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Adult non-fiction made the leap above juvenile fiction to be the top selling genre in 2013, but that’s to be expected since the kids’ market hasn’t had another Hunger Games to fill that gap. The lack of a repeat of the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy meant adult fiction continued to do well but hasn’t been the breakout champion that it was when that series was selling. The really interesting news, though, involved two aspects of the print versus ebook realm. First, ebooks sold better in 2013 by numbers of total sales, but actually resulted in less overall revenue than they have in the past; this may stem from the understanding of where ebook pricing should fall, and the fact that Amazon was able to discount ebooks again after the stripping away of agency pricing following the DOJ lawsuit against the Big Five publishers. What is really telling, though, is that publishers in the US continue to far outsell in print and make more of their revenue off of physical editions, but that in 2013 they sold far more titles through online book retailers than they did through physical stores. While this can obviously be attributed to the dangerously low numbers of bookstores that are able to keep their doors open, it does speak to the issues such as the current battle between Amazon and Hachette Book Group. If publishers are making the bulk of their revenue through online retailers, and Amazon is arguably the largest internet-based seller of books, why are publishers so afraid of the retailer’s behemoth grip on the industry? Why is there such a focus at publishing industry events on how to “take down Amazon” and conduct business in ways that don’t involve working with the “evil empire?” If it’s not broke, why are publishers scrambling to fix it? The very simple answer is publishers are afraid of the control that Amazon holds over the market, and are even more afraid of what the bookselling landscape will look like once the last brick-and-mortar store closes its doors a la’ Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax. For now, though, publishers would be wise to continue to reap the revenue that they can in order to put that income towards establishing their own connections with direct-to-consumer platforms.
US Publishers Earn More through Online Sales than Physical Stores is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Monday, June 30, 2014
US Publishers Earn More through Online Sales than Physical Stores
Libraries Starting to Adopt Pay Per Use for Digital Content
| Library Collection Managers often have to buy the titles they want to make available to their patrons. eBooks, audiobooks, music and streaming movies all have to be purchased in advance in order to have them included in the catalog to be loaned out. Sometimes the digital offerings take up a tremendous amount of capital and if a librarian is out of touch with the needs of the community, money can sometimes be wasted. An emerging trend is starting to catch on that may solve this conundrum, pay per use. The pay per use model is starting to be embraced by a number of companies such as Overdrive and Hoopla. The concept allows the library to include the entire catalog of content and only pay when a customer borrows it. Instead of selectively deciding what audiobook or movie to buy, they can just display everything. Backend tools allow the collections manager to set monetary thresholds to insure they don’t go over budget. Hoopla is an established audiobook company that has been in business for close to 20 years, but has only been doing digital for the last two. The company has one of the largest selections of audiobooks and do not charge libraries any sort of fees to use their system. Whenever a customer borrows an audio editions from the app or the website they can immediately listen to them without having to download any 3rd party apps. Librarians dig the ability to make their own collections, incase they want to manually curate the way everything is displayed. Overdrive is experimenting with pay per use as part of their new arrangement with Warner Brothers. The company is making many backlist titles available within their Media Console App. Libraries will not have to buy the movies in advance and instead only pay when a patron borrows a title. Backend tools allow librarians to establish a daily, weekly or monthly revenue threshold, similar to Hoopla. One of the main benefits of the pay per use model is that publishers are likely to embrace this as an avenue to further monetize their eBook sales. Penguin Random House, Hachette, Simon and Schuster and HarperCollins all have different mindsets when it comes to selling content to libraries. Some only have a 26 checkout limit before librarians are forced to buy the title again, some expire after one year and others mandate libraries have to sell eBooks directly. The Pay per Use model would insure frontlist and backlist titles would always be purchased, which would help drive down prices to less than wholesale. Pay per use is not yet a fixture at libraries yet, but established players are starting to adopt. This system is still in its infancy and there is little financial information available on the costs libraries are paying or if the business model has long-term viability. Still, showing the entire catalog of content is fairly compelling. Hopefully companies like McGraw Hill and Follet start adopting pay per use to assist in more widespread adoption. Libraries Starting to Adopt Pay Per Use for Digital Content is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Smashwords Launches Summer Author Promotion
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By enrolling on the link on Smashwords’ homepage, authors can choose to enter any or all of their titles in the promotion by listing them at a discount of 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100%. The understanding comes in that the book must still cost a minimum of 99-cents after the discount in order to cover processing fees on Smashwords’ end. A number of authors have criticized the concept of free book giveaways or listing ebooks at substantially lower prices, based on the belief that this will translate into not only higher rates of piracy, but also lost sales from readers who would have otherwise paid full price. This fallacy overlooks the fact that authors are reaching readers who would not have otherwise made a connection to an unknown author’s works, which may prompt some authors to only list some of their backlist in a promotion such as this. Smashwords’ marketing of this month-long event allows authors to select which of their books to include, and therefore encourages backlist promoting. As for concerns over piracy, no study has yet demonstrated any connection between issues such as price or DRM-status and higher incidences of piracy. In fact, Tor Books presented at this year’s IDPF and stated that stripping DRM encryption from its titles had no impact at all on both the sales or the rates of piracy of their titles. To participate in the event, authors need simply log in and submit their pricing based on the clicks onscreen. Authors whose books are already listed for free do not need to do anything further to be included in the special promotional catalog.
Smashwords Launches Summer Author Promotion is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Google Schedules Orkut for Shutdown
| In the social-network beginning, there was Orkut (at least as far as Google was concerned)… but now there are a host of other apps and projects like YouTube, Blogger, and Google+. Unfortunately, Orkut never really caught on –so Google is dropping the axe and shutting it down come September 30 of this year (new account creation has already been suspended). If you are an active Orkut user, Google Takeout will keep your profiles, posts, and photos alive and accessible until September 2016. In addition, all public communities will be placed in an archive that users can access following the shutdown (if you prefer your name or posts removed permanently, just remove Orkut from your Google account). Does Orkut’s elimination make good sense given the limited adoption rate –or is this just another service Google ga\ve us and then took away? Do moves like this make it harder to trust Google? Are you any less likely to jump on board with Google+ knowing this?
