| Welcome back to the Good e-Reader Radio Show, your definitive news broadcast on the world of publishing, eBooks and e-Readers. Today, Michael Kozlowski and Jeremy Greenfield discuss the recent attempts to quantify authors in a more simplistic way. This is ruffling the feathers of indie authors that feel they should be called whatever they want. You can weigh in on the discussion HERE at Good e-Reader and HERE at DBW. Jeremy recently conducted a great interview with the CEO of Harlequin. They discussed the current business climate and how most romance/ertoica writers are self-publishing. This is creating a problem where not enough new writers are publishing the traditional way anymore and is forcing the publisher to get lean. The DOJ case against publishers in the USA is having reverberating effects on Canadian based Kobo. The Government of Canada is mandating that Kobo abide by the DOJ settlement terms, outside of the USA. Kobo contends the DOJ does not have jurisdiction in Canada to impose their will. We might see Kobo’s catalog dimmishing very soon. DBW is hosting a series of web lessons to help indie authors. You can find out more information on their latest one HERE. Podcast: Authors or Writers? Harlequin Market Share Diminished by Self-Publishing and Lots of News is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Monday, March 10, 2014
Podcast: Authors or Writers? Harlequin Market Share Diminished by Self-Publishing and Lots of News
Raspberry Pi Projects: a big book by Andrew Robinson and Mike Cook
| Ben here – Liz is currently non-functional due to her body having no idea what time it was when she arrived at the office this morning after landing back from San Francisco at the weekend. Raspberry Pi Projects is a fantastic book from Wiley, the publishers of Eben and Gareth’s Raspberry Pi User Guide and Carrie Anne’s Adventures in Raspberry Pi. It’s written by two great Pioneers: Dr. Andrew Robinson (creator of PiFace) and Mike Cook (co-author of Raspberry Pi for Dummies and creator of many awesome hardware projects). The book comprises of 16 practical software and hardware projects for the Raspberry Pi – all put together and documented by Andrew and Mike (with help) that are designed to help you better understand the system and become more confident in development of a range of projects. The projects are handily presented in rough order of difficulty, starting with the easier ones to get you going – and move on to more complex ones. The book covers interactive text based games in Python, graphical games with PyGame, interactive game hardware, application with PiFace Digital, making a toy chicken send tweets, chaotic pendulum hamonographs, car racing and more – as well as a chapter on Minecraft by Sean McManus, and Home Automation by Jonathan Evans. I wrote on here recently about things you can do with your Raspberry Pi – and this book is crammed full of amazing examples. Books like this and Carrie Anne’s will guide you through a given project and provide you with learning points along the way, which is a great way to learn about Linux, Python, hardware hacking or anything. Beginner or not you’ll learn lots by following the guide set out by experts such as these. Here are some examples of the projects Mike put together: PacMan made in Python PyGame: Disco lights: See more previews of the contents of the book on Mike’s blog! Raspberry Pi Projects is available from Amazon and also as a two-part e-book from Wiley: Part 1 & Part 2 |
The original Mr. Peabody and his boy Sherman
 If you're of a certain age, you probably remember with fondness the animated Rocky & Bullwinkle Show on television, with its occasional episodes of Peabody's Improbable History starring Mr. Peabody and his boy Sherman and their wonderful WABAC machine (pronounced way back). Well, Mr. Peabody and Sherman are back for modern kids this month in a brand new 3-D DreamWorks theatrical release movie. We thought your young patrons (and their grandparents) might be interested in viewing some of the original episodes of the show from the 60s after they've seen the new movie—and we have 36 of them just waiting for you to purchase, along with four novelizations for different ages to go with the new film. For those who don't remember the series, Mr. Peabody, a historian who also happens to be the world's smartest dog, has adopted the boy Sherman. The two use the time travel machine Mr. Peabody has invented to travel back in history, where they often find that their intervention is needed to get history back on track, and they manage to get into hilarious misadventures in each episode. For instance, they visit William Tell, who must shoot an apple off the head of his son, but poor William has lost his spectacles and is nearly blind. Mr. Peabody saves the day by placing a magnet inside the apple to attract the arrow. The best thing about the program was that the dry humor is entertaining for adults as well as kids, and, of course, there was an educational aspect as well. Mr. Peabody's awful puns are not to be missed. Click below to go to the suggested list of titles: *Geographical rights may vary by region.
