. All three of the Redhead books in the series are available now.
eBook Review: The Redhead Plays Her Hand by Alice Clayton is a post from: E-Reader News |
Samsung Expected to Launch Galaxy Gear Successor Soon
| Having tested the waters in the fast emerging personal wearable segment with the Galaxy Gear 2 smartwatch, Samsung now seems to be ready to up the ante with a new version that offers far better capabilities. Surprisingly, this comes within just months of the Galaxy Gear launch, which suffers from some serious shortcomings, namely its lack power given that the smartwatch has to be charged almost as frequently as the smartphone itself that it is tied to. The other aspect of the Galaxy Gear that hasn't been well received is its ability to perform only in conjugation with a Samsung device. While this should be okay with diehard Samsung fans, many consumers would prefer a more versatile device. There are rumors that the second smartwatch offering from Samsung could be just months away. As for its qualities, unofficial sources claim it's going to be more of a band than strictly a watch; given the South Korean company's penchant for bendable displays, it’s not too far-fetched that such a display be associated with the next Galaxy Gear. In any case, bendable displays are far more suitable for smartwatch devices than perhaps anything else. The Galaxy Gear in its present form is a bit unwieldy given its close resemblance to conventional watches, which is far from the futuristic device that it wishes to be. Better battery life is also imperative for smartwatch devices. Both Qualcomm Toq as well as the Sony Smartwatch 2 offer three to four days of battery life, and Samsung should offer similar levels of performance, if not improve on it considerably. Meanwhile, in a related development that is expected to add impetus to Samsung's efforts to come up with a much improved smartwatch, Luc Julia–until now associated with the development of Apple's Siri–has joined Samsung, and is expected to lead the team entrusted with developing the successor to the Galaxy Gear. As for a possible launch window, while we might be treated with a prototype or such at the upcoming CES, it is only around MWC that we can expect to come across something more substantial on this.
Samsung Expected to Launch Galaxy Gear Successor Soon is a post from: E-Reader News |
How to Get the Most Out of Your New e-Reader
| Thousands of people received new e-readers over the course of the Christmas Season. Kobo, Amazon, Barnes and Noble are the mainstream brands found in North America and most of Europe. No matter what device you have, finding great books goes beyond the bookstore that comes pre-loaded on your reader. Online retailers constantly are pushing you to buy something and not necessarily discover something you may like. Today, we look at some of the great websites out there to aid you in your literary endeavors and look at some cool services that will get you the most out of your e-reader. GoodReads – This is one of the worlds largest online book club, where users can rate and review books they have read and create their own collections. There are over 18 million members that participate in the culture and over 570 million books are currently on users shelves. Every single month, 11 million books are flagged as "Want to Read," and every single second 250 are added. There are currently 857,000 book reviews in the system and it becomes fairly easy to discover great new books to read. AuthorGraph – One of the pitfalls of going digital is not being able to get first editions and having them autographed. Authorgraph is a innovative platform where authors can sign eBooks digitally for both Kindle and most other devices. Over 5,000 authors have listed more than 20,000 books to be made available on the platform and 50,000 digital autographs have been signed. You may not find super famous authors here yet, but is a vibrant community and growing. Calibre – When it comes to the internt and eBooks, you will often find a ton of free content out there. Not all eBooks work on every e-reader and you will frequently find great books that are incompatible. If you have a Kindle e-Reader, most often you will find books in EPUB, and not AZW, MOBI, PRC or other Amazon friendly formats. Calibre is a free open source program that is easy to install and use. One of the many core features is being able to convert eBooks from one format to another. Found a PDF you want to read? Found a Zip file with 100 free books in it, Calibre is your friend and should be loved. Chances are your Local Library is Digital – Libraries may not be seeing the foot traffic they used to, with many young adults flocking to tablets and smartphones. Most libraries in Canada and the US are now connected with digital distribution services from Overdrive, 3M, and Baker & Taylor. They allow residents to borrow eBooks for free, directly from the libraries system. Often, they have a more current and wider selection of digital titles, because its cheap and cheerful for them to do it. You will often find audiobooks, videos and music also available to check out. Libraries are trying to stay relevant and your new e-reader will net you a ton of great content. Specific Interests? There is a website for that – One of the great aspects of the internet are the young communities that have developed to focus on specific books or genres. Pottermore is not just a store where you can buy the digital books but its also a online game where you can play the role of a minor character in the Harry Potter Univerise. It is quite popular and essential to checkout for anyone who grew up reading the books. Wattpad is a site that specializes in long and short fiction, where authors often serialize their works. The site brings a high interactive element to readers influencing an authors work and is one of the top communities out there. Many publishers have started teen sites, to focus on specific niches. One of my favorites is a new site by Penguin, called “Teen Australia.” It has a compelling HTML5 design and has been getting acclaim in the web development world. How to Get the Most Out of Your New e-Reader is a post from: E-Reader News |
