Booksquare

Todays links of interest:

• Bloomsbury sparks row on cover prices
  Bloomsbury says no big deal while booksellers are wait a minute!
• Borders to Overhaul Board, Enhance Book Clubs
  Ah Borders, it’s still bumpy, isn’t it?
• Denise Roy to Plume
  Denise Roy has moved to Plume, a Penguin imprint, as senior editor.
• Free Sony Readers for Book Reviewers
  Or, what if thought leaders were given ereaders to replace the endless stream of physical books?
• Drm: Amazon Can Ban You From Your Kindle Account Whenever It Likes
  Follow-up on a story noted last week. While the customer in question had his account reinstated, it comes with strings. Remember: you don’t really own the books you buy for your Kindle.
• Blackwell Espresso Book Machine marks a new era for publishing
  As a proud owner of an Espresso-printed book, I can say that the quality is excellent. But I will note that the books tend to smell more like vinegar than a fine brew. Just in case you were wondering.
• Publishers Gamble On Blockbuster Book Deals
  NPR does a fairly standard piece on the eternal advances are big, but that’s how it is story.
• More state legislatures want to know: How come we don’t tax ebooks?
  No really, once the idea of taxing something enters the conversation, that product might be a little too mainstream. Welcome to the big leagues, ebooks!
• The Amazon Fail
  Hugh McGuire looks at Amazonfail, the impact, and potential solutions.
• Are Authors Who Twitter Any Fitter?
  Sarah Weinman looks at authors who are using Twitter.
• ‘Kite Runner’ among last year’s challenged books
  Sad, really sad.
• Smashwords: Why Book Publishing is Like Venture Capital
  Mark Coker compares publishing to the venture capital game…and makes a fun game from it!
• Announcing a new A.V. Club book club
  This is the kind of news that gets us excited Chez BS.
• The Google settlement and unanswered questions, particularly about the windfall
  Two of the many cool Mikes (in this case, Shatzkin and Cairns) lay out their unanswered questions about the Google settlement.
• The History of Harlequin Romance
  In which we have one of those woefully outdated views of the romance novel. A bit painful to read, especially since the sources cited were woefully out-of-touch.