Cindy Orr is a Digital Collection Advisor at OverDrive.
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What Happens When Amazon Is the Last One Standing?
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Before Amazon emerged, there were six major publishing houses, each with several imprints; Amazon indirectly had a significant impact on their finances through the ebook price fixing investigation that resulted in settlements in the hundreds of millions of dollars from the publishers alone. As for bookselling, Amazon’s original purpose in life, the industry has already seen the loss of the Borders chain, the life support efforts of Barnes and Noble, the closing of the Sony Reader store 9US), and a significant drop in promotional efforts in the US from Kobo. Are companies throwing up their hands in defeat because they cannot compete with Amazon’s herculean efforts? Or are they more accurately signifying that Amazon simply does it better, and therefore consumers shouldn’t bother finding an alternative? In a post for Dear Author, Jane Litte provided an in-depth look at some of the numbers involved in being–and competing against–Amazon. The end result, according to Litte, is going to be a reduction in discoverability for titles and a reduction in profits for authors when there are no other options for bookselling. We’ve been asking the question for years: what will it take to bring down Amazon? For the time being, it seems like no one has the answer, and no one is looking for it.
What Happens When Amazon Is the Last One Standing? is a post from: Good e-Reader |
New Survey Demonstrates Rise in Library Spending
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The spending on print books, movies/DVDs, and CDs or other downloadable music was interesting, despite the easy availability of movies and music from other sources. While music circulation and spending has dropped, DVDs remain the single best investment with the circulation far outweighing the financial cost. The unfortunate reduction in print book purchasing could go either way; while ebook spending did increase for most libraries regardless of size, overall materials spending decreased in library systems who had suffered branch closing, reductions in staff, and reductions in operating hours. In even better news, every category of library size reported an overall increase in circulation for a total 2% increase. In a finding that speaks to the vital role that libraries play, it was those libraries that serve rural communities that reported the highest book circulation numbers, largely due to the lack of bookstores in these communities and the unavailability of “one day delivery lockers” or Sunday delivery from online retailers. Interestingly, libraries that reported a decrease in total book circulation actually pointed to ebooks as the culprit. With the ease of purchase and download and the more affordable price of digital over print, it appears as though consumers are quick to press the “buy it now” button instead of waiting for the book to become available through the library, either in print or in digital. This phenomenon has been shared for years from companies like Kobo and OverDrive, who’ve worked to convince publishers that library lending and ebooks are good for their business. The full report from Library Journal is available HERE.
New Survey Demonstrates Rise in Library Spending is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Android Promises SDK For Wearables
| With an already overwhelming presence in the mobile devices segment, Google now wishes to engage with consumers at a more deeper and personal level. The search giant made that amply clear at the SXSW with Senior Vice President Sundar Pichai announcing the launch of a SDK that will enable developers to make apps for wearables. Right now that seems to be applicable more to smartwatches and fitness tracking devices, though Pichai is envisioning the wearable segment to get more and more intimate in the coming years. Maybe we can have smart jackets in future, or even a smart device implanted under the skin to keep track of vital health parameters at all times. Coming back to the present, Pichai promised the SDK will be made available in just about 2 weeks' time. This will be accompanied with the way Google perceives the smart wearable segment to evolve in the next couple of years. The company also stated they will come up with a version of Android for use in smartwatch devices. The new OS variant will draw heavily from Google Now and search feature and is expected to be launched towards the end of this month. Google is also reported to be collaborating with LG Electronics in developing a smartwatch of its own in what surely is going to be the Nexus equivalent of a smartwatch device. The smartwatch is slated for launch in June during the Google I/O conference. The above development is accompanied by similar efforts on part of Google to have its OS be seen in almost as many segments as possible. Back in January, Google had announced the Open Automotive Alliance the comprises of car makers such a GM, Hyundai, Audi, Honda Motors as well chipmaker Nvidia that looked for ways to implement the Google Android OS for use in the automotive sector.