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Judge Rules on Sherlock Holmes Public Domain Case
| With the dramatic changes that have been taking place in the publishing industry over the last few years, it’s easy to forget that some very solid, set in stone rules do still apply where books are concerned. One of those key areas is in copyright, which can be a sensitive issue in terms of anthologizing or crafting new stories based on decades-old characters and works. A US judge has just issued a ruling that clarifies the bounds of copyright where characters are concerned, including down to the elements that the original author introduced and at what time. In a landmark decision, Chief Judge Rubén Castillo of the United States District Court of the Northern District of Illinois declared that the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in respect to the Sherlock Holmes mysteries no longer required licensing fees for use, as long as the new work only contained elements of the stories and characters’ lives that were published before 1923. Any concept or element that Conan Doyle wrote after 1923 is still subject to copyright licensing. The minutia involved comes down to even such side information as where Dr. Watson went to school or how many wives he had. An article in the New York Times points to Dr. Watson having played rugby for a specific team in his youth, a fact that Conan Doyle did not have the character share until a much later story. That single piece of information would be off-limits to authors writing fan fiction today, for example, and could not be incorporated into a modern author’s story unless permission was granted and a licensing fee paid to the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The legal battles surrounding the world of Sherlock Holmes have a history almost as interesting as the books themselves. An entity called the Conan Doyle Estate, Ltd., was established years ago to represent the author’s heirs and their interests, as a small number of other people and businesses at different points owned the rights to some of the more than fifty works the author wrote. Muddying the understanding of the rights to the series even further is the fact that all of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries are already in the public domain in the UK. The ruling comes as a result of two editors who look to release an anthologized collection of modern-era stories involving Holmes, but the publisher had originally backed out of the release due to demands for a licensing fee from the estate.
Judge Rules on Sherlock Holmes Public Domain Case is a post from: E-Reader News |
Where do they make balloons?
| Today’s a big day for amateur high-altitude ballooning. Starting with a launch from Oxfordshire around 1100 UTC, Friends of Pi Dave Akerman and Anthony Stirk will be dropping tracked paper planes SLEET and SNOW over the low countries and Pi-based payload CLOUDY over Poland, before continuing eastwards as WANNAB1. As always, CLOUDY will be transmitting slow-scan digital video (SSDV) footage for your viewing pleasure.  All the places Dave and Anthony will be visiting today Follow along here:
Today also sees non-Pi flights XABEN 62 and Atlas 6 out of Suffolk, UK and SEBA-6 (Stratosferyczny Eksperymentalny Balon Amatorski – even my Polish is up to that one) out of Gliwice, Silesia, Poland. Judging by the live map SEBA-6 is already aloft, at 7km and climbing. More info on all these flights here. |
One Million New Amazon Prime Members Sign up in One Week
| Amazon Prime has been a runaway success for the company with their free two day shipping option to customers living in the United States. The membership platform also gives you one free eBook a month and free content Amazon Instant Video. The success of Prime is quite evident and one million customers around the world became new Prime members in the third week of December. On Amazon's peak shipping day, more Prime items were shipped worldwide than ever before. The entire 2013 holiday season was the best ever for Amazon, with more than 36.8 million items ordered worldwide on Cyber Monday, which is a record-breaking 426 items per second. "Amazon Prime membership continues to grow, and we now have tens of millions of members worldwide. They benefit from all-you-can-eat free two-day shipping on millions of eligible items and our members have a voracious appetite," said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon.com. "We are extremely grateful to our customers around the world and wish everyone the very best for the coming year." One Million New Amazon Prime Members Sign up in One Week is a post from: E-Reader News |
Friday, December 27, 2013
Barnes and Noble & Books-A-Million Stop Selling Marvel Comics
