Archive for the ‘Random’ Category
Classics Illustrated digital graphic novels no comments
Publisher Trajectory, Inc. is re-releasing the iconic Classics Illustrated and Classics Illustrated Junior series of graphic novels in digital format. These two related series of comic books, originally started during WWII by Albert Kanter, adapted world literary classics into graphic novels, making them more accessible to younger readers.
To date, Trajectory has released over 120 comic books from the series in digital format. Earlier this month they became available at the Nook Comics Store and iBookstore. Today Trajectory announced the series has landed at Kobo for use on the Kobo Vox. Next will be their arrival at the Kindle Store, which is ‘coming soon’ according to the publisher.
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Baker & Taylor Axis 360 platform gains accessibility features no comments
Book distributer Baker & Taylor has released a new version of its Axis 360 digital media distribution platform for libraries that makes its ebook catalogue fully accessible to visually impaired users.
Baker & Taylor worked closely with the National Federation of the Blind on the development of the service, which makes Axis 360 fully compatible with the leading assistive screen-reader technologies that blind people use to interact with computers and the World Wide Web. These include: JAWS (Job Access with Speech), Window-Eyes, NVDA (non-visual desktop access) and System Access To Go. Now, the entire digital library experience – from discovering new titles to checking them out, to reading them on the Blio ereader – is available to blind patrons and students, and to others with reading disabilities, in accordance with the mandates of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Baker & Taylor’s Axis 360 platform is a competitor of OverDrive’s distribution system and is meant to be used with the Blio ereading app. OverDrive has its own Library eBook Accessibility Program (LEAP) that gives qualified patrons access to accessible ebooks via Bookshare.
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Libraries are required by law to ensure that their digital collections are accessible to those with print disabilities. The Free Library of Philadelphia is currently being sued by several blind patrons (with the assistance of the National Federation of the Blind) for planning to purchase Nook ereaders (which, unlike the Kindle ereaders, do not include accessibility features like TTS and spoken menus) for loan to senior patrons.
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Free ebooks for Kindle & other ereaders – 5/21/2012 no comments
As usual, please make sure these are still free before hitting the Buy button.
Fair Warning by George E. Simpson (4 stars/1 reviews) Historical thriller; WWII.
The Six O’Clock Rule (Detective Clay Randall series) by Bruce Thomason (4 1/2 stars/23 reviews) Police procedural.
Path of the Jaguar by Vickie Britton and Loretta Jackson (4 1/2 stars/10 reviews) Mystery; Set in Mexico; Mayan history.
Baby Shark by Robert Fate (4 1/2 stars/27 reviews) Mystery; Hard-boiled; Women sleuths.
But the Children Survived by A. L. Jambor (4 1/2 stars/4 reviews) YA Mystery.
MAN-SLAUGHTER (Key West Nocturnes Series) by Mike Dennis (5 stars/3 reviews) Crime fiction; Key West; Noir.
Everything I Tell You is a Lie (a novella) by Fingers Murphy (4 1/2 stars/14 reviews) Mystery; Hard-boiled; Novella.
DeVilliers County Blues: 1972 by John W. Cassell (4 stars/14 reviews) Legal thriller.
A Darker Shade of Midnight (A LaShaun Rousselle Mystery) by Lynn Emery (5 stars/70 reviews) Supernatural thriller; Women sleuths.
Maggot – Night of the Avatar by Kevin Lazarus, Elizabeth Arrington and Jesse Fisher (5 stars/6 reviews) Supernatural thriller; Short story.
Elf Killers by Carol Marrs Phipps (4 1/2 stars/3 reviews) Fantasy.
Mageborn: The Blacksmith’s Son (Book 1) by Michael G. Manning (4 stars/200 reviews) Epic fantasy.
The Toil and Trouble Trilogy, Book One by V. J. Chambers (4 1/2 stars/8 reviews) Paranormal fiction.
Silver Bells by Sadie Hart (4 1/2 stars/8 reviews) Fantasy; Short story; Christmas. Also free at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.
Don’t Let the Fairies Eat You (Looking for the Witch) by Darryl Fabia (5 stars/4 reviews) Fantasy; Short story collection.
