| The second ebook reader to use E Ink’s latest screen technology, called Carta, just launched in Germany this week. The device is called the Tolino Vision, and is a follow-up to Tolino’s first ereader, the Tolino Shine. It will be officially released on April 5th for the price of 129 euros, and will sell from […] |
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Tolino Vision Launches in Germany, Comes with E Ink Carta Screen
Sony Issues New Firmware Update for PRS-T1, PRS-T2 and PRS-T3
| Sony has abandoned the North American market and has successfully transitioned the majority of their customers to Kobo. Today, Sony has issued a new firmware update for their PRS line of ereaders that remove the Sony Reader Store. They also have eliminated the ability to sync bookmarks and book sharing options. When customers install the new update they have no ability to purchase eBooks anymore. Sony has confirmed that they will issue a final update in the next two weeks that will add the Kobo bookstore as an avenue to continue to make the e-readers relevant. The firmware updates should be available to install via WIFI and are only applicable to users living in North America. If the updates are not pushed out to you yet, you can simply download them from the links below. Residents of the United Kingdom, Europe and Australia are discouraged from manually installing it, as they still have the ability to purchase eBooks from Sony.
Sony Issues New Firmware Update for PRS-T1, PRS-T2 and PRS-T3 is a post from: Good e-Reader |
ZTE Open Firefox Phone Contest Winner
| A few weeks ago we ran a contest on our YouTube Channel to give away a brand new ZTE Open Firefox OS Smartphone. We had 150 entries for the contest and today we are announcing the winner! The ZTE Open was the first Firefox phone to become available. There are two more companies entering the fray, LG and Alcatel. The ZTE Open features a 3.5 inch touchscreen display with a woeful 320 x 480 resolution. It is powered by a single core 1 GHZ processor and has 120 MB of memory, when you take it out of the box. You can also elect to snap some selfies with the 3 MP rear facing camera. The design of the phone has a rectangular shape, but it has very rounded corners and a tapered front which gives you better and easier access to the home button. The home button is the only physical key on the entire phone. Other ports include, headphone jack and Micro USB port. Battery Life is around 7 hours via the 1,200mAh battery. Want to know who won the contest? Peter made a tremendous video announcing it! ZTE Open Firefox Phone Contest Winner is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Weekly eHighlights: Adult edition
| Oh hello there, April! It's time to get ready for increasing those circulations and getting your patrons reading by adding some exciting, buzz-worthy titles for adults. Several thrilling adventures like Warriors, Robert Ludlum's The Janson Option, and The Accident will keep patrons entertained, and dramas like Citadel, Frog Music, and The Auschwitz Escape are sure to be great picks for adult book groups. Nonfiction titles this week are just as exciting with a new book from Chelsea Handler in Uganda Be Kidding Me and Dirty Daddy: The Chronicles of a Family Man Turned Filthy Comedian from Bob Saget. Also, two much talked-about biographies chronicle the lives of Kurt Cobain and Lance Armstrong in Here We Are Now: The Lasting Impact of Kurt Cobain and Cycle of Lies: The Fall of Lance Armstrong. As always, we invite you to reach out to your Collection Development representative with any questions or requests you may have. We are here to help. Happy Reading!
Shop the titles in this post here:
Fiction Ted Bell – Warriors Dashing counterspy Alex Hawke must rescue a kidnapped American scientist as the United States and China move dangerously close to all-out nuclear war in this adrenaline-fueled thriller in the New York Times bestselling series that combines the hallmarks of Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy, Ian Fleming, and Daniel Silva. When an elderly professor at Cambridge is murdered, a victim of bizarre, ancient Chinese torture, Alex Hawke teams up with his Scotland Yard colleague and friend Inspector Ambrose Congreve to find the killer. But the death is only the opening move in a tense and lethal game of geopolitical brinksmanship. LJ PrePub; 100,000 print run.
Robyn Carr – Four Friends From #1 New York Times bestselling author Robyn Carr comes the story of four friends determined to find their stride. Ultimately, they’ll discover what it means to be a wife, mother, lover, friend…and most important: your true self. Gerri can’t decide what’s more devastating: learning her rock-solid marriage has big cracks, or the anger she feels as she tries to repair them. Always the anchor for friends and her three angst-ridden teenagers, it’s time to look carefully at herself. The journey is more than revealing–it’s transforming. 180,000 print run.
Teju Cole – Every Day Is for the Thief A young man decides to visit Nigeria after years of absence. Ahead lies the difficult journey back to the family house and all its memories, meetings with childhood friends, and above all, facing up to the paradox of Nigeria, whose present is as burdened by the past as it is facing a new future. Along the way, our narrator encounters life in Lagos. He is captivated by a woman reading on a danfo; attempts to check his email are frustrated by Yahoo boys; he is charmingly duped buying fuel. He admires the grace of an aunty, bereaved by armed robbers and is inspired by the new malls and cultural venues. The question is: should he stay or should he leave? PEN/Hemingway Prize winner and National Book Critics Circle finalist. CNN: 18 Books to Read in 2014. The Millions Great 2014 Preview. Huffington Post: 30 Books You Need to Read in 2014. LJ PrePub Barbara's Pick.
Ian Doescher – William Shakespeare's The Empire Striketh Back The saga that began with the interstellar best seller William Shakespeare’s Star Wars continues with this merry reimagining of George Lucas’s enduring classic The Empire Strikes Back. Many a fortnight have passed since the destruction of the Death Star. Young Luke Skywalker and his friends have taken refuge on the ice planet of Hoth, where the evil Darth Vader has hatched a cold-blooded plan to capture them. Only with the help of a little green Jedi Master–and a swaggering rascal named Lando Calrissian–can our heroes escape the Empire’s wrath. And only then will Lord Vader learn how sharper than a tauntaun’s tooth it is to have a Jedi child. 250,000 print run.
