| 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 |
Sunday, December 29, 2013
eBook Review: The Redhead Plays Her Hand by Alice Clayton
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 |
Podcast: KDP Authors May see Royalties Decreased to 35%
| Today on the show I talk about all of the latest rumors about Amazon potentially lowering self-published authors royalty rates from 70% to 30%. Funny enough, Amazon offers 30% royalties to a number of new markets it has entered recently, such as India. This had zero backlash at all, since it was a new service. Can Amazon get away with this? Yes they can. Big Foot and Gargoyles used to be the things of Saturday morning cartoons and movies like Harry and the Hendersons. Now, there is almost 10 erotica books featuring Big Foot having his way with a number of young ladies. Welcome to erotica aimed at people who are tired of zombie, vampire and werewolf love. Barnes and Noble has had two self-publishing platforms over the years, Nook Press and PUBIT! Why hasn’t the company stocked their own bookstores with indie titles? Maybe they should consider partnering with Ingram Lightning Source to easily get books in their stores from their own authors. This would attract a copious amount of writers to Nook Press, instead of the service floundering like it is now. Good e-Reader will be at CES this year in the first week of January. Most of the team will be in Las Vegas the day before, to hit up all of the big events where Samsung, LG, Acer, and many more will be showing their products before they hit the floor. If you are a company involved in e-readers, tablets, digital publishing, or wearable tech, hit our contact form and we can arrange a meeting. Podcast: KDP Authors May see Royalties Decreased to 35% is a post from: E-Reader News |
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Rapid City Public Libraries: Let patrons take eReaders for a test drive
| It's time to check in with another winner of this year's Digital Library Champions contest! Since August, we've been highlighting winners and their success stories through a series of Librarian's Share blog posts. This week, we feature the winner of the "Test Drive" category, Rapid City Public Library in South Dakota, as written by their Public Services Library Associate Sam Solcum.
The Rapid City Public Libraries take pride in providing our patrons with hands-on eReader experiences. We have been actively using unique marketing strategies to promote our OverDrive digital collection. The libraries have seen a huge increase in demand for downloadable materials – over the 2012 year we saw an increase in circulation of electronic materials of 122%, and 2013 is on track to break that record! Our patrons love mobility, so we're making our eBooks easier to find than ever by promoting our downloadable collection in creative, innovative and effective ways. The Rapid City Public Libraries are raising awareness for our OverDrive collection by giving our eBooks a physical presence in the libraries. We've also been marketing our digital services on our website and social media sites, at community outreach events, during staff trainings, on billboards, in clever library displays and with our 2013 OverDrive Digital Champions Award-Winning Test Drive program.
To better serve our patrons and attract new users, the library embarked on a new project. A major marketing effort went underway to introduce the Test Drive program with digital displays, handouts and newspaper articles. For those patrons who are still on the fence about purchasing an eReader, this program is perfect. In order to help them make an informed decision, eReader lending was launched in June 2012. Patrons can check out an eReader to test in the comfort of their own home for a two-week “test drive.” Each eReader comes in a canvas library bag with a charger, stylus, charging cable, directions, start-up guide and a survey to fill out when returned. The Rapid City Public Libraries also offer a homebound delivery service, in which patrons who are unable to travel to the library can have library materials delivered to their homes, including our Sony eReaders from the Test Drive program. For our patrons that have never downloaded or read an electronic book, our E-Reader Guide helps them through the process. If patrons would like some more hands-on time with a variety of devices, the Rapid City Public Libraries also have “petting zoos,” where patrons can experiment with different tablets and eReaders. Inside the library, the staff created Shelf Peekers, which interfile with the books on the shelf. The Shelf Peekers are just one way we provide a visual representation of the many titles available in our eBook collection. A QR code printed on each Shelf Peeker links directly to the Overdrive catalog for instant and convenient downloading. We also place, "Available in eBook Format!" stickers on the book covers of titles that the library owns in both print and eBook format. Our grab and go QR cards are basically a business card for a book, which includes a QR code that links to the OverDrive download page for that specific title.
