An interesting report is circulating the book blogs, alleging that e-book sales in Canada are down almost five percent. I've seen reporting on the Booknet Canada report on at least 3 blogs (for example, here and here and here, but nobody seems quite sure what to make of it. We're selling lots and lots of devices here in Canada, aren't we? We're Kobo's number one country! So what, exactly, are we reading? Are e-book sales on the decline? Here are a few thoughts about what may be going on here: 1. Device Availability is Limited This is partly because the retail scene is limited! We've only just gotten Target here, and it opened...

As already noted in TeleRead, author Ted Heller has recently been bemoaning his woes as a self-publisher in Slate. He's now followed up with a further bulletin on his tribulations as an e-reader, first run on The Weeklings and also aired since on Slate. In particular, he cites the demise of that mobile billboard, the book jacket. Heller takes issue with the fact that Kindles and their ilk never show others your reading choices. "The Kindle tells you nothing about the book that’s being read and therefore nothing about the person reading it," Heller observes—though I'd object that this comes down...

A few days ago, Sony announced they they were launching a large format reader aimed at the educational market. E Ink is making the screen, which has been touted as flexible and durable. Here's the relevant section of the press release: E Ink Mobius will be the first flexible display technology that will go into mass production for a large format digital paper product based on flexible Thin Film Transistor (TFT) technology developed by Sony. Mobius uses a TFT technology that will enable the development of much lighter and rugged products. Mobius displays can weigh less than 50% of the weight of...

By Stephen Silver Ever reach into your pocket at the end of a long flight to turn on your phone, only to realize it was on all along? You’re not alone. A study released Thursday found that 30 percent of U.S. airplane passengers have accidentally left a personal electronic device turned on while on a plane. According to the “Portable Electronic Devices on Aircraft” study, jointly conducted by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) and Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX),  69 percent of respondents say they have used an electronic device in-flight. The study comes as the federal government is considering relaxing restrictions on in-flight...

The Consumer Electronics Association released some interesting data yesterday about electronic devices on planes. • Ninety-nine percent of flyers bring a portable electronic device on a flight with them. That's a lot of gadgets! • Thirty percent of them have forgotten to turn off a device at some time. Whoops! Another interesting breakdown is this: The study found that when asked to turn off their electronic devices, 59 percent of passengers say they always turn their devices completely off, 21 percent of passengers say they switch their devices to “airplane mode,” and five percent say they sometimes turn their devices completely off. Of those passengers who...

I hope you'll pardon me as I jog my ocean air- and sun-addled brain back into something resembling normal functioning with a story from my just-ended honeymoon. On Saturday, my newly minted wife and I got back from Tulum, Mexico, where we spent a week on the beach relaxing and—if we're being completely honest—recovering from the exhausting, months-long process of planning and throwing, as a friend described it, the biggest party we'll ever throw. In anticipation of this rare week-long block of reading time (electricity is limited in Tulum and, as a result, so, gloriously, are televisions), I'd loaded up my Nook...

Pocketbook Announces Two New Readers (Good e-Reader) The Battle of the Book Pubbing Platforms (Indie Reader) Writing on an Android Tablet (Galleycat) eBook Publisher Power Rankings: Hachette is #1 (DBW) Kindle Daily Deals: More than 60 books!...

My e-reader sits on the bookshelf, dust growing on it every day. My Nook Simple Touch used to be one of my favorite gadgets—I carried it everywhere, even just to sneak a couple of pages here and there. I’ve replaced my e-reader with a tablet. I ordered a Nexus 7 last July (a birthday present) when the first batch was ready to hit the market. I use it to surf the 'net, check Facebook and Twitter, play games and, of course, read. I’m definitely not the only one. The Book Industry Study Group recently released information from the Consumer Attitudes Toward E-Book Reading survey...

Podcast: How Hugh Howey's Wool became a self-published smash-hit (Paid Content) European Union Approves Random House Penguin Merger (Paid Content) Shift from E-Readers to Tablets Continues (DBW) Rogers offering Free Amazon Kindle Paperwhite 3G Promotion (Good E-Reader) Kindle Daily Deals: Third Shift by Hugh Howey (and 3 others)...

E Ink Remains Committed to E-Readers Despite CEO Change (Good E-Reader) The deal Goodreads should've struck (hint: it wasn't with Amazon) (Paid Content) Are the French preparing an e-book revolution? (Media Shift) The e-book continues to slowly but surely gain ground in France (Rude Baguette) Kindle Daily Deals: Chasing Rainbows by Kathleen Long (+ 3 others)...

Hat tip to an alert reader on The Digital Reader for this one. As far as we knew, when the Kindle Paperwhite came out last year, Amazon retired the Kindle Touch. But now it looks like they plan to continue selling it, at least for a while. You can only find it through a search. It's not listed on the Kindle comparison page, but if you're interested, you can find it here. I'm guessing they brought it back some time this month. I did a search back through reviews, and reviews from February and January were primarily for "Certified Refurbished" Touches....

Kickstart this book! What I learned about crowdsourced publishing (Paid Content) Amazon Announces Literary Imprints, Little A & Day One (HuffPo) The Jetbook Color 2 Shows Why Color E Ink Screens Are a Dead End (The Digital Reader) Kindle Daily Deals: Oliver Pötzsch's "Hangman's Daughter" series (all four for $0.99)...