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 ]
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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 ]
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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 ]
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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 ]
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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 ]
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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 ]
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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 ]
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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 ]
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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 ]
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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 ]
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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 ]
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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 ]
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Written By: Bookseller Staff The 43rd Cairo Book Fair, due to have been held this week, has been cancelled. The Guardian reports that "many foreign exhibitors" have been left stranded after failing to secure flights home, while others have had to abandon stands and books after the fair was... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Random House Books has acquired one of the first books on the Gulf of Mexico oil leak, Spills and Spin: The Inside Story of BP by Reuters oil-industry reporter Tom Bergin. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Graeme Neill Juliet Rogers, chief executive of food and illustrated publisher Murdoch Books, is stepping down from the publisher with immediate effect after 10 years in charge. She will be replaced by Bruce Haslett, who ran the Time Magazine and Sports Illustrated businesses of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-02-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Despite pressure coming from a number of different areas on bricks-and-mortar bookstores, the American Booksellers Association's sixth annual Winter Institute, which took place January 1821 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Va., was surprisingly upbeat. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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There have been a few popular books in recent years detailing Google's ascent in the digital world, notably Ken Auletta's Googled: The End of the World as We Know It and Jeff Jarvis's What Would Google Do. But there is another story, says author and media scholar Siva Vai-dhyanathan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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There was no shortage of debates and discussions at last week's second annual Digital Book World, where about 1,300 members of the trade publishing industry turned out in New York to explore ways to navigate the digital transition. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The ebook sales milestone "has come even sooner than we expected," CEO Bezos says. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-01-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Online retailer reports sales of its digital ebooks has outstripped those of traditional paperbacks. Continue reading at PC World
[ PC World | 2011-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Written By: Charlotte Williams Puffin is to publish a new picture book by The Very Hungry Caterpillar author Eric Carle, his first in four years. The Artist Who Painted a Blue Horse will be published in October 2011, in a global, simultaneous publication with Philomel, a Penguin Young Readers... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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