Emma Donoghue – Frog Music It is 1876, and San Francisco, the freewheeling “Paris of the West,” is in the fierce grip of a record-breaking heat wave and a smallpox epidemic. Through the window of a railroad saloon, a young woman called Jenny Bonnet is shot dead. The survivor, her friend Blanche Beunon, is a French burlesque dancer. Over the next three days, Blanche will risk everything to bring Jenny’s murderer to justice–if he doesn’t track her down first. The story Blanche struggles to piece together is one of free-love bohemians, desperate paupers and arrogant millionaires; of jealous men, icy women and damaged children. It’s the secret life of Jenny herself, a notorious character who breaks the law every morning by getting dressed: a charmer as slippery as the frogs she hunts. Man Booker Prize finalist for Room, which sold 1.5 million copies. LJ PrePub. The Millions’ Great 2014 Preview. National Post: The 25 Most Anticipated Canadian Books of 2014. The Independent: 2014 Book Preview. The Independent Best of 2014 Books. Huffington Post: 30 Books You Need to Read in 2014. 200,000 print run.
Paul Garrison – Robert Ludlum's The Janson Option Reformed from his days of covert-operations, Paul Janson has set a new mission for himself. Working in partnership with champion sharpshooter Jessica Kincaid, he rehabilitates disenchanted agents and helps them create new lives outside of the violent intelligence sector. Janson also takes on independent assignments—for a fee, he’ll use his skills to resolve international crises. But only those actions that he believes contribute to the greater good of all. When oil executive Kingsman Helms begs Janson to rescue his kidnapped wife, Allegra, from Somali pirates, Janson and Kincaid seize the opportunity. At last they can derail American Synergy Corporation’s scheme to subvert sovereign nations into wholly-owned subsidiaries. But the pirates are the least lethal threat in the violent chaos of oil-rich East Africa, and when Janson and Kincaid stumble into a bewildering storm of plots and counterplots, their fight to survive may disrupt the entire region and beyond. 250,000 print run.
Charlaine Harris & Toni L. P. Kelner – Games Creatures Play Sports fans live and die by their teams’ successes and failures—though not literally. But these fourteen authors have written spirited new tales of killer competitions that would make even the most die-hard players ask to be benched. In #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris’s “The Blue Hereafter,” Manfred Bernardo learns about softball from a certain blond barmaid in Louisiana. Life-and-death stakes make the competition get serious in New York Times bestseller William Kent Krueger’s “Hide and Seek.” In New York Times bestselling author Laura Lippman’s “Ice,” a young girl learns the true story behind a bit of neighborhood folklore. In #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson’s “Dreamer,” a game of cops and robbers is a new challenge when the players are able to switch bodies at will. 100,000 print run.
Beverly Lewis – The Last Bride Of her Old Order parents’ five daughters, Tessie Miller is the last to marry. She has her heart set on Amishman Marcus King, but Tessie’s father opposes the match. Impetuously, Tessie and Marcus elope to the English world, then return to Hickory Hollow to live as singles, trusting they’ll convince the Millers to give their love a chance over time. But when the unthinkable happens, Tessie faces the almost-certain censure of the People. Will she find a reason for hope in spite of her desperate plight? 155,000 print run. Bestselling Christian author.
Elizabeth Lowell – Night Diver New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Lowell plunges into the adventurous and deadly world of underwater treasure hunters in a heart-stopping tale that superbly combines atmosphere, action, romance, and suspense. After a family tragedy, Kate Donnelly left the Caribbean behind forever. But a series of bad management decisions has left her family’s diving and marine recovery business drowning in red ink. Now her brother pleads with her to come back to the island nation of St Vincent. Without Kate’s financial expertise, the iconic treasure-hunting enterprise started by her grandfather will go under. Unable to say no to the little family she has left, Kate heads back to the beautiful and terrifying ocean that still haunts her nightmares. LJ PrePub; 100,000 print run.
Debbie Macomber – Blossom Street Brides As three very different women meet in their local knitting store, they find strength in friendship to help them through their problems. Lydia is blissfully happy in her marriage, but worrying about her adoptive daughter and the future of her business. Bethanne is still madly in love with her husband, but their long-distance relationship is becoming difficult to deal with, and her ex-husband is determined to win her back. Lauren has always yearned for marriage and a family of her own, but her long-term boyfriend just won’t commit. Could a whirlwind romance with an unlikely stranger lead to the happily-ever-after she’s always dreamed of? As the three women’s lives intersect in unexpected ways, they realize that the best surprises in life and love still lie ahead. 500,000 print run.
Lorrie Moore – Bark: Stories In these eight masterful stories, Lorrie Moore, explores the passage of time, and summons up its inevitable sorrows and comic pitfalls. Gimlet-eyed social observation, the public and private absurdities of American life, dramatic irony, and enduring half-cracked love wend their way through each of these narratives, in Moore’s characteristic style that is always tender, never sentimental and often heartbreakingly funny. National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist; Irish Times International Fiction Prize winner LJ PrePub. CNN: 18 Books to Read in 2014. The Millions’ Great 2014 Preview. The Atlantic: Books to Read in 2014. Huffington Post: 30 Books You Need to Read in 2014. IndieNext. 100,000 print run.
Kate Mosse – Citadel France, 1942. While war blazes at the front lines of Europe, in the walled southern city of Carcassonne, nestled deep in the Pyrenees, a group of courageous women is engaged in an equally lethal battle. Like their ancestors who fought northern invaders seven hundred years before, these members of the French Resistance–code-named Citadel–fight to liberate their home from the Nazis. Led by a daring eighteen-year-old, Sandrine Vidal, and her elder sister, Marianne, the women of Citadel work quickly to sabotage their German occupiers, safeguard their neighbors and smuggle refugees over the mountains into neutral territory. But that is only part of their mission. Their struggle will reveal an older, darker combat being fought in the shadows, one meant to protect an ancient secret that, if it fell into the wrong hands, could change the course of history. LJ PrePub; 100,000 print run.
Chris Pavone – The Accident As dawn approaches in New York, literary agent Isabel Reed is turning the final pages of a mysterious, anonymous manuscript, racing through the explosive revelations about powerful people, as well as long-hidden secrets about her own past. In Copenhagen, veteran CIA operative Hayden Gray, determined that this sweeping story be buried, is suddenly staring down the barrel of an unexpected gun. And in Zurich, the author himself is hiding in a shadowy expat life, trying to atone for a lifetime’s worth of lies and betrayals with publication of The Accident, while always looking over his shoulder. Over the course of one long, desperate, increasingly perilous day, these lives collide as the book begins its dangerous march toward publication, toward saving or ruining careers and companies, placing everything at risk–and everyone in mortal peril. IndieNext Pick; 100,000 print run.
