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Barnes and Noble's Galaxy Tab E Nook is yet another tablet for readers
If you're a fan of Barnes & Noble's Nook line of e-readers and tablets, there's a new option to tempt you this fall. The Galaxy Tab E Nook is a 9.6-inch slate that offers all of the perks of the bookseller's digital library in a Samsung package. While the front features a familiar-looking Galaxy design, the back is covered in "a non-slip fabric-like material" to ensure you're able to keep a good grip during long reads. Inside, there's 16GB of built-in storage that's expandable to 128GB via mircoSD to store your books and other items. Unfortunately, storage is about the only info on the gadget's internals the announcement reveals. Like previous Nook by Samsung releases, this one is more than just an e-reader, allowing you to watch movies, stream TV shows and browse the web with Android apps.
E-book sales dip, but is print really making a comeback?
We've all heard "print is dead" a few (hundred) times before, but it looks like print is still kickin'. In fact, it could be making a bit of a comeback. The Association of American Publishers, using collected data from around 1,200 publishers, found that e-book sales dropped 10 percent during the first five months of 2015. The reason? Signs point to a lot of folks being "hybrid readers" these days, opting for a mix of print and digital over one or the other. E-reader sales have also been on the downswing for quite a while. For example, Forrester Research says 12 million of the dedicated reading devices were sold last year -- that's down from 20 million in 2011. Of course, Amazon just announced a $50 tablet that'll offer easy access to its library, but it also packs in some core slate features. It also looks like those Netflix-like e-book subscription services, like Oyster, didn't catch on like companies had hoped.
This interactive map crams in American literature's greatest road trips
People love road trips. Some like 'em more than others. And some like them perhaps a little bit too much. This interactive map from Richard Kreitner and Steven Melendez crams the locations mentioned in twelve road-tripping books including Mark Twain's Roughing It and Jack Kerouac's On the Road. That total's 1,500 entries, paired with the most appropriate coordinates the author could assign. You might take issue with some of the book choices, but we'll only accept complaints after you've tackled the entirety of this cartographic labor of love. You'll find the bibliography after the break.
Amazon 'Instant Previews' let friends peek at what you're reading
It's been a busy day for Amazon, with announcements about its voice tech efforts and, wait for it, a Treasure Truck that offers on-the-go deals to people. But there's more where that came from. If you use Kindle for Android, you'll now notice the addition of some handy sharing features to the application. In this new version, released today, you can start sharing book quotes with friends across social and messaging platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Hangouts and over text or email. Most importantly, thanks to what Amazon's calling Instant Previews, people who don't have the app installed are able to read a free preview of the book you're reading -- directly from a smartphone, tablet or desktop computer. Amazon says that feature works seamlessly, since it doesn't require anyone to sign up, sign in or to have the Kindle application on their device.
UK ISPs ordered to block e-book piracy sites
In a major victory for book publishers, the UK's High Court has ordered internet service providers (ISPs) to block several sites offering pirated e-books. The decision means that BT, Sky, Virgin Media, TalkTalk and EE now have 10 days to comply and ensure their customers can't access the following link depositories: AvaxHome, Ebookee, Freebookspot, Freshwap, Libgen, Bookfi and Bookre. The Publishers Association (PA), which sought the blocks under the UK's Copyright Design and Patents Act 1988, claims the sites collectively hold around 10 million e-books, and that at least 80 percent of them are infringing copyright. It's been described as the "first action of its kind brought by UK book publishers," following similar ISP blocks levied against sites hosting music, movies and TV shows.
Apple finally realized that audiobooks aren't music
Have you scratched your head wondering why Apple would put audiobooks in iOS' music player, rather than... y'know, a book app? So has Apple. Besides a redesigned music app, the early iOS 8.4 beta also moves audiobooks into iBooks, where they arguably should have been all along. You'll also get must-have playback features like chapter selection and a sleep timer. It's not certain when 8.4 will be ready for the public (WWDC, perhaps?), but it's already obvious that this is much more than a simple bug fix.
Oyster hopes you'll buy the books its subscription doesn't cover
Oyster's all-you-can-read subscription service includes a lot of books, but it doesn't cover everything that piques your curiosity. In many cases, you still have to buy those titles that slip through the cracks. The company may have a way to cover all the bases, though. It just launched a store that offers books from all five major publishers (Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster) plus "thousands" more, so you shouldn't have to head elsewhere to get that hot new novel. It's also useful to safeguard the titles you want to keep. You can buy a permanent copy of that Harry Potter collection if you're tired of subscribing, for example. It's too soon to say how well this two-pronged strategy will work for Oyster, but we wouldn't mind seeing it elsewhere -- wouldn't it be nice to buy movies from Netflix when they're not available in your plan?
'Harry Potter' comes to Oyster's all-you-can-read book service
If you're the sort of Harry Potter fan who can't help but read the series again and again, Oyster has a treat in store. The all-you-can-read subscription service has teamed up with Pottermore to carry all of the Harry Potter books, including the Hogwarts Library collection. There's even a little treat the first time you start reading -- rather than pick from one of the humdrum standard themes, you choose your favorite Hogwarts house (Slytherin, obviously). You probably don't want to sign up for Oyster's $10 a month service just for the sake of reliving Harry's school years, but it's potentially cheaper than purchasing the series on top of a slew of other books.
