L.J. Sellers has picked up on a trend on Amazon. The novelist who writes for the Crime Fiction Collective blog noticed old books popping up on lists for new releases. If the book has been out for several years, how can it become a “hot, new release?” Sellers writes: “The newest trend I've noticed is the republishing of the same book. What I see happening is that familiar books that were competitive on Amazon's crime fiction list, dropped off the list, then came roaring back with a new pub date and a high profile.” Essentially, publishers or authors are re-releasing e-books with a new publishing date, and...

  The image above (also linked to here) has been making the social media rounds lately. Not much to say about it other than "I agree." It reminds me of a documentary the Beloved and I have been watching on Netflix this week about a man who left the Neo-Nazi community and is trying to start his life over again. One of the things that disillusioned him about that community was the hypocrisy—the leaders would preach that they were doing whatever they did "for the children," but the rate of domestic violence in that community was staggeringly high. What this picture is...

The Three Forces That Are Shaping 21st Century Book Publishing (Mike Shatzkin) Seven Must-Consider Strategies for eBook Pricing (Digital Book World) Random House Experiments with eBook Convergence via Black Crown (GoodeReader) Australia to Propose Copyright Reform that Includes Fair Use (Tech Dirt) Kindle Daily Deals: Arab Summer by David Lender (and 3 others)   ...

NYC to pay Occupy Wall Street for destroyed books (NPR) New imprint Moth to publish Northern crime (The Bookseller) Taking e-books mainstream ... in Germany (TOC) Independent foreign fiction prize 2013 shortlist announced (The Guardian) Kindle Daily Deals: Guests of the Ayatollah by Mark Bowden (and 3 others) ...

According to an Associated Press report that was filed less than three hours ago today, the travel publishing pioneer Arthur Frommer "said Wednesday that he has reacquired rights to his travel guidebook brand from Google, and that he intends to resume publishing Frommer guidebooks." Back on the 22nd of March, we reported on the news that Google had decided to cease publishing all print editions of the Frommer's travel guidebooks, which it had acquired just seven months earlier from Wiley, the previous owner of the brand. Now, it appears as if Arthur Frommer himself—a true trailblazer in the travel guidebook industry—has somehow...

From today's Toronto Star comes this feel-good story about The Cookbook Store, a Toronto landmark celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. The story also has some good lessons for those who wonder how book retail can continue to survive and thrive in today's Amazon-and-Internet economy. Some takeaways? Go with the Flow The article mentions that the store's founder started in on a five-year lease and figured she would 'see what happens.' I think that's a healthy attitude. I've read too many articles about book publishing whose authors twisted themselves into knots trying to predict how the business model was going to change into...

Two great reads came into my inbox this morning, one via Book Riot and one via email, from a blog called Picky Girl, which I have not read. The subject? Reader responsibility. Do they have any? Does being a 'reader' obligate one to perform certain tasks on behalf of the author? It was an interesting dialogue. Picky Girl (aka Jenn) began with an author tweet that read 'I am VERY happy you found my novel at the library, dear reader ... but do realize that if only libraries buy books, authors don't eat.' [caption id="attachment_82572" align="alignright" width="246"] THIS IS HORSESHIT[/caption] After her initial irk...

We all love stories. For many of us, it's why we read, whether on paper or in electrons. But what are the most meaningful stories? For many of us, we love stories about our past, our families, and where we came from. StoryWorth is a start-up that aims to make telling, reading and keeping those stories easier. I really like the idea behind it. It's all done via email. You can send questions to your loved ones, or StoryWorth will create and send questions. The recipient answers the question, and StoryWorth stores it and turns it into an online book. It's private. Only...

Have a hardback book you're not reading anymore? Why not make something with it? I came across a fascinating group of people on Etsy who are repurposing old hardback books into hidden storage boxes for money and valuables. From the outside, these books look just like the real thing. Open them up and you'll find that they've been hollowed out and refitted with a secret compartment. I fell in love with this idea and purchased one of the books on offer: a blue Reader's Digest Condensed Books in which I planned to store my passport, checks and some cash we are...

Dan linked to a great article in today's Morning Links roundup about 'digital mooches,' aka the 20-somethings who may be leaving Mom and Dad's house in the coming years, yet seem to have no plans to leave their parents' cell phone contracts or Netflix subscriptions. I read this article with interest; I'd just read another about 'cord cutters,' aka the cable-free, and how the content industry is wringing their hands about what to do with these people. It seems these articles, read together, paint an ominous pattern: The kids aren't paying because they get it for 'free' at home. Then they turn...

Amazon has purchased the social networking site Goodreads, it was announced today. “We are joining the Amazon family,” Goodreads CEO and co-founder Otis Chandler wrote on his blog. “We truly could not think of a more perfect partner for Goodreads as we both share a love of books and an appreciation for the authors who write them. We also both love to invent products and services that touch millions of people.” Chandler states Goodreads isn’t going away, but that support from Amazon will help the site develop. Also, there will be integration for Kindle users and people who use Goodreads. The comments on...

Every year, at around this time, I do a big e-book purge. Something about March Break brings out the spring cleaning demon, and when I need a break from cleaning my physical home, I curl up with my Macbook and tackle my digital one. My goals in years past have been to clean up metadata and cover art, complete missing series runs and prune out the freebies I really didn't ever plan to read. My goal this year? Reduce, reduce, reduce! I simply have too many books in my to-read pile. I don't remember where all of them came from, and I...