Terry Pratchett – Raising Steam The new Discworld novel, the 40th in the series, sees the Disc’s first train come steaming into town. Change is afoot in Ankh-Morpork. Discworld’s first steam engine has arrived, and once again Moist von Lipwig finds himself with a new and challenging job. Discworld Series Book 40. 200,000 print run.
Joel C. Rosenberg – The Auschwitz Escape A terrible darkness has fallen upon Jacob Weisz’s beloved Germany. The Nazi regime, under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, has surged to power and now hold Germany by the throat. All non-Aryans—especially Jews like Jacob and his family—are treated like dogs. When tragedy strikes during one terrible night of violence, Jacob flees and joins rebel forces working to undermine the regime. But after a raid goes horribly wrong, Jacob finds himself in a living nightmare—trapped in a crowded, stinking car on the train to the Auschwitz death camp. NY Times bestselling author.
J. R. Ward – The King After turning his back on the throne for centuries, Wrath, son of Wrath, finally assumed his father’s mantle—with the help of his beloved mate. But the crown sets heavily on his head. As the war with the Lessening Society rages on, and the threat from the Band of Bastards truly hits home, he is forced to make choices that put everything—and everyone—at risk. Beth Randall thought she knew what she was getting into when she mated the last pure blooded vampire on the planet: An easy ride was not it. But when she decides she wants a child, she’s unprepared for Wrath’s response—or the distance it creates between them. The question is, will true love win out… or tortured legacy take over? Goodreads Can't Wait Books of 2014 #7.
Nonfiction
Charles R. Cross – Here We Are Now: The Lasting Impact of Kurt Cobain Cobain’s life and work can be seen everywhere, from his indelible marks on music to his more subtle influence on gender and gay rights, the way we view suicide and drug addiction, and the very idea of Seattle as a cultural hub. Nirvana’s music has touched multiple generations, and while the world has changed considerably since Nevermind was first released in 1991, the status of that album only grows as years pass. With interviews and commentary from all corners of the pop culture universe, from the people who knew Cobain to those who continue to help his legend grow, Here We Are Now explores what a singular life meant, and how that meaning can be measured, when and if it can be. LJ PrePub; 100,000 print run.
Bart D. Ehrman – How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee In a book that took eight years to research and write, leading Bible scholar Bart D. Ehrman explores how an apocalyptic prophet from the backwaters of rural Galilee crucified for crimes against the state came to be thought of as equal with the one God Almighty Creator of all things. Ehrman sketches Jesus’ transformation from a human prophet to the Son of God exalted to divine status at his resurrection. Only when some of Jesus’ followers had visions of him after his death—alive again—did anyone come to think that he, the prophet from Galilee, had become God. And what they meant by that was not at all what people mean today. 100,000 print run.
Deborah Feldman – Exodus: A Memoir In 2009, at the age of 23, Deborah Feldman packed up her young son and their few possessions and walked away from her insular Hasidic roots. She was determined to forge a better life for herself, away from the rampant oppression, abuse, and isolation of her Satmar upbringing in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Out of her experience came the incendiary, bestselling memoir Unorthodox, and now, just a few years later, Feldman has embarked on a triumphant journey of self-discovery—a journey in which she begins life anew as a single mother, an independent woman, and a religious refugee. LJ PrePub. 100,000 print run.
Dr. Joel Fuhrman – The End of Dieting: How to Live for Life Eat as much as you want, whenever you want. Welcome to the end of dieting. We’re fatter, sicker, and hungrier than ever, and the billion-dollar diet industry with its trendy weight-loss protocols and eat-this-not that ratios of fat, carbs, and protein offers only temporary short-term solutions at the expense of our permanent long-term health. As a result, we’re trapped in a cycle of food addiction, toxic hunger, and overeating. In The End of Dieting, Joel Fuhrman, M.D., a board-certified doctor and the New York Times bestselling author of Eat to Live and The End of Diabetes, shows us how to break free from this vicious cycle once and for all. 175,000 print run.
Jane Goodall – Seeds of Hope: Wisdom and Wonder from the World of Plants Long before her work with chimpanzees, Jane Goodall’s passion for the natural world sprouted in the backyard of her childhood home in England, where she climbed her beech tree and made elderberry wine with her grandmother. The garden her family began then is a place she continues to enjoy today. Seeds of Hope takes us from England to Goodall’s home-away-from-home in Africa, deep inside the Gombe forest, where she and the chimpanzees are enchanted by the fig and plum trees they encounter. She introduces us to botanists around the world, as well as unique places for plants, such as The Millennium Seed Bank, where one billion seeds are preserved. This world of plants, with all its mysteries, shows us how we can heal our bodies and the planet itself. Booklist starred review. 75,000 print run.
Chelsea Handler – Uganda Be Kidding Me Wherever Chelsea Handler travels, one thing is certain: she always ends up in the land of the ridiculous. Now, in this uproarious collection, she sneaks her sharp wit through airport security and delivers her most absurd and hilarious stories ever. On safari in Africa, it’s anyone’s guess as to what’s more dangerous: the wildlife or Chelsea. But whether she’s fumbling the seduction of a guide by not knowing where tigers live or wearing a bathrobe into the bush because her clothes stopped fitting seven margaritas ago, she’s always game for the next misadventure. By the mega-selling author. 800,000 print run.
