In the latest entry into the somewhat puzzling “Smell Like The Thing You Love The Most” product category, an “old book” scent is joining previous odd fragrance notables Bitcoin and pizza. [More]
books
If You’ve Ever Wanted To Smell Like An Old Book, New Perfume Will Make Your Dreams Come True
By 3.13.15
Amazon’s In-House Kindle Scout Publishing Platform Set To Release First 10 Books Next Month
By 2.24.15
Four months after Amazon launched a crowdsourced publishing platform that allows Kindle readers to kind-of, sort-of have a say in what unpublished books and hopeful authors reach their devices, the company is set to release the first 10 Kindle Scout titles next month. [More]
Creator Of Uncanny ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ Text Generator Doesn’t See Robots Taking Writers’ Jobs
By 2.13.15
Amid the Fifty Shades of Grey movie hooplah maybe you’ve found yourself grumbling, “I could’ve written that book.” Sure, maybe, but it’s not just you — there’s a text generator out there right now that does a pretty damn near perfect impersonation of the series. Wait — robots are doing literature (and I use that term lightly) now? ARE WE ALL DOOMED? We chatted with the programmer behind the new Fifty Shades of Grey text generator tool to find out. [More]
Publishers Pulling Book About Boy Dying, Going To Heaven Because Boy Didn’t Die, Go To Heaven
By 1.16.15
Almost five years after the release of The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven, publisher Tyndale House says it’s yanking the book from shelves immediately. This, because the “boy” and co-author of the tome, Alex Malarkey, says the book is literally malarkey because he didn’t die and thus, did not go to heaven. [More]
Apple’s Appeal Of E-Book Price-Fixing Verdict May Hinge On Court’s View Of Amazon
By 12.15.14
While all of its alleged co-conspirators have settled and begun the process of atoning for the price-fixing sins they have not legally admitted to committing, and even though it was found guilty of its part in the arrangement in 2013, Apple is still fighting to clear its name. Today, the electronics company once again squared off against federal prosecutors, trying to make the claim that Apple was actually trying to help break up Amazon’s monopoly on e-book pricing. [More]
Authors Argue In Court That Google Books Scanning Project Is Bad For Book Sales
By 12.4.14
Is Google Books a useful tool for finding exactly the book that you need and driving sales, or a copyright infringement on a massive scale? That’s been the longtime argument (in court) between Google and some of the authors whose work appears in the search engine. At stake are billions of dollars that Google would owe the Authors Guild and individual authors who are parties to the suit. [More]
Mattel Apologizes, Says Incompetent Engineer Barbie ‘Doesn’t Reflect The Brand’s Vision’
By 11.19.14
Earlier today, we wondered why the communications people over at Mattel hadn’t answered any questions about a book starring Barbie as a computer engineer. Barbie’s “engineering” job consisted of designing puppies while having male colleagues code the game and reboot her computer. This isn’t just sexist, but an inaccurate representation of what computer engineers do. Good news: Steven and Brian managed to get the virus off PR Barbie’s computer, and the book’s author has spoken up as well. UPDATE: Amazon also appears to have pulled the e-book version of this title. [More]
Some Terrible Person Is Stealing Books From Libraries, Selling Them Online
By 8.19.14
Public libraries are an amazing resource where you can access books, music, movies, and even e-books without having to pay. However, there’s a criminal somewhere in Pennsylvania who isn’t checking books out from local libraries: he or she is evading the anti-theft systems, removing new books and best-sellers from the library, and selling them. [More]
Amazon Unveils Subscription E-Book Service For $10/Month
By 7.18.14
After accidentally posting info about the service to its site earlier this week, Amazon has officially unveiled “Kindle Unlimited,” a $9.99/month subscription service that offers users access to a library of e-books. [More]
Amazon Takes Away All Discounts In France Under New Law, Charges A Penny For Shipping
By 7.11.14
Book lovers looking for a tidy discount in France won’t be finding anything of the sort, at least not from Amazon: In accordance with a new law in that country, the e-commerce Goliath has ditched all discounts and is charging a penny for shipping, because it’s not allowed to send books for free. [More]
Amazon Flexes Muscle, Pulls Titles In Ongoing Dispute With Publisher
By 5.23.14
When perusing Amazon for a too-good-to-put-down book, consumers often assume the site’s vast library of titles includes all that’s available in the literary world. But the e-tailer is now putting pressure on one publisher by making it hard to find and order that company’s books. [More]
Complaint Asks Library To Remove ‘Hop On Pop’ Because It Promotes Violence Against Dads
By 4.30.14
When you’ve got a system that allows the general public to air grievances, it’s pretty much guaranteed that there will be some off-the-wall issues. Or at least, problems that seem to not be all that serious: the Toronto Public Library received a complaint asking for librarians to remove Dr. Seuss’ Hop On Pop, claiming that it promotes violence against well, pops, dear old dad, father dearest. You get it. [More]
Psalm Book Believed To Be The First Book Ever Published In The U.S. Sells For Record $14.2M
By 11.27.13
Maybe you’ve got some old books on your shelf, passed down from Gran’s days hiding in the hayloft dreaming about the land of Oz, or a family Bible that’s been in the family for over 100 years. But then there’s the book believed to be the first ever published in the United States — and as such, it’s quite a bit older and a lot more expensive than anything kicking around in Great Aunt Gertie’s attic. [More]
Are Small Bookstores Committing Suicide If They Join Amazon’s New Kindle Program?
By 11.6.13
A common refrain among people in the book business — especially those in the independent bookselling market — is that Amazon is “out to kill small bookstores.” Depending on how one looks at it, the latest scheme from the online retail giant either bolsters or calls BS on that statement. [More]
Amazon To Give Discounts On Kindle Versions Of Books You Already Own
By 9.3.13
Are there books sitting on your bookshelf that you purchased a while back but haven’t gotten around to reading because it’s so much more convenient to fire up your Kindle, iPad or other device and read an e-book? Then Amazon is set to launch a new program you might be interested in. [More]
DOJ Proposal: Apple Must Let Amazon, Barnes & Noble Sell E-Books Through iOS Apps
By 8.2.13
Though there are Kindle and Nook apps for iPhone and iPad, restrictions put in place by Apple prevent users from actually making e-book purchases via those apps without those companies having to pay a hefty commission to Apple. You can’t even see the prices Amazon and Barnes & Noble charge for e-books, thus making it difficult to comparison shop. But as part of the proposed remedies following Apple’s loss in the recent e-book price-fixing case, the Justice Dept. says consumers should have the option of buying e-books on iOS devices from Apple’s competition. [More]
Amazon And Overstock.com Face Off In Book-Discounting Battle. You Can Probably Guess Who’s Winning
By 7.29.13
Though no blood has been shed — yet — things could get ugly as two of the Internet’s deepest discounters try to undercut each other, with Overstock.com (or O.co, if you’re a marketing moron) announcing it would beat Amazon’s pricing on books, only to have Amazon strike back with price drops of its own. [More]
Barnes & Noble Founder Looking To Buy Retail Business Back
By 2.25.13
Just as Best Buy founder Richard Schulze nears the deadline to present his bid to buy the company back from shareholders comes news that the chairman of Barnes & Noble has similar plans for the company he started 40 years ago. [More]
