Wizards of the Coast is experiencing a tremendous boom period with Dungeons and Dragons print and digital sales. The Player's Handbook, Dungeons Masters Guide and a handful of other titles have been in the Amazon bestseller list for the past five months. Not only are groups of friends organizing their own campaigns but Twitch has been livestreaming D&D adventures over the last … [Read more...] about D&D Beyond is a new digital initiative from Wizards of the Coast
Archives for March 2017
Do not expect any Kindle innovation this year
The Amazon Kindle continues to be the world's most popular e-reader brand, but in recent years there has been a severe stagnation with developing new hardware features. Amazon's philosophy is that their hardware is good enough and users are not looking for anything fancy. This has been a boon to Kobo who continues to release waterproof devices with larger screens and new … [Read more...] about Do not expect any Kindle innovation this year
Mazda is adopting Android Auto so you can listen to Audiobooks
One of the biggest trends in the audiobook industry over the course of the past few years have been porting their apps to Android Auto so commuters could forgo their stale musical playlist and listen to podcasts and their favorite audiobook title. Mazda has just signed an agreement with Google to have Android Auto implemented in the near future. Mazda declined to give a … [Read more...] about Mazda is adopting Android Auto so you can listen to Audiobooks
EU Court Rules that Ebooks will not receive a lower VAT
The European Court of Justice has ruled that audiobooks and e-books are considered digital services and do not qualify for the same type of VAT as hardcover and paperback novels enjoy. This means that member states will not be able to get a blanket policy when it comes to VAT, at least for now. This case was initially brought to the court's attention by the Polish Minister … [Read more...] about EU Court Rules that Ebooks will not receive a lower VAT
E-Books are on the decline in the United Kingdom
E-Books have just experienced their first decline in the United Kingdom. 4% fewer were sold last year and this is a trend that coincides with the average price per title increasing. Meanwhile there was a 4% rise in book volume purchases through physical stores last year and 1% rise of people buying books online. Nielsen Book Research UK also reported that non-fiction and … [Read more...] about E-Books are on the decline in the United Kingdom
HarperCollins Unveils Two Book Recommendation AI Bots To Facebook
Book recommendation systems have been getting more advanced in recent years. In late 2014 the PenguinHotline was unveiled and gave users the ability to fill out some information about their potential book gift recipient and Penguin staff would agnostically give a list of titles and last year, the NPR created an online "Book Concierge" that aggregated the titles reviewed by the … [Read more...] about HarperCollins Unveils Two Book Recommendation AI Bots To Facebook
HarperCollins Wants To Keep Canadian e-Book Prices High
In January the Canadian Competition Bureau commanded that Hachette, Macmillan and Simon & Schuster to lower e-book prices and abolish agency pricing for three years. The sole holdout of this new agreement was HarperCollins who filed paperwork and said they are not engaging in anti-competitive behaviour. The publisher also stated that the tribunal does not have any jurisdiction … [Read more...] about HarperCollins Wants To Keep Canadian e-Book Prices High
Good e-Reader Radio – Music to Read to
The Good e-Reader Radio Show is back from a long hiatus with a very special edition, music to read to. Over the course of the next hour you will be introduced to a symphonic serenade of new music, including electronica, jazz and soul. This is the perfect soundtrack to crack open your favorite book and listen to this show in the background. All of the music played on this … [Read more...] about Good e-Reader Radio – Music to Read to
Bookstores need more entrepreneurial spirit
Chain bookstores tend to be homogenized and they all tend to look alike when you walk inside your favorite Barnes and Noble, Chapters/Indigo or WH Smith. Publishers have agreement with most booksellers to have their front-list titles near the front and pay for the privilege. Display areas and the way the stores are laid out come from the upper echelons of management. This … [Read more...] about Bookstores need more entrepreneurial spirit
Odilo is taking the digital library world by storm
Odilo is a digital library solution for libraries and the company offers an interesting value proposition. They have an extensive catalog of over 800,000 ebooks and 73,000 audiobooks for branches in the United States. The other aspect of their business is a feature known as BYOC, which stands for Bring Your Own Content, which was conceptualized to allow libraries and their … [Read more...] about Odilo is taking the digital library world by storm