| Barnes and Noble and Books-A-Million have confirmed to Good e-Reader that many of their flagship locations have stopped carrying single issues and graphic novels of Marvel Comics. You can still find these titles at smaller stores in more rural locations but no new orders will be processed after January 1st 2014. Barnes and Noble has a flagship store in Union Square, in New York City. This is the location where they tend to have unveiling events for the Nook product line. Two sources at this store have confirmed that they will no longer sell Marvel Comics in their store and would not speculate what other stores are doing. They still are stocking single issues of comics produced by DC and Dark Horse. Books-A-Million has also confirmed that they are no longer carrying Marvel titles at the head office. Contacts within the receiving and ordering departments have said that Marvel titles are simply not available on their lists anymore. They are basically unable to order single issues or graphic novels. It is very interesting that exactly at the same time BOM and B&N both have stopped carrying physical issues of Marvel Comics. This could have something to do with Marvel developing their own digital distribution platform and intend to phase out Comixology. We have heard that single issues at these bookstore locations are not doing that well and more are being returned to the publisher/distributor on a monthly basis then what is being sold. Barnes and Noble & Books-A-Million Stop Selling Marvel Comics is a post from: E-Reader News |
Image Comics Slashes Prices—Till Saturday Night
| Image Comics is having a half-price sale on all the comics in its digital store right now, and that’s a great opportunity to fill up your e-reader, because Image is the publisher behind some of the most talked-about comics of the year. Even better, Image sells its comics as direct downloads, which means you own the file—you don’t have to depend on a third-party provider such as comiXology—and they will let you save the comic straight to DropBox, which makes it easy to access from all your devices. But don’t dawdle, because the sale ends at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, December 28. Here are some suggestions to get you started. The Walking Dead: This is the comic behind the AMC series. It looks like Image has quite a few of the issues but there are some gaps; you might want to start out by reading the first issue, which you can get for free on comiXology. Saga: Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples’s story of lovers from warring lands searching the universe for a safe haven for themselves and their baby consistently outsells all the superhero stuff on comiXology the week it comes out, and if you read it, you will see why: It’s clever, funny, suspenseful, and well drawn. Again, check out the first issue for free (this time from Image) and see for yourself. Sex Criminals: When Susie and John have sex, time stands still—literally! So naturally they use that power to rob a bank. This sex comedy was too hot for the App Store, but Time Magazine put it at the top of their list of the best comics of the year. Chew: Chew is a detective story with a twist: Detective Tony Chu is a psychic, but his power only kicks in when he eats a bit of whatever has died. First taste is free on comiXology. Great Pacific: A wealthy oil heir hatches a plan to establish a new nation—on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. This is a great, action-packed story with lots of twists and some really clever art, and it’s complete in 12 issues so it won’t break the bank, either. Think Tank: This one is a favorite of mine, a witty, McGyver-ish tale of a scientist who was recruited into military R&D at a young age and now regrets the destruction his inventions caused—so he wreaks revenge in creative ways that only a “slacker genius” can. Pretty Deadly: A revenge tale with Death’s daughter as the main character, this comic by Kelly Sue DeConnick (Captain Marvel) and Emma Rios (Dr. Strange) has been getting lots of attention—and the first issue sold out completely in print. Skullkickers #24: There aren’t a lot of Skullkickers comics in the Image digital store, but this is a good pick because it is self-contained, with four short stories. This series is a fantasy tale about two adventurers who get into lots of trouble—gamers in particular will find a lot to like, but the comedy and action are broad enough for anyone to enjoy. Rocket Girl: A time-traveling cop from the future arrives in 1980s New York to solve a mystery. With a 15-year-old teenage girl as the hero and Amy Reeder’s fluid art bringing Brandon Montclare’s story to life, this is a comic not to be missed. Image Comics Slashes Prices—Till Saturday Night is a post from: E-Reader News |
Retailers and Couriers Grapple With Unexpected Surge in Online Shopping Trend
