Here's the mystery of the week---about a Week, cap W: "Read an E-book Week" or however you spell it. Does anyone know what days it really covers? Possibilities: --March 9-15 (starting on a Sunday). Those are the dates in a post we published February 17 based on a news release from Canadian writer Rita Toews. Yep, we used exactly the information Rita gave us, which jibes with the lowdown she gave us in 2003. --March 2-8 (again, a Sunday start)). Those are her current dates. Why the correction? Her site says, "Rita Toews created Read an E-book Week in 2002." Shouldn't...

Was Random House really giving away free PDFs of Beautiful Children, the much-talked-about bestseller by Charles Brock, at least through midnight on Friday? Must be. The TeleBlog's Paul Biba obtained the book for himself that way. Way to go, Paul! But right now I can't get through to the download address. Anyone else having problems? The beautifulchildren.net domain seems unreachable as I write this (update: not everyone is having problems; meanwhle here's an AP story). But wait! An Amazon page works fine---scroll down for the download link, which might change. You may want to use Mobipocket Desktop to turn the PDF...

I guess going to the O'Reilly conference got me on some new mailing lists because the following came in just a few minutes ago from Random House: Building on the momentum created by the publication of Charles Bock's debut novel BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN—a novel Newsweek recently called "the book of the moment"--the Random House Publishing Group will offer the entire book as a free PDF download from 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, February 27 until midnight on Friday, February 29.  The free download, which can be shared, emailed or printed, will be available on www.beautifulchildren.net/read. In a unique collaboration, Random House has also invited both...

The Cybook Gen3 E Ink machine sold out again, according to Bookeen, but the company says a new batch will start reaching customers in March---first come, first served. Meanwhile the company has announced the $249 "Epaper Art frame." The aluminum frame "merges" with the Cybook to become an "objet d'art'" and let you "view and share your pictures, photos and digital works of art. Each frame is unique, and numbered on the back. They are made to order and delivered after four weeks. Once the Cybook has been slid into the back, the frame becomes the best means to appreciate...

E-Book tech, back-list digitization, copyright and social media, DRM lessons from the music industry---those were a few of the dozens of topics at O'Reilly's recent Tools of Change conference. Didn't go? Well, now you can at least check out the Web-posted presentations. An entertainment media expert's PDF, on music and DRM from an e-book perspective, serves up a snappy reply to a quote from the RIAA's lawsuit against the Diamond Rio. "We filed this lawsuit because unchecked piracy on the Internet threatens the development of a legitimate marketplace that consumers want," said the RIAA. And then, on the...

I haven't paid much attention to Feedbooks as a quick glimpse of the site showed me that their main format seemed to be PDF. Well, I was looking for Peter Watts' Rifter series yesterday and happened to notice that Feedbooks had the series, as well as Blindsight, under the Creative Commons license. So I did a little homework and found that Feedbooks' PDF may not be so bad after all. What they do is to customize the PDF - font, font size, margins, etc, - for your particular reader. In my case that would be the Sony 505....

Larry Lessig, the Stanford law professor who wanted to reform Congress from the inside, on matters ranging from  copyright to the related issue of campaign donations, says he won't be running for a seat from California's 12th district. The pollsters said his prospective opponent was too popular. So what does this say about American politics, when someone so qualified feels beaten before he starts? J.D. Lasica, the blogger-social media guy, warns of the need for reformers to pick their fights, and, yes, that wisdom applies. But maybe Lessig's new Change Congress organization can help create a political climate that...

Just the other day, I told how Wowio is making progress with free, ad-supported books. Now check out Wired editor Chris Anderson's writings and video on the topic of "free." He's also known for his Long Tail book and related blog. Reminder: Free isn't for everyone or everything. But remember, if you don't do "free" first, your rival might beat you to it. Related: Anderson blog entry on "Free." Technorati Tags: Chris Anderson,Wired...

Kudos to Google for standing behind open document standards for Office-style apps. So, guys, when will you join the IDPF and do the .epub format for e-books and maybe even use your influence to encourage the group to come up with DRM alternatives such as social DRM? The good ladies at Dear Author will love you. So will the cat, which, like the rest of us, is sick of eBabel---all those clashing e-book formats. I hope Google will take a look at the open-source FBReader, destined for mobile phones using the Android platform. FBReader, though hardly a be-all...

In the old days families watched just the big three or five TV networks---mass-appeal shows like The Love Boat---and that was it. Then the numbers started dropping, and people panicked. But why? Viewers hadn't wandered far. Millions, for example, were watching cable, including the specialty networks now owned by---you guessed it---the same big networks. NBC Universal is now behind USA Networks, while Disney owns not just ABC but also ESPN. Today many people are getting their TV fixes online; and, again, the big networks have shown themselves adept at getting a piece of the pie. In short, the viewers are...

"The first book I downloaded was the Bible, the Holman Christian Standard Bible translation, of course...My wife, Nellie Jo, was somewhat concerned that I might push other buttons and read the Wall Street Journal or the latest biography of Benjamin Franklin during the sermon. I assured her that Pastor Mike and his message would have my complete attention. I was never tempted to wander from the sermon or the text." - Thom S. Rainer, in the Christian Post. The TeleRead take: I'd welcome hearing of Kindle/worship experiences from members of all faiths, and if atheists are using Kindles to spread...

What if you could easily read e-books 30,000 feet over the Pacific and away from WiFi---even if they were normally stored online? And wouldn't it be great when you were wired in from Katmandu to be able to call up your books normally read on your PC ? What if this could happen seamlessly? The upshot could be fewer hassles for traveling e-bookers, especially those with a mini-fleet of cellphones, PDAs, tablets, you name it. Even stay-at-home folks could benefit. Adobe's keen on addressing such issues for e-books and zillions of other apps, such as the new Buzzword, Adobe's online...