| Today is a great day to be Irish. In honor of St. Patrick's Day, we made a list of some of our favorite Irish authors. James Joyce, Frank Delaney, Maeve Binchy, Colum McCann, and Declan Burke are just a few of the names you will see when you click on the link below. These wonderful stories will transport you into the world of Irish culture and history which can bring new meaning to the celebrations and festivities happening today. Between pints of Guinness and corned beef sandwiches, share these with your loved ones and patrons in tribute of the great Irish writers of our time and before. Do you have any other favorites that we left off the list? How about any fun plans or library programming you are doing in honor of St. Patrick's Day? Sláinte! *Some titles may have limited regional or platform availability.
Rachel Somerville is a Collection Development Analyst at OverDrive.
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Sunday, March 16, 2014
Tip o’ the hat to Irish authors
Leaked iOS 8 Screenshots Reveals New Healthbook App
| Apple is tipped to launch iOS 8 at the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) scheduled this June though there already is a sneak peek of what's in store with the next upgrade thanks to a leak from Chinese site Weibo. As revealed in the leaked screenshots, there is going to be at least two new OSX apps – Preview and TextEdit – that will make its debut in the mobile OS. Both of these apps though will offer limited functionality as these are purported to allow users to view files created by the desktop app and stored in iCloud. These are unlikely to offer any editing capabilities. Another app that has appeared in the leaked screen shot of what is believed to be that of the next iOS iteration is Healthbook. This app is already being touted to emerge as the biggest USP of iOS 8 in the coming days and will give shape to the renewed focus that Apple is expected to assign to health and fitness aspects. Not to mention, the Healthbook app will also provide easy integration with the iWatch with built-in health tracking features that the Californian company is expected to come up with in the coming days. Popular site dealing with Apple devices, 9to5Mac has confirmed the legitimacy of the leaked screenshots with help from Apple sources.
Leaked iOS 8 Screenshots Reveals New Healthbook App is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Libri, Bookline.hu Merger in Hungary Strengthens Bookselling Industry
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Online bookseller Bookline.hu and Libri have teamed up to give consumers convenience and choice, while still working to not serve as competition for each other given their vastly different functions. Bookline claims to have a user base of better than one in ten of the country’s population, with just over one-and-a-half million users in a country with slightly less than ten million residents. As for Libri, it operates fourteen physical stores in the capital city alone, with more than a dozen other stores scattered around the country. The biggest thing going for the merger will be the ability to leverage their marketing and promotion dollars, which only makes sense since they sell virtually the same product. Bookline has been experiencing some painful financial losses lately, and hopes the merger will boost brand recognition and profits.
Libri, Bookline.hu Merger in Hungary Strengthens Bookselling Industry is a post from: Good e-Reader |
FireFox For Windows 8 Project Axed Due to Low Demand
| Mozilla has announced they have put an end to the Firefox for Windows 8 project just weeks of launching the beta version because there just aren't enough testers who volunteered to test the new touch-friendly Metro avatar of Firefox. Mozilla also stated they are not going to risk launching what could be a buggy version of the browser. This applies to only the touch screen version of the popular browser, though the traditional desktop version continues to be available. “In the months since, as the team built and tested and refined the product, we've been watching Metro's adoption,” revealed Firefox VP Johnathan Nightingale in a blog post. “From what we can see, it's pretty flat. On any given day we have, for instance, millions of people testing pre-release versions of Firefox desktop, but we've never seen more than 1000 active daily users in the Metro environment.” The touch-friendly version of Firefox was scheduled to be launched on March 18, but that obviously isn't relevant any more. Mozilla stated they aren't ruling out the browser in future and will be back in development once demand picks up.
FireFox For Windows 8 Project Axed Due to Low Demand is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Amazon Issues New Update For its Kindle App For Android
| Amazon has come up with an update to its Kindle app for Android. The update doesn’t introduce any new fancy features but brings about some interesting enhancements to the existing set up. The changes include the introduction of several new fonts to choose from, along with easy access to the table of contents when reading a particular book. The update also promises faster cover loading along with automatic brightness control. The issue of using the volume buttons for page turning has also been overhauled so that it now allows for better and more refined control. Overall, it’s a minor update, but it no doubt will allow for a better reading experience using the Kindle app.