Carl Hoffman – Savage Harvest: A Tale of Cannibals, Colonialism, and Michael Rockefeller's Tragic Quest for Primitive Art On November 21, 1961, Michael C. Rockefeller, the twenty-three-year-old son of New York governor Nelson Rockefeller, vanished off the coast of southwest New Guinea when his catamaran capsized while crossing a turbulent river mouth. The mysterious disappearance of Michael Rockefeller has kept the world, and even Michael’s powerful, influential family, guessing for years. Now, Carl Hoffman uncovers startling new evidence that finally tells the full, astonishing story. 4-time Lowell Thomas Award winner; LJ PrePub; 100,000 print run. On November 21, 1961, Michael C. Rockefeller, the twenty-three-year-old son of New York governor Nelson Rockefeller, vanished off the coast of southwest New Guinea when his catamaran capsized while crossing a turbulent river mouth
Juliet Macur – Cycle of Lies: The Fall of Lance Armstrong Cycle of Lies by New York Times reporter Juliet Macur is the definitive account of the rise and fall of the most famous athlete of our generation, Lance Armstrong, through unprecedented access to the key players in his life, and the investigation into the allegations of systemic doping. Relying on previously unpublished documents, Cycle of Lies reveals how Armstrong managed to perpetuate his myth for so long, the fortress he built to protect his image and upend anyone who got in his way, and why he fell so quickly. Macur is an award-winning investigative interviewer. 100,000 print run.
Frances Mayes – Under Magnolia: A Southern Memoir Under Magnolia is a searingly honest, humorous, and moving ode to family and place, and a thoughtful meditation on the ways they define us, or cause us to define ourselves. With acute sensory language, Mayes relishes the sweetness of the South, the smells and tastes at her family table, the fragrance of her hometown trees, and writes an unforgettable story of a girl whose perspicacity and dawning self-knowledge lead her out of the South and into the rest of the world, and then to a profound return home. LJ PrePub. 80,000 print run. By the author of Under the Tuscan Sun.
Greg Pembroke – Reasons My Kid Is Crying It all started when busy father Greg Pembroke posted a few pictures online of his three-year-old son, mid-tantrum, alongside the reason his son was crying: He had broken his bit of cheese in half. In Reasons My Kid is Crying, Greg collects together photos sent from parents around the world, documenting the many, completely logical reasons why small children cry. Among them: “I let him play on the grass” . . . “He ran out of toys to throw into his pool” . . . “The neighbor’s dog isn’t outside”. The result is both an affectionate portrait of the universal, baffling logic of toddlers–and a reminder for burned-out parents everywhere that they are not alone. 100,000 print run. Runaway popular blog of 2013.
Kevin Powers – Letter Composed During a Lull in the Fighting: Poems In this remarkable debut poetry collection, National Book Award finalist and Iraq war veteran Kevin Powers creates a startling, affecting portrait of a life shaped by war. Letter Composed during a Lull in the Fighting captures the many moments that comprise a soldier’s life: driving down the Texas highway; waiting for the unknown in the dry Iraq heat; writing a love letter; listening to a mother recount her dreams. Written with honesty and insight, these poems strive to make sense of war and its echoes through human experience. Just as The Yellow Birds was hailed as the ‘first literary masterpiece produced by the Iraq war,’ (Los Angeles Times) this collection will prove to be a powerful, enduring classic. National Book Award finalist for Yellow Birds; 100,000 print run.
Wolfgang Puck – Wolfgang Puck Makes It Healthy: Light, Delicious Recipes and Easy Exercises for a Better Life Acclaimed chef and restaurateur Wolfgang Puck shares his classic recipes made healthy along with easy exercise moves to help readers lose weight and feel energetic. Puck will never tell readers that they can’t enjoy a glass of wine or to cut out their favorite foods. Instead, he partnered with trainer Chat Waterbury and journalist Lou Schuler to outline an exercise solution. They’ve uncovered a plan for the fitness-phobic out there who want to be able to indulge a little: an adaptable 40 minute workout program focused on core stability, cardio fitness, and mobility that can be adapted to suit anyone’s daily life. 75,000 print run.
Bob Saget – Dirty Daddy: The Chronicles of a Family Man Turned Filthy Comedian Millions of viewers know and love Bob Saget from his role on the smash hit Full House, and as the charming wisecracking host of America’s Funniest Home Videos. And then there are the legions of fans who can’t get enough of his out-of-his-mind stand-up routines, comedy specials, and outrageously profane performances in such shows as HBO’s Entourage and the hit documentary The Aristocrats. In his bold and wildly entertaining publishing debut, Bob continues to embrace his dark side and gives listeners the audiobook they have long been waiting for—hilarious and often dirty yet warm and disarmingly sincere. 200,000 print run.
Simon Schama – The Story of the Jews: Finding the Words 1000 BC-1492 AD It is a story like no other: an epic of endurance against destruction, of creativity in oppression, joy amidst grief, the affirmation of life against the steepest of odds. Within these pages, the Talmud burns in the streets of Paris, massed gibbets hang over the streets of medieval London, a Majorcan illuminator redraws the world; candles are lit, chants are sung, mules are packed, ships loaded with spice and gems founder at sea. And a great story unfolds. Not – as often imagined – of a culture apart, but of a Jewish world immersed in and imprinted by the peoples among whom they have dwelled, from the Egyptians to the Greeks, from the Arabs to the Christians. Which makes the story of the Jews everyone’s story, too. 100,000 print run.
Douglas Stone & Sheila Heen – Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Coauthors of the international bestseller Difficult Conversations, Stone and Heen have spent the last ten years working with businesses, nonprofits, governments, and families to determine what helps us learn and what gets in our way. With humor and clarity, they blend the latest insights from neuroscience and psychology with practical, hard-headed advice. The book is destined to become a classic in the world of leadership, organizational behavior, and education. By the authors of the bestselling Difficult Conversations (700,000 copies in print); LJ PrePub; 100,000 print run.
J. Randy Taraborrelli – The Hiltons: A Family Dynasty The Hiltons is a sweeping saga of the success-and excess-of an iconic American family. Demanding and enigmatic, patriarch Conrad Hilton’s visionary ideas and unyielding will established the model for the modern luxury hotel industry. But outside the boardroom, Conrad struggled with emotional detachment, failed marriages, and conflicted Catholicism. The cast of supporting players includes the inimitable Zsa Zsa Gabor, who was married to Conrad briefly and remained a thorn in his side for decades, and a host of other Hollywood and business luminaries with whom the Hiltons crossed paths and swords over the years. Bestselling biographer of celebrities. 100,000 print run.
