| Bentley Motors is best known for creating very high end automobiles and being somewhat of a status symbol on the road. The one thing they have never done is published a book, but that is all going to change. Bentley and Vintage have teamed up to capitalize on the 60 year anniversary of James Bond – Casino Royale and have released a limited edition print run that will run you $1200.00. Only 500 copies have been made and of course the 1933 Bentley was Bonds car of choice. The book has been created by designers Kris Potter and Stephen Parker at Random House, who were inspired following a trip to the Bentley Motors HQ in Crewe. They comment: 'We knew that any design we came up with would have to reflect the incredible craftsmanship and heritage we had seen in the Bentley cars at Crewe, the challenge for us was how we could combine this with the coolness and nostalgia of Bond… The inspiration was endless.' The metal spine is inspired by Bentley’s steel tread plate, and it is illustrated by Damian Gascoigne. Published on 13 April 1953 by Jonathan Cape, Casino Royale introduced James Bond to the world. The first print run of 4,728 copies sold out within a month. Following this initial success, Fleming went on to publish a Bond title every year until his death in 1964. It is in Casino Royale where 007 first utters the immortal line 'Bond – James Bond'. The special edition Casino Royale will be available from 1st November, with orders taken through a dedicated phone line to international customers, excluding those in the US or Phillipines – 01206 255666. Bentley and Vintage Team up for $1200 James Bond Book is a post from: E-Reader News |
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Bentley and Vintage Team up for $1200 James Bond Book
Sony Abandons the eReader Market in the United States
| Sony has confirmed that they have no intention of selling their new PRS-T3 e-Reader in the United States. The company simply cannot compete against Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Kobo with their online bookstore and price. The USA market is rife with constant price slashing in a bid to curry consumer favor. It is basically unprofitable to focus on the US, and instead will focus their efforts on Canada, Europe and Japan. In a statement of confirmation, the Sony PR Department mentioned “Sony will not be offering the Reader PRS-T3 in the United States. In response to the region's market changes, Sony will be focusing instead on mobile and tablet devices, including the Xperia Tablet Z and Xperia Z smartphone. Digital reading and eBooks remain an important priority for Sony. Reader Store will still help book lovers find and read their next story, anytime and anywhere, and customers can continue to expect new and exciting features and discovery tools. Reader Store will continue to support previous Readers as well as other compatible devices via the free Reader apps for PC, Mac, Android and iOS.” In recent years Sony has divested themselves out of focusing on e-Readers. The last few models have largely been the same device, with marginal hardware and software enhancements. If you live in the US you can buy the Sony PRS-T3 exclusively from Shop e-Readers. Sony Abandons the eReader Market in the United States is a post from: E-Reader News |
McGraw-Hill Education Offers New Platform Aimed at Struggling Readers Faced with CCSS
| Anyone who follows education news in the US is aware of the strict requirements and goals of the Common Core standards for public education. What many are criticizing as a national curriculum–as thought it was wrong to determine that every US high school graduate would meet the same standards for education–actually serves to ensure that every student whose education had been funded by the taxpayers was afforded the same opportunities to learn as his peers around the nation. But one of the downfalls of the Common Core is that it assumes that every student comes at it with the same level of education and measurable skill sets. Now, long-time educational content leader McGraw-Hill Education has unveiled a new platform designed to reach those students who were already struggling academically and who will certainly be left behind their grade-level peers under these new guidelines. “We believe that every student deserves a chance to succeed academically. With the arrival of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and a general trend to more rigorous educational standards, students who are reading below grade level will face even greater challenges in meeting them,” said Peter Cohen, president of McGraw-Hill School Education, in a press release. “The goal of Reading WonderWorks is to close the achievement gap among students, help struggling students develop foundational reading and writing skills in a self-paced and flexible environment starting as early as kindergarten, and accelerate them so that they can read on grade level and graduate with the confidence they need to succeed in college and beyond.” The Reading WonderWorks program utilizes both print and digital materials to support the basic tenets of the Common Core standards while working to bring struggling readers up to grade level through interactive and focused learning methods. The most important thing that WonderWorks offers, a factor that will make more of a difference than many other structured programs, is the inherent flexibility that it offers. No two students are alike, and no two struggling readers will respond to the identical material in the same way. Therefore, WonderWorks maintains a level of teacher-control in order to be best suited to a struggling student’s needs. For more information about Reading WonderWorks visit http://mhreadingwonders.com/wonder-works.
McGraw-Hill Education Offers New Platform Aimed at Struggling Readers Faced with CCSS is a post from: E-Reader News |
Penguin eBooks’ download to Kindle just got easier
| As we reported yesterday, Penguin eBooks are now available in the OverDrive Marketplace. Today, we are delighted to announce that Penguin eBooks will be available for "Get for Kindle" in the same convenient manner as the other Kindle eBooks (US only) in your OverDrive collection. The USB side-loading requirement has been lifted and Penguin eBooks will have the same great ease of use as all other publishers' eBooks. You can expect to see the change in your library's collection soon.
If you have any questions, please contact me or your OverDrive Collection Development Specialist at collectionteam@overdrive.com.