Android Promises SDK For Wearables is a post from: Good e-Reader |
New Apple iWatch Concept Envisages a Classic Rounded Watch Style
| There aren't any definitive signs of the Apple iWatch so far, but that hasn't stopped designers from visualizing their own take on the purported smartwatch from the Cupertino company. Interestingly, a couple of iWatch renderings have appeared online and all of them are based on the traditional rounded watch face. These no doubt will act to hide the smart attributes the watch otherwise boasts of beneath its conventional design. Also, such renderings comes as a break from the usual types we have seen so far, that are either the types of fitness bands with a curved display incorporated or with angular edges as seen with the Galaxy Gear 2 and such. Argentine student Tomas Moyano’s concept is sans any external keys or sockets, making it perfect for use even in rain or dusty conditions. The device also does away with sound based notification systems, relying instead on vibrations to inform the users of any incoming notifications. The justification for such a design feature is that sound based notifications can be unreliable in a busy and noisy area while generating sounds loud enough can be energy sapping as well. Instead, vibrations can be a lot more reliable, more so for a device that is always worn around the wrist. Moyano also visualized the iWatch as one that forgoes on a cellular connection of its own to better conserve power. In such a scenario, the iWatch will be entirely dependent on the mother device it is tied to. While still on power issues, the concept iWatch includes micro solar panels to re-charge on its own when outdoors, along with wireless charging options as well. As for its features, the iWatch concept might include a map application to aid in navigation though it remains to be seen how that can be achieved with the tiny display that the smartwatch typically offers. The iWatch rendering also includes a heart-beat tracking monitor, along with an associated app believed to draw on resources likely to be built-into the next iOS 8 version. Among the other features that Moyano visualized include a 1.2 megapixel iSight camera capable for recording 720p HD videos, M7 motion co-processor, along with pulsometer and temperature sensors. It has a 1.4 inch sapphire crystal display and a resolution of 200ppi. The device will also boast of GPS and GLONASS along with Bluetooth 4.0 LE connectivity. In any case, the concept offers a fresh new perspective of an iWatch prototype.
New Apple iWatch Concept Envisages a Classic Rounded Watch Style is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Android Launchers are in Big Demand
| The new year has already proven to be big with Android launches. Android launches according to Flurry in just the first quarter this year has already surpassed that of the entire 2013, still not quite at the end of Q1, 2014. Some estimates are at about 30 million monthly users in the US, still far from assuming a dominant share. Nevertheless, the tremendous growth recorded in Q1, 2014 shows consumers’ willingness to use Android, especially Google Now, Facebook Home (though this hasn't proven to be particularly popular), even those catering to a niche segment like Kids Place – Parental Control.
Android Launchers are in Big Demand is a post from: Good e-Reader |
NYT Now App: Abridged News on Mobile Devices at Half the Cost
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In the ongoing experimentation from newspapers to adapt to a world of digital consumers while still making a profit, the New York Times has announced its newest option: abridged stories from its own publications, and other source around the internet, optimized for mobile device reading. Thanks to a new app, NYT Now, subscribers to the app’s content can access shorter versions of the paper’s full-length articles for a little more than half the cost of a full digital subscription. This kind of service is perfect for people who want the level of content and slant of journalism that the Times is typically known for, but do not have the time to read full-length editions every day. This as-of-yet untapped level on consumer–the person who wishes he read more books or was more up-to-date on current events, but simply doesn’t have enough time to devote to this type of reading–is becoming a bigger focus among digital publishing platforms; last week, Rooster announced the March 11th launch of its “snippet” reading subscription that lets users consume serialized books at a fraction of the cost of full-size ebook subscriptions, again, optimized for smartphone reading. While both the NYT Now app and Rooster have set their price points at approximately half of the cost of a typical subscription, in the case of the news app, it may not be far enough. The app still requires a fee of around $8 a month, a price point that people who are already strapped for time may not be willing to pay to scroll through partial articles when that same level of engagement can be had for free by browsing news sites online.