Ann Scott Tyson – American Spartan: The Promise, the Mission, and the Betrayal of Special Forces Major Jim Gant A decorated Green Beret who had spent years training indigenous fighters, Jim argued for embedding autonomous units with tribes across Afghanistan: these American soldiers would live among Afghans for extended periods, not only to train and equip tribal militias, but to fight–and even die–alongside them in battle. He argued that we could earn the trust of the Afghans and transform them into a reliable ally with whom we could defeat the Taliban and Al Qaeda networks. The military’s top brass, including General David Petraeus, then commander of U.S. Central Command and overseeing the war in Afghanistan, and Admiral Eric Olson, head of Special Operations Command, approved the plan and gave Jim the go-ahead to embark on the mission. As correspondent Ann Scott Tyson got to know Jim Gant the man as well as the warrior, she saw that there was a larger story to tell–about a people desperate to defend their homes, and about this intense fighter and deeply honorable man who pushed boundaries, despite his own personal demons, and risked life and career to achieve what some thought was impossible. An LJ PrePub Pick; 100,000 print run.
Robert Wagner – You Must Remember This: Life and Style in Hollywood's Golden Age Wagner revisits the houses, restaurants, and other haunts of Hollywood’s elite, offering an intimate view of their lives on and off screen. He fondly recounts mythic figures simply entertaining at home among friends, away from the publicity machine and public eye that morphed into today’s paparazzi culture. Wagner also discusses the business of Hollywood and its evolution from an industry once dominated by moguls to one run by agents, and examines the career arcs of his peers, carefully considering why some survived and others faded. Engaging and entertaining, You Must Remember This is a window into the splendors of an erstwhile era and an opportunity for readers to live vicariously through one its most beloved leading men. 100,000 print run.
*Geographical rights may vary by title.
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Liberty Media Sells 15% Stake in Barnes and Noble
| Barnes and Noble has always been an attractive acquisition target for their Nook or bookstore division. In 2011 Liberty Media initiated a powerplay to buy the chain of retail stores, but settled for a 17% stake in the company. They paid close to $204 million dollars for the equity and it looks like they have had enough. Liberty is selling off 15% of their ownership of B&N and will have a paltry 2% left over. Many online journalists and newspapers have been lambasting Barnes and Noble for over a few years. The company continues to bleed over a billion dollars in their ereader and eBook initiatives. When word of the Liberty selloff happened the B&N stock plummeted by over 10%. It is hard to dismiss the fact that the college and bookstore chains are very healthy. They continue to generate profit every financial quarter, but management and Nook Media woes continue to garner negative publicity. The lack of a cohesive direction is prompting investors like Liberty to just abandon the sinking ship. Liberty Media Sells 15% Stake in Barnes and Noble is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Firmware Updates Now Available for Sony PRS-T1, T2, and T3 eBook Readers
| Now that Sony has closed down their ebook business in the United States and Canada, and have successfully transitioned most of their customers’ ebook libraries over to Kobo, they are wrapping up loose ends by issuing firmware updates to the last three generations of Sony ebook readers. The main thing the update does is swap […] |
Author’s Guild Elects SelfPublished Author CJ Lyons to Executive Council
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The Authors Guild, an organization that advocates for authors and their works, has traditionally only supported “real” authors. In recent years, self-published authors were allowed to join, but only after meeting a minimum sales requirement within an eighteen-month period. Interestingly, the membership page for AG lists three categories of members: book authors, freelance writers, and writers, mentioning in parentheses that self-published “writers” fall into that last category, indicating intentionally or not that they are not authors. Now, however, AG has its first-ever executive council member who is a self-published author. NYT bestselling author CJ Lyons was elected to the board, and the leadership has been very specific that her role is to champion the needs of self-published “authors” within the organization. In a recent report by the The Los Angeles Times, the Guild's new president, Roxana Robinson, stated, "As writers, we are living in very interesting times. The challenges are huge and I am thrilled to be a part of it all… We're going to move ahead, we're going to extend our membership, we're going to continue to offer practical help and advice and a sense of community to our writers, and we're going to continue to support the craft of writing." Interestingly, the Guild has become more open recently, offering associate membership to self-published authors who do not meet the $5000 minimum earnings requirement. According to the Guild’s membership page, “You may qualify as an Associate member if you've been offered a contract with an established American book publisher, if an established literary agency has offered to represent you, or if you have earned at least $500 in writing income… Associate members are eligible for the same benefits and services as Regular members with the exception that they cannot vote in Guild elections. Once an Associate member's book is published they can become a Regular member.” Membership is $90 for the first year, then is adjusted based on writing income for future years.
Author’s Guild Elects SelfPublished Author CJ Lyons to Executive Council is a post from: Good e-Reader |
How to survive the end of Windows XP support
Wondering what the end of Windows XP support means for you? Read this article to find out!  |
Announcing our million-pound education charity fund
| It's been a busy month for us here at Pi towers, and after the recent announcement of Picademy and the launch of the new website with an increased focus on educational resources, you may be wondering what's next for our educational mission. Without disappearing too far down the rabbit-hole of superlatives, I can say we are all super-excited to announce the launch of the Raspberry Pi Foundation Education Fund. Thanks to the support of the community over the past two years through buying Raspberry Pis and building inspiring, innovative projects, we've been able to build up a bag of funds to spend on our education mission. So today we are announcing a £1 million education fund.  Emma has been busy getting artistic with the folding stuff this morning. This fund is in support of our core chartable mission, so we are looking to fund innovative and exciting projects that enhance understanding of and education in computing for children aged between 5 and 18. The fund does not exclusively target Computing as a subject; we are also interested in supporting projects that demonstrate and promote the use of computing technology in other subjects, particularly STEM and the creative arts. Our aim is to support a range of projects: from those that increase participation, to those that target excellence. Given our charitable status, priority will be given to organisations that have a not-for-profit ethos. The fund will operate through match funding, so not only are we wanting to hear from people with potential projects ideas; we are also wanting to hear from industry and third-sector partners who'd be interested in co-funding some of the projects. If you'd like to know more about the fund, how it will operate and how to make an application, you can find out more on our Education Fund page.
