Peter James's Host, published on two disks, was an early example – but exactly where the medium started life is surprisingly tricky to identifyWhat was the first ebook? Debate rages … When Peter James published his thriller Host on two floppy disks, in 1993, it was billed as the "world's first electronic novel", and attacked as a harbinger of the apocalypse which would destroy literature as we knew it. Now it has been accepted into the Science Museum's collection as one of the earliest examples of the form, as the spotlight of academia begins to shine on the history of digital publishing."I got absolutely pilloried," says James. "I was on Today accused of killing the novel, I was a front-page headline on papers in Italy – 99% of the press was negative … one journalist even took his computer on a wheelbarrow to the beach, along with a generator, to read Host in his deckchair."The digital version of the novel (it was also published physically) went on to sell 12,000 copies, according to James, and two years later, he was speaking on a panel on the future of the novel at the University of Southern California, together with Apple founder Steve Jobs. "I said ebooks would catch on when they became more convenient to read than the printed novel," said James. "It was astonishing the amount of outrage it caused."And Host – about a scientist who downloads his brain into a computer and has his body frozen – has now become a historical artefact, accepted into the Science Museum's... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2014-03-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Russia's ebook market is expanding as more legitimate titles come online and efforts are made to fight piracy. Could ebook piracy finally be waning? Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In 2013, Russia overtook the UK and Brazil to become the world's third largest ebook market, trailing only China (in 2nd) and the United States (first). Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The unnamed protagonist in Jack London's 'To Build a Fire' gets into trouble while hiking in the frozen Yukon with his dog. Widely considered to be London’s best short story, 'To Build a Fire' captures the cold with painful accuracy. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The unnamed protagonist in Jack London's 'To Build a Fire' gets into trouble while hiking in the frozen Yukon with his dog. Widely considered to be London’s best short story, 'To Build a Fire' captures the cold with painful accuracy. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor
[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-01-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Last week, Ruth Rendell claimed that reading novels is a dying art. Sadly, she might have a pointNo one can say precisely why John Williams's novel Stoner has become a bestseller almost 50 years after its first publication. After all, plenty of books, "forgotten" or otherwise, are recommended by... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2014-01-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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For libraries, 2013 was an eventful year. PW takes a look back at the top 10 library stories of the year, and a look ahead to what might be on the horizon in 2014. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The two stories were written in 1958 while the late writer was working at a Detroit-based advertising agency. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2013-12-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Last week I shared the 10 most popular Slate stories from 2013, a list that paints with a broad brush about the stories our readers loved the most. Now it’s time to dig deeper to reveal which pieces were the most popular on our three strongest social networks: Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit. As... Continue reading at Slate
[ Slate | 2013-12-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publisher Egmont has launched 76 of its Enid Blyton titles in ebook format. The titles, which... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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One might not be able to share an ebook, but it's possible to highlight and annotate them for all to see.There is a moment in The Confessions when Saint Augustine is astonished to find another scholar, Saint Ambrose, reading silently to himself. This quiet encounter 16 centuries ago might be... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2013-12-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Digital media is thriving. Online advertising is growing faster than any other medium. The Web is hot. Except for the fact that the Web has had all sorts of growing pains. And major business challenges. And it changes constantly, sometimes quite radically. It's certainly never boring, and... Continue reading at AdWeek
[ AdWeek | 2013-12-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Much as we admired the potential of the YotaPhone in our recent review, we just couldn't overlook its lack of support for popular e-reading platforms like Amazon Kindle and Google Books. That problem hasn't been solved just yet, but things are ... Continue reading at Engadget
[ Engadget | 2013-12-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A sinking ship of a drama that managed to be neither monstrous nor deep"Thar she blows!" said one of the crew as a whale came to the surface. The cetacean wasn't the only thing blowing heavily in The Whale (BBC1), a 90-minute dramatisation of the sinking of the Essex, a Nantucket whaler, by a... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2013-12-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishing Perspectives' #EtherIssue debate on the allegedly slowing ebook market reveals apparent contradictions in self-publishing interests. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-12-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sourcebooks' Put Me in the Story personalised-book series has launched a new 'universal... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Is the penetration of ebooks in the US market 'flattening out?' And will bookstores thus have a merrier Christmas? Live Twitter debate December 18, 11 a.m. ET. at #EtherIssue. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2013-12-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Zed Books' first ebook short is an essay by Elleke Boehmer on Nelson Mandela. The essay,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2013-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bloomberg News has an unusual practice of paying some of its reporters explicitly for publishing "market-moving" stories. This is one of many metrics that is factored into reporters' annual bonuses. Continue reading at Editor & Publisher
[ Editor & Publisher | 2013-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The save-it-for-later software service Pocket has released a list of the "best" content from 2013. Pocket's 10 million users saved more than 450 million items (from articles and videos to memes and gifs) from across the Web this year, and Pocket looked at which were saved most, as well as which... Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2013-12-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple will be giving away digital gifts every day for 12 days after Christmas to users of an app released Tuesday. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2013-12-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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