LA TIMES: Barnes & Noble says e-books outsell physical books online, December 30, 2010 | 11:14 am
Excerpt: “Bookseller Barnes & Noble said Thursday that it now sells more digital books than physical volumes on its online bookstore. Customers bought or downloaded nearly 1 million e-books on Christmas Day alone, the company said in a press release.
The Nook e-reader has become a bestseller, according to the bookseller. The Nook Color, introduced two months before Christmas, was the company’s No. 1 selling holiday gift item, according to the company release.”
Find about it here:
http://www.amazon.com/kindle-lending
Though it will only be as successful as publishers willing to offer the service.
There are at least three ways to do this:
1. Buy a book from Amazon. Duh.
2. Email something to your Kindle, and let Amazon automatically convert it to a pdf for you. But note: they’ll charge you for it. Here’s how.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200140600
3. Use Calibre (http://calibre-ebook.com/), and plug your Kindle into your computer. Then you can drag all kinds of things onto your Kindle. For instance, you can convert your own articles, memos, research, etc., into edocuments that you can carry around with you.
If anyone has done (2) or (3), tell us about it!
P.S. See this link: converting MobiPocket to Kindle formats.
http://j2jensen.blogspot.com/2010/05/mobipocket-to-kindle-format-converter.html
Excerpt: “1. Books to e-Books
Of course this is at the top of the list. Statistics show that 1 in 10 Americans own an e-reader, and those who do own one tend to read more books than those without. And there’s also the fact that schools are testing out how devices like iPads can be used in classrooms instead of textbooks and hand-outs. Our books are without a doubt headed toward a greater digital presence, though printed books don’t seem to be slowing any time soon.”
Information Today, Newsbreaks, Dec 16, 2010
Excerpt: “On Monday, Dec. 6, 2010, after months of anticipation, Google officially launched Google eBookstore (previously called Google Editions), marking an important milestone for the ebook industry. The eBookstore concept goes far beyond being another option for acquiring ebooks—incorporating key design innovations in user options and operation as well as involving brick-and-mortar bookstores as partners in the enterprise.
…
Users are able to connect to their collections of free or purchased books anywhere using any Adobe eBook DRM-compliant device with a web browser—including an estimated 85 ebook devices or reading systems—that includes the Android, iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad, Nook, or Sony. From the homepage, users of these systems can easily download free applications tailored for eBookstore users. Due to the digitizing work of Google Books, users have the option to view the scanned-in pages of a book instead of the default flowing text.”
I have discovered the joys of free downloads on my Nook. I struggled the first day with using a serial connection onto my PC, but when I went wireless – it all became a piece of cake. I’ve download Jekyll & Hyde and several wonderful old sci fi classics like She, The Chessmen of Mars, and The Moonstone (if you read Drood you’ll know why I choose that title). Now all I need is time to read! Valerie
Douglas County has provided us with more suggestions on how to improve the MARC records we have online. We’ll be doing that over the next few days – so if you’ve already downloaded the file, you may want to reload it in a week or so.
Also, I successfully downloaded two classic science fiction titles from Gutenberg onto a Nook. I’d like to get them on in the EPub format so I’m going to try again after downloading Jamie’s suggestion – Calibre- I’ll let you know how that goes. Valerie
If you like to read, the odds are good that you’ll get an ebook reader this holiday season. And once you do, where will you find affordable quality content?
Most ereaders offer their own online stores. But that can get expensive. You can spend more in an afternoon than you pay for the public library in a year!
So we’re pleased to announce a statewide public library holiday special – e-Discover the Classics.
Thanks to the Colorado Library Consortium, your local library can now offer nearly 500 classic titles for free download (ebooks and audiobooks from Project Gutenberg, which features public domain and other freely accessible works). In the works: a list of participating e-Discover the Classics libraries.
Your public library: it’s what’s next in reading.
Library users and staff: need assistance with these resources? Please ask you questions in the comments section of this post.
