Today, Seth Godin announced that his newest Vook, Linchpin, is available as an iPad app, and on sale in the iTunes store. He also noted the challenges of promoting a book in the store when there are so many apps: There are more than 24,000 apps listed in the iPad store, and yet the front window (equivalent to the window of a bookstore) shows the user six choices. The spotlight coverflow up top shows another sixteen, fairly randomly. Meaning there’s Read more…
What’s it like to lose your family, die an unjust and tragic death and then come back to life with only 24 hours to exact revenge? Personally, we don’t know. But twelve-time New York Times bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon has created an entire world based on that premise–a world populated by the Dark Hunters–creatures risen from the dead tasked with protecting humanity. This world is available to the public in the form of the Dark Hunter series, but in the Read more…
When a panel on the future publishing includes a robust discussion of HTML5 and a debate on the tenacity of InDesign, you get the hint that things are changing. When one of the panelists says that “it’s not the publisher’s job to determine what should be published and what shouldn’t,” the writing is on the wall: there are new power players in this industry, and maybe even a whole new set of rules. The panel in question took place at Read more…
This weekend, the New York Times suggested that “E-Books Make Readers Less Isolated.” The article asserts that someone carrying a new e-reading device or tablet is inviting conversation and interaction. “Strangers constantly ask about it,” Michael Hughes, a communications associate at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, said of his iPad, which he uses to read a mix of novels and nonfiction. “It’s almost like having a new baby.” An iPad owner for four months, Mr. Hughes Read more…
Pete Cerqua’s 90 Second Fitness Solution is one of our most popular Vooks. In it, Pete teaches you easy, 90-second exercises that you can do at home to build strength and lose weight. I always enjoyed the workout in our Vook, but when Pete found out that I was visiting New York this week, he invited me to experience a personal training session first hand. This was an opportunity I didn’t want to miss. I arrived at Pete’s studio with Read more…
In Super Sad True Love Story, Gary Shteyngart envisions a not-so-distant dystopic future in which books are artifacts, “Assertiveness” is a college major and immortality is for sale. The book’s protagonist, Lenny, still reads, writes in a journal and thus is essentially a dinosaur. But when the financial crisis hits New York, it’s up to old-fashioned Lenny to save the world with language–and love for a young woman named Eunice. The book has been compared to George Orwell’s 1984 for Read more…
If you listened to the Elitzr podcast interview with our CEO Brad Inman, you know that we’re committed to inspiring creativity through interactivity. By breaking the mold with our format, we make it possible for authors, filmmakers and readers to let their imaginations run wild. Today eBookNewser posted an announcement about another company using technology to amp up creativity. Unknown Tales takes the typical Choose Your Own Adventure model and turns it into a collaborative, digital fiction-writing experience. Choose from Read more…
Recently, the New York Times published an article on the growing popularity of enhanced eBooks. Today, Michael Wolf posted a podcast interview with our CEO Brad Inman on what it’s like to be a pioneer in that territory. Wolf writes for the site Eliztr.com, which provides “analysis and conversation about the eBook revolution.” With Brad, he discusses the effect of the iPad, authors’ desire to create enhanced books, the role of filmmakers and the future of the book market Listen Read more…