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month

January 2012

A Singularity: Video: TEDTalk: Storytelling →

asingularity: This one is only four minutes long and it is well worth watching. I do wish he had manage to work in comics but there are plenty of other storytelling formats he glossed over so I can’t claim discrimination. I can point out that when he uses the word…

“Fact: most American communities do not have the luxury of an indie bookstore and...”

– Heather McCormack—Editor, LJ Book Review—takes on libraries’ role in helping connect readers (and consumers) to books in “A Most Optimistic Unconference: Publishers, Libraries, and Independent Bookstores at Digital Book World 2012.” (via libraryjournal)

iBookstore is Not Even the Second Most Popular... →

interactioned: From Julie Bosman’s article in the New York Times on how Barnes & Noble is trying to stay alive is this interesting tidbit: A bit of good news for the company is that, thanks to the Nook, it’s been grabbing e-book business from Amazon. Mr. Lynch said Barnes & Noble now held about 27 percent of the market, a number that publishers confirm gleefully. Amazon has at least 60...

Ebooks Encourage Authors To Stare At Their Shoes... →

seancregan: And hot on the last post’s heels, this piece from the mighty @suw.

Nur, was da steht: Jonathan Franzen warns: Ebooks... →

I think that the main concern Franzen has here is that the impermanence of ebooks make him seem like a whinny blogger. frankwehrmann: httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qm3yuWEvCgw httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-9ltqGa4lw This article titled “Jonathan Franzen warns ebooks are corroding values” was written by Alison Flood, for guardian.co.uk on Monday 30th January 2012 11.50 UTC ...

The Kindle Monologues: Amazon →

thelibrarianontherun: I just love how much Amazon is getting crap from all ends right now. Love it. Where were you guys about a year ago when I was standing on my soapbox screaming about ‘em because they were the only e-format that didn’t support EPUBs? The library ebook format of choice? Now, that’s not an issue anymore - but still. I love that they are taking some heat. MUHAHAHAHAHA! How’s...

“The making of a book, with respect to its flowering totality, begins with the...”

– The Book: A Spiritual Instrument (1895) by Stéphane Mallarmé

eBooks vs real books: a mythical publishing tale

On Mount Kyllini the Publishing Gods were in filthy moods. Sales were down, bookshops were closing and worse, they’d been called together to consider a membership application. ‘What’s the applicant’s name?’ asked the God of Hardback, unable to hide his boredom. The Goddess of Paperback leaned back in her chair, causing her spine to crack noisily. ‘The form says eBook.’ Sat on a rock, the...

“Fuck them is what I say! I hate those eBooks; they CANNOT be the future. They...”

– Maurice Sendak on the Colbert Report (via daniefofanny)

eReader database and comparison tool - Easily... →

eReaderLookup.com is a database of ebook reader devices that has quick filtering and comparison capabilities. This website was created to facilitate the research of ebook readers. Today it is sometimes difficult to make an informed choice based on marketing campaigns of big corporations, although there might be ereaders offering much more at the same or better price. This site offers you facts...

The Trè Cool Life Phorm Digital Device Holder →

“Attempting to live life the way they’ve always lived it — by preserving...”

– Why E-books Are Turning the Library and Publishing Worlds Upside Down « The Scholarly Kitchen (via infoneer-pulse)

On Public Relations: Hierarchy of Book... →

paulbogaards: Hierarchy of Book Publishing The Top 100 (circa 2012) 1). Brand-name authors (still) Stephen King (since 1974) John Grisham (1989) Patricia Cornwell (1990) Jodi Picoult (1992) Nicholas Sparks (1996) Jennifer Weiner (2001) Etc. 2). Self-published authors with proven track…

eTextbooks Other Than Apple - Chegg's HTML5 model →

Chegg’s new eTextbook Reader is a Web site, but it is written in the new HTML5 programming language, which allows Chegg to simulate the experience of using a mobile app written specifically for a device like the iPad. While browsing a book on the site, people can mark text with yellow highlighter, add notes like the ones they would normally scrawl in the margins of a printed textbook and submit...

The Real Reason Behind the Hubris of Apple

Only hubris can explain how Apple thought a PR event on liberating textbooks would mask the reality that they are actually herding content into what amounts as concentration camps. Liz Castro will give you Ten Reasons why you shouldn’t use iBook Author but the other thing to think about as a library is do you really want to commit to a walled in and barbed wired garden in the first place....

