News & Notes is a weekly Saturday post featuring book- and publishing-related news, links to interesting articles and opinion pieces, giveaways on this and other blogs, and other cool stuff.
Books & Ebooks in the News:
- Apple still defiant after losing its appeal over the scope of the court-appointed monitor’s authority. (Andrew Albanese, Publishers Weekly)
- The L.A. Times Book Prize finalists have been announced, and include ‘Robert Galbraith’ (J. K. Rowling), Claire Messud, Doris Kearns Goodwin, John Grisham, and Rainbow Rowell. John Green will receive the Innovators Award. Click the link for a full list of the 50 finalists in all categories.
- B&N to discontinue the Nook Simple Touch and Simple Touch with Glowlight. They’ve been superseded by the Nook Glowlight, Nook HD, and Nook HD+. (GoodEReader)
- School library installs stationary bikes. Falls Church High School in Virginia has put several bikes in their library to encourage fitness and reading simultaneously. (Neatorama)
- James Patterson has started sending grant checks to indie bookstores, a result of his commitment last September to give $1 million to independent bookstores. To be eligible, stores must have a children’s section.
- Follett offers 17,000 ebook titles for preK through 12th grade students via partnership with Penguin. The titles will be available to Follett’s school and library customers. Follett has also partnered with a number of other major publishers. (GoodEReader)
Worth Reading:
- “Five Steps to Purge Your Books” from Read It Forward. Yes, I know, the idea of purging your books sounds like heresy. But sometimes we have no choice… and sometimes, it’s just a good idea.
- “Hugh Howie and the Indie Author Revolt”, Mark Coker’s take on the state of indie vs. traditional publishing today. Coker is the founder and CEO of Smashwords, so he’s perhaps a bit biased toward self-publishing, but he makes some very good points in this editorial for Publishers Weekly.
For Writers & Bloggers:
- Maggie Steifvater offers “A Perfunctory Guide to Writers Looking for Publishers”
- 20 authors offer tips for writing love scenes (GalleyCat)
- Libboo offers new tools for authors & publishers to increase discoverability (GoodEReader)
Book & Movie Announcements:
- The Outlander trailer is out! The adaption is coming to Starz this summer, and author Diana Gabaldon will have a cameo. (Starz; Entertainment Weekly)
- J. K. Rowling’s next book will be another mystery under her pen name, Robert Galbraith. Little, Brown will release The Silkworm on June 19 in the U.K. and June 24 in the U.S. (The Guardian; also The Independent)
- Harriet the Spy celebrates 50th anniversary with a new edition. (Publishers Weekly)
- The Unbroken trailer is out. You can read more about the movie at Vanity Fair.
- Pope Francis’s first book to be published by Loyola Press. The book, entitled The Church of Mercy: My Vision for the Church, will be out around Easter of this year.
- Ron Howard may direct the live-action adaptation of Kipling’s Jungle Book for Warner Bros. (Hollywood Reporter)
Awesome lists:
- Book Riot’s List List #94 – a list of “the best bookish lists floating around the internet”
- 15 YA Books That Need To Be Made Into Movies. Actually, some have been (but not very good ones) and some are or may soon be in production (like Divergent and, hopefully, The Name of the Wind, which may be adapted for television.) (BuzzFeed)
- Signs You’ve Been Reading Too Much YA (Preeti Chhibber, BookRiot)
- 30 Books by Authors Under 30. Or at least, they were under 30 when the book was written. (Random House Canada)
- 15 Books Famous Authors Give Five Stars on Goodreads. 5 titles each from Neil Gaiman, Patrick Rothfuss, and Hugh Howie. (BookRiot)
Bookish Quotes:
That’s it for this week!
I’m always on the lookout for interesting articles, lists, and links for News & Notes, so please let me know if you see (or write!) anything that might be good for this feature. You can leave me a comment or send me an email — my address is on the About/Review Policy/Contact page.
Bea
Heh, I just got rid of a dozen books and a few months ago I donated several dozen, Then again, I still have 10 bookcases stuffed full and scattered piles so more purging may be needed. 😀
I hadn’t heard about the Nooks but I’m not surprised. The quality and the customer support are lacking. I love my kindles but I do wish there was a viable, quality option; the ereader device market seems to be rapidly shrinking.
I love the stationary bike idea; I hope it catches on.
Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard
I need to do some purging, too. I’ve got about as many bookcases as you, and scattered piles and a box from the last booksale. Definitely need to get rid of any I don’t plan to read (or read again.)
It’s only the older model Nooks that are being discontinued; they’re still selling the newer ones and the Nook tablet. But I’m concerned about B&N’s long-term viability, which is why I switched to Kindle. I may have to pick up an inexpensive Kobo so I can keep reading my ePub books, though.
kimbacaffeinate
Informative post as always Lark, thanks you!
Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard
Thanks, Kimba! Glad you enjoyed it.
Jan @ Notes from a Readerholic
I love that quote! The photo from Outlander is beautiful. I hope it will be good. I like the library adding stationary bikes. I do some of my reading as I ride my stationary bike. Good links this week!
Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard
I haven’t read Outlander yet, but the trailer looks good. I haven’t tried reading on the stationary bikes or treadmills at the gym yet, but I do listen to audiobooks while I work out. (Listen to me… it’s been almost 3 months since I got to the gym. Must. Get. Back!)
Pamela D
I am really looking forward to Outlander. 🙂