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Do e-Readers Need a Digital Assistant?
| We live in a world where each major operating system has a digital assistant. Apple is the most well known with Siri, followed by Google Now and the recently announced Microsoft Cortana. The priority seems to be on mobile phones and to a lesser degree tablets. e-Readers have never had this sort of software, but maybe its high-time they start to incorporate it. During the last few years most e-readers have ditched onboard audio of any kind. A few years ago Amazon, B&N and Kobo all had speakers and a 3.5 mm headphone jack to allow readers to listen to music or audiobooks. When they all decided to offer the most cost effective devices possible and compete heavily against each other, audio had to go. This prompted a massive backlash from the National Federation of the Blind which had numerous protests outside Amazon headquarters. The lack of audio has also been a major factor on why schools never embraced them. e-Readers overall are fairly refined and affordable. I think its time that they start to incorporate audio functionality once more, or at least have a higher priced option for consumers. One of the direct benefits would be for a digital assistant that would be able to aid visually impaired people by being able to launch tasks by voice. You could say “Michael, open the Hunger Games – Catching Fire” and it would open the book for you. Alternatively, after reading the book you could prompt the reader to buy the next one in the series. In addition you could do common tasks like access your Dropbox account or open an audiobook. If a digital assistant were to be done right, it would suddenly make e-readers more accessible for the elderly and disabled. It would make purchasing and opening content much easier and give a reason for companies like Kobo to develop an audiobook catalog. The idea for this news item came to me after reading about Microsoft Cortana. This is a new beta feature that will come out with the release of Microsoft Mobile 8.1. It has integration with Skype that will allow you to call people by merely using your voice. It has compatibility with Bing to search the web and is voiced by the same voice actor that did Cortana in the Halo Series. Do you think this idea makes sense? Programming one on Linux would be the most viable solution, as most companies use it for their OS. Sony and Nook buckle the trend with Android, but are minor players in the arena. Do e-Readers Need a Digital Assistant? is a post from: Good e-Reader |
DC Starts Selling Single Issue Digital Comics via Google Play
| Google is making a bid to increase the profile of the digital comic section of their store by solidifying a partnership with DC. Starting today, DC will start distributing single issue titles every Wednesday. DC has a massive digital distribution network and has been very active in appealing to tablet and smartphone users. They started first on Comixology and also sell comics on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iBooks. Google was the latest company DC signed a distribution agreement with and started selling graphic novels last September. “Our Google customers were happy, but kept asking for our single issues,” said Hank Kanalz, senior vice president of Vertigo and Integrated Publishing at DC Entertainment. “As you can imagine, this takes some work, so we wanted to build the infrastructure internally first, before rolling out.” DC will be selling their single issue comics from 99 cents on a special promotion and range upwards to $3.99 for the latest stuff. The whole distribution program basically makes good sense. Google has a better international footprint for comic sales than Amazin, B&N or iBooks does. DC Starts Selling Single Issue Digital Comics via Google Play is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
e-Reading Company Wexler Getting into the Smartphone Game
| Traditional e-reader companies have been trying to diversify their portfolios over the course of the last year. Onyx has a great e-ink phone that is in mass production and will likely see a release within the next few months. Wexler, is best known for their Flexx One e-reader, which is the first of its kind to feature a bendable design. The company is branching away from e-readers with the advent of their Zen line of smartphones. Wexler has three Android smartphones in development and most feature dual-sims which tend to be popular in Russia and Asia. The models they will release in the next month are the 4, 5 and 5+. The 5+ is very interesting and packs quite a punch. It has a five inch display with a resolution of 1920×180 and a quadcore 1.2 GHZ processor. There is 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory. The expanded memory is the main thing that separates the 5 from the 5+. Other than that, they all have front facing 2 MP and 13 MP camera. All of the phones ship with Jellybean 4.2 and have duel-sim cards. This will allow people to travel around and basically have their sim for their domestic network and an extra one to not pay expensive roaming charges. Wexler is a Russian company and this concept does fairly well there with pay as you go plans and marketed towards an Asian audience. e-Reading Company Wexler Getting into the Smartphone Game is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Michael Tamblyn Promoted to President of Kobo
| Michael Tamblyn has been the Chief Content Officer of Kobo forever. He is primarily responsible for publisher relationships, sales, industry relations and has spearheaded various initiatives such as the Magazine and Kids Store. Today, Michael has been appointed President and Chief Content Officer of Kobo. Michael have now have an expanded role to play in Kobo’s overall business strategy. As President, he will work closely with CEO Taka Aiki to continue expanding on the company's eReading service around the world, while driving the company's success through sustainable and long-term profitable growth. Basically Michael is now second in command at Kobo and will have a strong voice in the overall business strategy. Michael Tamblyn was one of the oldest executives at Kobo. He helped launch the Indigo pet-project Shortcovers in 2009 and helped broker the investment money needed to splinter into Kobo. He has been the voice of Kobo at all major publishing events, such as Book Expo America, IDPF, Digital Minds and many other conferences all over the world. Congratulations to Michael for his elevated role at Kobo. He is one of the most approachable guys in the industry and honestly is enamoured with reading in all forms. He is also a most dapper dresser and always styles and profiles. Michael Tamblyn Promoted to President of Kobo is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Amazon Fire TV: Why No Kindle Integration for eBooks and Audiobooks?