Amazon Issues New Update For its Kindle App For Android is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Goodereader Android and Blackberry App Store gets Better Search
| The Good e-Reader Android and Blackberry App Store has been going strong for over two years now and searching has always been a big issue. In the past, we relied on Google Search that would not normally index new apps right away. Sometimes, it would take weeks before an app we just uploaded would appear in the search results. Obviously this created a huge bottleneck with app discovery and being able to find new content quickly. Today, we are happy to report we solved this problem. The new Good e-Reader App Store Search program was custom written for our website to handle the extensive app library. The end result allows you to search for new apps, the second a developer uploads it to the site, or our staff of curators contribute content. Getting search to function correctly was a huge undertaking. The download suite we use has been 100% custom written for the store, and there are no existing libraries or code that would work. We basically had to start from scratch and build a new system that would use Elasticsearch and talk directly to our database. Right now, the end result for search is not sexy, but it is functional. In the coming months we will implement a brand new site design, so stay tuned. Goodereader Android and Blackberry App Store gets Better Search is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Self-Published eBooks Dominate Bestseller Lists
| Self-Publishing is getting to be big business and on a monthly basis these indie titles are dominating bestseller lists. The New York Times, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble are the main ones people pay the most attention to. Today, we look at some interesting statistics on how self-published titles are starting to dominate the bestseller lists. Penguin and Random House had 478 eBook bestsellers in 2013, while Hachette had 258. The vast majority of other titles that dominated the charts were written by independent authors. In 2013, self-published books accounted for 27% of the 100 top selling e-books on Amazon each week, on average. Barnes and Noble has said that “30% of NOOK customers purchase self-published content each month, representing 25% of NOOK Book sales every month.” Many indie authors made the New York Times bestseller list in 2013, such as Bella Andre, Rachel Van Dyken, Abbi Glines, Katy Evan, Barbara Freethy. Mark Coker of Smashwords has stated that by 2020, 50% of all eBooks will be self-published. Does this mean that the traditional bestseller list will have more indie works on it? Will we reach a time when the New York Times doesn’t even have a traditionally published book on it? Self-Published eBooks Dominate Bestseller Lists is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Joyland by Stephen King Finally Goes Digital
| Joyland was a novel by Stephen King and was released back in June of 2013. The author buckled the trend of a simultaneous release in trade and digital formats. Instead, he only published it only in hardcover, citing "I have no plans for a digital version. Maybe at some point, but in the meantime, let people stir their sticks and go to an actual bookstore rather than a digital one." Well, it looks like a full year later Joyland will finally be available as an eBook. Stephen King is no stranger to digital and released a novel in 2000 called Riding The Bullet, that was only available as an ebook. This was during a time when no one really knew what a digital book was, other than the extremely tech savvy. Last year, King released a Kindle Single exclusive that was basically an essay. The industry was taken aback from Stephen decided to only do a physical book and not do a digital release. Many major news organizations, such as the New York Times, Washington Journal and others picked up on the story. Really, the buzz surrounding the entire situation got more people talking about the book, so mission accomplished, in terms of overall awareness. Joyland, the coming-of-age story of a college student who works at a funfair where a murder has been committed will be available on Amazon, B&N, and Kobo April 4th 2014. The pre-orders are available right now, so you can insure an automatic download the day it comes out. Joyland by Stephen King Finally Goes Digital is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Sony Sends First Email to Customers about Kobo
| The Sony Reader Store will be closing operations March 20th in the USA and Canada. Kobo will be taking over the existing customer base and support the exporting of purchased books from Sony to the Kobo platform. Last week, Sony sent out an email to anyone who has purchased an eBook from them to prepare them for the coming move. “Dear Reader Store customer: As a follow-up to our announcement on February 6, 2014, we wanted to remind you that Reader Store will be closing March 20, 2014 at 6 p.m. (EST). Although we are sorry to say goodbye, we are confident that the transition to Kobo will allow you to continue to enjoy a high quality e-reading experience. So, what’s next? As a reminder, in late March, you will receive a notification from us with a link that will allow you to transfer your library to Kobo. Whether you are new to Kobo or already have an account, you’ll be able to transfer your Reader Store eBooks