NYT Now App: Abridged News on Mobile Devices at Half the Cost is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Saturday, March 8, 2014
New Marvel AR Update to be Released April 2014
| Marvel AR is an augmented e-reading app that gives you a multimedia experience based on the comic you are reading. The premise of the app is to be a second screen to the traditional comic book. You get interviews with the artists and writers and even fight scenes. The new Marvel AR update is going to be jam packed with new enhancements. The last time Marvel AR was updated was July 11 2013, which makes it fairly outdated. At the South by Southwest event in Texas, Marvel has confirmed that a big update will be released in April. "It was just time," John Cerilli, VP of Content & Programming, said. "After concentrating on the actual content going into the app and pumping it full for nearly two years, we realized the app itself may not be giving users the best experience it can." Marvel has promised that the app will load up faster and give you all of the AR features faster then before. "We promise more 3D!" Cerilli said. "One of the finest executions we've done to date was seeing Cap fight Wolverine in our AVENGERS VS X-MEN Hardcover. Fans really loved it. We really loved it. So we've figured out a way to budget for them and when fans see what we have in store with some of the new 3D executions, they're going to love it. We're also really fond of our Marvel Science series and have a great relationship with some world class thinkers, so you'll see a lot more of that, too
New Marvel AR Update to be Released April 2014 is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Amtrak Writers’ Residencies Closer to Being a Reality
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Now, more details have come out about the potential for Amtrak to offer a train writing program to more authors. According to Ben Cosman for TheWire: “Julia Quinn, Amtrak’s Director of Social Media, did an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit today to discuss the company’s writer’s residency program. According to Quinn, Amtrak is still “formalizing” the official program, but she did offer a few new details.
While Amtrak hasn’t made it clear what the actual definition of a writer would be for this type of residency program, even more details are expected in the near future. This type of program, even if no longer offered for free but rather at a significant discount, stands to not only be a tremendous PR move for the company, but can also fill up some of the empty seats on various routes, especially if authors are able to be as flexible in their travel dates as they are in their writing schedules.
Amtrak Writers’ Residencies Closer to Being a Reality is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Pebble 2.0 Update Launched
| The Pebble update for Android has finally arrived, after being in the testing phase for quite some time. Pebble Version 2.0 can be downloaded from the Google Play Store to the watch, and among the new features are a watchapp directory, watchapp locker, and a new app interface that has been given a thorough once over. Users will also be given prior notifications about the update. There are a few new watchfaces as well, with some showing essential information such as temperature and battery life. Some inform the user via a vibration that the Bluetooth connection with the mother Android device is lost. Similarly, the GetApp section will allow one to download apps such as Foursquare, Yelp, eBay, Plex, Runtastic Pro, to name a few. Overall, it’s a nice update that goes a long way towards enhancing the functionality of the Pebble smartwatch.
Pebble 2.0 Update Launched is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Exclusive: The Canadian Government is Seeking to Destroy Kobo
| Kobo is beginning to feel the pinch of prospective lower profit margins in Canada. The Canadian Government is forcing them to renegotiate contracts with all of their major publishing partners. Kobo sees this as being “Devastating for the company” and will relegate them to “an ineffective competitor.” Two weeks ago, the Commissioner of Competition in Canada mandated to Kobo that it had 40 days to re-negotiate contracts with Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, HarperCollins, and Hachette. Immediately the publishers starting mailing letters to Kobo, demanding their existing contracts be augmented or cancelled completely. Complex contract negotiations take time, and Kobo may find themselves being unable to sell thousands of titles to customers in Canada. In contrast each publisher in the United States DOJ settlement took 16 months each. The US Justice Department has been running a very high profile case with Apple and the top 5 major publishers. All of the publishers settled out of court with specific agreements. Most of the exact proclivities of the publishers settlements were varied and not consistent, none were publicly available. Kobo is contending that the DOJ lacks jurisdiction in Canada and any settlement in the US, is not binding, because no one