Google Schedules Orkut for Shutdown is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Video Review of Onyx Boox T68 Lynx, 6.8″ Android 4.0 E Ink eReader
| Today I put together several video reviews of the Onyx Boox T68 Lynx ebook reader, a new 6.8-inch ereader that runs Android 4.0 and sells on Amazon for $199. The Boox T68 is one of the first E Ink ebook readers to run Android and come with Google Play onboard to install Android apps. Since […] |
Homestretch for Reading Rainbow Kickstarter Campaign
| Those of us with a love of books have been watching the Reading Rainbow Kickstarter campaign rather closely. The original goal was $1 million, but that was reached rather handily early on –prompting a revision that made the goal $5 million. If you haven’t already made a donation, Seth MacFarlane (known best for the creation of Family Guy) has upped the ante –pledging to donate up to $1 million of his own money to the cause… matching all donations from $4 million up to $5 million. If successful, $6 million dollars will be enough to build the website as promised with free subscriptions to 12,500 classrooms in need. LeVar Burton’s initiative is the most successful Kickstarter campaign in history, boasting more than 91,000 supporters (and climbing fast). There are only 45 hours remaining in the campaign: just enough time for you to still give the gift of reading to children everywhere.
Homestretch for Reading Rainbow Kickstarter Campaign is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Stream Google Play Movies, TV Shows Using YouTube App
| Google has made a few changes on their end (so no update is required on your devices) that let you watch any of your TV and movie purchases through the Android YouTube app. Effective immediately, all titles you own are listed in chronological order (based on the date you acquired them) under the Purchases section of YouTube –unfortunately there is no functionality in place yet to change the sort order (even alphabetical would make things a lot more user friendly). While video content plays seamlessly through the YouTube app, the Play Movies & TV app is still in tact with plenty of features –leading me to wonder whether Google intends to full combine the two at some point (which may make sense when you consider it means they could consolidate and focus their efforts). If you haven’t yet installed the YouTube app, you can download it now for free.
Stream Google Play Movies, TV Shows Using YouTube App is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Blek Game Arrives on Android
| Most games found on mobile devices have familiar formulas and predictable controls, neither is true for Blek. Designed to test the boundaries of imagination and intelligence as portrayed on a touch screen, Blek is as fun as it is frustrating. When you begin, the gestures seem random and foreign. It feels like all you are doing is guessing at where you should draw your lines and whether they are successful in clearing the screen. It isn’t long before these lines start to seem alive and their movement becomes almost musical. Of course, this doesn’t mean that the game gets any easier… because there is no catalog of moves or objectives to master –you just need to play with it. Blek is a game of logic and creativity, wrapped in a minimalistic shell –try to think of it less as a puzzle to solve and more like one to understand. If you are being successful, the lines you draw will run through and collect coloured circles while avoiding all of the black ones. You can download Blek from Google Play for $2.99 USD.
Blek Game Arrives on Android is a post from: Good e-Reader |
McGraw-Hill Education Unveils New Digital Platform for K12 Teachers
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McGraw-Hill Education announced a new platform at a conference today that can change all that. Presenting at the International Society of Technology in Education conference in Atlanta, the company unveiled Professional Learning Environment that will help educators take charge of professional development and seek out new opportunities to stay on top of their fields. “We strongly believe that teachers are at the center of all learning, and that their power to influence student success surpasses that of any learning tool,” said Peter Cohen, president of McGraw-Hill Education’s School Group, in a press release. “The launch of our available-anytime Professional Learning Environment reaffirms our commitment to that belief, and, like every one of our digital offerings, aims to support teachers with the best tools possible as they work to prepare students for the future.” McGraw-Hill Education is also showcasing its student-centric digital offerings at the ISTE conference, including Engrade, LearnSmart, Time To Know, and more. The tools provide learning and assessment tools for the K12 classrooms, helping to target instruction to a more individualized approach based on what the students still need to practice and learn. The company will be focusing on putting these tools in front of educators and administrators throughout the conference.
McGraw-Hill Education Unveils New Digital Platform for K12 Teachers is a post from: Good e-Reader |
France Takes Action to Protect its Treasured Bookshops
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This law is an update to a decades-old law called the Lang Law. Under that 1981 law, books in the country were sold at a fixed price, which was meant to protect small booksellers from the ravages of big box discount stores and retail chains that were already cropping up even then. Several other countries is Europe also have their own versions of the law as it applies to books, although France’s take on it did allow for up to 5% discounting on titles. This new law, which French officials promise isn’t intended to target Amazon despite its nickname, will prevent any online retailer from offering free shipping on books. The goal is to let people shop online if they choose, but also still remove any incentive to click the mouse instead of visiting one of the country’s 3,500 bookstores, about 35% of which are owned by independent business people. France has had a recent tradition of supporting Amazon, going so far as to absorb penalties from the EU for not charging VAT on ebooks sold within the country. However, Amazon (and many other international corporations) has come under fire in Europe for basing its operations in Luxembourg to take advantage of the lowest business tax rates in the EU. This has allowed Amazon to underscore locally owned bookshops in other places, a fact which has had booksellers and publishers alike crying foul. This law may not be enough to protect bookshops though, many of which have not been able to stay on top of the ebook demand. Also, Amazon and other retailers have the financial power to offer the 5% discount consistently–perhaps even making it a standard policy–whereas smaller book retailers may not have the means to drop prices just because Amazon did.