| The big news story today is the new video streaming and gaming device called Fire TV that Amazon has just released for $99. It’s basically Amazon’s answer to Apple TV, Chromecast, and Roku devices. Amazon Fire TV is a small box that you plug into your TV to watch Prime Instant Videos, Netflix, Hulu Plus, […] |
Amazon Announces Groundbreaking Kindle Fire TV
| Amazon has just announced the Fire TV at a media event in New York City. The $99 media streaming box gives people the ability to watch thousands of shows and also play video games. It comes pre-registered, so it is quite easy to just take it out of the box, hook it up to your television via HDMI, and start watching. The Fire TV box is running on the Android OS and features a very solid 1.7 GHz quad-core Snapdragon CPU with 2GB RAM, Bluetooth, 8GB internal storage, and the same duel-antenna wireless internet that the latest generation Kindle Fire tablets have. It connects to your television via HDMI to give you full 1080p video and Dolby digital surround sound. This box has a lot in common with Apple TV, Roku, and a number of other boxes. You get access to Netflix, Hulu Plus, WatchESPN, YouTube, Crackle, Flixter, Watch ESPN, NBA Gametime, and a number of others. It also has lots of online radio apps like TuneIN, iHeartRadio, and Pandora. One of the elements that separates it from the competition is taping into the Amazon Instant Video system with 200,000 videos and television shows. There are a few things that separate the Fire TV from the competition. One of them is called ASAP, which bears a striking resemblance to Amazon Silk. As you use the television service to use certain apps or watch shows, it will pre-buffer them so they will instantly play. There is also a microphone built into the remote control that is voice controlled. You can say actors’ names, like “Christopher Walken,” and it will list all of the movies that he has been in. It leverages IMDB for actors, movies, television shows directors, genres, and other fun stuff. Media devices often lack security and most of them are in family homes. Amazon introduced a version of Freetime, which allows parents to modify the security settings to insure their kids aren’t watching anything they shouldn’t, like The Walking Dead. When in FreeTime, the background color and fonts change to a kid-friendly design. Kids only see titles that have been selected by their parents for them, and those who can't yet read can navigate visually to content based on favorite characters or topics—for example "Dora the Explorer," "Princesses," or "Thomas and Friends." Parents who have already set up profiles and approved content on Kindle Fire tablets will find the settings are automatically synchronized on Fire TV, making it simple and seamless to get started. Customers who subscribe to FreeTime Unlimited—Amazon's all-you-can-eat content subscription designed just for kids ages 3 to 8—will get unlimited access to thousands of movies and TV shows. Unlike all of the other streaming media boxes out there, Amazon has taken the unique step to integrate gaming. The Seattle based company worked with game developers like EA, Disney, Gameloft, Ubisoft, Telltale, Mojang, 2K, and Sega to bring their games to Fire TV. Games available starting today include customer favorites like Minecraft, Monsters University, The Game of Life, The Walking Dead, NBA2K14, Asphalt 8, Riptide GP2, Despicable Me: Minion Rush, and more. You can game on the remote control that comes with the unit, or purchase the dedicated Game Controller. Only residents in the UK and US stand to get the most out of this unit right now. The bulk of the voice controlled actions pulls up listings from Amazon Instant Video, which excludes every country in the world other than the US and UK. Still, the whole system is compelling. It is part gaming, part videos, and has lots of cool, unique features borrowed from the Kindle Fire line of tablets. It might be worth it to check out since its only $99. Amazon Announces Groundbreaking Kindle Fire TV is a post from: Good e-Reader |
AAP Says eBook Sales Increased by 3.8%, But Indies Ignored
 Photo: EurekaBooksellers.com
What may seem a little misleading, though, are the sales figures themselves. Hardcover sales in adult trade fiction and non-fiction combined increased to a total of $1.5 billion in 2013; ebooks in fiction-only sold almost as much as hardcover for both fiction and non-fiction for adults–despite the typically lower price point of ebooks compared to hardcover and paperback–a fact that speaks to the need to revamp the strategy by which publishers perceive digital-first and ebook-only. The purpose of the survey, according to the AAP, is to help dispel some of the rumors surrounding ebook sales, notably that the sales percentages are much higher than publishers actually see. However, while small press and indie press publishers who are members of the AAP were included in the sales data, self-published authors and their ebooks were not counted. From the member publishers, ebooks still make up about 27% of total sales.
AAP Says eBook Sales Increased by 3.8%, But Indies Ignored is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Google Promotes Coding Among Young Australians With New eBook
| Google wants Australians to take coding seriously to ensure there is enough manpower to take care of the country's future requirements in the computer field. The online search giant has embarked on a campaign to make coding appeal to younger tech users , which includes promoting a video as well as an ebook Start with Code, written by Fran Molloy. The ebook shares success stories achieved by the start-up founders such as Noller, Peter Bradd, Marita Cheng, and Mitchell Harper, and aims to inspire a whole new generation of coders. “We need to improve the way we teach our kids; we need to inspire a generation of digital natives who are already avid consumers of technology to embark on careers as entrepreneurs and coders, in e-commerce and as engineers,” said Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull while stressing on the far reaching changes that technology and computer science have brought to our lives. The whole idea behind the campaign is to make Australians aware that learning to code is extremely important for innovation in the field of computer software. The campaign also highlights the country’s rich tradition of innovation in order to make coding seem fashionable and ensure there is enough homegrown talent available to put their efforts into the various new aspects where digital technology permeates in say two decades from now. This way, the country will be able to take care of its own issues without having to hire overseas workers.
