| Barnes and Noble has just announced the first big discount on their latest generation e-reader. The Nook Glowlight came out late last year and really improved the hardware, putting the front-lit display on par with the Kindle Paperwhite. Today, the Nation’s largest bookseller has announced a price drop from $119 to $99 for a limited time. The Barnes and Noble Nook Glowlight features a six inch IR touchscreen display with a resolution of 1024 X 758-pixel and 212 PPI. This is a huge upgrade from the previous generation Nook that only had 800×600 for the resolution. Under heavy tests we noticed that the blacks were deeper in cover art and the way fonts look when you maximize their levels. The Glowlight technology that allow you to read in the dark has been dramatically enhanced. B&N still continues the philosophy of bucking the major industry trend of putting the LED lights on the top of the device, instead of the bottom. Overall, the light is now almost pure white, where the NST with Glowlight would often have a blue hue to it. The entire Good e-Reader review team think that that the new model has 75% brighter and clearer lighting. All Barnes and Noble retail stores will be offering the discount starting today. You may also elect to purchase it online from the official Nook website. There is no indication on how long this promotion will go on for, but it is a USA exclusive. Barnes and Noble Nook Glowlight Now $99 is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Barnes and Noble Nook Glowlight Now $99
Book Promo Tours Help Authors Stay Relevant in the Digital Era
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Readers used to discover favorite books and authors by casually browsing the shelves of their local booksellers or reading the review sections of print newspapers. As both of those entities slowly (and sadly) disappear for consumers, replaced by online retail websites and book recommendation metadata, professionals are working to put their authors “out there” and in front of would-be readers with elaborate book tours. An upcoming event, called the Belles on Wheels tour, is staged by Gallery Books (Simon and Schuster) and will feature authors Christina Lauren, Kresley Cole, Kyra Davis, Alice Clayton, Lisa Renee Jones, Emma Chase, S.C. Stephens, Krisen Proby, Jennifer Probst, and Katy Evans. The tour bus will travel across the southeastern United States and make stops in Atlanta, Birmingham, Memphis, Dallas, Austin, Houston, Greenwood (MS), and New Orleans. Along the way, those authors will be signing books, staging readings, and attending meet-and-greets with reader fans. Similarly, Penguin Random House UK just announced that it has sold over 10,000 tickets to meet one of its bestselling authors, Caitlin Moran. While innovation is key to staying relevant in the minds and interests of readers, some experts warn that publishers and industry professionals shouldn’t be too quick to jump on the hype. There’s something to be said for the stoic and stately bookstore, and some readers may be put off by the glitzy approach to author-reader interaction. But with more data coming out that shows many consumers are more apt to buy a DVD than a book, modeling this type of fandom after movie goers is not too far fetched.
Book Promo Tours Help Authors Stay Relevant in the Digital Era is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Nook GlowLight on Sale for $99, But Don’t Get the Clip Cover
| This past week Barnes and Noble issued an update for the Nook GlowLight to improve the on-board shopping experience and to add a few new features. Now this week Barnes and Noble is running a sale on the Nook GlowLight to try and get it out into more people’s hands. The Nook GlowLight normally sells […] |
Samsung Unveils a Puzzling New Line of Android Tablets
| This past week Samsung announced their latest trio of Android tablets, dubbed the Galaxy Tab4 series. The three models have varying screen sizes—7-inches, 8-inches, and 10.1-inches—but all the the exact same 16:10 aspect ratio and 1280 x 800 screen resolution. Unlike Samsung’s Pro series of high-end tablets released earlier this year with high-resolution screens, the […] |
Emerging Markets Embracing Tablets with Cellular Technology
| The vast majority of tablets on the market only have WIFI capabilities and only the odd one has cellular data. The Apple iPad is the most successful when it comes to not relying on wireless signals to surf the internet or download apps. Emerging markets are starting to embrace cheap Android tablets thanks to the prices coming down in China and Taiwan. Many indie companies in the US, UK and Canada often deal with white label tablets to get their products to market. The average company simply cannot afford to devote the resources to design and contract out the manufacturing to an existing fab. Instead, they contact existing companies with the hardware already built, load in a splash screen and customize the software. Companies like Monster, Pocketbook, Pandigital, Pioneer, Skytex, Wexler and many others all do this. In the second half of the year it is estimated that out of the 12 million tablets intended to be shipped out in the second quarter of 2014, half will have cellular functionality. This is critical to emerging markets such as South Africa, Vietnam, Philippines and the Middle East. These countries have little to no infrastructure to WIFi and being able to use the tablet and use a cheap data plan is essential to have everyone connected. via Digitimes Emerging Markets Embracing Tablets with Cellular Technology is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Nook Android Update Lets Anyone Sample