Tesco has given up on Blinkbox
Since October 2014, Tesco has done all it can to rid itself of its loss-making digital download service Blinkbox. TalkTalk came to its rescue, picking up Blinkbox Movies and its broadband services earlier this month, but the fate of its Music and Books businesses remained unclear -- until today. In an announcement this morning, the supermarket giant confirmed it has offloaded Blinkbox Music to Guvera, a music streaming company that has offered users access to its free ad-supported service since 2008.
Bing now recommends best-sellers for you to read
If you need recommendations for your one-person book club, because you'd rather not join an actual one (even if it was founded by a social media mogul), hit up Bing. Microsoft's search engine now displays a carousel of book titles and cover pages (which looks just like Google's ticker, as you can see above) when you trigger specific key phrases. To be precise, it takes data from The New York Times weekly and monthly best-seller lists and displays them in a more visually appealing way within the search results page. Clicking on a title displays its synopsis, ratings and links where you can buy a copy, of course, otherwise it's just a pretty ticker filled with cover art. You can try it out yourself by searching "best-selling fiction," "nonfiction best-sellers," "best-selling kids' books" or "current times best business books," though the feature might (unfortunately) not work if you're outside the US.
World of Warcraft Annual now available in the UK
Blizzard EU has announced the World of Warcraft Annual, published by Pedigree Books Limited, is now available via Pedigree's website or Amazon UK. For a limited time, the book is available 50% off -- £3.99 via Pedigree. The World of Warcraft Annual is an activity book full of quizzes, crosswords, puzzles, and more. This product is a UK exclusive -- unless you can find someone to ship it overseas, you aren't getting it at all. As an American, I found the product itself puzzling. A hardcover activity book? That's a bit fancy for something you're going to chop up and scribble in, isn't it? Apparently annuals like these are a popular Christmas gift in the UK. Where Americans make activity books in paperback with the expectation that they ought to be disposable after children tear them to pieces, they're made to last overseas where they often become an heirloom of sorts, kept for a lifetime alongside baby's first crayon doodles. Let's be real, though: the vast majority of these will end up on grown adults' bookshelves, right?
The Daily Grind: Do you read gaming-related novels?
No, not the novels posted in our comments. Actual novels. Literary and pulp fiction! Gamasutra recently ran an article chronicling an author's attempt to publish and market a book aimed squarely at gamers. The writer ran into difficulties, however, because of the publishing industry's insistence that "gamers don't read books." He got his book published, but when marketing fell to him, he couldn't convince gaming outlets to cover it, and even though reviews were positive, sales were poor. Major MMOs like The Elder Scrolls Online, World of Warcraft, Guild Wars 2, and Star Wars: The Old Republic all released lore-oriented novels, but my suspicion is that such books are made to sell games, not to sell books. What do you think -- do you actually buy and read gaming-related novels? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Photos from Silicon Valley's early years show Jobs in his natural habitat
If you want an unfiltered glimpse into the early days of Silicon Valley, look no further than the recently released Doug Menuez book Fearless Genius. A photojournalist in the thick of the early tech revolution, Menuez spent much of his time from 1985 to 2000 documenting the companies and faces that would eventually become household names. It was an age where CRT monitors were still high tech and Steve Jobs was a NeXT employee, and his work is quite impressive. You can pick up his book right now on Amazon, but you'd rather take a free glimpse at some of his fantastic photos you can do so in a cool little gallery Wired has put together. It's worth checking out solely for the chance to see Jobs "pretending to be a human" and Steve Ballmer looking like he's about to knock out a Microsoft programmer. Ah, the good old days. Photo via Fearless Genius / Doug Menuez
Delve deeper into Elder Scrolls with two new book series
Why have Elder Scrolls Online only on your gaming machines when you can also have it on your bookshelves? Bethesda has partnered again with Titan Books to create two new series that delve deeper into the world of Elder Scrolls, one focusing on ESO and the other on Skyrim. A March 2015 release date is planned for the first volume of each series. The Elder Scrolls Online – Tales of Tamriel will be split into two volumes, the first titled The Land and the second, The Lore. Both will expound even further on the lore of the game and feature never-before-seen art. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – The Skyrim Library consists of three volumes (The Histories; Man, Mer and Beast; and The Arcane) that moves the all of the game's in-game text to out-of-game print that players can grab and read at their leisure.
