Just as Engadget was hitting publish on its first posts, I was putting a freshly minted English degree to use working at an indie bookshop in Los Angeles. In seemingly unrelated news, Amazon had just reported its first profitable year after switching from selling books to selling “everything” four years before. (It still sold a lot of books.) Our bookstore did a good job keeping shelves stocked with a balance of the more worthy popular hits and smaller, better fare. But we couldn’t have every book a customer might want, so we offered to order any in-print title. If a distributor had it, it’d take about a week to get in, longer if we had to go through the publisher. That seemed fine for most customers. But sometimes “about a week” was too long. A few people came right out and said, “Nah, I’ll order it on Amazon.” In 2005, Amazon launched Prime, the membership program that, for $79 a year, gave customers unlimited two-day shipping on most orders. At launch, CEO Jeff Bezos called it “‘all-you-can-eat’ express shipping.” No one knew at the time how hungry the world was for Amazon’s brand of convenience. And now, nearly two decades later, we’ve seen the shifts that accommodate that buffet — in labor, retail and the entire customer experience. Prime wasn’t an overnight success. It’s estimated that six years after launch, just four million households paid for the service. But 10 years later, in 2021, Bezos claimed it had accrued 200 million members worldwide. Outside of that... Continue reading at 'Engadget'
[ Engadget | 2024-03-08 14:15:57 UTC ]
With a chill in the air, it's the perfect time to head back into the house and curl up under a blanket with a good book. Looking for a captivating novel? Intriguing nonfiction? You're sure to find something that suits your interests on this list of the 10 best books to be released this month,... Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2016-09-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Introducing Nouwen to a new generation of readers, books by and about the influential Catholic priest are releasing this fall, which marks the 20th anniversary of his death. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-08-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An exhibition to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first Harry Potter book is to open next year at the British Library. Continue reading at BBC News
[ BBC News | 2016-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Twenty years after the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, 2017 show promises ‘a journey to the heart’ of JK Rowling’s storiesIdeally positioned in King’s Cross, just a stone’s throw from the mythical beginning of the journey to Hogwarts on Platform 9 3/4, the British... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-08-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An illustrated edition of A Game of Thrones, the first book in George R R Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, will be published to mark the 20th anniversary of the book. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-08-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bookseller who transformed the perception of sports writing and set up the William Hill Sports Book awardJohn Gaustad, who has died aged 68, was a quietly spoken New Zealander who revolutionised the British sports books industry. In 1985 he opened Sportspages, a small shop in Caxton Walk, off... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-06-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Pura Belpré Award for children and young adult books, which honors Latino writers and illustrators whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino experience, will celebrate its 20th anniversary at the 2016 ALA annual conference. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-06-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nothing says summer like lying on a beach and getting stuck into a good book. But what to read? A 19th century classic, or perhaps Murakami's latest surrealist tale? What about the fascinating story of how mobile provider EE came to be? Well, look no... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2016-05-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The addition of 46 titles to Penguin’s Little Black Classics, from Jane Austen to the suffragettes, gives cause for renewed celebrationThe people at Penguin might be overstating things when they insist that their Little Black Classics “sparked a reading revolution”. All the same, sales of these... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2016-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jacqueline Wilson and Melvyn Bragg are among the names to speak at this year's FT Weekend Oxford Literary Festival. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the literary event and will bring together an array of speakers including authors David Baddiel, Liz Pichon, Prince Asfa-Wossen Asserate... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Days before Amazon celebrates its 20th anniversary, Authors United is asking authors to sign a letter to the DoJ for an investigation of Amazon, and ABA submitted a similar request on Monday. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Dennis Publishing weekly magazine to be handed out for free on Friday in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Leeds, Bristol and BirminghamThe Week is to give away 100,000 free copies on Friday to mark its 20th anniversary in the largest sampling campaign the weekly news digest’s history.Copies of the... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Transworld is repackaging Kate Atkinson’s backlist to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the publication of Behind the Scenes at the Museum, as well as the release of her latest novel, A God in Ruins (May, £20). All of Atkinson’s backlist, including the Jackson Brodie series, will be repackaged... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-02-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A good book is all you ever used to need on the beach but data-use figures show we're still reaching for our cellphones even when we're on holiday. Continue reading at Stuff
[ Stuff | 2015-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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It's like the phrase "curl up with a good book" was invented for the month of December. Here's what we're reading by the fire. The post A Time-Traveling Graphic Novel and More Great Books We’re Reading This Month appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired
[ Wired | 2014-12-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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JetBlue is adding ebooks from HarperCollins to its entertainment mix. Passengers can read excerpts from new titles and then choose to purchase the rest. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-11-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon's leaked 'Netflix for books' plan will alarm publishers and doom old-fashioned anonymous readingOnce upon a time, 12 years ago to be precise, David Bowie said something very perceptive. "Music itself is going to become like running water or electricity," he told a New York Times... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-07-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The gay lifestyle magazine Attitude was launched in 1994 and to celebrate its 20th anniversary, the editor Matthew Todd, who says it feels serendipitous that Attitude turns 20 just as people of the same sex can begin marrying in England and Wales, has picked some of his favourite covers from... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As USA Today celebrates the 20th anniversary of its bestseller list, the organization says romance novels, children's books, and inspirational books defined the last two decades of reading. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2013-11-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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McLean, Va. – USA TODAY celebrates the 20th anniversary of the USA TODAY Best-Selling Books list, crowning not one, but three No.1 books for three different eras that reflect the changes in publishing over the past two decades. Given ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-10-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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