The idea of "social reading" has been around for years, but there's a cluster of new companies trying to make it actually work. Two of these startups, Subtext and Findings, launched Oct. 25. Another, Readmill, built around sharing clips/excerpts, is currently being tested. Subtext, for example, lets publishers and readers annotate ebooks. One of its launch titles was the blockbuster A Game of Thrones, annotated by the author's editor and researcher. Co-founder Rachel Thomas says that in some ways she's just trying to mirror the discussions that readers are already having among themselves. But, she admits, there also are times when you just want to "drop into the book" without being distracted by social commentary. That's why her team has tried to build "fine-grained" controls to determine whose comments you see when. This isn't just about adding a few features to the reading experience. In a recent blog post for the Nieman Journalism Lab, Megan Garber argues that books' immersive, intimate qualities make them "pretty lousy as actual sharers of ideas." With technology, she says, that's beginning to change. Continue reading at 'AdWeek'
[ AdWeek | 2011-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with:
#share books
#social reading
#lets publishers
#launch titles
#reading experience
OverDrive Media Console--the iPhone app that lets users check out and read ebooks from their local libraries--has been upgraded to a universal app optimized for... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-02-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#iphone app
#read ebooks
Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Tue, 15/02/2011 - 08:49 The Book Hive in Norwich has been voted the best bookshop in Britain, according to a Daily Telegraph survey. More than 18,000 people voted across 10 categories in a bid to find the best small shops in Britain. The awards,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book hive
#small shops
#national chains
Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 14/02/2011 - 17:21 HarperCollins Childrens Books publishing director Helen Mackenzie Smith has bought her first books since joining the publisher from Random House earlier this year. She bought four books by picture author and illustrator Rachel... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#books acquires
#harpercollins children
#world rights
#literary agency
Easy downloads and convenient storage are the chief lures of a virtual library, but ownership has some irritating downsides that require your attention before you hit the ebook purchase button. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-02-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#virtual library
Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 10/02/2011 - 08:00 Beautiful Books has acquired two "major" non-fiction titles for autumn 2011, with one revisiting Orwell's Wigan Pier and another looking at one of the first people to recognise the Young British Artists (YBA). Publisher... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#non-fiction titles
Publication Date: Thu, 10/02/2011 - 07:55 Senior publicity manager Dominic Kingston is to leave Macmillan Children's Books (MCB) at the end of April. Kingston has been with the publisher since 2005, when he joined as publicity manager. Lauren Ace will join the team as publicity manager on 7th... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#books mcb
#publicity manager
#lauren ace
#7th march
#tiger press
Publication Date: Wed, 09/02/2011 - 20:05 Debut author Sita Brahmachari has won the Waterstones Childrens Book Prize for her coming-of-age novel about life, death, friendship and love. She was awarded the £5,000 prize this evening [9th February] for Artichoke Hearts, published by Macmillan... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book prize
#macmillan children
By Tim Conneally, Betanews Amazon on Monday pre-released a software update for Kindle e-readers running the 3.0 software which updates the interface for magazines and newspapers, adds a quick review section at the end of each book, and adds page numbers that match Kindle books with their print... Continue reading at Betanews
[ Betanews | 2011-02-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#social activity
#general public
#social networks
Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Mon, 07/02/2011 - 08:53 Sales of books in France fell by 1.5% in 2010 or 0.5% without taking account of book price inflation, according to French weekly Livres Hebdos indicators. After three years of increase, the decline came as retailing in... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Written By: Bookseller Staff Publication Date: Mon, 07/02/2011 - 09:20 Tim Waterstone is reportedly pondering a bid to buy the bookstore he founded in 1982 with HMV billionaire investor Alexander Mamut. In the recent past, Waterstone has distanced himself from a bid saying while he would be... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#book chain
#recent past
Written By: Philip Stone and Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 07/02/2011 - 09:24 The supermarket sector was the only winner in the 2010 retail trade, with sales jumping 7% year-on-year. Estimates based on data from Nielsen BookScan show that book sales in the UK were down by 4% in 2010 in... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#market share
#philip stone
#book sales
Analysis: Apple is modifying its licensing policy, raising doubts that ebooks bought elsewhere will be readable on Apple devices. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#apple devices
#ebooks bought
Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Fri, 04/02/2011 - 09:01 Publishers are being warned to check their Google Books data online as thousands of titles have been mistakenly attributed to publisher BPR. Independent UK publisher Childrens Story Publishers spotted the mistake after its... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#publishers warned
#google books
#early days
Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 04/02/2011 - 16:42 Emma Hopkin, managing director of Macmillan children's books, is to leave the company on 21st April to "pursue an exciting new challenge elsewhere in children's publishing". Hopkin said: "It's been fantastic and I've... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#macmillan children
#exciting opportunity
Written By: Benedicte Page A new Media and Entertainment group has been created within Penguin Childrens Books under newly promoted publishing director Eric Huang. The group combines the BBC Children's, Sunbird and Ladybird licensing teams. Penguin Children's Books m.d. Francesca Dow said... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#penguin children
#benedicte page
#entertainment group
#bbc children
#francesca dow
Written By: Lisa Campbell Central London independent Goldsboro Books is expanding to a new premises more than double its size. The retailer, is currently based in Cecil Court in a 40 square metre premises. However, at the end of March the store is moving to a new site in the same street that is... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#goldsboro books
#cecil court
Written By: Lisa Campbell Quercus has announced that its market share has increased by 103% in a year. The publishing group responsible for Stieg Larsson's best-selling Millennium Trilogy, revealed the group dominated 1.37%, up from 0.66% in 2009 in a market that declined by 1.7%. Quercus chief... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#market share
#stieg larsson
#mark smith
Sustaining a publishing business on the Internet can be a tricky, as many readers expect content for free and adopt tools to strip out advertising. In an attempt... Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#publishing business
Written By: Lisa Campbell A complaint against a W H Smith advert for the Richard and Judy Book Club has not been upheld by the Advertising Standards Authority. The television broadcast, promoting the husband-and wife teams exclusive deal with W H Smith to run Richard and Judys Book Club,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#lisa campbell
On February 15, Open Road Integrated Media will publish the first childrens titles in its author branded program: seven ebooks by Newbery Medal and National Book Award winner Virginia Hamilton, who died in 2002. Among the ebooks on the list are Newbery and NBA winner M.C. Higgins, the Great. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#newbery medal
#open road