France Takes Action to Protect its Treasured Bookshops is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Bedroom Apollo mission
| Jeff Highsmith is from Make. His Mission Control Desk (a homework desk which, when you’ve finished learning your spellings and writing about what you did on your holidays, magically turns itself into an Apollo Mission Control station, complete with bleeps, bloops, and the ability to disastrously stir the oxygen tanks) is a project that got a lot of you very, very excited when we featured it. Jeff is King of the Maker Parents. He’s not been idle since then - after all, he has two sons, and the younger one needed a project for his own bedroom to go alongside his brother’s envy-inspiring Mission Control Desk. This is what he ended up with. Please make sure you’re giving your jaw plenty of support before hitting play, so it doesn’t hit the floor when it falls open with amazement. Jeff has a good understanding of what gets kids’ imaginations going – this isn’t a game to win, but a prop for encouraging imaginative play. There are 38 switches, knobs, potentiometers and buttons to flick and poke, many of which trigger sequences of events. There’s video from the real Apollo missions. There’s a removable panel with pipes and screws behind it to tinker with. There’s a tactile transducer (a big bass amp that makes the whole spaceship shake and rumble) to simulate takeoff. There is a robot arm in the payload bay. And there’s lots of audio – a Raspberry Pi is in there to deal with logic and sounds. We love it, despite the fact that it makes us feel highly inadequate. There is good reason for the top comment under this video on YouTube at the moment being “Please adopt me, even though I am 44.” You can see more of Jeff’s projects at Make. Thanks Jeff, thanks Make, and thanks kids – depwoy the paywoad!
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Sunday, June 29, 2014
Should Barnes and Noble and Kobo Suspend their Self-Publishing Programs?
| Barnes and Noble and Kobo have been running their self-publishing programs for a number of years. The two companies do very little to promote their services via the standard PR channels and most authors are blissfully unaware they even exist. Should they continue to develop their indie author business or should they abandon them in attempt to refocus their efforts on their core business model? B&N originally launched their first generation self-publishing program, PUBIT! in October 2010. The intention was to offer American authors the ability to self-publish their work for free and have it available on the main Barnes and Noble eBookstore. I was told by Theresa Horner, who is the spearhead of self-publishing that PUBIT never received any big updates and did not get enhanced in over three years. Last year the second generation platform Nook Press launched and allows authors to submit their titles to the US, UK, and most of Europe. Kobo Writing Life was launched in late 2012, and was a fully developed system that allowed authors to sell their books all over the world. There are advanced tools to set the prices in different markets and even run promotions. The company made a splash promoting it at Book Expo America and had poster children Bella Andre and Kevin J Anderson. Amazon is the runaway market leader in digital book sales, with many in agreement that they control 75% of the Canadian, US and United Kingdom markets. The Kindle Direct Publishing system nets authors more revenue than Kobo and Barnes and Noble combined. Authors frequently mention they get 100 sales on Amazon and less than 10 on the other platforms. It is impossible to compete with Amazon with their Kindle Singles, Createspace, Kindle Worlds and their foray into established publishing imprints to get the books in real bookstores. Many industry experts at the American Library Association Annual 2014 conference in Las Vegas think B&N and Kobo are playing right into Amazons hands. They train authors to self-publish, but do not give them any exclusive benefits to stick with them. It is quite easy to take your ePub, convert it to MOBI or PRC and distribute it to Amazon. Kindle Select gives authors an incentive to stick with Amazon by paying authors when their books are borrowed via the Kindle Lending Library or higher commissions. Barnes and Noble has lost over one billion dollars on their entire eBook and e-reader business since first entering the market. Things have got so bad, that they have sacked most of their executive team, hired a new CEO, got investment from Microsoft and Pearson and intend on shedding the weight of Nook and spinning it off into another company. Kobo has abandoned the US market and their Canadian interests are waning with the sacking of close 50 people at their Toronto headquarters and high level executives leaving the company to found their own startups. The Canadian government is investigating Kobo for the agency model and is forcing them to renegotiate their contracts with all the major publishers and abide by the wholesale model. It was this model that killed Sony and likely will kill Kobo in Canada if the court has its way. Millions of dollars are poured into Nook Press and Writing Life and most people don’t realize how much executives, staff, development, promotion and maintaining the platform really costs. These companies would be better suited to shutter their programs and start sourcing books from LULU, Smashwords, Author Solutions and other established self-publishing communities. B&N and Kobo are no longer focusing on their core business model. They have their hands in too many cookie jars and cannot be effective in the things that make them money, selling books. Instead of focusing on selling, they are spending millions of dollars trying to compete with KDP. The two sides simply are too egotistical to let Amazon control self-publishing completely and are willing to go broke fighting it out. Should Barnes and Noble and Kobo Suspend their Self-Publishing Programs? is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Digital Audiobooks the Latest Emerging Trend in Libraries
| The American Library Association Annual conference every year is the perfect avenue to gauge emerging trends. During the 2014 event in Las Vegas, three trends eclipsed all others that had the entire floor buzzing with anticipation. Pay per Use, Libraries as Retail and Audiobooks were the largest issues that had keynote speeches and companies devoted to digital. 3m Cloud Library and Baker & Taylor Axis 360 are both revising their apps geared towards patrons for a better streamlined process to handle audiobooks. Instead of redirecting you to 3rd party services, they have both employed a complex backend to allow customers to browse, borrow and listen to books within a singular app. Both of these companies are also allowing libraries to have more flexible control over their audiobook catalog. Collection managers will be able to develop their own custom shelves and serve genre specific audiobooks. For example, say a library is doing a monthly program showcasing Fantasy, they could populate the frontpage of the app with a custom selection of content from Urban Fantasy or even Lord of the Rings. The apps B&T and 3M are developing will be quite different from their existing offerings. Not only can you listen to books within the app, but you can download them to your tablet, phone or computer and listen to them offline. They will also allow you to pick up where you left off on one device, while using another, with their new syncing system. 3M disclosed that 50% of all of their libraries they serve are very interested in an expanded audiobook solution, while B&T is seeing unparalleled demand. Audiobooks is a very interesting system for libraries, as many of the top distributors lean on 3rd parties for a full catalog of content. 