Our downloadables are highlighted on our major social networking pages. Our Pinterest board, Downloadable Digital Vacations, spotlights downloadable eBooks, provides a little reader's advisory, and directly links to our downloadable catalog. These are just a few ways we are making the digital library experience more streamlined and accessible. After planning, testing and implementing these programs, we are now serving more online patrons than ever, and more efficiently.
Sam Slocum is a Public Services Library Associate at Rapid City Public Libraries in South Dakota, winner of the Test Drive category in the 2013 Digital Library Champions contest.  |
Tips for Making (And Keeping) Resolutions this January
Making any resolutions this New Year's eve? Check out these tips to help turn your resolution into reality in 2014.  |
Free Children’s Enhanced Shrek Forever After eBook from iStoryTime
| As part of the holiday recognition of their customers, a number of companies are offering their users free content in this post-holiday period when many users may have received new devices. Apps likes Apple’s 12 Days of Gifts offer everything from free songs to free ebooks via the iTunes store. One company that has extended the free gift period is children’s ebook app developer iStoryTime. The zuuka-owned platform has produced a number of major titles for companies like Dreamworks, including Kung Fu Panda, The Smurfs, The Penguins of Madagascar, and more. Today only, and only available with this code from Good e-Reader, iStoryTime is offering enhanced ebook of Shrek Forever After, the most recent installment about the world’s most beloved ogre. “Burdened by responsibility and trapped by routine, this ogre has lost his roar. In order to recapture his past as a real ogre, Shrek is tricked into striking a bargain with Rumpelstiltskin, trading a day from his life as part of the deal. But the fine print of the contract lands him in an alternate universe where he's feared, all right, but he's also never rescued Fiona or met Donkey, Puss in Boots, Gingy and all his fairytale friends. Now, to get back to reality and his family, Shrek has to find Fiona and defeat the devious Rumpelstiltskin before the deal expires.” To claim a copy of the book for iOS, go to the title’s landing page in the app store and enter the code CANDYCANE under the Use Storycode button. The title can be found by clicking HERE.
Free Children’s Enhanced Shrek Forever After eBook from iStoryTime is a post from: E-Reader News |
NOOBS v1.3.3 available
| If you got a Raspberry Pi for Christmas, check out this post for some suggestions on how to get started. The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed that the NOOBS minor revision number on the downloads page crept up by one at the end of the day on Christmas Eve. This release incorporates updated versions of Arch, Raspbian and Raspbmc. Check out the release notes for each distribution for more details. Highlights for Raspbian include:
Thanks to Dom Cobley (for firmware and kernel), Maciej Fijalkowski and Armin Rigo (for PyPy), Tim Rowledge (for Scratch), Vincent Sanders, Luke Diamand, David Stevenson, Tim Gover and Simon Mellor (for V4L2), Alex Newman and the Wolfram Research team (for Mathematica), Siarhei Siamashka and the fbturbo team (for X), Dave Higham (for Arch), Alex Bradbury and Peter Green (for Raspbian) and Sam Nazarko (for Raspbmc). This release was coordinated by Andrew Scheller, who will be handling NOOBS releasing from now on. |
Experts Warn Strict Parental Control Needed for Kids Tablet Usage
| One of the reasons that have contributed to the stellar growth of tablet devices has been their ease of use, something exemplified no better than the way kids aged even three year olds have taken to using them with élan. However, notwithstanding the great publicity that this would make for technology or the way it can help improve our lives, experts are wary of the negative effects it might have on the minds of the little ones. Some pediatricians have raised concerns that kids can have better brain development from time spent with non-electronic toys or from interacting with adults than fiddling with tablets. On the contrary, too much time spent using the tablet has often been linked to behavioral or social issues. However, as per Dr. Dimitri Christakis, serving pediatrician at Seattle Children's Hospital, the above is more applicable if the child is spending too much time watching videos and such and the result would be just the same as watching a TV. However, he did mention engaging in educational games and puzzles do have a positive impact on the child’s brain development. To make things simpler for parents, the American Academy of Pediatrics has even gone on to specify a daily tablet usage limit of 2 hours at the most as anything more than that could have an adverse impact on their normal activities, which includes sleeping, playing