| Many of those who had avoided the hassle of physical stores to do their holiday shopping have ended up paying the price by having not received their wares by Christmas. As things stand this year, a sizable number of consumers opted to let their computers do their holiday shopping, which has been pegged by the National Retail Federation at about 14 percent of all holiday sales in the US. This showed a 37 percent increase over the usual 6 percent that accounted for e-commerce during the year-end holiday rush. As a result, almost all of the big name retailers in the US have been caught unaware of the fast changing consumer buying pattern. Wal-Mart, Amazon, Kohl's and many others have struggled to deliver before Christmas and are making up the lapse by way of various incentives. However, to be fair to the retailers and couriers, other factors such as weather or delay in receiving the products from manufacturers also played a part. Then there is the usual blame game too, with the US postal service blaming Amazon for not having readied the shipments on time. Amazon countered this, saying: “Amazon fulfillment centers processed and tendered customer orders to delivery carriers on time for holiday delivery.” Amazon further stated they have put performance of the carriers under the scanner. Meanwhile, the incentives that the retailers have come up with to offset the lapse include a $20 gift card which accompanied the full refund of shipping charges of all orders that were delivered late. Groupon is offering a $25 gift card, while Kohl’s has gone to the extent of paying for the entire cost of orders that they had guaranteed to deliver by Christmas. In any case, this year's trend will no doubt act as an eye-opener for both sides; consumers may now begin their shopping early, while retailers and couriers will no doubt have better means at their disposal to accomplish timely delivery.
Retailers and Couriers Grapple With Unexpected Surge in Online Shopping Trend is a post from: E-Reader News |
Apple iOS Devices Proves More Popular Than Android For Holiday Shopping
| Consumers who own iOS devices have been found to be far more active when it came to shopping on Christmas Day than their Android counterparts, a report from IBM cites. When translated to figures, 23 percent of online orders placed on Christmas Day were done from iOS devices compared to just 4.6 percent from devices running Android. iOS users also emerged as the biggest spenders, having spent on average $93.94 per order, compared to $48.10 by Android users for each order. As a natural consequence, iOS users also emerged as the biggest drivers of online traffic, which at 32.6 percent is twice that of 14.8 percent from Android. Another interesting finding is that users generally prefer to do their browsing with smartphones, while tablet devices have emerged as the preferred choice for actually placing the orders. Smartphones accounted for 28.5 percent for internet traffic, compared to 18.1 percent from tablet devices. The trend reversed when it comes to actual sales, with 19.4 percent sales coming from tablet compared to 9.3 percent from smartphones. In any case, mobile devices have accounted for 48 percent of all online traffic, the highest so far. In another interesting revelation, referrals from Facebook friends have led to four times the sales than the same from Pinterest, showing the importance that these social networking sites have come to yield over users and their spending habits.
Apple iOS Devices Proves More Popular Than Android For Holiday Shopping is a post from: E-Reader News |
OverDrive’s Million Digital Checkouts Club
| 2013 was a banner year for OverDrive partners. To date, OverDrive digital library users have checked out 98 million titles since January 1, and that number is on pace to go over 100 million for the year. That is 30 million more checkouts than last year's record breaking tally of 70 million. These numbers directly correlate to the wonderful marketing efforts that libraries around the world are making to ensure that users are aware of their digital offerings. Libraries have been stressing the convenience of borrowing eBooks and audiobooks through OverDrive and users have responded! While we've seen checkout increases across the board, we wanted to take some time to acknowledge our highest-circulating library partners. The following standalone library systems each had over one million checkouts of their OverDrive collection in 2013:
Each of these libraries consistently produces large checkout numbers by providing their users a robust collection, ample copies of popular titles and access to help resources and discoverability tools. Jane Pype, Toronto's City Librarian, said, "We're thrilled that we've made the Million Checkout club this year and we're adding more content daily! We expect interest to grow even more in the years to come, particularly since more publishers have made their titles available and it’s our hope that this trend will continue. We're looking forward to seeing what next year brings for our readers of eBooks at Toronto Public Library." Lois Langer Thompson, the director of Hennepin County Library, said, "eBooks are a key part of Hennepin County Library's collection, and we're excited to see patrons embracing eBooks as an option they can access anytime and read on their chosen device." When alerted of the achievement, Tish Lowery of Cleveland Public Library said, "We are thrilled with the success of our OverDrive eMedia collection and it is particularly gratifying to see that our patrons are so enthusiastic about the content and the download process." Kirk Blankenship echoed Lowery's thoughts and anticipated the continued success of their collection: "Seattle loves to read. The Seattle Public Library looks forward to working with OverDrive towards another million circulations." Thank you to all the library staff members who spend countless hours spreading the word about OverDrive to their patrons, assisting without support questions and sharing our excitement for digital media. It is your passion for reading, regardless of format, that has made 2013 yet another record breaking year.
