Oyster is one of the more prominent eBook subscription websites and it is starting to distinguish themselves from a crowded marketplace. The company is trialing new speed reading technology from Spritz.Spritz has been in the news a ton lately, as their speed-reading technology is going to be integrated in the Samsung Galaxy S5. The essence of the platform is to allow users … [Read more...] about Oyster Trials Speed Reading Technology from Spritz
E-Book News
Samsung and Amazon Partner up for Custom Kindle Store
Samsung has announced that they have reached terms with Amazon to have a custom built Kindle store for its flagship Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone. The store will launch in two weeks and phone owners will be able to download 15 eBooks for free as part of the deal.The plans for the custom version of the Kindle Store will launch exclusively for the S5 for the first few months … [Read more...] about Samsung and Amazon Partner up for Custom Kindle Store
Men Simply Don’t Read Books Anymore
Men are giving up on reading books and instead are switching to movies, internet and blogs. Overall men are starting to realize that they are not reading as much as they should, but according to a new study, there are many other factors.OnePoll did a study on behalf of UK based Reading Agency and talked to over 2,000 young and adult men. 63% of men admit they simply don't … [Read more...] about Men Simply Don’t Read Books Anymore
Amazon Books can now be added to your GoodReads Shelf
Residents of the US, Canada and Australia have early access to a new feature on eBook discovery website GoodReads. In the largest single act of synergy since Amazon purchased GoodReads last year, customers can now have all of their Kindle Books synced automatically to their bookshelf.How do you know if you have this new feature? You'll see the Add Amazon Book Purchases link … [Read more...] about Amazon Books can now be added to your GoodReads Shelf
JK Rowling Commentates Quidditch World Cup
The world of Harry Potter is very real to some people, so real in fact that there are live Quidditch matches and yes, college teams. Even better, these college and fan teams actually have a Quidditch World Cup competition, taking place in Florida. the fact that none of the players has a flying broom is not a deterrent.This year, for the seventh World Cup, author and … [Read more...] about JK Rowling Commentates Quidditch World Cup
Findaway World, AudioEngine Providing Audiobooks for Students, Military
One of the often overlooked formats in the focus on digital versus print books is the audiobook, a separate entity that--despite a long standing history--still gets relegated to only certain titles. Through the launch of companies like Audible and the later ACX platform, audiobooks are currently enjoying a resurgence among old and new fans alike.Findaway World, a company … [Read more...] about Findaway World, AudioEngine Providing Audiobooks for Students, Military
PubSmartCon Kicks Off Tomorrow in Charleston
A revolution in writing and publishing conferences will kick off tomorrow in Charleston, South Carolina, one that is working to bridge all aspects of the publishing industries to better enable professionals of every kind. Alongside self-publishing mainstays like Hugh Howey, Nook Press, and Bibliocrunch will be speakers like Stephanie Bowen of Sourcebooks and Tracey Adams of … [Read more...] about PubSmartCon Kicks Off Tomorrow in Charleston
Is Social Media a Reliable Source for the News?
First there was Paper.li, an app that allows users to create a digital "newspaper" based on the story links their social media connections share. Then came Facebook's Paper app, which serves as a curated offering of a user's shares from contacts. But now, The Guardian is rolling out an actual print newspaper that will contain stories curated from share algorithms.The … [Read more...] about Is Social Media a Reliable Source for the News?
Small Business Owner Blocks Amazon’s Purchase of Domain Name
Amazon customers in Sweden will have to wait it out to begin buying their discounted goods and books from Amazon.se. The current owner of the domain, a fifty-seven-year-old small businesswoman, won't sell it, despite reports of repeated attempts from the retail giant to purchase it.The domain, purchased in 1997 by a Stockholm-based advertising agency called Amazon AB, … [Read more...] about Small Business Owner Blocks Amazon’s Purchase of Domain Name
Pulitzer Prize Winners Announced: The Goldfinch Wins for Fiction
It is shockingly easy to enter a book into the Pulitzer Prizes in Letters competition. The author (in most categories) must be an American citizen, the book must be available for sale in print, it must have first been published that year, and the person submitting the book has to send four copies of the book and a fifty dollar entry fee. That's it.It's easier and cheaper to … [Read more...] about Pulitzer Prize Winners Announced: The Goldfinch Wins for Fiction
Kindle Direct Publishing Now Offers up-to-date Sales Data
Kindle Direct Publishing is a self-publishing platform that individuals and small presses use to add their eBooks for sale on the Amazon bookstore. When customers purchase an authors books, normally they did not know about it until 24 hours later. Today in a bold move, Amazon has introduced live sales data that will inform authors in real time when their book is … [Read more...] about Kindle Direct Publishing Now Offers up-to-date Sales Data
Experts Fears eBooks Hinder Student Reading Comprehension
Renewed concerns about students who use tablets for reading have surfaced as experts now fear the "bells and whistles" approach to enhanced ebooks are actually stunting student comprehension. At last week's American Educational Research Association in Philadelphia, researchers Heather Ruetschlin Schugar and Jordan T. Schugar presented their findings from a study that pitted … [Read more...] about Experts Fears eBooks Hinder Student Reading Comprehension
Digital Library Lending Has a Long Way to Go
It feels like every new step in the right direction also leads to a host of new problems and closures for public libraries where digital lending is concerned. It's been years since the first debates over protecting the interests of authors and publishers, with solutions--albeit often pathetic ones--proposed so long ago that the system should have sorted itself out by now. With … [Read more...] about Digital Library Lending Has a Long Way to Go