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:
- Amazon is purchasing Comixology, the dominant digital comics outlet/platform. (Publishers Weekly; Comixology official news release)
- Jeff Bezos’ 2014 letter to Amazon shareholders, as parsed by Publishers Weekly
- Rightscorp is taking on ebook piracy. (GoodEReader)
- The first American Booksellers Association ABC Children’s Institute conference to be held on its own debuted in San Antonio, TX, on Apr. 6 & 7, and was a resounding success. (Publishers Weekly)
- The Authors Guild filed an appeal in the Google Books case. (The Digital Reader)
- The Audie Award finalists have been announced. The winners will be revealed at a gala on May 29. (Publishers Weekly)
- Louisiana may name the Bible its official state book, according to a report in the Times-Picayune. As far as I can tell, few other states have ever named a state book, let alone one as potentially divisive as the Bible. Massachusetts did declare Make Way for Ducklings its official state children’s book back in 2003. (I never realized how many wacky things states have officially declared. Did you know Texas has a State Molecule? It’s the Buckyball – the Buckminsterfullerene molecule.)
Worth Reading:
- “How to Make Somebody Hate Reading” (Keith Cronin, on Writer UnBoxed.) Hint: The author disagrees with how we teach literature in high school. Worth reading not only for the article, which will make you think, but also for the comments, which are both pro and con — and surprisingly polite.
- “Fight for Libraries, Prevent Book Deserts” (Josh Corman, BookRiot)
- “Serious reading takes a hit from online scanning and skimming, researchers say”. Our online habits are apparently eroding our ability to read and comprehend complex material and long, convoluted sentences — like those common in much classic literature. (Michael S. Rosenwald, The Washington Post)
- “How do two editors in different countries edit the same novel?” An interview with Emma Donoghue, author of Frog Music, and the US and Canadian editors who worked with her on her first book, Door. (Slate Book Review)
- “Will a ‘Netflix for Books’ Upend the Publishing Business – Or Save It?” (Susan McGee, The Fiscal Times)
- “Nook vs. Amazon: Who knew Nook pricing was so much higher?” (Juli Monroe, TeleRead)
For Writers & Bloggers:
- World Book Night announced an essay contest. This year’s volunteer givers can submit an essay about their WBN experience. The top 10 essays will be included in a WBN ebook next year, and the grand prize winner wins 2 round-trip airline tickets.
Literary Losses:
- Sue Townsend, author of the Adrian Mole books, died Thursday at her home in Great Britain. She was 68. (obituary, BBC.com)
Book & Movie Announcements:
- Paddington Bear is coming back! Michael Bond revives the popular children’s book character with a collection of letters from Paddington to his Aunt Lucy. (GalleyCat) Everyone’s other favorite bear will also star in a film to release next December, along with Harry Potter stars Julie Walter and Jim Broadbent; Nicole Kidman as an evil taxidermist, and possibly Peter Capaldi, (the new Dr Who. Strangely, he’s on the teaser trailer credits, but not the IMDB or movie website cast list). Colin Firth will voice Paddington.
- Simon & Schuster will publish 12 TED books (Publishers Weekly)
Awesome lists:
- 23 Books for Your Perfect Young Adult Summer Reading List (Mashable) Not necessarily the newest, but many of these have garnered a lot of attention in the last few years.
- Quiz: How Many Newbery Medal-Winning Children’s Books Have You Read? (Buzzfeed) I was surprised and appalled to realize I’d only read 18! I guess I need to put a bunch more of these on my overflowing TBR list. I might discover some new favorites.
- Dame Maggie Smith’s Finest Bookish Roles (BookRiot)
- 8 Young Adult Books that Should Be Movies (And Who Should Star in Them) (Time). I could totally go for a Betsy-Tacy movie or two… although the series is not YA for several books.
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
“Nook vs. Amazon: Who knew Nook pricing was so much higher?” I did; B&N has been more expensive for years. That and their hideous customer service are why I switched to Amazon.
Love that quote at the end, so true! 😀
Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard
I knew, too, because I’ve been cross-checking prices for years. (I used to write sometimes about ebook pricing, particularly before the major publishers settled the big class-action agency pricing lawsuit.) But I think a lot of people who only buy from one outlet don’t know how much prices can vary. The pricing is one reason I switched to Kindle when my Sony Reader started to die; the other is that there are a lot more books available on Kindle.
Jan @ Notes from a Readerholic
Some great links, Lark. And I love the quote! I tell myself that every day…
Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard
It’s certainly true at my house! There are no empty bookshelves, and it’s definitely not a tidy house. Oh, well, as another quote says, “I’d rather be reading.”