From BookofJoe. See the site for the explanation. ...

Harold Augenbraum, executive director of the National Book Foundation that presents the National Book Awards, discusses this year's winner, a book published by a small independent press, and what that means for the future of publishing. Also, Richard Nash, who ran the New York indie press Soft Skull for almost a decade, weighs in on the rise of independent presses. (function(){var s=function(){__flash__removeCallback=function(i,n){if(i)i[n]=null;};window.setTimeout(s,10);};s();})();...

My e-book Thanksgiving list, 2010, by Chris Walters What sells an ebook by Eugene Woodbury “Smarthistory” is a new web based textbook for art history What ereader would I recommend for the holidays? The Editor’s picks Harry Mccracken reviews the Nook Color John B. Thompson interviewed on the publishing industry – a “must read” Mobile Tech Review looks at Sony Reader Daily Edition How to publish a Kindle ebook Piracy: an objective view by Joanna Part 1 of Mobile TechReview’s Nook Color video review Copyright Clearance Center slammed over funding lawsuit against university libraries; CCC uses specious defense of its actions TeleRead Kindle Giveaway The “real” victms of online piracy View From Down...

By now, you’ve probably read that Amazon is offering its previous generation Kindle for $89 today starting at 12 noon ET. It’s a well-made product even if it doesn’t have the Wi-Fi or higher-contrast Pearl E Ink screen, and I’m sure it will sell out within the first minute or two. So how do you get in line for it? Go here: amazon.com/blackfriday In the Lightning Deals box, select the Kindle Store category and you’ll see the listing. Amazon doesn’t list the price of a lightning deal until the deal starts, but it lists a countdown timer so you know when to check...

Cory Doctorow has an interesting column in the Guardian looking at what little can be determined from the few sales figures that Rupert Murdoch’s paywalled London Times/Sunday Times representative has deigned to release. The paper has said that the Times had “200,000 paid users, 100,000 of whom were digital-only customers”. Doctorow reads between the lines as best he can and comes up with some interesting suppositions. Doctorow writes: Fundamentally, the question News Corp is trying to answer is: "Will the Times make more money with a paywall?" And the figures we've just seen do...

A few days ago, FutureBook posted about the imminent launch of digital bestseller lists in 2011 by both the New York Times and Nielsen. It seems to be a sign of the increasing maturity of the e-book market that it is finally getting its own bestseller lists. Ironically, thanks to the presence of long-established paper book sales-tracking survey BookScan, it is currently significantly harder to quantify sales of electronic books (which should create a digital record with each single sale) than it is to track paper ones. As e-book sales grow, so the market...

We’ve mentioned Starbucks’s web portal, and its plan to offer free e-books through LibreDigital’s SkyShelf reader. GalleyCat is noting that US Starbucks customers can now access a free e-book of Greg Bear’s new SF novel, Hull Zero Three, from the Starbucks wifi network while within the store. Of course, this will only be offered for online reading on “laptops, tablets, and many smart phones.” Much as with Barnes & Noble’s in-store reading program for the Nook, you can’t download and take it with you—though I don’t doubt there will be options available to purchase it if you decide you...

Electrowetting is not just what a robo-baby does in his cyber-diaper. It’s a method of e-ink-like display technology under development, and a recent discovery by a University of Cincinatti engineering researcher could eventually lead to e-paper screens constructed out of e-ink on ordinary paper, rather than glass—reducing the price of e-reader displays considerably. Given that the screen is usually the most expensive part of any tablet or e-book reader, this could lead to e-ink readers that are literally disposable—while at the same time looking better than e-ink displays today. “Nothing looks better than paper for...

Apple has posted the discount list for its Black Friday sale. As expected, they include $101 off on iMacs and MacBooks (Pro and Air), $41 off on the iPad, $21 to $41 (essentially, 10% off for each model) on the iPod Touch, and $11 off on the iPod Nano. There are also minor discounts on a number of accessories including the iPad case, camera connection kit, wireless keyboard, keyboard dock, and so on. These discounts may be had either on-line or in an Apple Store. (Given the Black Friday crowds, on-line is probably where the smart shoppers will go.) ...

And speaking of Christmas gifts, Wired has a guide to what to look for when buying a tablet computer. The article notes that, even though Apple is still the frontrunner, enough tablets have emerged to offer credible alternatives, and offers a number of areas in which to compare each model to decide which one is best for you (or whoever the gift’s recipient will be). One important area of consideration is the type, size, resolution, and dot pitch of screen, which can be important for readability. You should also consider wireless connections, because for media-rich applications it is important...

USA Today has an article pointing out that e-book readers make gifts because even the “single-purpose” ones like the Kindle or Nook can be used for more than just reading e-books. It mentions keeping track of recipes by using Calibre to reformat clipped text into e-book formats and syncing it to your device; using the built-in web to access calendar, Wikipedia, and other information sources; and playing games. This is pretty obvious to us, but perhaps people who don’t pay as much attention to e-book readers don’t realize what is possible with them. Of course, less-dedicated devices such as...

Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Americans, and happy Thursday to everyone else. It’s that time of year again when we count our blessings and contemplate the things we are thankful for. (It’s also the time when we stuff ourselves into a comatose state on oversized poultry, but those who call it “Turkey Day” run a risk of trivializing the real reason for this holiday.) Reviewing my list for last year, I can’t really find a whole lot that I would change on it. Despite the onset of agency pricing, we’ve still got about a zillion DRM-free free and cheap...