Google Promotes Coding Among Young Australians With New eBook is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Welcome to our new website
| You’ll notice that things round here don’t look like they used to. This website has had a comprehensive overhaul: we hope you like what you see. (That stuff from yesterday? April Fool’s. Sorry.) We are treating this new website as a Beta. There are a few things we won’t be able to move across until this morning, when everything on the server is properly migrated; and we’re sure there are some snags we haven’t spotted. If you find a navigation problem or something that you think is an obvious error, please let us know in the comments below. You’ll notice the nice new friendly URLs for blog posts (/welcome-to-our-new-website/ rather than /archives/6754) but don’t worry – all the old links will still work. And URLs of any pages that aren’t where they used to be should point at their new home. If you spot any 404s let us know in the comments or in the forum. Everything that you’re used to from our old website is still here: the blog, help pages, forums (which we’ve yet to overhaul and bring in line with the new look – that’s coming in the next couple of months) and Swag Store are all available as usual through the navigation bar you can see at the top of the page. I’m not linking to them here, so you have a reason to start experimenting by clicking around. But there are also some new areas which you might like to spend some time exploring today, and some new ways in which we’re presenting old information. Teach, Learn, MakeWe’re launching a new area of the site for teachers, learners and makers, full of free resources and projects. Teachers will find entire schemes of work, complete with lesson plans, linked to the UK’s new Computing curriculum. Those of you who want to learn on your own will also find materials you can use to find your way around a Raspberry Pi, and what you can do with it; and people who want a step-by-step guide to make their own Raspberry Pi projects will find just what they’re looking for. All of our materials are Creative Commons licensed. The licence we use is CC BY-SA (attribution and share-alike), which is the licence used by Wikipedia. We welcome your contributions to our materials. What you see here today is only the start: we will be adding more materials very regularly in all three categories: Teach, Learn and Make. Keep checking back; we’ll also flag up on this blog and on Twitter whenever new resources are available. DocumentationWe have made a big change to the way we deal with documentation. A bit of background is necessary here. Until now, we’ve relied on the third-party, crowd-sourced wiki at eLinux. This was set up in 2012 when we had absolutely no staff, and we asked the community to help populate it, because we didn’t have the resources ourselves. We at the Foundation have no oversight over that wiki, and we’ve noticed that it’s become a bit out of date. So we’ve taken the decision to move all of our documentation in-house, but we’ve done so in a way that means that you can make additions and alterations if you think we’ve missed something – with our oversight. All of our documentation is written in Markdown, and lives on GitHub. It’s not an open wiki, but if you want to make a change, please open an issue on GitHub. (Learn more here.) We’ll consider all issues which are opened, and if we accept yours, you can file a pull request with your change. It’s a way to keep things lean, consistent and accurate. Everything gets looked over by the team of people who make the Raspberry Pi to be checked for accuracy: at the same time, it allows you to pull us up on anything you think we should expand on. Some of what we have here now is based around a kernel of documentation from the old eLinux wiki, and we are very, very grateful to everyone who contributed materials to it that we have been able to use here. The new documentation also covers all the stuff we used to host here separately: datasheets, hardware specs and so on. We’ve still got some editorial work to do on some of what we’ve pulled in to the new documentation, but it should be usable from today. ThanksI’d like to thank the education and web folks here at Pi Towers, especially Carrie Anne Philbin, who has written more top-quality resources in the last two months than we thought it was possible for one human being to produce, all while running workshops and organising Picademy; and Ben Nuttall, who has been stumbling around the office muttering and tugging at his hair for the last fortnight, sent three-quarters mad by a mixture of insufficient sleep, ignorant requests from his boss (me) and too much staring in to a terminal. His wild eyes and trembling lip are making me feel guilty, and I have been worried that he might die of overwork or run away and retrain as a sponge diver before we got everything finished. (I think you’ll agree that he’s done a simply amazing job in a very short time. Most of what you see here is down to Ben; he’s despite appearances to the contrary, he’s a bundle of joy, and we’re very lucky to have him on the team.)  This is what not enough sleep and too much coffee looks like. Thanks to Laura for the exceptionally smooth and painless editorial ride she’s given us. Thanks to Dave and Clive for the resources and the cakes; thanks to Lance for his oversight (we couldn’t manage without you, Lance); thanks to Emma for keeping us all in line; thanks to Rachel for the photos; thanks to the team at Du.st for the design work – and no thanks at all to Gordon, who ate all our jelly babies, drank most of the coffee and laughed at us when we asked him what We hope you like what you see. As for me and the team, we’re going to go and sit very quietly on a lawn somewhere, read the newspaper and drink tea for the rest of the day. |
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Amazon Offering an EMI Scheme on Kindle Devices in India
| Amazon has just made owning a Kindle device that much easier in India by introducing an EMI scheme. Buyers will now have to endure far less pinch in their pockets as they have the option to pay in equal monthly installments spread over three, six, nine and 12 months. The scheme can be availed of for a minimum purchase amount of Rs. 3,000 with the rest to be fulfilled from Citibank, HDFC and ICICI banks when purchased from Amazon's online store. The number of banks financing your purchase goes up to nine (including the banks mentioned above) when purchased from any of the 250 on-site locations spread across the country that offers the Kindle range. The EMI scheme is applicable to all of Amazon Kindle devices which include the Kindle Fire range of tablet devices and the dedicated ebook readers. This will be on top of the special promotional offers that the retail giant has been doling out to promote its hardware range. The Kindle PaperWhite adjudged one of the best ebook reading devices money can buy is now retailing for Rs 10,080 which is almost a thousand down from its original price of Rs 10,999. Similarly, the basic Kindle ereader model also benefits from a price cut, now retailing for Rs 5,600 as against its original price tag of Rs 5,999. The discount though will be available till April 15th. As for the Kindle Fire range of tablet devices, the 7 inch version is now being offered for Rs. 11,999 while its bigger 8.9 inch sibling can be picked up for a cool Rs. 17,999. For a company like Amazon that counts on sales of books and other services such as apps, videos, and music, its extremely important that its devices continue to sell in sizeable number as each of these can be seen as a potential revenue stream to the services and merchandise Amazon has on offer. The company though is yet to launch its latest Kindle Fire HDX range of Android tablets in the country that otherwise is not known to be particularly fond of the Kindle Fire tablets owing to their close bonding to the Amazon ecosystem that keeps the Google Play Sore off bounds.
Amazon Offering an EMI Scheme on Kindle Devices in India is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Is Icarus Developing a 3D e-Reader?
| The tech industry was rife with Aprils Fools Jokes, and it is hard to take seriously any major announcement that transpires on April 1st. Icarus, a Netherlands e-Reader company quietly announced a 3D e-Reader on their website and the entry is still available right on their homepage. Apparently, they have developed a 3D e-Reader with passive eyewear that will give you a more immersive experience. The Icarus 3D boasts a OE3D screen with HD resolution display with 1024×768 pixels and integrated front light. The 3D effect of the screen can be adjusted by a slider button, and can also be completely turned off. The 3D screen means you are literally pulled into the book, for an unmatched reading experience. The Reader is apparently Adobe certified, so you can buy eBooks from major retailers and load them on the device. You can also turn pages with the touchscreen or the physical buttons. Basically, the Icarus 3D is a repackaged Illumina HD, with a 3D interface. How exactly is the overall e-reading experience enhanced with 3D glasses? Apparently we won’t have long to wait with the company shipping it off April 8th and the cost is € 149.95 Is Icarus Developing a 3D e-Reader? is a post from: Good e-Reader |
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