Just under a year after selecting Uwem Akpan’s SAY YOU’RE ONE OF THEM, Oprah Winfrey is ready to pick another book for her audience to read. Newtonville Books blogged that they were notified by a Macmillan sales rep of the impending announcement, to air on September 17, when the Oprah-stickered edition will release. The selection is hardcover with a list price of $28 (confirmed by online bookselling sites, which also list the title for blind pre-order). Amazon is not taking blind pre-orders for a Kindle edition though–at least not yet. There was some speculation online that it could be Jonathan […]
Sony Releases Like Its 2009
As long-expected, Sony finally released the new versions of their Readers. The prices remain surprisingly high and out of step with the market, ranging from $179 for the Touch Edition up to $299 for the Daily Edition (which is the only model in the line with any wireless connectivity.) The company also finally acknowledged their lack of reading apps for mobile platforms and said they will release iOS and Android apps soon. They eliminated their unsuccessful touchscreen technology in favor of a new infrared optical touchscreen that is already receiving good reviews, now featured on all of the Sony models. […]
Blair’s Book JOURNEY Begins
Tony Blair garners considerable coverage on both sides of the Atlantic following the release today of A JOURNEY: My Political Life. The book is expected to rank as the bestselling UK political memoir ever. Released at the steep fake list price 25 pounds, the press is yet again surprised that the book is already deeply discounted. (Blooomberg has an amusing typo, listing the 720-page book as weighing 25 pounds.) As promised, the book offers the closest thing to candor you can expect from a former leader, as he admits to deep emotions over the UK’s participation in the Iraq war […]
Meghan McCain’s Memoir Also Lands
The other political memoir attracting attention this week is Meghan McCain’s just-released Dirty Sexy Politics. Stories focus on her GMA appearance rather than the text of the book itself, where she was queried about her comments on Sarah Palin, whom she apparently calls The Time Bomb. George Stephanopoulos said “you write that she brought, quote, ‘drama, stress, panic and loads of uncertainty.'” He also paraphrased: “You said there are a lot of things you like about Sarah Palin, but you also point out that she snubbed your mom’s efforts to reach out to the Palins, that she wasn’t much of […]
Stephenson and Bear Partner for New Approach to Digital Novel
This press release caught our eye as something a little different. Neal Stephenson and Greg Bear have collaborated on THE MONGOLIAD, a speculative fiction digital work that will allow readers to participate via a “social book platform.” A new chapter is delivered weekly via a variety of apps, and the platform “enables the inclusion of meta-narrative and para-narrative elements such as character sketches, articles, short stories, music, video, and social features for discussions among the book’s community.” Sold by subscription, it costs $5.99 for six months or $9.99 for a year. Stephenson claims, “Kindles and iPads were little better than […]
At Ever-Shrinking Borders, Sales Fall 11.5 Percent On Loss of Over $51 Million
Borders reported second quarter sales of $526 million, down 11.5 percent from a year ago (when sales were down 17.7 percent compared to 2008–when sales were also down.) For a little perspective, sales in this quarter were $617 million in 2009; $749 million in 2008; and $945 million in 2007. The loss from continuing operations (to reflect the sale of Paperchase) was another $51.6 million, or 74 cents a share (perilously close to what shares themselves trade for), worse than $45.1 million a year ago. The operating loss of $37.7 million was also worse than the $25.7 million recorded a […]