to your Kobo account so you’ll continue to have access to them in the future. Plus, any existing Reader Store credits you might still have in your account will transfer to your Kobo account to use at the Kobo Store. And of course, you can continue to use your Sony Reader to read eBooks from Kobo. We are fully committed to helping you through this exciting transition to Kobo. With the Kobo Store, you’ll have access to more than 4 million of the world’s best eBooks, magazines, comics and kids’ titles, all at your fingertips. We want to thank you for being such loyal customers, a part of our reading family, and for your continued support as we work to complete this transition. It has been a pleasure reading with you! Sincerely, The Reader Store Team Sony Sends First Email to Customers about Kobo is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Asus Transformer Book Duet Axed Due to Pressure from Microsoft and Google
| The Transformer Book Duet was designed to offer the best of both worlds, Android and Windows. The device was first shown off at CES in Las Vegas and became one of the new computers that people started to obsess about. Apparently, Google and Microsoft were not consenting bedfellows and made Asus cancel the device. The Book Duet Transformer hybrid laptop and tablet concept basically allowed users to switch between both Android and Windows with just the press of either a tab on the display or a special button on the keypad unit. The best thing with the entire set up was that there wasn't the need for restarting the device each time one needed to switch OS. However, with mounting pressure from both Google and Microsoft, Asus has caved to the pressure. Microsoft said that they have stopped supporting dual OS devices with a new policy. Google basically said that they don’t want to give Microsoft a foothold into an industry where they haven’t had much success and want to stop the Redmond company from piggybacking.
Asus Transformer Book Duet Axed Due to Pressure from Microsoft and Google is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Microsoft Establishing an Internal Date on Office for iOS
| Microsoft is believed to be in a position of unleashing its popular productivity suite, the MS Office across iOS platform any day now. Experts predicts it's no longer a matter of if, but when. Microsoft stands the risk of losing market share of its Office software suite. The scenario in some ways is akin to BlackBerry holding on to making its BBM to rival platforms for fear of denying its own smartphone range one of its biggest attractions. Microsoft has been resistant to bringing a full version of their seminal Office system to touchscreen systems. The have basically alienated an entire new generation of users that have grown up with iPads and Android tablets. Instead, most users gravitate towards less developed word processors. These are either available free or charge a small amount and are less refined and elegant. Overall, Microsoft has found itself at the crossroads of an important change in the computing industry that it helped shape years ago. However, its time they reinvent themselves and appeal to a wider demographic. It is only a matter of time before the new Microsoft CEO pulls the trigger and establishes a definitive release date.
Microsoft Establishing an Internal Date on Office for iOS is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Banned Erotica eBooks Given a New Home with EXCITICA
| Sometimes Erotica books can be too racy for the sensibilities of major digital bookstores. Amazon, Apple, B&N, Kobo and Smashwords all have their different rules for what is acceptable erotica and what is not. Last October a firestorm erupted with hardcore titles being listed in the kids section, due to the gaming of keywords attached to the book. This resulted in over one thousand titles being removed from the various ecosystems and some publishers accounts suspended. A new bookstore is being launched to give all of these removed titled a new home. EXCITICA is a new website by beselling author Selena Kitt. Its key focus is to capitalize on the success of erotica eBooks. The site is currently in beta and gives self-published authors a 60% revenue share program. Their target market is basically banned eBooks and subject matter that is not appropriate for the general public. In order to not break any laws, EXCITICA has imeplmented a number of rules for indie authors. They make it a point to insure that no books have minors in them and to limit your interspecies relationships to Shapeshifters, Vampires, Zombies or various other paranormal subsets. The new site will have their work cut out for them, as they are in the company of some established players. Red Sage has been around since 2001 and Ellora’s Cave launched a year later. They have the largest following of hardcore readers, other than Amazon, Apple, Kobo and others. Banned Erotica eBooks Given a New Home with EXCITICA is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Friday, March 14, 2014
Amazon Relaunches Kindle Installment Program