Adam Sockel is a Marketing Communications Specialist with OverDrive.
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What’s Up with Amazon Royalties Coming Down?
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In a brilliant post with some actual explanation behind it, bestselling self-published and hybrid author Hugh Howey wrote on his blog that he’s been hearing the news that Amazon would be decreasing its current 70% royalty payout for the last two years. In his post, he explains that Amazon currently pays the publishers (re: authors of their self-published works) 70% of the sale price of the book, keeping 30% as the distribution fee. Howey likens that to the incredibly similar 60-40 split that publishers earned from book retailer Barnes and Noble when Howey was an employee in a physical store. But rebuttals to Howey’s viewpoint from sites such as this one argue that Amazon is not actually a bookstore, and therefore doesn’t deserve the 30% take. It is nothing more than a website that has no overhead and no work involved in putting virtual books on non-existent shelves for its customers. (The fallacy that Amazon has no bookshelf and no overhead is laughable, considering the hundreds of thousands of employees that the retailer maintains) Another widely dispersed viewpoint is that Amazon is edging out all of its competitors one by one, and that when it has accomplished its mission of world domination, it will drop the royalty rate it pays its authors. Again, how would this takeover of the book industry be possible, when authors can self-publish and sell their own content without Amazon’s help? The basic assumption with all things Amazon is that we have no choice but to shop or publish with Amazon, an argument that makes its proponents look a little on the ridiculous side. Why are we wasting our breaths shouting that Amazon will ruin us, even while insisting we have no choice but to patronize them? Does Amazon control our water supply, threatening to choke us out if we fail to spend enough with our Prime memberships? Probably the greatest thing about the current digital publishing phenomenon is the fact that authors now have actual, viable choices. Yes, Amazon controls such a major market share that not listing a book on Amazon is akin to throwing it in a box under the bed, but that is a fact that we as consumers created. If we don’t like Amazon’s business practices, we are free to avoid them. But speculating on what will happen once the end of the (retail) world occurs is pointless.
What’s Up with Amazon Royalties Coming Down? is a post from: E-Reader News |
Number of Children’s Challenged Books Increased in 2013
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A post by Shelf Awareness shared the news that the Kids’ Right to Read Project has investigated more incidences of censorship and book banning in 2013 than in 2012, and that the number of cases this year was three times higher than average. According to the post, the following books by minority authors were near the top of the list for books that were being challenged–mostly by parents in library and educational settings–most: Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man It’s tempting to think that we have risen above the ignorance of book banning in 2013, but that is not the case. While many school districts and libraries have a policy honoring parents’ wishes that their own children be given alternate assignments for class readings that conflict with their morals or religious beliefs, in far too many instances schools cave in to parental outrage and simply remove a book from class reading lists; when the angry mob gets loud enough or politicians up for re-election on the “family values” ticket need to make some noise, they’ve even resorted to pulling the access to the book, removing it from school and public libraries and classroom borrow shelves. Fortunately, the KRRP also saw an increase in 2013 in instances where the challenged book was not only returned to the library shelves, but also to the curriculum. Part of the reason for the project’s success is the fact that they believe the only way to prevent this level of censorship is through education on the book’s topic and dialogue within the community about the “offending” book. By involving local governments, educators, parents, and other interested parties in the need for access to books, they work to establish an environment of respect for writing, regardless of the uncomfortable nature of the content for some readers. As the KRRP was founded by the National Coalition Against Censorship, the NCAC has also provided an email address for concerned readers to reach out for help if a book is being challenged in their communities, ncac[at]ncac.org.
Number of Children’s Challenged Books Increased in 2013 is a post from: E-Reader News |
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