Demonworld by Kyle B. Stiff (5 stars/3 reviews) Science fiction.
The Skye in June by June Ahern, Stacy Horn, Cynthia Spurgin and Jerry Briesach (5 stars/70 reviews) Paranormal fiction.
The Last Resort: The Savior (The Last Resort Series #1) by Kelly Fisher (5 stars/3 reviews) Zombies.
The Fall: An Undead Apocalypse (The Rift Book I) by Robert J. Duperre and Jesse David Young (4 stars/27 reviews) Post-apocalyptic; Zombies. Books II and III of the series are also free.
Lost Long (The Freyr Chronicles) by Rochelle Wilcox (4 1/2 stars/7 reviews) Fantasy.
Aftershock (Rise of the Unseelie urban fantasy series) by S. A. Archer and S. Ravynheart (4 1/2 stars/7 reviews) Short story.
Sophie’s Secret (Whispers) by Tara West (4 1/2 stars/9 reviews) YA Paranormal romance. Also free at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.
The Taste of Magic by Gina Rosavin (5 stars/5 reviews) Paranormal romance; Vampires & witches.
Twin Souls (Twin Souls Saga) by DelSheree Gladden (5 stars/4 reviews) YA Paranormal romance. Also free at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.
New Year’s Kiss (Wolf’s Heritage, Book One) by Tielle St. Clare (5 stars/5 reviews) Paranormal romance; Werewolves; Explicit. Also free at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.
My Lady Vampire – Book One by Sahara Kelly (4 stars/7 reviews) Vampiric romance. Also free at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.
While You Were Dead (Black Fire) by CJ Snyder (5 stars/29 reviews) Romantic suspense.
Jockeys and Jewels by Bev Pettersen (4 1/2 stars/54 reviews) Romantic suspense; Horse racing. Also free at Kobo.
Whole Once More by Christine Chianti (4 stars/1 reviews) Romantic suspense. Also free at Kobo and Barnes & Noble.
Before You Go (YA Romance) by Ella James (4 1/2 stars/26 reviews) YA Romantic suspense.
Hide and Seek by Jennifer Hayden (5 stars/7 reviews) Romantic suspense.
Allyson Rowe by Anne Thomas (4 1/2 stars/8 reviews) Romantic suspense.
A Simple Amish Christmas by Vannetta Chapman (4 1/2 stars/119 reviews) Romance from a faith-based publisher.
Just The Way You Are by Barbara Freethy (4 stars/75 reviews) Contemporary romance.
West Wind (Women of Eaton) by Madeline Sloane (4 stars/1 reviews) Contemporary romance; Sailing. Also free at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.
Learning to Lean by Mildred Colvin (5 stars/5 reviews) Contemporary romance. Also free at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.
The Bearwalker’s Daughter by Beth Trissel and Elise Trissel (4 1/2 stars/6 reviews) Historical romance.
Panther’s Prey by Doreen Owens Malek (4 stars/6 reviews) Historical romance.
Ashes and Memories by Deborah Cox (5 stars/1 reviews) Historical romance.
Sterling Redmond by Kim Nathan (5 stars/13 reviews) Historical romance.
The Sheriff’s Mistletoe Law by Nita Wick (4 1/2 stars/6 reviews) Historical romance; Short story. Also free at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.
Love For Lenore by Regina Tittel (4 1/2 stars/2 reviews) Historical romance; Short story. Also free at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.
Safe With Me: The Beginning (an erotic romance series) by Shaina Richmond (4 1/2 stars/30 reviews) Erotica. Also free at Barnes & Noble.
Charlotte ~ Pride and Prejudice Continues by Karen Aminadra (4 1/2 stars/3 reviews) Historical fiction.
Pink Slips and Parting Gifts by Deb Hosey White and David Stewart White (4 1/2 stars/17 reviews) Contemporary fiction; M&A victims.
Sikander by M. Salahuddin Khan and Pamela Guerrieri (5 stars/41 reviews) Contemporary fiction.
Keeper of Secrets…Translations of an Incident by Anjuelle Floyd (4 1/2 stars/24 reviews) Contemporary fiction.
The Chance Series *Anthology* by Kole Black, Street Lit and Urban Fiction (4 1/2 stars/9 reviews) Urban fiction.