| Amazon rolled out an installment plan for a single tablet last December. It allowed users to make a small down payment and then a series of monthly payments until the balance was paid off. It looks like Amazon was happy with the way it all turned out, because they are making it a regular feature across their entire product line of Kindles. Residents of the USA can put a down payment of 1/5 of the total cost of the Kindle Fire HDX or the Kindle Paperwhite. After it’s shipped out, you simply have to make a series of 5 small payments. The basic Kindle can be yours for a minimum payment of $13.99 a month, which is something any kid can afford with a paper route or selling lemonade. To be eligible for this offer, you must reside in the United States of America, your Amazon.com account must have been active for at least two years and you must have a valid credit card associated with your Amazon.com account that expires no earlier than June 30, 2014. Residents of Florida and the District of Columbia are not eligible for this offer. Amazon Relaunches Kindle Installment Program is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Learning through gaming
| Allen Heard, Head of Computing at Ysgol Bryn Elian in North Wales (that’s Welsh for Bryn Elian School), is visiting us at Pi Towers today. We’ve been talking about making Computing fun to learn, and how to make sure that kids remember what they’ve done in their lessons – and perhaps even keep learning at home. Allen’s been running Tech-Dojo events in North Wales, which have been attracting hundreds of kids – on Saturdays! Here’s what he’s been doing: note the Flappy Bird clones the kids are writing in Scratch, the use of Minecraft, the way kids are learning about pixel art by building recognisable sprites out of beads, and other ways he’s bringing out the kids’ ability to think programatically through building games and the fundamental elements of games. A few months ago, Allen entered these Tech-Dojo events into the North Wales e-Learning Technology Competition for projects that engage with the local community. He’s just heard that the project won first prize in its category, and will present it to educators from across North Wales at an event at Glyndŵr University, St Asaph, next week. We’re very excited: we think this sort of model of education’s great for kids who find traditional learning dry, and the results the kids are achieving speak for themselves. Congratulations Allen: we look forward to seeing similar events rolling out across Wales, and further into the UK! |
Young People will Spend More on eBooks in 2014
| The youth of today are spending more on eBooks than ever before, but are resistant to the idea of a dedicated e-Reader. Instead, they are gravitating towards smartphones and tablets for their digital reading. A new report from Voxburner surveyed 1,544 young adults, ranging from 16-24 in the United Kingdom. Apparently only 5% of young people expect to buy an e-Reader in the next 12 months. This is compared to the 24% of respondents who expect to buy a tablet and 40% who are expecting to upgrade their smartphone. However a more positive revelation for ebook publishers is that 26% of young folk expect their spending on eBooks to increase this year. This rises to 29% among female respondents, although significantly falls to 18% among young males. Not very surprising that young girls are leading the charge with digital reading adoption. Many publishing companies, such as Hachette are now seeing 30% of their entire revenue stream derive from eBooks. There is no denying they are popular with adults, but youth are still resistant to it. 62% of the respondents have said that they still prefer to hold books as a physical product rather than in digital format, whilst one fifth of 16-24s feel that they don’t want to be restricted to a particular device, such as the Kindle, which prevents books from being shared with friends easily. Luke Mitchell, Head of Insight at Voxburner shared some insights on why young adults are not embracing digital reading. One compelling point was “They don’t have an e-reader. Almost half of 16-24s do not own a device they would consider reading ebooks on. A quarter say they would read an ebook on their smartphone if they really wanted to.” He went on to finalize “They simply resent being enslaved to technology. Contrary to belief, new Voxburner research into youth attitudes to technology reveals that digital natives do not want to spend any more time looking at screens that they already do. Young People will Spend More on eBooks in 2014 is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Pottermore Posts New Unpubished Content from JK Rowling
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Now, Rowling has released through the site a new piece of content that first appeared just as a mention in one of her original Harry Potter books. “History of the Quidditch World Cup” is only mentioned in passing as a reading material in Harry’s world, but now Rowling has written the title and published it on Pottermore, making it one of the longest pieces of new content to appear on the site. "We're thrilled to have the opportunity to publish such an imaginative and engaging story from J.K. Rowling about the history of the Wizarding world's most exciting sport," said Susan L. Jurevics, Chief Executive Officer, Pottermore. "We're committed to being the only digital destination where fans can discover new original content about the world of Harry Potter from J.K. Rowling. 'History of the Quidditch World Cup' helps us not only fulfill that mission, but it also serves to entertain and delight our community." The first portion of the book is available on the site now, and the second installment will appear on March 21st.
