Google has added a feature to let people share links to Google Books e-books on their Google+ social network circles. The feature can be used either by clicking a link on the e-book’s “About the Book” page, or by pasting the Google Books URL into the Google+ Share box. The book doesn’t have to be a public-domain title, either. Any book that’s listed in Google Books, whether the text is available or not, can be shared. This could be a handy way to share information on one’s favorite books, whether or not they’re available to read online. (Found...

The Bookseller reports that Google has reached an agreement with publisher Hachette Livre to scan out-of-print French e-books. Between 40,000 and 50,000 books will be scanned, and Hachette Livre will decide which ones are made available as e-books. (I wonder if it will include any Arsène Lupin novels?) Google hopes to reach similar agreements with other French publishers. The deal took two months longer than it was supposed to, but both parties seem satisfied with its terms. A little strange, given how much acrimony there was in Europe over Google’s scanning projects not long ago....

Update 21 July 2011: It appears that Google Books is not going to be the only partner for U.S. ebook sales, but rather one partner among others. Original post follows. A new blog post from Google today says that the company will be handling J.K. Rowling's Pottermore.com ebook sales for U.S. customers, and that Google Checkout will be promoted (worldwide?) as the primary way to pay for things on the site: "Also under this agreement, Google Checkout will be the preferred third party payment platform for all purchases made on Pottermore.com. When you visit the Pottermore Shop, you’ll be able to pay...

Shelf Awareness notes that Penguin Group (USA) has been printing up in-store displays to remind shoppers that the store sells ebooks as well, then distributing them to independent bookstores: "So far, 40 have been created, and by the time the publisher is finished, some 200 stores will receive a custom easel." It's too bad Google's ebook buying experience is so convoluted—the last time I tried it, I had to create a store account, link my Google account, provide a credit card (even though I've got one stored already with Google), and click buttons and checkboxes on multiple screens. But at...

Denny Chin, the judge in the Authors Guild versus Google Books case, seems to be getting more and more frustrated the longer this six-year-old case drags on. In the latest hearing on the matter today, he set a firm deadline of September 15th for all parties involved to come up with a new settlement. Judge Chin had rejected the much-vaunted $125 million previous settlement back in March, feeling that it gave too much power to Google. He expressed the opinion that an opt-in system, in which authors and publishers explicitly had to allow their books to be made available,...

The GPO has issued a status update on the Google partnership that was announced last December, which is intended to provide greater transparency to the federal government by making available low cost ebook editions of reports and papers. When first announced, the Office said it intended to eventually have about 1,800 titles available, but that goal appears to be a distant one; last week's press release (PDF) announced that there are now just over 200 titles. Still, it's by far the cheapest option if you want to buy a GPO book. For example, volume 1 of "Public Papers of the...

Earlier this week we posted Andrys Basten's overview of current iriver Story HD reviews from various sources, which together provided a good look at what the device is capable of and how it stacks up to the Kindle, its closest competitor in design. Now Ars Technica has published its own detailed review, along with several close-up photos. Among the good things Ars Technica found: The keyboard is easier to type on than the Kindle's, because the "Symbols menu recasts each letter key as one of the symbols, meaning you don't have to scroll around to include a period, comma, or exclamation...

Occasional TeleRead contributor Robert Nagle passed me a link to a review he lately posted of our founder David Rothman’s small-press-published novel, The Solomon Scandals, which recounts a journalist’s investigation of a scandal in 1970s Washington. Nagle quite liked the book, giving it four stars, though noting that the tone could get a little preachy at times. Ars Technica reports that Google will release the first e-ink reader optimized for Google Books in about a week. The iRiver Story HD, apparently a revision of iRiver’s 2009 Story e-reader, will include wifi and a qwerty keyboard, and cost $139.99 suggested retail when...

Although the deadline for iPhone apps to be brought in line with Apple’s new in-app purchase rules recently passed, InfoWorld reports that Apple is still quietly working with developers to bring apps into compliance before the company begins enforcing the restrictions. Under the current form of Apple’s in-app purchase guidelines, apps such as Amazon’s Kindle app can continue allowing users to download externally-purchased content as long as there is no link or button within the app to redirect the iPhone user to the external purchasing source. At the time of the policy's announcement, All...

The latest settlement conference for the Google Books affair was held a few days ago, Reuters reports. Apparently, not much actually happened there apart from all sides asking the judge to give them still more time to prepare. "The parties are still considering what options are available," and everything "is on the table," Bruce Keller, a partner at Debevoise & Plimpton, who represents publishers in the settlement, said at a hearing before Circuit Judge Denny Chin in Manhattan federal court. As we reported back in March, Judge Chin rejected the most recent settlement proposal,...

E-books are good for more than just reading. Turns out they can be great for research, too. One antique auto enthusiast used the wide variety of period books and magazines available on Google Books to help him add some period décor to the 1906 Oldsmobile Model B Runabout he was scratch-building. When Bob started building his car, he started off with a set of plans he obtained from another replica car-builder, but he also wanted to add as many original qualities to the car as possible that were not in the plans, such as a steamer...

A couple of days ago, Simon Barron at the Guardian posted a piece that claimed “Google can’t be trusted with our books,” because the company decided out of the blue to shut down Google Videos and pitch all user-uploaded content on the site in order to focus more on its search. A public outcry convinced Google to backpedal to the extent that it would see about preserving the content and making it available elsewhere, but Barron sees the original decision as a sign that Google might choose to dump any content at any time if it wants to. ...