3M and Baker and Taylor both lean on Findaway World, which is current market leader in production. Findaway has a catalog of over 40,000 titles and maintains production studios, narrators and crew in New York. Overdrive has their own internal solution, where they approach publishers directly, instead of dealing with Acoustic, Findaway or Hoopla. Hoopla is an audiobook solution for libraries that floats under the radar, but are quickly making a name for themselves with their exclusive focus. The company has a catalog of 13,000 titles with 1,000 added each month. Hoopla deals with over 100 libraries in the US and charges no licensing fees with setting up the system, which is quite appealing to the average library. How does Hoopla make money? The company has employed the Pay Per Use model, which only charges the library when a specific title is checked out by a patron. Librarians can establish a weekly or monthly threshold, so they can ensure they will not go over budget. This financial model works for Hoopla because they can promote their entire catalog, while curating the bestsellers on the main page, so finding quality content is ridiculously easy. eBook sales globally may have flatlined, but audiobook sales have been consistently rising. The industry last year was worth 2.4 billion dollars and has a 6% annual growth rate in the UK. Still, audiobooks are still fairly expensive when compared to an eBook. The average eBook for a library to purchase is around $9.99, while an audio edition costs $29.99. Many distributors told us off the record that they were seeing a 5:1 ratio for eBook loans vs audiobook loans. In the end, libraries have more choice than ever before on who they want to deal with to power their digital audio solution. They can go with Hoopla, which is dedicated to audiobooks only and does not concern themselves with anything else. 3M, B&T, Overdrive or Recorded Books are all in one solutions that do everything from eBooks, magazines, graphic novels, movies and music. Digital Audiobooks the Latest Emerging Trend in Libraries is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Libraries Begin to Adopt Self-Publishing
| Libraries have traditionally been a destination to borrow books, digital content and to train the community via various outreach programs. You can now add self-publishing to the libraries arsenal via a new system developed by Fastpencil and Recorded Books. Recorded Books has been distributing content to libraries since 1979 and has mainly focused on digital magazines, eBooks and academic content. Recorded Books has announced a partnership with self-publishing resource FastPencil to bring public libraries an electronic resource that enables established and aspiring authors to create and prepare original works for publication. FastPencil's powerful technology provides libraries with an end-to-end publishing network that helps authors write, manage, convert and distribute books and eBooks. With access to robust management capabilities, libraries can also ingest, store and post library content to patrons. We spoke to Brad Gray of Recorded Books and Andrew Conway of FastPencil at the American Library Association Annual 2014 conference in Las Vegas. The main question we asked is how will the self-publishing program be marketed to libraries and how will content be made available. Brad suggested that traditional libraries or schools start developing creative writing or poetry competitions where young people can hone their craft and have their prose judged by library professionals. The winning entries that can be made available for the library to distribute for free to all of their patrons. Since the eBooks are self-published, they do not have to abide by the traditional one book, one lend philosophy. Andrew thought that digitizing old family recipe books or family vacations would be an ideal way to leverage the technology. This avenue is practical because the FastPencil system allows collaborative sharing, editing and development of the eBook. The end result does not need to be shared with anyone else, but having the option to list it in the library is very compelling, especially with old recipe books. FastPencil went from a startup just a few years ago to winning the Book Expo Innovation award. The company continues to innovate by announcing their partnership with World’s Best Story to uncover the next big blockbuster story via a social contest. Aspiring authors will be reviewed and voted on by a community of readers, and, ultimately, hand-selected by a panel of best-selling authors. The grand prize winner will have his or her title published by FastPencil PREMIERE, FastPencil’s best-selling author imprint service. FastPencil is becoming an emerging force in self-publishing because they continue to establish relationships with other startups and veterans. The deal with Recorded Books really gives libraries the option to foster creativity in the community. Who knows, the poetry winner today, might be a Pulitzer prize winner of tomorrow and the books would also be available at the library forever. Libraries Begin to Adopt Self-Publishing is a post from: Good e-Reader |
The Cold Song by Linn Ullmann
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Equal parts mystery and broken family saga with elements of deep dark secrets, this title is hard to categorize into just one genre. Married couple Siri and Jon head back to her childhood home for the summer so Jon can presumably finish his long-awaited follow up novel. The family begins to unravel in many overlapping places, beginning with Siri’s mom, Jenny, who finally takes a drink after twenty years of sobriety. But even more dirty laundry gets aired involving the tragic death of Siri’s younger brother as a toddler, long-ago affairs come to light, and a young au pair’s body is found, leaving everyone suspicious of the role all of the others may have played in it. In typical Ullmann fashion, this story is about as dark as it gets. The characters are intriguing, but I couldn’t find a single thing to like about any of them, even the children. By the end of the book, I was hoping for their final comeuppance just to rid the planet of a few of them. Despite the depressing characters and story line, it still pulled me in as I had to find out what happens to resolve the underlying mystery. Ullmann’s writing style is gripping, even if she carries some of her famous father’s dark plot elements. The translation by Barbara Haveland was flawless and really speaks to the hard work that goes into translating full-length novels. The Cold Song is available now.
The Cold Song by Linn Ullmann is a post from: Good e-Reader |
10 Free Kindle eBooks – June 29th
| Here’s a list of free Kindle books as of June 29th, 2014. Please note that some of these ebooks are free for a limited-time only and could expire at anytime. Make sure to double-check that they are still free before hitting the buy button. Subscribe to The eBook Reader Blog to keep updated on future […] |
Digital Publishers Support Community Causes in Profound Ways
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Now, 0s & 1s is working on the surrounding community as well. From July 1st through July 7th, the company will give 50% of the profit from each book it sells to the charity Housing Works to continue the mission of its fundraising bookstore. Housing Works bills itself as “a healing community of people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. Our mission is to end the dual crises of homelessness and AIDS through relentless advocacy, the provision of lifesaving services, and entrepreneurial businesses that sustain our efforts.” The bookstore, which has become a tourist destination for its iconic status in the book community, provides not only a source of revenue for the charity through its 100%-donated content, but also by being a stunning backdrop for community events and parties. 0s & 1s has asked that its readers enter the code housingworks at checkout in order to help ensure that the profits are dispersed to the organization during the one-week fundraising period.