knows exactly what they were. Kobo first started implementing agency pricing with publishers in 2011. The essence of agency was to have eBooks sold at a common value. Normally, the publisher sets the price and Kobo gets 30% of each book sale. If the publisher price matches the book against another site, Kobo would still get the same commission, but at a reduced rate. Each publishing contract is negotiated separately, some adhering to the wholesale model and others agencies, or a combination of both. A new term most people have not heard of before is called “Agency-Lite.” These agreements arose after the settlement agreements and final judgements that transpired in the US. The essence of Agency-Lite is that allows the publishers to set the price, but allows Kobo to diverge from the sale price. One of the conditions entail the discount cannot exceed the total margin that the retailer earns from annual book sales, this is called the “discount pool.” When Kobo first formed their company, they abided by the wholesale model, which was tremendously unprofitable. They had lost millions in their first few years trying to compete against Amazon, Sony, Apple and Barnes and Noble. Kobo contends that the Wholesale model is not indicative to an online environment of price matching algorithms. The Canadian government is now forcing Kobo to iron out new contracts with Hachette, Macmillan, Harper Collins and others. If they can’t do it in 40 days the existing ones will be void and Kobo will be forced to remove thousands of books from their bookstore. Without a full catalog of eBooks from all of the Canadian publishers “Kobo would be an ineffective competitor. Customers choose eBooks and e-Readers based on the breadth of their catalogs”. If Kobo lost any of these “they would cease to be a credible player in the market place.” Conversely, if Kobo accepts the amendments and shifts it operations to Agency-Lite, it will suffer unrecoverable losses. If you live in the USA, you will likely know that you would find it difficult to find a Kobo e-Reader available. This is primarily due to when the USA adopted Agency-Lite, Kobo saw its net revenues decline and stopped investing in that market. It closed down its office in Chicago and decided to focus aggressively on international expansion. In a legal filing Kobo said that the reason Barnes and Noble and Sony’s business collapsed in the US was directly attributed to the abolishment of agency pricing. Now, we might see Kobo abandon the Canadian market, just like they did in the USA. The only play Kobo has in a legal battle against the Canadian Government is to play the jurisdiction card. The publisher settlements and the abandoning of Agency pricing was purely based in the United States. The Justice Department and the settlements have no legal jurisdiction in Canada. If Kobo fails to make a case and have to absorb profit loses by switching to a hybrid of wholesale and agency-lite it looks likely Kobo will kill their Canadian ebook business. They certainly won’t be able to compete against Amazon and Apple. I mean they could, but it wouldn’t be worth it anymore. Exclusive: The Canadian Government is Seeking to Destroy Kobo is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Friday, March 7, 2014
New Report Suggests Google May Have Forced Asus to Cancel Transformer Book Duet Project
| The Asus Transformer Book Duet TD300 seems to have been delayed indefinitely and Google is tipped to have played a part in it, as per a report carried by Digitimes. The reasons are obvious as Google feels the device that dual boots both Windows and Android would provide an undue advantage to Windows that is struggling to gain a foothold in the mobile OS segment. Such a device is being perceived to allow Windows to piggyback on Google’s Android on the path to success that Google had so painstakingly created over the years. Such a scenario could also lead to Google having to wage a two front war, with the Apple iOS on the one hand and Windows on the other. This isn't the first time though that Google is believed to have forced its hardware partners to cancel projects involving dual booting devices. A Samsung ATIV model that could dual boot both Android and Windows was reportedly pulled off given Google's concerns over letting Windows build on the success Android has made. The Transformer Book Duet TD300 device was unveiled at the CES event early this year and had attracted a fair bit of consumer response. The one most distinct capability of the device was that it came with a key on the keypad that allows users to toggle between either Android or Windows operating systems. The same could also be invoked via a tab on the tablet as well and was being hailed as a device that would be just right for both business and domestic usage. Chipmaker Intel too had been seen actively promoting the Transformer Book Duet TD300. Currently, it is only Intel chips that can support dual booting of both Android and Windows. The Transformer Book Duet TD300 was scheduled to be launched by the second half of 2014 though its not known now when is that going to happen.
