And this is why I try very hard not to report on rumors. Last week I wrote about a rumor that Microsoft was considering buying the Nook Media division. Well, the rumor was good for Barnes & Noble stock, which spiked up to $22 a share the day the rumor was announced, and then continued up to almost $24 a share later in the week. (Today it's down to $21.) However, as with many rumors, this one has now been dispelled (maybe, assuming dispelling the "rumor" isn't just part of the big plan.) Insider Monkey says they had an email on Friday...

If you've taken advantage of the great sale on the Nook HD (ending today), or if you've had one for awhile and recently upgraded to add the Google Play Store, you might be wondering what apps to add. Here's my list of must-have apps, not available in the Nook App store. 1. Feedly With Google Reader going away this July, you'll need another way to keep track of your feeds. I've been using Feedly for awhile now, and it's an excellent Google Reader replacement. In some ways, I've grown to like it better. For example, I've found its integration with Pocket to...

Barnes & Noble's Nook Dilemma (Dear Author) What's left if B&N sells the Nook business to Microsoft? (Forbes) Free Books for Mother's Day (GalleyCat) Now Amazon is selling bongs, nitrous oxide, and deadly hallucinogenic drugs (Business Insider) Kindle Daily Deals: 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke (and 3 others)...

What news organizations are learning from their e-book efforts (Poynter Online) What's left if B&N sells the Nook division to Microsoft? (The Passive Voice) A 'novel' idea for spreading literature in Africa: The cellphone (Christian Science Monitor) The e-book piracy debate, revisited (NYTimes.com) The fascinating stories behind classic book titles (Flavorwire) Kindle Daily Deals: Subterranean by James Rollins (and 3 others)...

TechCruch had a story on this yesterday. They have obtained some internal documents discussing the proposed deal, with Microsoft reportedly offering $1 billion for Nook Media. I agree with Nate over at The Digital Reader that this sounds plausible. Microsoft has been working with Barnes & Noble since April of last year on Nook devices and content. Last year, they offered $300 million, much of which was aimed at developing content for Windows 8 devices. There was even speculation at the time that the next Nook would be Windows powered. Obviously that hasn't happened, and now it looks unlikely. Apparently the documents...

Yesterday, I wrote about the Nook HD mostly from a stock OS perspective. But I know the question you really wanted to have answered was this: "Does it work as an Android tablet?" After three days of using it, my answer is a cautious "yes." Because I still don't have a tablet case for it, I haven't run it through a typical work day. However, from my use in the house over the weekend, I can tell you that it's got potential. Let's start with what it can and can't do. Loading apps from Google Play is a breeze. When you install the...

I've wanted a Nook HD from the moment they came out. The reviews of the hardware were great, but I swore after I sold my first tablet, a Nook Color, that I'd never buy another crippled device again. The Nook App store is just terrible, and while I tried to make my Nook Color work as a tablet (including buying an N2A card), it was never quite satisfying. I needed to boot to the card to have the apps I needed. But for reading, I've always preferred the stock Nook reader, so I spent too much time either being unhappy or booting...

Of course they put them on sale two days after I bought one. :( But my griping aside, this is a great deal. For B&N's Mother's Day sale, the Nook HD is priced at $149 while the Nook HD+ is only $179. Those prices are for the lower memory versions, but the higher memory versions are on sale as well. The sale runs through Mother's Day, which is exactly one week from today—Sunday, May 12. I'm still finishing up my review of the Nook HD with the new Google Play integration, but I can say right now that this is a great...

All right! Barnes & Noble has finally listened to its customer base, and the tech bloggers. They recently announced that they'll be rolling out a software update that adds the Google Play Store to the Nook HD and HD+ tablets. This is excellent news. The Nook HD tablets have consistently received great hardware reviews, but the Nook App Store lags so far behind other app stores that there's no point in drawing comparisons. Good hardware plus crappy app selection does not equal a winning combination. I confess to being surprised by the news. While it's what I've been writing about for a...

Barnes & Noble Integrating Google Play into Nook Tablets (GigaOM) LeapFrog's Latest Offering, the LeapReader Pen for Kids (Good e-Reader) Granta to Close its New York City Office (GalleyCat) When Bookstore Distribution Collapses (Digital Book World) Kindle Daily Deals: In the Shadows of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner (and 3 others)      ...

Harper Collins to Launch New Digital-Only Imprint in October 2013 (The Digital Reader) 94% of Parents Think Libraries are Important for Their Children (GalleyCat) Barnes & Noble Filing Explains Why Patent System is Broken (Tech Dirt) Barnes & Noble Reduces Cost of Nook Readers in UK (Good e-Reader) Kindle Daily Deals: The Vegas Knockout by Tom Schreck (and 3 others)  ...

Did you miss out on last month’s Barnes & Noble deal bundling every purchased Nook HD+ tablet with a free Nook Simple Touch e-reader? Well, I wouldn’t sweat it too much, seeing as Walmart is now offering the same Nook HD+ as part of an equally as lucrative promotional offer. Every 9-incher purchased via the retailer’s website gets you a free $70 eGift Card that you can then use at Walmart.com, Samsclub.com or in Walmart and Sam’s Club brick and mortar stores. The gift card doesn’t have an expiration date and it can be used towards the purchase of any product, but of...