Digital Publishers Support Community Causes in Profound Ways is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Dungeon Hunter Enriches Group Gaming Experience
| Mobile gaming has become pretty efficient at the turn-based grouping systems –you challenge me, I challenge you, and we battle back and forth. This methodology isn’t bad, in fact it’s pretty good –but Dungeon Hunter 4 has taken it to a whole new level in their already popular, fantasy themed, action-RPG. Updates to the game now provide game players with a full-featured guild system that provides the opportunity to create alliances and join other players –even chat live with your teammates. As a side-benefit to playing in a guild, there are special exclusive events with new weapons, armour, and rewards. The premise of the game remains the same: take on the persona of a mage, sentinel, or blade master and eliminate all of the evil forces from a mysterious world populated by magic and knights. If you haven’t immersed yourself in the series, download Dungeon Hunter 4 for free now and give it a try!
Dungeon Hunter Enriches Group Gaming Experience is a post from: Good e-Reader |
3M Cloud Library to Unveil New Reading App with Built in Audiobook Player
| Audiobooks were the major trend of the American Library Association Annual conference in Las Vegas. Many of the top eBook distributors to libraries were all showcasing their next generation app platforms that put a priority on synergy and ease of use with all of their content. The 3M Cloud Library platform is developing a new app that will be released in September for Android and iOS. 3M is putting a heavy priority on their collection of audiobooks for patrons to borrow and listen from libraries. Their new app allows you to borrow and listen to each edition right within the app, instead of diverting you to a 3rd party. Each book will sync automatically with the cloud, insuring you can pick up where you left off on your tablet or smartphone. Currently, 3M is sourcing all of their audio content from FindAway World, which has a library of 14,000 titles. Tom Mercer of 3M said that in a recent survey done by his company that 50% of all libraries were interested in purchasing and distributing audiobooks. He also mentioned that the new app will put a heavy priority on curated and editorial content. This way, the best new or established titles will be promoted on the main page by staff members. This will insure that the best and most successful titles will have an easier time being discovered. We currently are living in a golden age of audiobooks. The global industry is currently worth around 2.4 billion dollars and the UK is growing at 6% annually. Amazon owned ACX is assisting indie authors in connecting them with producers and narrators. Other companies such as Findaway World, Recorded Books and Hoopla all have their own production studios that ware capable of digitizing exiting titles or making new ones. 3M Cloud Library to Unveil New Reading App with Built in Audiobook Player is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Simon and Schuster Mandates Libraries Act as Retail
| Simon and Schuster has expanded on a 20 library pilot project and has rolled out a Nationwide eBook lending plan. The publisher has mandated that their eBooks will only be made available if libraries opt into selling the eBooks. The Buy it Now button was pioneered by Penguin, who petitioned Overdrive, 3M and Baker and Taylor to develop e-commence solutions to allow libraries to sell digital books and then the library, publisher and distributor would each earn a commission. It basically boils down to Simon and Schuster is forcing libraries to act as eBook sellers, just to loan them out for free. Whether you are for or against selling eBooks in the library there is one big factor to consider. Some US States such as Colorado and Louisiana have outlawed the ability for libraries to sell books of any kind, which means no library will be able to carry Simon and Schuster digital titles. The American Library Association event is ongoing in Las Vegas. Good e-Reader has spoken to over one hundred librarians and digital content distribution companies. The overarching consensus was that libraries have public trust because they are funded by community dollars. People have disclosed that they feel that libraries are leveraging their public trust in order to become a bookseller. Penguin initiated a pilot project last year at the New York public library where the publisher tested the waters to surmise the viability of a nationwide roll out. Christopher Platt, the Director of Collection & Circulation Operations mentioned that publishers often choose his library for pilots because of the sheer amount of visibility and internet ebook loans they get. The library saw over 753,000 loans in 2013 just for trade-fiction, which was a huge jump from 173,000 three years ago. Overall lending in one year toppled 28,000,000 digital books, audiobooks, movies, physical books and music files. One of the new things Penguin experimented with, was a Buy it Now button. This program allowed library patrons to purchase the digital book from Kobo or another online retailer if the book had a waiting list. Instead of having to wait a few weeks, patrons could get instant gratification. Overdrive, 3M and Baker & Taylor were basically forced by Penguin to create back-end, e-commence solutions that could process payments in a safe and secure environment. Penguin basically has an optional program for libraries to opt into, where the Simon and Schuster is 100% mandatory. The buzz around ALA was uniformly nasty. Librarians did not want to play the role of showrooms or bookstores. Others proclaimed this was a slippery slope that had the potential to lose the public trust. Simon and Schuster Mandates Libraries Act as Retail is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Friday, June 27, 2014
Baker & Taylor to Unveil Next Generation Axis 360 App
| Baker & Taylor Axis 360 is the definitive app that library patrons use to read books, listen to audio or watch streaming video. One of the downsides is that B&T relies on many 3rd party companies such as Blio, Acoustic to deliver audiobooks and music. Instead of listening to music within the Baker and Taylor app, customers are instead redirected to download and install many different apps to take advantage of multimedia content. This process is similar to Barnes and Noble suspending their relationship with Overdrive because customers were mandated to download the Media Console and use Adobe Digital Editions, a convoluted process. Baker & Taylor realizes that redirecting patrons to download alternative apps breaks immersion and is working on a next generation content delivery system. The new Axis 360 app is poised to launch near the end of the year. They are utilizing new API systems that will allow patrons to listen to music or audiobooks, watch movies or engage complex EPUB3 textbooks. This will basically incorporate content from all of the companies they lean on to provide content within their own app and be more intuitive to use. Michael Bills of Baker and Taylor said that the new app will be huge and reduce the complexity for libraries. Everything will be done behind the scenes, making the end-user experience a thing of beauty. Baker & Taylor to Unveil Next Generation Axis 360 App is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Soon to be Famous Assists the Editorial Aspect of Indie eBooks