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The Nook app for android has been updated, providing easier access to Barnes and Noble's extensive catalogue of books, newspapers, magazines and comics. According to the Google Play store, Nook has been updated to fix bugs, allow users to browse and sample books without an account and to get deal and book notifications. It is clear Barnes and Noble doesn't want the pain of creating an account be a barrier for new users in experiencing the quality of its catalogue. By not requiring an account, this no commitment relationship could be enough to get users from other ebook stores hooked and wanting more. One of the downsides of the new update is the addition of notifications. Barne's and Noble may view it as a way to make you aware of deals and recommendations. In our view, having a notification that acts more like spam is not the best way to make friends. According to Barnes and Noble it can be disabled by following the these steps: Follow these steps based on your Android version. On Jelly Bean 4.1 or higher devices 1) Go to the device settings and open “Apps” or “Application manager” 2) Select “NOOK” 3) Uncheck “Show notifications”. On Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.x and lower devices 1) In the NOOK app go to Settings 2) Uncheck “Show notifications” The new update provides a great opportunity to go check out deals or to try out that book, magazine etc. that your are not sure about. Just make sure to turn off the notifications first. The Nook app offers access to over 2.5 million books, which includes 1 million free books. Users also have access to magazines, newspapers, graphic novels and comics all from their phones and tablets. You can download Nook for Android from the Good e-Reader App Store.
Nook Android Update Lets Anyone Sample is a post from: Good e-Reader |
The Death of the Great American eNovel
| Authors are battling the economics of words in the modern era of traditional and self-publishing. Many book deals encourage authors to release a set number of books a year and indies need to engineer their own ebooks, do their own layouts and generate the books to ePub and Kindle friendly formats. Trade authors need to pump out as many books as possible and indies shoulder a tremendous amount of burden to not only write a book, but market it stronger to get sales. All of these factors are contributing to the overall decline of quality and the death of the great American novel. Author Tracy Hickman was responsible for the success of TCR publishing with his Dragonlance chronicles. Dragons of Autumn Twilight captured the imaginations of many youth in 1984. After his run with the publisher he engaged in self-publishing six years ago. He now works 12-14 hours a day writing four times the books he's comfortable writing because he makes a fourth of what he used to. During a recent interview at AnomalyCon in Denver Tracy said “My audience of 6 million no longer find me because the book store is dying. A book signing in older days would have fans lining around blocks just to have my signature, but a booksigning now might only get six people. I have a 6 million following and they don’t remember me." Tracys comments of self-publishing eliminating success on the physical retail level are quite telling. Borders, B. Daltons and Waldens are all bankrupt and out of business, the process of book discovery has been severely diminished. Self-publishers normally just do it digitally and it limits the reach of the books, but does allow them to make more money. Authors like Stephen King, James Patterson, Danielle Steele, Maya Banks and many others pump out more than five titles a year. They have big publishing deals that mandate X amount of books being sent out. Authors who do not have a well known names are often forced to either not write at all or change their genres. Many big New York publishing companies are not really accepting submissions for vampire paranormal or erotica books because the market is too saturated. Unless you are a EL James, Silva Day or Anne Rice you will have to write about something else. Lee Siegel wrote a piece for the New York Observer back in 2010 declaring that the American public no longer talk about novels and that this creative form, once so full of fire, has lost its spark for ever. “For about a million reasons,” Siegel claimed, “fiction has now become a museum-piece genre most of whose practitioners are more like cripplingly self-conscious curators or theoreticians than writers. For better or for worse, the greatest storytellers of our time are the