New Report Suggests Google May Have Forced Asus to Cancel Transformer Book Duet Project is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Barnes and Noble Cuts Nook Funding by 74%
| Barnes and Noble wanted to tackle the e-reader and eBook market in a big way. The company has lost over one billion dollars on their digital enterprise and are seeking new ways to stop the blood flow. The company has fired most of their executive team and sacked 190 jobs in the last year. New SEC filing has the Nation’s largest bookstore cutting Nook funding by 74% Barnes & Noble's fiscal quarter ended at the end of January, and the filing shows a $61 million loss on $157 million in revenue. It also notes their capital expenditures where a paltry $7.4 million on the Nook. That represents a massive decline in spending over last year, with a 55% drop in the past nine months. This is about the same time that the rumors starting about the accelerated decline of the entire Nook division. The management shakeup and employee reorganization has been taxing on B&N. So much so, that they have failed to adhere to the terms of the Microsoft investment of 300 million. Barnes and Noble has not meant the content thresholds Microsoft established by opening up Nook stores in over 30 different countries. Because of this, Nook has not been able to attain the total funding until they meet their goals. Rumor has it, they might be able to do it by the end of April 2014. Barnes and Noble Cuts Nook Funding by 74% is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Self-Publishers Should Not Be Called Authors
| The landscape of publishing has dramatically changed over the last five years. In the past, if you wanted to publish a book you had to do it from a vanity press or land a deal with a traditional publisher. Now, anyone can write a book and submit it to Smashwords, Kindle, Kobo or Nook. So the question is, should we quantify a distinction between an writer and a professional author? I think a line needs to be drawn in the sand so that we know who is the real deal. Just because its easy to upload your written word, so that it can be downloaded to another machine does not make you an author, any more than me buying a stethoscope allows me to be called a doctor. A “singer” is someone who sings. A “professional singer” is someone who makes a living from singing. There is a stark contrast between being a writer and being a professional author. Many indie writers who publish a title or two on Amazon or Smashwords normally think otherwise. They wear the title as an author as a badge of honor. Major writing organizations such as the Romance Writers of America, Canadian Writing Union and Published Authors Network all accept indie published authors as members and the Science Fiction Writers of America is currently drafting guidelines to do the same. In order to join these organizations you have to earn ‘x’ amount of money over a single calendar year, where the specified amount for indie publishers is a *multiple* of the requirement for traditionally-published authors minimum income, because it is easier to make money by going indie. The Published Authors Network has strict requirements on who can join their organization. You have to earn $1,000 in the form of an advance on a single Eligible Novel. Or you have to earn $1,000 in the form of royalties or a combination of advance plus royalties on a single published Eligible Novel. Finally, you have to pull in $5,000 in the form of earnings for a Self-Published novel. Calling everyone authors who puts words on a document and submits them to the public devalues the word so much, it makes it meaningless. Indie Author, Self-Published Author, Hybred Author, Published Author, Blog Author, Forum Author. All of these titles mean different things, depending on who you talk to. I would like to see the process simplified, you are either a writer or a professional author. If you can earn your living from your writing, you are a professional author, anyone else is just a plain old writer. Indie authors and self-published authors who claim they are real authors makes me laugh. The term basically doesn’t mean anything. Being a photographer means nothing either; as soon as you pick up a camera, you are one. By definition, you would be an “author” because of commenting on this post or a “singer” because you sing in the shower. If you put words on a document, you are certainly not an author. In the science world, things are very different. In order to be taken seriously, not only do you have to write articles or research papers, but other people have to cite them. The more people you have citing your reports in their books or their own reports, your position as a scientist is elevated. I think a debate in the publishing industry must be made on what constitutes being a writer and an author. These terms are thrown around so loosely that it gets confusing. Some people will say “I want to only read books by professional authors, because I am of the opinion they are of a certain quality, as compared to self-published works.” Others will say “I consider people who have NOT published books by one of the big five real authors. People publishing through the big five just write useless, commercial drivel that sells well. They’re not authors. They just do their job. The self-pubs are doing it for the love of writing, and create original, non-mainstream works. I love that! They’re real authors.” Self-Publishers Should Not Be Called Authors is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Rooster: Subscription Reading in Bite-Sized Smartphone Pieces