| Smashwords and Bookbaby have established relationships with Baker and Taylor for digital distribution to libraries. Both of these companies provide a small list of curated authors that assist the people in charge of acquisitions lives a bit easier. One of the downsides that these lists are small and do not have any pertinent sales data or metrics to find out how many copies actually sold and who is buying them. In order to assist libraries better in eBook discovery is the Reaching across Illinois Library System has pioneered an innovative concept known as “Soon to be Famous.” 600 libraries in Illinois share a group catalogue who belong to the RAILS consortium. The system serves more than 1300 private, public, school, and university library members, representing more than 4200 library facilities in a 27,000 square mile area. The circulation managers who do the group buying recognized the worth of self-published and indie titles, since 23% of all Amazon best-sellers fall into this category. Indie titles often come with a fairly paltry price tag, but they loaning policed are often less convoluted than the big six. In order to facilitate a better eBook discovery process, over one hundred three self-published fiction titles were nominated and more than 20 librarians across the state served as judges. After a series of eliminations, the top 3 authors were selected and most of their titles were purchased and sent to all of the libraries in the system. Why did Soon to Be Famous work? Basically it put the power in every librarians hand to read indie titles they actually liked on a personal level and then their specific library would than nominate one title and the process was repeated. The editorial process worked because staff members actually read the eBooks and separated the wheat from the chafe. I really like what RAILS is doing because they were not content in being spoon-fed small lists from the self-publishing companies and instead coordinated a massive effort. This program should be commended and emulated by others Soon to be Famous Assists the Editorial Aspect of Indie eBooks is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Indie Authors Have the Power to Give Back
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One of the frustrating results of traditional publishing for some authors is the inability to use their own material to give back to their communities or causes. Many readers and consumers are not aware that a published author, even a bestseller, doesn’t have unlimited access to copies of his own book or to promotional materials to stage giveaways. Even authors of the status of James Patterson, who has recently given more than one million dollars to US and UK bookshops in order to fund charitable grants, have to dig into their own pockets for this kind of financial backing, but cannot simply distribute unlimited copies of their books to libraries or bookstores, for example. But self-published authors do have that freedom, and many are taking advantage of the fact that they own the rights to a sought-after product that can be used to support causes that are important to them. One author, erotic romance writer Abbie St. Claire, not only has access to her content for this kind of purpose, but also uses the story lines in her titles to create charitable giving events that let her fans support the important work of non-profits. St. Claire’s upcoming “Kiss Me” series (August, 2014) now has a line of jewelry to accompany the planned multiple books in the series. The jewelry and titles are available through the author’s platforms, with 100% of the profit from the jewelry going to a Dallas, Texas-area breast cancer non-profit, Laidley’s Ladies and Gentlemen, started by local breast surgeon Dr. Alison Laidley. “I hope that the stories inspire the readers and eventually fall in love with the series,” explained St. Claire of the initiative. “The jewelry started as a giveaway concept only, then the ladies started asking how to buy the items. That's when the charity idea came in to play. I hope it grows and builds throughout the series, because the titles I have planned will take me well into 2016 which could raise serious funds for the charity.” While St. Claire’s series is meant to contain thematic-yet-stand-alone titles that can therefore be read in any order, one future title is already in the works and is intended to offer funding to another cause that is personally important to the author, the Wounded Warriors Project. More information on Laidley’s Ladies and Gentlemen, the Kiss Me jewelry fundraiser, and St. Claire’s “Kiss Me” series can be found at AbbieStClaire.com.
Indie Authors Have the Power to Give Back is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Simon & Schuster eBooks: Coming soon for all U.S. public libraries
Simon & Schuster has announced that they are expanding their eBook lending program, and OverDrive can prepare to supply their eBook catalog to all U.S. public libraries. A requirement to add Simon & Schuster eBook titles for library lending is that each title must have a "Buy-it-Now" option on the page alongside Borrow or Place a Hold. To satisfy this requirement, OverDrive operates LibraryBIN.com, which has been live at dozens of U.S. public library sites. With Library BIN, your library will earn a content credit equal to 50 percent of the retail markup for titles purchased from the OverDrive-hosted referral page. The content credit will be applied to your OverDrive Marketplace account for future orders. To opt into BIN, please contact your Collection Development Specialist. The Simon & Schuster catalog includes authors such as Stephen King, Janet Evanovich, Mary Higgins Clarke, David McCullough, Jodi Picoult, and titles like Mr. Mercedes, Hard Choices, The Light Between Oceans, Steve Jobs, Under the Dome, and many more! The Simon & Schuster eBook catalog is available for purchase under a one-year term. More information on the S&S catalog will be available next week.  |
Fan Fiction Romance Comes to Kindle Worlds
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While fan fiction has its critics, the concept has been around for some time. Thanks to Kindle Worlds, fanfic writers can legally publish and monetize their creativity to a growing audience of readers who are interested in more content based on their favorite books. Through existing licensing agreements with specific “worlds,” fanfic writers can sell their creations with the rights holders’ support and encouragement. Kindle Worlds has now announced the launch of four new “worlds,” this time in the romance genre. Bella Andre, Lucy Kevin, Barbara Freethy, and HM Ward have signed on to allow their popular titles to be included in the platform, meaning the fans of those authors’ works can now publish and sell their own adaptations of the characters and story lines that spoke to them. "Romance is one of the most popular genres on Kindle, so we're particularly thrilled to welcome these Worlds from four of the most successful authors in the genre," said Nick Loeffler, General Manager of Kindle Worlds, in a press release. "It's a great opportunity for writers everywhere to work with beloved characters and storylines that have millions of fans." Writers who are interested in submitting their content on the story lines that these authors have offered for license should visit KindleWorlds.com for more information and to see which specific series from these authors are available for fan fiction writers to use.