non-fiction writers.” There has been no notable great American novels since self-publishing became popular in 2007. Authors who switch from trade to self-pub like having more flexibility and a greater revenue stream. The stark truth is that they are under the gun to write serialized fiction, short fiction and Kindle Singles in order to make mortgage payments and to sustain their lifestyle. There is no time to write that epic novel because they need to be making money pronto. Authors who sign with a publishing label are often stifled by their chosen literary genre and are discouraged by editors and agents to not branch out. All authors have to sell themselves by visiting libraries, doing book signings, visiting literary events, writing on a blog and engaging in social media. It is a full time job to promote yourself and write at the same time, all of these factors combine degrade the quality of literature. The Death of the Great American eNovel is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Friday, April 4, 2014
Kobo Begins Offering eBook Refunds
| Last week Amazon and Barnes & Noble begun issuing credits for eBooks that customers purchased from 2010 to 2012 under the agency model. Kobo has now begun to issue credits to customers accounts for titles purchased from Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin, and Simon & Schuster. New York Times bestsellers are eligible for a credit of $3.17 per ebook, and non-NYT bestsellers get a credit of $0.73. Kobo has just sent out the first run of emails that let you know how many credits you have owing. All of the emails are not sent out all at once and will be dispatched during the next week. You want to make sure if you are eligible for credits that you use them by April 2014. Below is a copy of the correspondence they are sending out. Dear Kobo Customer, You previously received an email informing you that you were eligible for a credit in your Kobo account. This credit results from the Settlements reached with publishers Hachette, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Penguin in antitrust lawsuits filed by the State Attorneys General and Class Plaintiffs about the price of electronic books ("E-books"). If you did not receive that email, you can read more about the Settlements at www.EbookAGSettlements.com. We are happy to inform you that the Court in charge of these cases has approved the Settlements. As a result of this settlement, an account credit of X has been added to your account. You can use it to purchase eBooks regardless of publisher. Kobo Begins Offering eBook Refunds is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Screwpulp’s Launch May Be the Salvation of Book Reviews
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A new startup has devised a mechanism that stands to erase most of those issues, even while not intentionally setting out to solve these problems. Screwpulp, a mash-up of the name of Gutenberg’s original printing press and the term for inexpensive yet intriguing reads, actually sought to be a new discovery marketplace for books that worked to price them according to what they’re actually worth. The end result, however, can be a revamping of the entire structure of book reviews. “The idea was to come up with a way to price books properly,” explained Screwpulp’s CEO Richard Billings in an interview with Good e-Reader. “We felt like Amazon and some other places were devaluing what a book is worth, and there seems to be no mechanism that shows what the market can bear, supply and demand being the typical way. There’s an endless supply of digital products, and even major publishers are having trouble with pricing.” Screwpulp works by letting authors or publishers submit their books to the site, then those books are available for free until they have twenty-five reviews. Once a book reaches that threshold, its price goes up to one dollar. It continues to increase in increments based on the number of reviews. Since it would be far too easy to play the system and gather supporters to post fake reviews in order to monetize on the book, Screwpulp has come up with an ingenious system for weighting the reviews, for giving more credence to reviews from habitual users (as opposed to an author’s college roommate coming in and leaving one review), and for helping ensure that bullying is not an issue by comparing the reviews against each other and giving more weight to reviews that are obviously genuine. Readers and authors will have the ability to flag a review for removal for inappropriate content or for very obvious signs that the reviewer did not read the book. While the platform is in beta, there’s a submission process for new titles. Once the platform goes public, there will be a submission form that lets anyone upload titles. A vetting process will look for offensive content or plagiarized material, but otherwise everyone is welcome to submit their work. Other tools are expected to roll out as the platform progresses, including design tools and promotion. “We see indie authors as a start up, and we want to provide them with all of the viable tools to be a business.”