and such. Not to mention the most vital of them all, interacting with adults which initiate the language learning process along with other mannerisms that they learn from seeing others. Experts have sounded the same word of caution among slightly older children as too much time spent with tablet devices means they are spending less time interacting with other children. As such, they loose out on honing social interactivity skills like, making friends and so on. As Susan Linn, director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood likes to point out, “The best toys are the ones that just lie there until the child transforms them,” which rules out electronic items that can be run by pushing a button or via taps and swipes. However, there are also those who would like children to be exposed to the new age devices such as tablets arguing they will feel more at-home when they reach classroom when allowed to use tablet like devices at an early age. This they claim is vital considering the increasing use of technology in today’s classroom to impart education. That said, they’d also like to point out its important to strike a balance so as not to make kids too much dependent on tablet while also ensuring not to keep them alienated of the hottest new developments that has otherwise permeated deep into our lifestyles. As has been pointed out by the father of a 5 year old how his child benefited from the use of an iPad. “He had an iPad at close to 18 months so he was definitely one of those babies swiping away in his stroller. “Now it’s different, but back then we were a little ostracized. Now he’s reading at close to a second-grade reading level and I credit a lot of that to iPad apps.” Experts have also pointed out that with tablet devices entering mainstream segment just 3 years ago, it’s too early to have a clear idea of the impact that such devices may have on the growing minds. However, what seems to be the best option in such a scenario is to strike the right balance: allowing kids to grow up in the traditional manner while also allowing them limited exposure to technology to keep them updated of the latest developments. Tablet devices can be a great learning tool but has to be used just right.
Experts Warn Strict Parental Control Needed for Kids Tablet Usage is a post from: E-Reader News |
Dinner at Hogwarts: Recreating delicious dishes from your favorite novels
| I am an avid reader of cookbooks. I enjoy trying new recipes and making dishes from different cultures and styles of cooking. When reading a cookbook, I always try to consider the time commitment for each dish and whether the ingredient list is easily accessible (Do I want to travel to an exotic locale for a spice?). Each of these literary-inspired cookbooks contains recipes and references to dishes your favorite heroine/hero ate throughout the novel and an ingredient list that makes it possible in your own kitchen.
The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook: From Cauldron Cakes to Knickerbocker Glory- More Than 150 Magical Recipes for Muggles and Wizards (Dinah Buchotz) Banana Fritters with Caramel Sauce (Ch. 8 Deserts and Snacks at School) This recipe is on my to-make list. The idea of fried bananas paired with a homemade caramel sauce sounds delightful.
Once Upon a Time in the Kitchen: Recipes and Tales from Classic Children's Stories (Odell & Pignataro) Bear Honey and Nut Spread (Breakfast Foods/Winnie-the-Pooh) This recipe is quick and delicious. The ingredient list is simple: ½ cup chopped nuts (I used pecans but any will work), four tablespoons of honey and bread to spread it on. This would be an excellent recipe for little ones who want to help cook or a sweet treat with a cup of tea!
The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook: From Lady Mary's Crab Canapés to Mrs. Patmore's Christmas Pudding- More Than 150 Recipes From Upstairs and Downstairs (Emily Ansara Baines) "Unsinkable" Cream of Barley Soup (Ch. 2 First and Second Courses: Soups and Fish) A delicious soup course and a historical drama- As the title indicates, this cream of barley soup was served on the tragic and final evening of the Titanic's travels. I made this soup and it did not disappoint.
The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook: From Lamb Stew to "Groosling"- More Than 150 Recipes Inspired by the Hunger Games Trilogy (Emily Ansara Baines) Prim's Basil-Wrapped Goat Cheese Balls (Ch. 4 Humble Beginnings) I think this would make a lovely appetizer! The Unofficial Game of Thrones Cookbook: From Direwolf Ale to Auroch Stew- More Than 150 Recipes from Westeros and Beyond (Alan Kistler) Sansa's Strawberry Chiffon Pie (Ch. 6 Deceitful Delights: Desserts, Drinks, and "Poisonous" Cocktails) The base for this pie is a graham cracker crust and a fresh strawberry filling. I think that a graham cracker crust is a bit simpler to make than the traditional dough crust.  |