Seesaw by Rosen Trevithick (5 stars/10 reviews) Short story collection.
The Adventures of Bindi Girl: Diving Deep Into the Heart of India by Erin Reese (4 1/2 stars/29 reviews) Travel; Memoir; India.
Because It’s There – A Photographic Journey by Diane Winger and Charlie Winger (4 1/2 stars/12 reviews) Photographs; Travel.
The Book of Ruth: A Story of Love and Redemption (Daily-Bible-Reading) by Deborah H. Bateman, Amanda Daubenmeyer, Lisa Lickel and Mary Hollingsworth (4 1/2 stars/13 reviews) Christianity.
Simple Faith – How every person can experience intimacy with God by Eddie Snipes (5 stars/4 reviews) Christianity.
A number of language learning titles are currently available free from Innovative Languages. What few reviews there are for these are not exactly stellar.
Results Not Typical by Catherine Ryan Howard (5 stars/68 reviews) Contemporary fiction.
When God Whispers Loudly by Chris Hibbard (4 1/2 stars/7 reviews) Short story; Religious. Also free at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.
The Remnant – Stories of the Jewish Resistance in WWII (Boomer Book Series) by Othniel J. Seiden (4 1/2 stars/29 reviews) History.
Wrong Place at the Right Time by Dawn Taylor Wells (5 stars/5reviews) Self-help; Memoir.
Let Your Goddess Grow! 7 Spiritual Lessons on Female Power and Positive Thinking by Charlene M. Proctor PhD (5 stars/10 reviews) Self-help.
Life Your Way by Amy Wood (5 stars/68 reviews) Self-help; Self-improvement.
Five Steps to Your Next Job: A Powerful Manual for Job Search and Career Development by Narinder Mehta (4 1/2 stars/9 reviews) Job hunting.
Résumés Are Dead and What to Do About It by Richie Norton (4 1/2 stars/23 reviews) Job hunting.
Lola The Mermaid and The Splish Splash Olympics. The New Bestselling Picture Book. (Fun Rhyming Children’s Books) by Lily Lexington (4 stars/9 reviews) Children’s fiction.
Where Hummingbirds Come From Bilingual Chinese-English by Adele Marie Crouch, Megan Gibbs and Bin Hu (5 stars/7 reviews) Children’s stories.
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Which Way is My Home? by John G. Pedicini (4 1/2 stars/11 reviews) is an illustrated children’s book that will be free at the Kindle Store for one day only on May 24, 2012.
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Barnes & Noble has launched its 2012 Summer Reading Program for young readers. Children in grades 1-6 can earn a free book by reading eight books and turning in a completed reading journal sheet about the books they read. B&N has a page with all of the details here.
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Waterstones to sell Kindle ereaders no comments
Waterstones has announced an agreement with Amazon to sell the Kindle family of ereaders in its stores. The UK bookseller will also create digital reading sections in its stores and offer free Wi-Fi access. Kindle books will also be available through the Waterstones website and in-store.
The exact date on which the Kindle ereaders will land on Waterstones shelves has not yet been announced, but the press release from Waterstones does say that further details will be forthcoming this fall.
This will not be welcome news for Barnes & Noble, which is expected to make its Nook line of ereaders available internationally before long.
Waterstones released the video below in which James Daunt, managing director of the high street bookstore chain, comments on the agreement with Amazon and the company’s planned digital reading initiatives.
(via Financial Times)
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CourseSmart expands presence in Europe and UK no comments
CourseSmart has launched its eCommerce platform in Europe and the UK, enabling students there to access their digital textbooks via any web-enabled device.