Screwpulp’s Launch May Be the Salvation of Book Reviews is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Top 10 New Android APPS of the Week – April 4th 2014
| Last week was a big week for new apps with Cut the Rope 2, Captain America Winter Soldier and many other big titles. This week kind of slowed down in comparison and we still don’t have Angry Birds Epic yet. Today, we look at the Top 10 new android apps to come out this week and they are all available on the Good e-Reader App Store. Inkling eBooks – Beta – Inkling's interactive eBooks are designed to help you learn, study, and discover just about anything, whether it's for school, work, or play. Our books cover the gamut from anatomy to photography and travel to cooking. Demon Clash – The Lord of Death has been banished for centuries, but mysterious forces have revived this mighty fiend. Now evil creatures gather under his banner to march against the races of the Alliance. Not a single force has been strong enough to stop them… until now! Nitro Nation – Nitro Nation Online takes drag racing to the next level with a 3D world full of stunning new customizable cars, amazing racing physics and unlimited in-depth gameplay that guarantees racers an unforgettable experience, all on your mobile device! Unriddle Riddle – Unriddle Riddle – you are about to play something really cool! FREE levels of awesomeness! Every level consists of riddle – and we challenge you to unriddle it! Some pictures are partially hidden to make it even more interesting for you! Collect plenty of coins and spend them however you want. It's a fun, simple and super addictive brainteaser! You can play it with your family, friends and if you'll need some help (we've got plenty of tricky ones for you) you can share puzzle on Facebook! Just tap the Facebook icon and post it on your wall! SUMMON MASTERS – Realistic Real-time Battle system! Turn the Battle in favor of You with Brilliant and Powerful Skills! CSR Classics – A brand new game in the CSR series, CSR Classics is setting a new benchmark in graphics and gameplay. Get ready to race! RunBot – A stunning 3-D infinite runner where you're RunBot, an advanced robotic weapon system. You've rejected your protocol as a killing machine and now you've made a brave dash for freedom – you won't let laser towers, drone attacks, or obstacles slow you down! Talking Tony Stark – There are so many different super heroes living in the world. Some of them got their ability by successful or failure scientific experiment. Someone born with super powers, and someone got them accidentally. But what to do, if nature did not give you such abilities, but you still want to be a hero? Then all you need is charisma, and three milliard money. About such super hero will be discussed in the game Talking Tony Stark. Famous playboy, genius, billionaire and philanthropist, visited the famous series of talking games to tell you how to become a super hero without super powers! Chilie – Follow this simple animated story with funny characters in an imaginary Asia world, and try to help Chilie and her guardian to achieve their goals. Get ready to rack your brain in this stylish pastel colored promenade ! Real Football 2014 – Pick your favorite premier league team and lead them to glory by scoring the most goals.Face different opponents as you make your way through the competition and attempt to become the champion. Top 10 New Android APPS of the Week – April 4th 2014 is a post from: Good e-Reader |
New Inkling eBooks App Hits Android
| Inkling, a leader in the reimagining digital publishing, has released a beta version of its app for Android. Once downloaded, users have access to Inkling's entire library of learning content both online and off. The company's catalogue, which focuses on innovative learning, can now be read and synced across Android and iOS devices as well as on your PC or Mac. The ebooks promise a rich media experience, which includes access to embedded videos, images and audio. "Today marks an important milestone for us," said founder and CEO, Matt MacInnis. "We've realized the promise of build-once, publish-anywhere reflowable content on virtually any device. For consumers, that means buy once, access anywhere. In a multi-platform world, this is critical to both our partners and our consumers." Users must remember that the app is a beta version, so functionality is still limited. For example readers cannot highlight content or make notes within the ebooks. We view this as a major limiting factor for textbooks. Nor can they adjust the brightness of the screen to provide a custom level of brightness for their eye's comfort. Furthermore, videos cannot be viewed offline as they are streamed in order to reduce the size of the ebook file. If you're a price sensitive shopper, like a student accessing textbooks, you may not be that excited. In a random sample of six books we noticed that only once did Inkling provide a cheaper alternative than Amazon Kindle's offerings. However, the company does provide the ability to purchase a book by chapter and offers one free chapter to every book it has available. In our view, the reading experience on Android is seamless and provides an intuitive interface both on the phone and tablet. The media within the ebooks allow for a more indepth understanding of concepts and breaks up the tiresomeness feeling of seeing a wall of words. The company is sure to provide frequent updates, adding in features like highlighting, as it focusing on growing the Android platform. Inkling provides publishers with a collaborative publishing platform called Inkling Habitat to build and distribute media rich ebooks. The company has signed leading publishers like Pearson, McGraw Hill, Wiley, Kaplan, Elsevier, DK and Lonley Planet. It is also backed by Sequoia Capital. You can download Inkling eBooks for Android from the Good e-Reader App Store. New Inkling eBooks App Hits Android is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Game of Thrones. Are you ready?