Fan Fiction Romance Comes to Kindle Worlds is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Adafruit’s Raspberry Pi Photography Award
| Our good friends across the pond at Adafruit are running their first ever Raspberry Pi Photography Award – and I’ve been roped into helping judge this year’s entries. Lady Ada and PT say:
You can find full instructions on how to enter at Adafruit’s site. I am looking forward to finding out what you end up sending us, and I am instructed to inform you I am incorruptible in these matters: bribery will not work if you’re looking to affect the judging process. If you’re looking for inspiration, check out the posts here tagged “photography“. Good luck! |
YouTube Adds Tools For Content Creators
| Even someone who has never stepped foot on the Internet (so to speak) knows what YouTube is. Considered to be the largest platform for video streaming and viewership in the world, YouTube is little more than the sum of its parts: each of which is uploaded by a content creator. Today at Vidcon, the company launched YouTube Creator Studio as a means to deliver a wide range of tools to the people that share their videos with the site. Thanks to the creator tools now available, video contributors can: view analytics, manage their videos, access royalty-free sound effects, fund creative endeavours using Kickstarter or Indiegogo, name and link to their fellow collaborators, accept fan-submitted subtitles, respond to comments, receive customized notifications, and create playlists that make videos more accessible. YouTube also teased users with a few more updates to be expected soon, including 60 frames-per-second video clips (which will work nicely for those vlogging about video games especially) and the addition of a virtual tip jar that will allow viewers to toss in $1-$500 after viewing something they enjoy. While the release of YouTube Creator Studio may not persuade more people to create content, it may serve to attract a more professional calibre of videographer. Download YouTube Creator Studio for free to get started managing your channel.
YouTube Adds Tools For Content Creators is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Razer Teams With Google To Create A Gaming Console
| It didn’t take long to start hearing about the hardware options headed our way that will take advantage of Android TV –with one of the first big announcements coming from Razer (a company best known for high-end gaming PCs, laptops and tablets). Together with Google, Razer intends to introduce a micro-console later this year, running the new platform but with a core-focus on gaming instead of media streaming (though it will also accommodate casual gaming, music, movies, and other social media applications). It is expected that the graphics will be good and the UI should be easy to navigate, but it is unlikely it will truly compete with the high-end consoles already in the marketplace (like the PlayStation 4)… but truth mbe told, most gamers are probably just as happy to play big-screen adaptations of their favourite mobile gaming titles as they are anything else. Because the device is still in the early stages of development, a release date and price are not yet known –though Razer is advising that it is coming our way later sooner than later and that the price-tag will be “affordable.” What will be interesting to see is whether more users tend toward these set-top box-style Android TV devices or if they opt for using it on televisions where it can be built-in.
Razer Teams With Google To Create A Gaming Console is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Android For Work Courts Business Users
| The corporate world is a little bit lost right now when it comes to mobile devices. Once upon a time, BlackBerry was the logical (and only) choice –Research in Motion (RIM) was highly security conscious and their smartphones were seemingly very single-purpose. Flash forward and the marketplace isn’t quite so cut and dried: Apple is a crowd favourite in many ways because their locked-down approach to hardware means it is less prone to attack, Microsoft has dropped the mobile technology ball so many times they aren’t much of a contender anymore… and then there is Android, beloved but not necessarily trusted. This reality may soon be changing thanks to a program called Android for Work announced at this year’s Google I/O conference. With the upcoming Android “L” release (to start, Ice Cream sandwich builds and later will eventually be supported), Google is introducing APIs that promise to provide data separation and increased security (taking advantage of Samsung’s Knox). This approach is especially meaningful now that personal devices are used for work (and work devices are used for personal content). In addition to enhanced security, Android for Work will provide a method for enterprise-level app distribution using Google Play, allowing for centralized deployment and configuration. Also included in these enhancements is an update to Google Drive that should compete with services like Dropbox. Labeled as Drive for Work, this update will offer unlimited cloud storage with encrypted file transfers for $10 per month. To provide even more peace of mind to the corporate world, Drive for Work will give greater administrative controls to IT administrators (including APIs that will allow for close monitoring of the files being stored and accessed). Are these offerings from Google enough to gain the interest and trust from business users? Time will tell –but it’s certainly a step in the right direction.
Android For Work Courts Business Users is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Android Adds Personal Unlocking In Trusted Environments
| How many times a day do you unlock your smartphone? I’d be willing to wager that for a great number of you, the answer is in the hundreds. Having your phone locked is responsible and pretty much required, while unlocking it is annoying and frustrating. Fortunately, Google gave the answer during their I/O 2014 keynote: Personal Unlocking. Under the new Android “L” release, Personal Unlocking will allow users to designate a Bluetooth device or geographical location that indicate the trusted owner is near –and then doesn’t require the login sequence to gain access. Demonstrations of the feature were done with a watch (which comes as no surprise), but just about anything should work. Until users have a chance to test-drive this feature, it won’t be known how accurate and securely it behaves. One should assume that for devices carrying highly sensitive material, Personal Unlocking shouldn’t be used… but for the average person who just wants to make it more difficult for somebody to level you in Angry Birds or read your email and text messages, it should work a treat. Caution should be exercised for other reasons of course, consider just how many Facebook posts will be spoofed by your spouse from your smartphone or tablet if you specify your home as a ‘safe zone’?
