Margaret Atwood’s dystopian classic, The Handmaid’s Tale is the Kindle Deal of the Day for today, Thursday, December 29th. The book is on sale for just $1.49.
Set in the not-to distant future, the book paints a chilling portrait on the role of women in society.
There are more than 900 titles on sale in today’s Cyber Monday Kindle Daily Deal . The sale includes some gems by authors such as Robert McCammon, Iris Murdoch, and Patricia Wentworth. I just picked up McCammon’s Swan Song and Ira Levin’s This Perfect Day for $2.99 each The books offered span a variety of genres and also a good selection of non-fiction books, including a variety of knitting books.
Today is the also the last day for the Kindle DX at the sale price of $259.
I wanted to sit down and write my impressions of the Kindle Fire now that I have had a few days to play with it. Instead, I was shocked to find that Penguin has pulled its Kindle books from the OverDrive system.
Last week Penguin sent notice to OverDrive that it is reviewing terms for library lending of their eBooks. In the interim, OverDrive was instructed to suspend availability of new Penguin eBook titles from our library catalog and disable “Get for Kindle” functionality for all Penguin eBooks. We apologize for this abrupt change in terms from this supplier. We are actively working with Penguin on this issue and are hopeful Penguin will agree to restore access to their new titles and Kindle availability as soon as possible.
The Digital Shift is reporting that Penguin is saying the new policy is not specific to Kindles, but governs all versions of their ebook titles across the board.
Libraries and patrons are telling a different story, however. In an Amazon forum on the subject, some patrons are pointing out that only Kindle versions are disappearing. Some libraries have had as many books vanish from their digital shelves. It is important to note that those are books purchased with library funds (generally taxpayer funded).
I don’t think that it is coincidental that this is happening when Amazon is trying to start a Kindle Owner’s Lending Library. There has been a lot of tension about ebook lending since Big Six publisher Harper Collins limited libraries to only 26 check-outs of their titles. Many people (myself included) are still boycotting Harper Collins until that limitation is resolved.
Penguin has already been facing criticsm over its Book Country “service,” which many authors believe does nothing but take more money from authors.
But to single out the popular Kindle smacks not only of fear and greed, but a form of censorship as well. And that’s not something that sets well with me. Sure, I could read books on one of my other devices: I’ve got an iPod, a Nook. I could read any format on one of the apps on my android tablets. But I will not be told which device I have to read their ebooks on. I already boycott MacMillian and Harper Collins because of their practices. I already boycott books priced over $9.99. I will be happy to add Penguin to the list as well.
Just found this post on the Kindle forums that lists free writing books for the Kindle. The books are free today, November 6, but generally, these books only stay free for a short time.
There’s lots of news today on the Kindle and Nook fronts….
There is a lot of buzz today about the Kindle Lending Program. None of the “Big Six” publishers are yet on board with what is rumored to be the start of Amazon’s “Netflix for books” lending program for books. This article from Paid Content fills in some of the details.
There is already a list of categories for the books in the lending library, and I predict that you will see lists of the books available soon.
There’s also a thought-provoking article in Publisher’s Weekly that talks about Amazon’s program and how libraries may fit into the future of lending.
On the Nook front:
According to Engadget, The Nook Simple Touch price is being reduced to $99, effective November 16, 2011. And, B & N is pushing the fact that there are no ads!
B & N is also reducing the price of the original Nook Color to $199. In addition, they are adding apps for Hulu plus and more streaming music options for the device.
Engadget is also reporting that B & N’s new Nook Tablet (the successor to the Nook Color) will retail for $249. The tablet, which launches November 7, is touted as having everything the current Nook color has plus “the best in HD entertainment.” In-store demos start on November 15.
Amazon explains the Kindle Lending Library program in more detail on their help page for the lending program.
A few main points:
Ever since the Agency Pricing model took effect, most readers of eBooks have seen the prices of eBooks skyrocket. (Case in point: the enhanced Kindle version of Stephen King’s 11/22/63 is currently listed for pre-order at $18.99. The hardcover sells for only $19.98.) That leaves many Kindleowners looking for bargains.
Besides the top 100 paid Kindle books, Amazon lists the top 100 free books available in the Kindle Store. However, many people don’t realize that Amazon also lists a Kindle Daily Deal, where a Kindle book is available for a day at deeply discounted prices. The deal varies and can be fiction or non-fiction with selections generally priced between 99 cents and $2.99.