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While I'm counting down the hours until the season four premiere of Game of Thrones this weekend, I'll be occupying my time reading anything I can remotely similar to the series. Your patrons may want to do the same…
If you would like more suggestions, your Collection Development Specialist is always available to help create custom 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.  |
DigitalBookmobile.com gets fancy
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If you haven't had a chance to look around, we invite you to take some time and explore the new website. The design is clean, modern, and beautiful with large graphics and simple navigation. All of your old favorites are right there on the home page: local news coverage, a list of upcoming events, and the ability to search for a library near you that offers OverDrive eBooks and audiobooks. The blog is a brand new feature, giving you the opportunity to not only hear directly from the Digital Bookmobile staff on the road, but also to join the conversation and share your thoughts with us. From the menu in the upper-right corner (or simply by scrolling down), you can learn more about the Digital Bookmobile experience, watch a video on the traveling exhibit, have a sneak peek of what's inside the truck, connect with OverDrive on social media, or contact us. The new calendar of events gives a clear view of where we're heading next, along with driving directions via Google Maps. Libraries and schools who would like to schedule an event with the Digital Bookmobile are able to fill out a simple form directly from the home page. Members of the media can also contact us using this form, or browse our robust media kit, packed with high quality images free for use and videos for B-roll. We'd love to hear what you think about this new website, the Digital Bookmobile in general, or the OverDrive service. Please feel free to contact us using the form on the home page of www.digitalbookmobile.com, or by leaving comments here on the blog. We hope to see you soon at your local Digital Bookmobile event!
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PA Consulting Raspberry Pi Competition
| The PA Raspberry Pi competition challenges young people to use the Raspberry Pi to help the environment. Last year I helped judge the competition, and was amazed by the creativity and innovation of the entries (the excellent AirPi was one of last year's winners). This year's event was held in the Science Museum, and I went along to judge the Year 4-6 and Year 7-11 categories, and to run some workshops along the way. The Sonic Pi workshops were fantastic—they almost ran themselves, with the students continually trying out new things in quest to make the best music or silliest sounds (the exploding farmyard was a particular favourite). I've said it before, but Sonic Pi is genius. In the afternoon I joined my fellow judges: Rory Cellan-Jones, the BBC’s technology correspondent, and Claire Sutcliffe, co-founder of Code Club. We spent 15 minutes talking to each of the seven teams. The winning project had to have the potential to benefit the world in some way and we were also looking for things like innovation, creativity and originality. What really stood out was the energy of the teams—they all talked passionately and knowledgeably about their projects and how they had used the Raspberry Pi to solve real world problems.  St Mary’s CE Primary, with Pi ‘n’ Mighty, their recycling robot The year 4-6 category was won by St Mary's CE Primary School with their recycling robot Pi 'n' Mighty. The robot scans packaging barcodes and then tells you if it can be recycled and which bin to put it in. The team was bursting with energy and falling over themselves to explain how they'd made it and what it did. I'd love to see a Pi 'n' Mighty in every school canteen, encouraging recycling and helping children learn about the topic. And it looks fantastic, exactly how a robot should look! Frome Community College won the year 7-11 category prize with their prodigious Plant Pi, a system to care for plants and monitor their environment. The team had covered every aspect including hardware and web monitoring, and they had even created an app. It really is a brilliantly designed and engineered solution that already has the makings of a commercial product. The project is open source and includes code, instructions, parts list and documentation. It was a great day and it was a real pleasure to speak to the finalists and to see young people doing remarkable and useful things with the Raspberry Pi. If I could bottle the innovation, enthusiasm, creativity and technical skills in that room then I would have a Phial of Awesome +10. (I would carry it around with me in a belt holster and open it for the occasional sniff when feeling uninspired.) Best of all, I know that we'll be seeing some of these finalists again: skills like computational thinking stay with you for life, and will serve these kids in whatever they end up doing in the future. |
