Your Brain On Audio Books: Distracted, Forgetful, And Bored

Of all the ways to enjoy a book, minds wander most when we're listening to someone else read it.With so much focus in the publishing world on ebooks, you might have missed the recent explosion in the popularity of audio books. They've become a billion-dollar industry with huge annual sales growth, in part because anyone with a smartphone can now also pocket an audio book. Alexandra Alter of the Wall Street Journal writes that the audio surge is changing the very way people read, "creating a new breed of literary omnivores who see narrated books and text as interchangeable." Our mode of enjoying a book can alter the way we absorb its material.Read Full Story     Continue reading at 'Fast Company'

[ Fast Company | 2014-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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QOTD: About Those Amazon E-Book Sales…

“As a former Amazon Associate, I can tell you that a great many sales of Kindle Books are for the 99¢ complete Dickens, etc.” –Movie critic and Web publisher Roger Ebert, providing some context for Amazon’s stat about Kindle ebooks outselling print books. Continue reading at AllThingsD

[ AllThingsD | 2011-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sphere acquires Seal Team Six book

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Thu, 19/05/2011 - 09:02 Sphere is capitalising on the interest surrounding the US Navy Seals following the assassination of Osama bin Laden and has acquired Seal Team Six by Howard E Wasdin and Stephen Templin. Sphere non-fiction publishing... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Independent Booksellers Book Prize shortlists unveiled

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 19/05/2011 - 12:19 Readers are being called to cast their vote for the Independent Booksellers’ Book Prize winner, after the shortlist was announced today. The annual award, which recognises works of fiction for adults and children, asks members... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Myers wants joined-up thinking over book events

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 18/05/2011 - 09:33 Dominic Myers has called on the book industry to collaborate in creating more nation-wide events like World Book Night in order to enhance the dialogue around books. The Waterstone's m.d told the Book Industry Conference forum... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Number of US physical books printed increases despite digital

Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Wed, 18/05/2011 - 15:57 Traditional US print book output in 2010 increased 5% in 2010, despite the huge growth in ebooks, though there was a continuing fall in the number of fiction titles published. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-book price-fixing law passed in France

Written By: Barbara Casassus Publication Date: Wed, 18/05/2011 - 14:45 The French National Assembly yesterday (17th May) voted into law a bill allowing publishers to fix prices of all ebooks sold in France. The text says that retailers inside or outside France must respect the fixed prices.... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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WBN giveaway to be cut to 500,000 books

Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Tue, 17/05/2011 - 15:59 World Book Night in 2012 will see 500,000 rather than 1m books given away, WBN founder Jamie Byng told Book Industry Conference (BIC) delegates this morning, as he also discussed incorporating digital and audio elements... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sticking with Books

As publishers worry about the shrinking number of physical bookstores, Levy Home Entertainment is making the case that mass merchants will be a viable alternative not only to showcase books but to sell them as well. In a presentation at the Book Industry Study Group's May 5 "Making Information... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-05-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #online bookstores #units sold #viable alternative #mass merchants #physical bookstores #shrinking number #showcase books #publishers worry


Publishers battle for Townshend and Walliams books

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 13/05/2011 - 08:30 The Who guitarist Pete Townshend and "Little Britain" star David Walliams are the latest figures to have memoirs put in front of publishers, as the trade shows no sign of losing its appetite for celebrity autobiographies. Ed... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Spoof kids' book to Canongate

Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Fri, 13/05/2011 - 10:47 Canongate has bought a foul-mouthed gift book for exhausted parents, which has been the subject of intense hype in the United States. M.d. Jamie Byng and senior editor Francis Bickmore bought UK and Commonwealth rights,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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America 'exploring' World Book Night launch

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 11/05/2011 - 15:41 America wants to hold its own World Book Night following in the footsteps of the UK. The American Booksellers Association said it is "exploring" the possibility of replicating "a version" of the event, which saw 20,000 people... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sainsbury's grows book sales 20%

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 11/05/2011 - 08:22 Sainsbury's has singled out book sales as an area of strong growth in its most recent financial year, and has said that it will now devote more new space to "non-food ranges". For the 52 weeks to 19th March 2011, the retailer... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book sales "well down" as general retail rises

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 10/05/2011 - 08:59 Book sales for April were "well down" in a month where general UK retail sales rose by 5.2% on last year. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) today (10th May) reported like-for-like sales were up 5.2% in value from April... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Richard and Judy extend Book Club with W H Smith

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 10/05/2011 - 16:38 W H Smith has signed an exclusive deal to extend the Richard and Judy Book Club until 2015. The high street retailer has signed a contract with the celebrity couple to personally read and recommend eight fiction titles to WHS... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Yellow Jersey hat trick at British Sports Book Awards

Publication Date: Tue, 10/05/2011 - 08:24 Random House imprint Yellow Jersey Press has scored a hat trick of wins at the British Sports Book Awards, with W H Smith also taking home the best sports book retailer prize. Catrine Clay's Trautmann's Journey won best biography, while Promised Lane by... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Book sales spring back after Royal Wedding week

Written By: Philip Stone Publication Date: Tue, 10/05/2011 - 15:50 Book sales bounced back after a dire seven days in the week of the Royal Wedding in which physical book sales plummeted to an eight-year low. According to Nielsen BookScan data, spending in the seven days to 7th May was up... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Drama Book Shop—Award Winner

And the winner of this year’s Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre is... the Drama Book Shop, an independent New York City bookstore dating to 1917, 30 years older than the Tony Awards. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nurturer of Authors Is Closing the Book

The editor Robert Loomis, who is retiring from Random House after 54 years, is known for nurturing writers including Maya Angelou, William Styron, Shelby Foote and Calvin Trillin. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Baddiel kicks off "Blokey Book Club"

Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Mon, 09/05/2011 - 15:19 BBC Radio 5 Live has launched a “Blokey Book Club” to encourage men to read more fiction. The Men’s Hour show formed the club, which will ask listeners to recommend and comment on their favourite fiction through the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2011-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Publishers Make a Plan: A ‘One Stop’ Book Site

In starting Bookish.com, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Group USA and Hachette Book Group hope to provide one-stop shopping for books and information about authors. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2011-05-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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