Pottermore Posts New Unpubished Content from JK Rowling is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Math books for Pi Day
| March 14 was a pretty big day when I was in elementary school. We had classroom parties where we would play elaborate games and eat apple and blueberry pies until we were stuffed. Prizes were awarded, and all of the kids had a blast. Unbeknownst to us at the time, we were learning valuable skills that we would use for the rest of our lives. I feel very grateful that I had such amazing teachers that made learning math so much fun. Many, many, many years later, I still text my brother and wish him a Happy Pi Day every March 14. In honor of Pi Day, we have created a great list of Mathematics books that your patrons and students are sure to enjoy. If you need a refresher course on the basics or some Advanced Calculus help, we've got you covered. Looking for fun games to help your kids learn or have you finally decided to learn the proper way to calculate a tip? These books are for you. When you click the link below, it will show up as a Marketplace search result and you'll be able to easily add the titles to a cart. 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.
Rachel Somerville is a Collection Development Analyst at OverDrive.  |
OverDrive Catalog Adds Digital Texts from Pearson
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Now, digital content provider to libraries and schools OverDrive has inked a partnership with Pearson to provide the company’s eTexts to its partner academic and public school library members. "Providing students, parents and community members digital access to our instructional materials in schools, colleges and public libraries around the world is one more way that Pearson is ensuring that all learners can achieve the results they need to be ready for college or careers," said Larry Singer, Managing Director of Pearson's School group, in a press release. Some of the titles that will now be available through this partnership include Prentice Hall United States History, Prentice Hall Economics, enVisionMATH Common Core, myWorld Social Studies K-5, Writing Coach, Interactive Science K-8, AP* French, along with other textbook titles. "Enabling student access to digital textbooks continues to be a priority for OverDrive," said Don Fabricant, Chief Sales Officer and General Manager for Education at OverDrive. "Pearson is a leading provider of educational titles, and this partnership represents a significant advancement in eBook materials for educators and students." This program will come as a welcome relief to schools who are already struggling to provide up-to-date material in a cost effective way to K-12 students.
OverDrive Catalog Adds Digital Texts from Pearson is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Corporation Primary School in Singapore to Set Up Own Digital Library
| The Corporation Primary School in Jurong West, Singapore, is in the process of setting up a digital library of its own. The new library will be a first of its kind in a school in Singapore and will initially host about 5,000 fiction and non-fiction ebook titles. The e-library is expected to launch by the end of this month and will be open first to the lower primary students before before reaching other patrons later. Authorities believe will this appeal to the tech savvy students who'd like to read books off a device, and a digital library is expected to spur the habit of reading among the students from an early age. This will also save the students the trouble of traveling to the school library each time they are in need of a book or to renew. All they need to do is to log in to the school library system to download the book on a compatible device, which can be a smartphone or a tablet. However, not everyone is convinced of the benefits of having a digital library in place. As some parents have stated, they'd rather not have their kids introduced to technology at such an early age as they feel it can be glaring to the eyes. Read about kid’s tablet usage issues here.
Corporation Primary School in Singapore to Set Up Own Digital Library is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Barnes & Noble and Microsoft Suspend Windows 8 App
| Nook Media may never have spun itself away from Barnes and Noble, if it wasn’t for the 300 million Microsoft committed to the enterprise. The main reason Microsoft invested the money was to see Windows 8 have a flagship e-reading app, that it could market internationally. Numerous pitfalls have besieged the Nation’s largest bookseller and new SEC filing has Barnes and Noble suspending development on their apps for Windows 8 and Windows phones. Microsoft has been developing their own e-reading app called the Basically what is happening is Microsoft is leveraging the Nook Windows 8 technology and implementing into their own app. Instead of B&N making solid apps on their own, they are going to just make them directly FOR Microsoft. This is likely a wise move on the Redmond based company, as they have more staying power in the technology sector. Who knows where Nook Media will be in a few years. In the last few months they axed their executive staff, fired 190 people and cut back funding by over 74%. Saying things are a bit dire at B&N, would be stating the obvious. Barnes & Noble and Microsoft Suspend Windows 8 App is a post from: Good e-Reader |