Boss Fight Books: Season 2 covers Metal Gear Solid, Spelunky, and more
The second season of Boss Fight Books will feature in-depth analyses of Metal Gear Solid, Baldur's Gate 2, and other landmark games, independent publisher Gabe Durham announced this week. Boss Fight Books: Season 2 is a collection of six books that each exhaustively cover a single game, with developer interviews and other supplementary material accompanying author insight. Announced works include Spelunky by designer Derek Yu, Baldur's Gate 2 by author Matt Bell, Bible Adventures by Gabe Durham, World of Warcraft by Daniel Lisi, and Metal Gear Solid by Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin'? creators Ashly and Anthony Burch. The subject of a sixth book will be picked from nominations suggested by Kickstarter backers. Originally pitched as "the 33 1/3 of video games," Boss Fight Books launched last year with a series of six volumes covering Galaga, Jagged Alliance 2, and other titles at length. Actor Ken Baumann penned the first entry in the series, offering a personal look at Nintendo's widely praised SNES RPG Earthbound. Boss Fight Books: Season 2 has already surpassed its Kickstarter funding goal. Books will begin shipping out to backers in May, 2015. [Image: Boss FIght Books]
The Boy and the Bears Read Out Aloud: More sight than sound
An interactive story for children ages 6-8 about a boy who visits a treehouse home to four bears fills the screen in The Boy and the Bears Read Out Aloud. The storybook features microphone support which lets children practice reading the story and they can tap on the words to hear the narrator pronounce them. The Boy and the Bears Read Out Aloud is an iPad only game for devices running iOS 7.1 or later. Each of the four bears the boy meets in the story has its own personality trait, like a messy artist or a bear that doesn't like sharing. There are objects children can interact with such as a painting on the wall or even the moon. This adds some interest to the story, but overall the story feels rather short and not every object is able to be interacted with. The narrator for the story is engaging and when children have trouble pronouncing the words in the story, tapping on the words provides a narration of that word. A downside to the The Boy and the Bears Read Out Aloud is that using the microphone for reading along does not work very well. Speaking into the microphone does not always register as correct and sometimes saying different words than those listed will let players continue on in the story. There are three different sets of numbers displayed in the bottom left corner but there is no indication as to what those numbers are for. This stands out as weird for people viewing the storybook and with no way to get rid of those numbers, it is distracting for children trying to read along with the story. The art style in The Boy and the Bears Read Out Aloud is very storybook like and there are nice details on each page of the book. These details, like a bird on a branch or a jar filled with fireflies, adds some depth to the environment and makes the story much more visually appealing. The Boy and the Bears Read Out Aloud is free on the App Store and recommended as an interactive storybook for children ages 6-8. They can listen to more than a story by reading along with the microphone.
Publishing houses are throwing book deals at YouTube 'stars'
Let's say you can't get enough of it'sGrace (above) on YouTube but you're taking a week-long no-tech camping trip soon and aren't excited about missing her wit and charm. Well, host Grace Helbig's book Grace's Guide: The Art of Pretending to Be a Grown-up is out next week, so that won't be a problem for much longer. She isn't alone, either, as other YouTubers are getting publishing deals as well, according to The Wall Street Journal. Alfie Deyes of Pointless Blog fame and style/make-up vlogger Michelle Phan have tomes out and en route, respectively, too. All have subscribers by the millions (Phan has over 7 million), and publishing houses are apparently hopeful that their online success translates to reaching teens, getting them to post about the books on Twitter, Instagram and probably Tumblr too.
Steamy Romance Novels: Now with illustrations
One of my favorite parts of any new expansion has just gotten an upgrade, of sorts. It's no secret that I love the Steamy Romance Novels that have been a staple in the game since Burning Crusade. Mists of Pandaria added not one, but two new selections -- although one of them, I'm In Love With A Robot, is too smudged to actually read. Needless to say, part of me has been wondering if the savage lands of Draenor will, in fact, contain one of these literary masterpieces for us to collect. I was both surprised and delighted to see that not only do we get a new book, but all the books in the collection have received visual upgrades. That's right -- every readable Steamy Romance Novel now has illustrations along with the tantalizingly silly bits of story. That's some pretty loving attention to detail for what are essentially a bunch of vendor-trash books that most people won't favor with more than a glance. But more importantly, a new novel has been added to the collection: A Steamy Romance Novel: Savage Passions. And even more importantly than that, a new method has been added of obtaining all of the Steamy Romance Novels ... just in case you were missing one from your collection.
Barnes & Noble looks to Google to rival Amazon's same-day book deliveries
Need that yoga for dogs book yesterday? You can now get it "today" at least from Barnes & Noble, who have joined Amazon with same-day book deliveries. It's enlisting an odd partner for the service: Google, one if its competitors in the e-book space. With Shopping Express, Google has been delivering goods for a while, and the NYT says it wants to take on Amazon's same-day book deliveries by working with Barnes & Noble. The service will be free for Shopping Express subscribers (Amazon Prime members pay $5.99 per same-day delivery), and will cost $4.99 for non-members, compared to $9.98 on Amazon. Instead of ordering through Barnes & Noble's website, you'll need to go directly through a participating outlet, which will pass the delivery on to Google. You can do so at stores in Manhattan, West Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area, with expansion coming soon to Queens and Brooklyn.
Steve Jobs is a Japanese manga star
The life of Apple guru Steve Jobs is already a book and a Hollywood movie, so why not adapt it into a Japanese comic as well? That appears to be just what has happened. It's noted that the book is "based on" the official Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson, though just how close it stays to the source material is anyone's guess. [Photo credit: Daniel Rehn]
