Yesterday Google Book Search announced that they had optimized 1.5 million public domain books for reading on iPhones and the company’s Android mobile operating system. (All of those books are viewable within the US; about 600,000 are accessible in full view worldwide.) The process required converting the image scan files shown on regular GBS with optical-character-recognition so that the mobile devices can display actual text rather than page images. The files are not downloadable, so you need to be connected to the internet via your mobile.GBS post But Google’s announcement was trumped by a potentially game-changing two sentence remark by […]
Store Closings
Pages for All Ages bookstore in Savoy, IL announced their closing in a sign on the window, after more than 20 years in business. And Henderson, Nevada’s Cheesecake and Crime, a mystery book shop and cheesecake joint opened about 14 months ago, will close at the end of February.
March Indie Next List
Fool: A Novel by Christopher MooreAmong the Mad: A Maisie Dobbs Novel by Jacqueline WinspearSonata for Miriam: A Novel by Linda OlssonThe Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David GrannStarvation Lake: A Mystery by Bryan GruleyThe Writing on My Forehead: A Novel by Nafisa HajiSleepwalking in Daylight by Elizabeth FlockAll That I Have: A Novel by Castle Freeman, Jr.The Manual of Detection: A Novel by Jedediah BerryThe Missing: A Novel by Tim GautreauxA Grave in Gaza: An Omar Yussef Mystery by Matt Beynon ReesPatient Zero: A Joe Ledger Novel by Jonathan MaberryMy Abandonment: […]
People and Distribution
Hudson Street Press editor-in-chief Luke Dempsey will become editorial director, nonfiction for Ballantine Books on March 3. Former editorial director at Chronicle Books Jay Schaefer will be acquiring projects for Workman and Algonquin Books as an editor-at-large, still based in San Francisco. Unbridled Books is now using McArthur & Company for sales and distribution of its titles in Canada.
Oscar Wilde Next Store to Close
Greenwich Village’s Oscar Wilde Bookshop, “believed to be the oldest gay and lesbian bookstore in the country,” will close March 29. The store has struggled for a long time and “nearly closed six years ago, only to be sold and given a last-minute reprieve.” Owner Kim Brinster notes, “Even if we were rent-free, it wouldn’t be enough for us to cover the bills we have. This is one instance in New York where it’s not a case of the landlord gouging the tenant. Our landlord has always been remarkable with us.”NYT
Borders Eliminates 16 Executive Jobs
New ceo Ron Marshall declares “as we address the immediate priority of getting our company’s financial house in order, one of our goals is to more aggressively reduce annual expenses” and to that end the company announced the elimination of six vice-president and 10 director-level jobs, mostly at their Ann Arbor headquarters. Among those whose positions are being cut are evp of US store Ken Armstrong, and svp and CIO Susan Harwood (who was a high-profile hire in 2007), and svp of e-business Kevin Ertell who led the development of Borders.com. VPs of real estae, human resources serivces and creative […]