Karen Estrovich in the Collection Development Manager with OverDrive
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Penguin eBooks Now Available via Overdrive and Axis 360
| Penguin eBooks are now available to borrow from libraries in the US via Overdrive and Axis 360. This marks the first time in many years that titles from this publisher are available and has been a long time coming. Overdrive initially had a solid agreement with Penguin, but the publisher suspended digital eBooks a year and a half ago. They decided to go with 3M, who has a much smaller footprint and is exclusive to the USA. The reason the Overdrive/Penguin relationship with suspended was due to security concerns with downloading books directly from Amazon. You can now borrow books once again on Kindle e-Readers but you have to transfer them via USB. Overdrive says Penguin will charge libraries $18.99 for "popular new releases" and $5.99 to $9.99 for older titles. An eBook can only be checked out by one user at a time and the library will have to buy a new copy after a year. In Fall 2012, two Axis 360 libraries participated in a test program circulating select Penguin Group eBooks to patrons. As a result of the successful partnering with the Los Angeles Public Library and Cuyahoga County Public Library, Penguin is now making its full eBook catalog, including DK titles, available to all public libraries using Axis 360. The two sides have now expanded on the relationship and Penguin titles are now available to any library doing business with Baker and Taylor. Penguin eBooks Now Available via Overdrive and Axis 360 is a post from: E-Reader News |
Confirmed: The Sony PRS-T3 Won’t Be Released in the United States
| I’ve got some disappointing news to report today. Earlier in the week I reached out to the Sony Reader division in the United States to inquire about the Sony PRS-T3 ebook reader to see if and when it was coming to the US. As it turns out, the PRS-T3 will not be released in the […] |
Handmade Success: eBooks to help turn a crafty hobby into a business
| Whether you like to sew, quilt, embroider, crochet, knit, make jewelry, carve wood or fold paper – we most likely have an eBook for your favorite crafty hobby in OverDrive Marketplace. Through September 30th, many of these "Do It Your Selfies" eBooks are 30% off!
You may be asking yourself, "What am I going to do with all of this crafty goodness that I make? I can only give away so many knitted scarves every year for Christmas." Well, that's true. Your relatives probably love your handmade creations but if you'd like to share your crafts with others (and make money in the process), there are many options available and we have eBooks to point you in the right direction.
Learn how to get started with titles like Handmade to Sell: Hello Craft's Guide to Owning, Running, and Growing Your Crafty Biz by Kelly Rand or The Handmade Marketplace: How to Sell Your Crafts Locally, Globally, and On-Line by Kari Chapin. These books give you some ideas about turning your hobby into a business.
Depending on your preferred crafts, you may find materials for your next project or find success selling via eBay. eBay for Dummies by Marsha Collier can help eBay newbies navigate the site. If you've been a casual eBay browser or buyer in the past but want to learn more, The New eBay: The Official Guide to Buying, Selling, Running a Profitable Business by Todd Alexander offers tips for looking at eBay from a business perspective.
The mecca for all things crafty right now is Etsy. As someone who frequently purchases handmade items from Etsy, I can attest to the quality and variety of goods found on the site. If you want to try it out, make sure to check out How to Make Money Using Etsy: A Guide to the Online Marketplace for Crafts and Handmade Products by Timothy Adam and the cleverly-named Etsy-preneurship: Everything You Need to Know to Turn Your Handmade Hobby into a Thriving Business by Jason Malinak.
Have fun crafting!
Melissa Marin is a Marketing Specialist at OverDrive.
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Oracle Java on Raspberry Pi
| One of our longstanding goals has been for Raspberry Pi to ship with a complete set of common programming languages. Until now, there’s been one glaring omission from this list: Java, which by some estimates is the most popular language of all (duck and cover – flamewar incoming). It’s therefore fantastic to be able to announce that we’ve added the official hard-float Oracle Java 7 JDK to our repository. Oracle Java offers significant performance advantages over OpenJDK on ARM platforms, and will expand the range of Java applications that run well on the Pi.  It’s a long time since I’ve used a hotel room TV without plugging a Pi into it. This trip has been no exception. All future Raspbian images will ship with Oracle Java by default; existing users can install it by typing:
We’d like to thank our friends at Oracle for their hard work in making this possible. |
I Have to Provide My Phone Number? Using Phone Verification
Uncomfortable about sharing your phone number to verify your email account? Don't be! Learn more about the possible risks and privacy concerns. |
Programming ideas to promote your digital collection
| I was lucky enough to speak with some of the top library marketing gurus at Digipalooza. What I really wanted to know was what more can OverDrive do to help with your marketing efforts. We fell on the topic of library programming as great way to engage with all types of demographics in your community. So my takeaway from the conference was to create some ready-to-go programming kits. Each kit contains some brief instructions and appropriate marketing materials and handouts.
 Fun programming ideas now available on the Partner Portal. Take your promotion outside your library doors and engage with your community in a unique setting. We recommend crashing a local Happy Hour or popular restaurant at lunch hour (with the establishment's approval, of course) to promote your digital collection. Have a table set up with devices and handouts. Mingle and engage patrons with the service. Just make sure library staff is tapping more screens than kegs.
Educate your community on a wonderful reading app, OverDrive Media Console (OMC). Serve appetizers during the event (you can keep it simple with just cheese and crackers). Encourage folks to bring their own devices to download and learn about OMC and have a few devices pre-loaded with titles for folks to try out.
Dedicate a story hour using simultaneous use eBooks for children. Encourage folks to BYOD so they can follow along, or enlarge titles by using a projector. If you have questions about adding a simultaneous use plan to your digital collection, contact our Collection Development team.
Download pre-made kits of programming resources in the Programming & Events section of the Partner Portal.
Cassie is a Marketing Specialist with OverDrive  |