Following the international expansion plans first announced in May 2011, CourseSmart launched its free Online Sampling Platform, which enables faculty in the UK and Europe to instantly preview and select eTextbook titles for use in specific courses. The eCommerce platform, which is now live, will provide all of the functions of traditional textbooks, enhanced by today’s technologies, including:
- Anytime, anywhere access to materials via CourseSmart.com, CourseSmart UK or through various mobile devices and tablets;
- Search function for topics within a single book or across an entire eTextbook stack;
- Highlighting and note-taking capabilities within the eTextbook, which can be easily recalled or searched;
- Page fidelity and preservation, mirroring the print edition’s page numbers, full text, diagrams, illustrations and charts;
- Ability to cut and paste as well as email sections, notes and highlighted text; and
- Accessible titles for students and instructors with print-related disabilities
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Kindle Keyboard 3G refurbs $80 no comments
Today only you can get a refurbished Kindle Keyboard Wi-Fi + 3G for only $79.99 from daily deals site Daily Steals. This is a good deal – while I like touchscreens on my ereaders, I still think the Kindle Keyboard is a classic.
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Two more epaper technologies fail no comments
Plastic Logic, whose large format flexible screened Que ereader made a big splash at CES 2010 before being canceled after the launch of the first iPad, and who most recently had an educational ereader using its novel plastic electronics in trials at a few Russian schools, has abandoned plans to manufacture its own ereader and will instead focus on licensing its technology out to others. Plastic Logic had just unveiled a new color epaper it had developed, but which now may well never see the light of day. (Via Financial Times)
Now comes word (via DigiTimes) that Delta Electronics and Bridgestone have given up on producing their much delayed QR-LPD color epaper. Delta had already said some time ago that it had suspended plans for releasing an ereader based on the color epaper created by Bridgestone, but would continue conducting R&D on the technology. Reasons cited include the much lower price of LCD displays and the fierce competition between devices.
The ready adoption of LCD displays by consumers has torpedoed the development of non-backlit color displays and flexible screen technology. These technologies are very expensive to develop and devices using them are seemingly impossible to deliver to market at a price that is competitive with LCD. Sure, there are users who really, really want a good reflective color display – but apparently not enough of them who are willing to pay the higher price to support such devices. I’m guessing that the only way we will see an ereader with color epaper hit the market and have a chance of success is if Amazon or another content-centric company releases it at near or below cost.
Samsung supposedly will put the electrowetting display technology it acquired from Liquavista into production next year. I wouldn’t be surprised if that turns into a no-show as well, but my fingers remain crossed.
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Kobo gets Pottermore connection no comments
Kobo ereader users can now link their Kobo accounts to the Pottermore Shop so that any Harry Potter ebooks purchased there will download directly into their Kobo libraries. There is a new Harry Potter page at Kobo with details and links to purchase the books.
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Nook Tablet 8GB – $149 no comments
Through its eBay storefront, Barnes & Noble is selling new – not refurbished – 8GB Nook Tablets for $149. This is $50 off of the usual price and is probably not going to last long as the available quantities are said to be limited. This is a good deal; the Nook Tablets are quite nice and this is about the same price as a refurbished Nook Color, which is older hardware.
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Glow in the dark Kindle incoming; Color Kindle probably not no comments
A source has reportedly told Reuters that a front-lit Kindle is in production and will be launched in July. Although Barnes & Noble’s Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight was the first ereader with a front-lit screen to hit the market (not counting Sony’s PRS-700 a few years ago), expectations have been that Amazon had its own similar glow-in-the-dark ereader in the works. According to Reuters’ source the pricing should be very similar to the current Kindle Touch.
The article also throws cold water on the rumor from last week that Amazon would be releasing a color Kindle using E Ink’s Triton display. That particular rumor did seem rather suspect. Besides the questionable readiness of E Ink’s color EPD display for prime time and mass production, I think it is also questionable whether a large enough market now exists to support the release of a Kindle with a reflective color display unless it could be delivered at under $200.
While such a device could be very important for some users (scientists, technicians and students who need to view a lot of documents with color graphics or fans of graphic novels, for example), I wonder if there is enough demand to make for more than a niche market, since most users seem content with backlit LCD displays, which are cheaper and with their more vibrant colors and faster response times are better for things like web browsing and gaming.
Perhaps a color display would make a sensible option for a next generation Kindle DX, as the larger screen format is also useful for the type of user I imagine would most want a reflective color display and be willing to pay for it. Many Kindle owners who just want to use their ereader for reading normal ebooks with few or no illustrations probably are not interested in paying a significant premium for a color e-ink screen. If E Ink Holdings could get the cost down to almost the same level as the current monochrome displays that would be another matter.