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Now, a new company is launching with a new approach to the subscription model. Instead of trying to target readers with a “read everything you possibly can get your hands on in a month” idea, Rooster is looking at reading as something that consumers can do in bite-sized pieces whenever time allows. To that end, the company is building a platform that offers serialized content optimized for smartphones, for a much lower price than the subscription big boys. Rooster’s co-founder and editorial director Yael Goldstein Love spoke to Good e-Reader today about the appeal of serialized subscription reading. While much of the content is currently in the public domain or sourced from the company’s other site, Daily Lit, a different model is underway in which classics are paired with contemporary content. “We’ve been working directly with authors to try to create content that is specifically tailored for the Rooster experience.” The shorter length of Rooster content is perfect for smartphone reading during snippets of time, something that speaks to the company’s model. Rather than luring consumers with a model that affords them the ability to read mountains of content for one price, Rooster’s clientele is expected to read serialized and novella-length works for far less than the cost of a typical ebook subscription plan. Rooster is working with publishers to stock novella length or shorter novels, especially titles that just–for one reason or another–just don’t take off in the way that had been anticipated. “Every publisher has this list of books that they loved so much, that they thought were just going to find an audience and be loved by so many people, but for whatever reason, it just doesn’t pick up or find its audience. It’s just this gem that goes unread. Those are the things we want to find, those books that deserve a second chance.” While Rooster is in beta at this time, full launch of the site is anticipated for March 11. Users can sign up now for a free two week trial at the company’s website at readrooster.com.
Rooster: Subscription Reading in Bite-Sized Smartphone Pieces is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Blowing in the (fetid subway) wind
| A quick post today: I’m at the airport gate waiting to get on a plane. I sent out a tweet about this brilliant advertising application of the Pi last week, but so many of you missed it on Twitter and have emailed to tell me about it since then (including one Dr Eben Upton) that I thought it deserved a spot here. Here’s a digital billboard that responds to the wind created by an approaching train. The advertising agency behind this piece of clever is Åkestam Holst from Sweden, working with production company Stopp for Apotek Hjärtat’s Apolosophy products. Stopp says the ad was scheduled to be run for one day only, but it was so popular that the company which owns the screens asked for it to run for the rest of the week “as a way for them to show the opportunities their screens can offer”. When you think about it, a device like the Pi that can run a full HD digital display and can be hooked up to respond to real-world inputs is ideal for this sort of setup. These guys aren’t the only agency to be using a Raspberry Pi behind digital displays: but this is the best integrated use of the device I’ve seen in this context, and it’s made for a very powerful piece of advertising. |
Podcast: New and featured content for March
| Our March collection highlights podcast is now available on OverDrive's Learning Center. This month's podcast is chock-full of exciting news about eBook, audiobook, and streaming video suppliers who are coming soon to OverDrive Marketplace, including a famously beloved children's TV program, a world-renowned documentary series, and a star-studded major motion picture supplier. As always, we round out our monthly podcast with our personal picks for the month, as well as insider tips about finding sales and placing orders in Marketplace.  You can access our Collection Highlights: March podcast now through the end of the month on OverDrive's Learning Center (find it under "Collection Development").
Carrie Smith is a Technical Writer at OverDrive.
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Collection Team Column: Laura Guldeman – Keep calm and Downton on!
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In an attempt to fend off this season's withdrawal, I have compiled a list of titles to keep us avid fans symptom-free. If you miss the romance, may I prescribe Lady Catherine, the Earl, and the Real Downton Abbey as well as Jo Baker's Longbourn. If Mrs. Patmores' cooking is what's lacking in your diet then take a peek at Edwardian Cooking: 80 Recipes Inspired by Downton Abbey's Elegant Meals. If a lack of downstairs drama is what you ail from then cozy up with a copy of Jacky Hyams The Real Life Downton Abbey: How Life Was Really Lived in Stately Homes a Century Ago. If your symptoms persist, take a look at the long list of Downton Abbey read-a-likes.
 If you would like more suggestions, your Collection Development Specialist is available to help create recommended lists. Email collectionteam@overdrive.com for more information today! *Some titles may have limited regional or platform availability.
Laura Guldeman is a Collection Development Specialist at OverDrive.
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