Each Kindle Fire is Worth Over a Hundred Bucks in... →

Do you know how the Kindle is believed to be sold at a loss? Everyone assumed that Amazon would make up the difference in content sales, and it looks like that might actually be the case.

“The nature of academic and research librarianship changed today. Today, all...”

– So this just happened. (Twitter channel.) i don’t know all the context of what’s happening but this is bizarre This blog post explains what happened and postulates on the forthcoming layoffs in academic librarianship: http://chrisbourg.wordpress.com/2012/01/19/whats-happening-at-harvard/ (via...

Apple has spoken and the word is Textbook

Now that the Apple dust has started to settle lets break it down. They plan to revolutionize the textbook by creating an entirely new kind of textbook that’s dynamic, engaging and truly interactive That sounds familiar. Oh, right Blio and so far that seems to be working out. They plan on empowering authors but textbook authors getting $9.75 on the 15% royalty on a $65 retail textbook now...

The Atlantic: 'Highly Tweeted Articles Were 11... →

This is very interesting but raises the a question - though the article is being cited more because twitter has shortened the time it takes to get awareness of the article and it’s retweets increase the amount of people who see it exponentially, is this retweeting filtering out other more valid articles because they are harder to understand? Are we disseminating and rewarding content on...

“In recent days, the museum [the Guggenheim] has made 65 art catalogues available...”

– Some more cool free ebook resources. This time it’s art! Free: The Guggenheim Puts 65 Modern Art Books Online | Open Culture (via chrischelberg)

Apple’s War On Amazon Starts Thursday →

An interesting but completely wrong thesis. Authors want readers not neat hardware. Apple owns the lions share of the music market because it reinvented the transistor radio. There is a difference between pushing a song through speakers and a reading experience. Their iBookstore and reader showed hubris and lack of concern for the reader or the author. It was a dismal failure. To think they can...

Cheddarly Wry: On ebooks →

cheddarlywry: I’ve now had my ipad for a month, which means I’ve now also had time to explore ebooks, which were one of the primary reasons I was so excited to have an ipad. As someone who not only loves books, but absolutely treasures them, I must admit I had absolutely no apprehension about ebooks in…

From a July 23, 1970, letter addressed to Truman... →

sadburro: My Dear Mr. Capote, This is not a fan letter in the usual sense -unless you refer to ceiling fans in Panama. Rather, call this a letter from “the reader” - vital statistics are not in capital letters - selection from marginal notes on material submitted, as all “writing” is submitted to this…

Lending A Room Of One's Own →

Liyuan Library opted to build near a village two hours outside of Beijing rather than the heart of the busy city. With a concept for a serenity-focused public space in mind, they used the mountain landscape as inspiration. The resulting building is constructed from sticks gathered in the village and lets in only natural light, helping the modest structure blend into its surroundings while...

WiFi Dispensing Vending Machine →

Asahi Beverages has introduced soda machines that offer free Wi-Fi to anyone within a 50 meter radius. In addition to providing web browsing capabilities, the hosted home page will show geo-specific dining, shopping and tourist information. Users can connect for up to 30 minutes before having to reconnect—which Ashai hopes should be just enough time for them to get thirsty. This is also a...

Fantasy Author Jim C. Hines surfs Amazon for a... →

I headed over to Amazon and grabbed a sampling of book covers, primarily urban fantasy, and spent the evening doing a photoshoot. Click on if you want to see the results (or if you just really want to see a shot of topless Jim).

apps & stacks: Could Selling Used eBooks Work? -... →

EMI is suing ReDigi, a company that lets consumers resell their MP3s for copyright infringement. This isn’t a huge surprise, since unlike selling a used CD, a used MP3 is theoretically the same as a new one. The New York Times has more from the complaint: “‘While ReDigi touts its service…

Solar cover for your Kindle powers reading light... →

The idea is that the built in battery which gets charged by the sun is chiefly intended to power the LED reading light, but can also be used to charge the Kindle’s own battery if needed. So basically, provided you expose the cover to as much sunlight as possible you will probably never have to charge your Kindle via a computer or special Kindle charger ever again.