Book industry news

E-Donnybrook

• Interesting, to-the-point article from The Atlantic about the Kindle vs. iPad wars

Math of Publishing Meets the eBook

• The New York Times delivers the meaningful, hard facts on the eBook business model and what it means for publishers.

Cell phones challenge the rise of e-readers

• Interesting New York Times article from November 17 notes rising interest in reading with devices like iPhone and Blackberry.

Indiebound iPhone app just got better

• Connect to your favorite independent bookseller and experience improvements like direct eBook purchasing, internal map viewing and your favorite books list storage.

Do you miss Stephen? Catch up with him at his new job in the big city!

• Stephen previously worked as the marketing manager of Bookworm of Edwards, a bookstore in Edwards, Colorado, that I visited on one of my trips out west in the summer of 2006, though we did not meet at the time. What made me interested in Stephen when I saw his resume is that he used ReadingGroupGuides.com and our other websites as references as he worked with more than 70 book clubs facilitated by Bookworm of Edwards. That and his hands-on bookselling expertise will help us to enhance the advice and ideas we bring to you on the site each month. So, here's to a very warm welcome to Stephen.
  

A thoughtful view on the predatory price wars

• Read this open letter from fellow bookseller Gayle Shanks, co-owner of Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, AZ and former president of the American Booksellers' Association.

Glenn Beck: the new Oprah?

• The New York Times reported that the populist talk show host is gaining traction with readers by leaving room for interviews with novelists - including James Rollins, Vince Flynn, Brad Thor and Daniel Silva.

On e-books:

• Sarah Rotman Epps, a media analyst at Forrester Research, "says the firm is revising its outlook on e-book readers. They're predicting stronger holiday sales than had been previously forecast and for that trend to carry over into 2010," according to NPR, which noted that Epps said the company "expects 3 million such devices, like the Amazon Kindle and Sony's line of e-book readers, to be sold in 2009. The previous estimate had been 2 million. Forrester expects sales to double in 2010, reaching 10 million cumulative e-reader sales by end the of next year."

On free speech:

• Supreme Court Hears Arguments in First Amendment Case
  In what many consider to be one of the most important free speech cases to be argued in 25 years, the U.S. Supreme Court is reviewing a ban on depictions of animal cruelty that critics argue could be applied broadly to encompass everything from popular movies and documentary films to books and images posted by animal welfare groups. "If this law were upheld, a bookstore owner could face five years in prison for selling Hemingway's Death in the Afternoon, any travel books about Spain that included pictures of bull fights, or many hunting magazines and books," said David Horowitz of Media Coalition.

On the value of independent business:

• Becoming "Unchained" on November 21
  The American Independent Business Alliance is urging consumers in communities across the country to "unchain themselves" and to shop at local independent businesses on Saturday, November 21, the sixth annual celebration of America Unchained! Day. To help retailers, business alliances, and trade associations promote the campaign, AMIBA offers a range of resources.