Android Adds Personal Unlocking In Trusted Environments is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Top 10 Blackberry Apps of the Week
| Blackberry has all but abandoned the Playbook and very few apps are being released through official channels. The Waterloo based company recently signed a deal with Amazon to have the Amazon App Store be the sole distribution system with the new Blackberry 10.3 firmware update. Today, we present our weekly top 10 Blackberry Playbook and Blackberry 10 apps of the week. It is important to note that all of these apps are only available on the Good e-Reader App Store. LinkedIn Pulse - Pulse News is a beautiful app that takes your favourite websites and transforms them into a colorful and interactive mosaic. Tap on an article to see a clean and elegant view of the news story. Save stories for reading later across all platforms or sync them with Instapaper, Read it Later and Evernote. Sharing a story via Facebook, Twitter and email is as easy as two taps. The Verge - The definitive source for technology news, reviews, and up-to-the-minute scoops. Get all the breaking news coverage and in-depth reporting in the world of consumer technology from the industry's leading voices and foremost experts. The Verge brings you unrivaled breadth and depth of coverage, delivering everything you need to know about what's happening in the world of technology culture — including the latest reviews, breaking news, and in-depth feature stories. Tech news begins and ends on The Verge; and now you can get that experience on the go, right on your Android device. Brainpop: Featured Movie - Watch a different animated movie every day, then test your new knowledge with an interactive quiz. Facebook Covers - Free Timeline covers for your Facebook Profile. We have the finest selection of Facebook Covers with thousands to choose from. Give your Facebook Profile a unique look and feel with a brand new, awesome photo (unbranded) cover now! As the number one source for high quality Facebook Covers in internet, TimelineCovers.pro gives you thousands FB covers to choose from. New Cover photos are added everyday. Ubersocial - UberSocial (formerly Twidroyd) is the leading full-featured Twitter client for Android, with a customizable UberBar for easy navigation. Youversion Bible - Get the #1 rated and ranked Bible App for FREE. We want to make it easy for you to read and share God's Word. 150+ free translations and almost 200 Bible reading plans to help you read the Bible and track your progress. AVG Anti Virus - AVG Antivirus for Smartphones & Tablets automatically detects harmful Apps & SMS Pinterest - This insanely simple app will have you up and sharing pins across networks within seconds. There is NO login required and you don't even have to be a member of Pinterest to get going. Yahoo Weather - The highly-acclaimed Yahoo! Weather app is now available on Android, featuring stunning photos that match current weather conditions and an ALL new design with a ton of new features. See the weather like never before. Easily swipe for the most accurate weather forecasts or add a home screen widget for the latest weather information. Wherever you go, the forecast is beautiful. Mint Personal Finance - Mint pulls in all your personal finance accounts into one place, so you can manage your money from anywhere. Track your spending, create a budget, and save more. Top 10 Blackberry Apps of the Week is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Click to view the Marketplace cart of the…
Click to view the Marketplace cart of the titles in this newsletter plus more great picks.
Feature Films and TV Alone for Christmas Okay, who could resist a Home Alone rip-off starring a cute dog? It's checking out like mad across libraries.
Breathless
A Christmas Love Story/Love at the Christmas Table For 30 years Sam and Katherine have spent every Christmas Eve relegated to the children's table. But this year Sam learns that Kat is moving away and he has one night to tell her he loves her.
Falling Up When Henry's dad dies suddenly, he has to drop out of school and take a job as a Manhattan doorman…and then he breaks Rule Number One: never fall for the beautiful daughter of a tenant.
Legendary Amazons Produced by Jackie Chan, this action-packed war epic is based on the real life story of the Yang family women, who during the Song dynasty, took up swords and led their army to victory after all the men of the clan were massacred.
Little Big Soldier Jackie Chan stars in this comic martial arts extravaganza set in ancient China.
Little Red Devil A horror action thriller about a loser in a dead-end life who is made an offer he can't refuse. But maybe he should have.
Muay Thai Warrior Based on actual events from the 17th century’s Ayutthaya period, young samurai Yamada Nagamasa works tirelessly to master the art of Muay Boran, Thai boxing.
Purple Heart Colonel Allen, former head of a covert military unit, is faced with his worst nightmare—a young sniper returns to America, seeking revenge on the men in power who trained him.
The Saddle Club: Saving Pine Hollow
Sharknado When a freak hurricane swamps LA, thousands of sharks terrorize the waterlogged populace on sea, land, and air!
Stuck in the Middle In this comedy, a mail room slacker accidentally kills himself in a bizarre experiment and finds himself sentenced to Purgatory…working in the mail room.
Documentary and Instructional
America beyond the Color Line with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. A two part set. Viewed through the lens of four intrinsic elements of the African American experience – Black Hollywood, The Black Elite, The Ghetto, and The New South – gates examines the legacy of the Civil Rights movement since the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Link to Part 2.
American History in 101 Objects The Smithsonian Undersecretary for Art, History, and Culture, decodes the gold cap on Benjamin Franklin’s walking stick and its symbolic representation of the founding of the United States. Part of a series on long term thinking sponsored by the Long Now Foundation.
Baby Sign Language: Beginner Signs Talk to your babies before they are able to speak by using sign language. This video covers over 400 signs including Potty Training, Animals, Body, Clothes, Colors, Descriptors, Feelings, Food, People, Letters, Numbers, Actions, Vehicles and more.
A Beautiful Dream: Yoga/Movement Adventure for Remembering and Relationship Just one of a series of instructional videos on yoga for kids. Award-winning follow-along yoga/movement story in which a boy remembers his adventures and notices how much stronger, smarter, and confident he’s grown.
Chatsworth: The Grandest Country House in All of England Set on more than 1,000 acres in Derbyshire, Chatsworth House is one of the most famous stately homes in England. Journey through its 300 rooms full of fine antiques, art, and furniture.
Classic Cars: The Definitive Collection A tribute to cars made between the 30s and 70s, and a look at which modern cars will become classics.
His Name Was Jason: Thirty Years of Friday the Thirteenth This documentary offers classic clips from the original film and its 12 sequels, over 80 interviews, and a complete history of the phenomenon.
The Makers Revolution Chris Anderson, the former editor of Wired Magazine, and coiner of the term "the long tail," discusses how 3D printers and design software work.
Marlin Darrah: The Silk Road Journey with the world’s most traveled filmmaker, Marlin Darrah, as he explores the famous 4000 mile trade route that winds through deserts, mountains and plains linking Europe to China.
Playground Earth: Climbing Encounters This action adventure travel video focuses on mountain and rock climbing, including the world's most difficult sports climb.
Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for Desegregation Almost 10 years before Brown v. Board of Education, Sylvia Mendez and her parents helped end desegregation in California. An American citizen of Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage who spoke and wrote perfect English, Mendez was denied enrollment to a Whites only school. This video about a little known event in history is aimed at children.
The Winning of World War II: The Road to Victory Episode 1 The Battle of the Bulge Part of a several episode series on the winning of World War II—and only $2.00 each!
Click to view the Marketplace cart of the titles in this newsletter plus more great picks.
*Geographical rights may vary by title.  |