Generally, these books are quite a bargain. I have found $13-15 ebooks listed for less than $5.00. Today I picked up The Phoenix Apostles mystery for only $1.99.
As its name implies, the book selection changes daily.
When the dreaded Agency model for ebook pricing first appeared, many Kindle owners expressed hopes that someone would investigate Apple and the five major publishers involved for anti-trust issues. While this didn’t happen on the federal or state level, there is now a class action lawsuit pending.
The Seattle law firm of Hagens Berman has filed suit against Apple, HarperCollins Publishers, Hachette Book Group, Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Group Inc. and Simon & Schuster Inc. for “illegally fix[ing] the prices of electronic books.”
The complaint alleges that:
While free market forces would dictate that e-books would be cheaper than their hard-copy counterparts, considering lower production and distribution costs, the complaint shows that as a result of the agency model and alleged collusion, many e-books are more expensive than their hard-copy counterparts.
According to the complaint, the prices of e-books have risen as much as 50 percent since the switch to an agency model.
Most Kindle owners would probably agree with that assessment.
You can click here to read the full statement on the class action lawsuit. There’s also a form on the site for potential plaintiffs to contact the attorneys.
Effective June 2nd, PDFs of reports that are currently for sale on the National Academies Press (NAP) Website and PDFs associated with future reports* will be offered free of charge to all Web visitors.
According to the site:
NAP produces more than 200 books a year on a wide range of topics in science, engineering, and health, capturing the best-informed views on important issues.
We invite you to visit the NAP homepage and experience the new opportunities available to access our publications. There you can sign up for MyNAP, a new way for us to deliver all of our content for free to loyal subscribers like you and to reward you with exclusive offers and discounts on our printed books. This enhancement to our free downloads means that we can reach out even further to inform government decision making and public policy, increase public education and understanding, and promote the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge.
*There are a small number of reports that never had PDF files and, therefore, those reports are not available for download. In addition, part of the series, “Nutrient Requirements of Domestic Animals” are not be available in PDF and future titles in this series will also not have PDFs associated with them.
There has been a real lack of academic books available for eReaders (free or paid), so this is great news for readers searching for academic materials in an ebook format.
Popular mid-list author Brian Keene has asked on his blog for a boycott of Dorchester Press (Leisure) for non-payment of royalties and publishing ebooks whose rights have reverted back to the authors. He is asking fans to:
*If you follow them on Twitter, please unfollow them.
*If you like them on Facebook, please unlike them.
*If you receive their marketing emails, please remove yourself from their list.
*If you belong to one of their book clubs, please consider canceling your membership.
*If you are considering publishing with them, please reconsider.
*Most importantly, please don’t buy their books, regardless of whether it’s on their website, in the $1.99 dump bin at Wal-Mart, or available on the Kindle.
When asked why he doesn’t hire a lawyer, he answers succinctly:
… someone asked me why we (the authors) didn’t just seek legal means. Well, I can’t speak for any of the other authors involved, but I’ll tell you why I haven’t — because I’m broke. I’m broke because Dorchester didn’t pay me what was owed, and then I gambled to get my rights back, and then they continued to fuck me. And yes, I’ve got a nice new deal with Deadite and Ghoul starts filming next month, but I won’t see checks from either of those until a few months from now, and until then, I can barely pay the rent and eat anything more than Ramen noodles, let alone hire an attorney.
Keene gives a list of authors supporting the boycott and links to a post by Robert Swartwood also asking for a boycott.
This situation is disturbing for several reasons. First, generally speaking, fans want to see authors to get paid. That’s part of the reason that indie authors do well in the ebook market. As of today, Keene has 224 comments on his blog post and I read message after message of support.
Secondly, this highlights a concern about ebooks and digital property. There have been issues before about people publishing content they don’t have rights for. Amazon will certainly assume that a publisher (especially a well-known one) has the right to distribute an ebook for an author.
Keene’s books happen to be on my TBR list; I don’t own them yet. And as a potential fan who wants to buy the books in an ebook format, it is extremely frustrating. I want to support the author but want to make sure that I don’t put money into the hands of a greedy publisher who would treat authors in this way.
Today Keene updated his blog with information from some other authors owed money by Dorchester.
This post composed while listening to the Ramones’ Greatest Hits.
The eBook Evangelist 