To battle Kindle, German booksellers partner with Deutsche Telekom on new e-reader
Leading German bookstore chains have partnered with German telecommunications company Telekom to launch a front-lit e-reader, the “Tolino Shine,” for €99. Read more »
As Nook revenues plunge, B&N says it’s “calibrating” strategy but “committed” to devices
photo: Barnes & Noble
As it had warned, Barnes & Noble released a disappointing earnings report Thursday morning. Nook sales were down 26 percent over the previous year, despite the launch of new tablets. Read more at paidContent »
Barnes & Noble founder offers to buy chain’s 689 retail stores and BN.com
Barnes & Noble’s founder and chairman, Leonard Riggio, has offered to buy the bookstore chain’s 689 retail stores and BN.com. Barnes & Noble confirmed Monday that it is considering the offer. Read more at paidContent »
Barnes & Noble will close up to a third of its stores over the next decade
photo: Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble plans to close about 20 retail stores a year over the next ten years — meaning it would have 450 to 500 stores in the next decade, down from 689 stores today. Read more at paidContent »
How do you save a struggling bookstore? Ask HackerNews
The owner of a struggling Cambridge, Mass. bookstore took to HackerNews to try to save the business. Here are some of the more interesting ideas users have suggested to keep Lorem Ipsum Books alive. Read more at paidContent »
Ferriss: Even if I sell a million Kindle books, some people will call it a failure
photo: Tim Ferriss
On November 20, Amazon will publish one of the biggest titles on its inaugural NY list: The 4-Hour Chef by bestselling author Tim Ferriss. Mediocre sales of Penny Marshall’s memoir are hanging over Ferriss’s launch. Read more at paidContent »
Around the world, no set rules for ebook pricing or digital reading
photo: Shutterstock / Thomas Bethge
Ebook pricing and device trends that hold in North American countries don’t necessarily work for less developed market. Executives from Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google, France’s FNAC and India’s Indiaplaza discussed similarities and differences between digital reading cultures Wednesday afternoon at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Read more at paidContent »
Ebook sales way up in 2011; overall trade book sales roughly flat
photo: Shutterstock
Print books still dominate, but a new report reveals that in 2011, ebooks made up 15 percent of all trade book sales. In addition, digital is now the most popular format for adult fiction. Despite the massive growth of digital, though, bricks-and-mortar stores are still the largest sales channel for publishers. Read more at paidContent »
New Book Startups Focus On The Actual Buying And Selling Part
Two new book-related startups that launched in beta this week seek to redefine the book buying, browsing and selling experience. Read more at paidContent »
How the e-book landscape is becoming a walled garden
Apple’s decision to reject an e-book by Seth Godin because it contains hyperlinks to books in the Amazon store is just another example of how the oligopoly that controls the market for e-books is turning the landscape of reading into a walled garden. Read more »
