Todays links of interest: UK police to review Rolling Stones guitarist deathAh, Brian Jones, justice will be served (or a lot of money will be wasted, take your pick). Random House Down in First Half of 2009It’s a bumpy ride, though RH had some bright spots. Dan Brown is on the horizon for a robust second half.
Todays links of interest: Punctuation Hero or Vandal?Story of the day. Sony Warns Trade Over E-Book PricesIn the UK, however the question remains burning in the US as well. Also, so not impressed with Fionnuala Duggan’s response it’s a bookseller problem. A bookseller problem caused by…? ‘Reading Rainbow’ Reaches Its Final ChapterLove the fact that different educational focus, started under the Bush administration (where Laura Bush championed reading!), is forcing excellent programming to disappear. Not feeling proud right now.
Todays links of interest: Court Denies Amazon’s Motion to Dismiss BookLocker Antitrust LawsuitOne step down…watching this one with interest. Buying Blind: Amazon Answers My Questions, Sort Of, About Kindle LicensesOr, see shoulders shrug as no real answers are forthcoming.
Todays links of interest: Download Over a Million Public Domain Books from Google Books in the Open EPUB FormatGoogle wants you to read.
Todays links of interest: Sony plans a Kindle rival with wireless downloadsThe much-anticipated wireless device from Sony is announced. Many cool features, $399 price point. That’s gonna be a tough one. We must kill press freedom to save itIn the Los Angeles Times, Tim Rutten posited that the only way to save journalism is to suspend anti-trust rules so newspapers can collude on online pricing. Which, you know, is really about protecting the newspaper business model than it is about saving journalism. King Kaufman responds. Winfrey tweet says new book pick coming next monthMore publishing madness: new Oprah pick comes
Todays links of interest: Publishing in 2025, Part OneSome visions of the future from the 5th Estate. Barnes Noble shutters how-to site QuamutIn the little-noticed news from Barnes Noble this week, Quamut has been closed. All kinds of interesting. Google Settlement Under Attack for Making Treasure out of TrashThought-provoking post from Richard Curtis — love his Little Red Hen analogy.
Todays links of interest: Sales Drop 5% at Barnes NobleBricks and mortar stores continue to face challenges, online sales up a bit, and the bright spot that is the ebook store is a highlight of the quarter. Whatever that means.
Todays links of interest: Happy Friday Book LoversBook porn. That is all. Amazon Sets Kindle Price of ‘Lost Symbol’To the surprise of only publishing insiders, the price is $9.99. Presumably the industry speculation referenced in this PW piece was limited to those living in a dream world (or those betting on Amazon pulling an upset and setting the price *lower*).
Todays links of interest: Reader’s Digest Files for BankruptcyBecause when an executive says bankruptcy isn’t an option, it means bankruptcy is totally an option. Guild Responds to Second WME Letter on Google SettlementThe William Morris Agency is certainly turning up the heat against the Authors’ Guild. Interesting. Sun of Sam EclipseHas Sam Zell decided to walk away from Tribune?
A few years ago, I wrote a post lamenting the lack of book people at the South by Southwest Interactive festival. Last year, as we know, a panel put together by a group of publishers missed its target, angering the audience. This year…wow, it’s a bookstravaganza. I am so pleased to see so many book folk stepping up to show that, yes, there are cool things happening in the publishing industry. The Interactive festival has come a long way from its geekish roots. Held concurrently with the Film festival, the conference brings together the most creative minds in media, from