Ingram Partnership Streamlines Pubishing Tools
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PubEasy, sold last September, allows Nielsen Book to offer “comprehensive B2B solutions, allowing retailers to search, select and order books throughout the English-language book market. The solutions form part of a suite of flexible Nielsen Commerce services incorporating all key book trade transaction types internationally.” “Joining the Nielsen PubEasy community gives us the tools to expand the reach of titles internationally for publishers that use our comprehensive solutions” said Mark Ouimet, Vice President and General Manager, Ingram Publisher Services, in a press release. "We look forward to growing our reach into new markets using Nielsen services.” A number of partnerships and launches have taken place in the publishing industry, especially where streamlining services and international rights acquisitions are concerned, such as IPR License opening up Trade Rights to make international rights a smoother process for authors and publishers. Innovations like this are helping move forward a process that has long been held in low-regard, with accusations that the traditional publishing industry still operates under an archaic, outdated model. The tool set offered in the PubEasy community will help make this process a 21st century publishing model.
Ingram Partnership Streamlines Pubishing Tools is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Tolino Vision Hopes to be a Kindle Killer
| The Tolino Alliance has been making e-readers for the last two years. Major players of the initiative include Deutsche Telekom, Hugendubel, Thalia, Bertelsmann and World View. All of these companies banded together in a bid to fend off Amazon dominance in the German marketplace. The e-readers are sold in major phone shops, bookstores and tech shops. The first two generations of the Tolino Shine were not very compelling and suffered from sluggish hardware. In a few days, the Tolino Vision will hit Germany and bears a striking resemblance to the Kindle Paperwhite 2 and Kobo Aura. The Tolino Vision features the same e Ink Carta screen technology found on the Kindle Paperwhite 2. This will not only provide higher contrast, but also eliminate the refreshing of the display. The overall resolution is a very respectable 1024 × 758 pixels. One of the things that stands out with this model is that the screen is flush with the bezel. The only other e-reader to do this was the six inch Kobo Aura, it almost feels like a tablet or smartphone in this respect. You might ask, what’s the big deal? 99% of e-readers on the market have sunken touchscreen displays. This makes it very hard to press on menu options or access settings that are near the edges. Underneath the hood is Freescale iMx6 1 GHz processor and 512 MB RAM. There is 4GB of internal memory, but after you take it out of the box for the first time, you are relegated to two. This will store around 1,500 eBooks on average, but you can expand it up to 32 GB via the Micro SD card if you are a digital hoarder. This e-reader compared to the Shine line is elegant, sleek and sexy. Not only is the flush bezel a boon but it is packed with a matte and non-reflective glass. In addition, the home button has been replaced by a touch sensitive sensor. It only weighs 178 grams and can easily be held in one hand for long reading sessions. The main reading formats are ePUB and PDF, which are the most common ones out there. It is certified with Adobe, so you can buy DRM books at other bookstores, other than the default one. You can switch between six different fonts and adjust the font-type on demand. There are numerous languages packed into the Vision, because people tend to use it in countries of close proximity of Germany. The Tonio Vision should be in our Review labs in the next few weeks. It goes on sale April 5th 2014 for 129 euros.
Tolino Vision Hopes to be a Kindle Killer is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Tolino Vision Launches in Germany, Comes with E Ink Carta Screen
| 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 […] |
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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