Tidbit Tuesday Book News
Check out these stories:
Amazon reshelves Macmillan titles but not e-books
Reuters – Mon Feb 8, 1:30 am ET AP
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Online retailer Amazon.com Inc resumed selling hardcover and paperback books from Macmillan Publishers late on Friday in a sign the two companies are getting closer to resolving a pricing dispute over Macmillan’s electronic books, which remain unavailable on Amazon.
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Nook E-Reader Heads to Barnes & Noble Stores
NewsFactor – Mon Feb 8, 4:55 pm ET
Barnes & Noble said Monday that its popular nook e-book reader is back in stock online and will be rolling out in the majority of the bookseller’s U.S. stores this week. Customers also will be able to enjoy exclusive Valentine’s Day-themed online content this month, the company said.
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Mari says: I do like the look of the Nook. And I do shop B&N for books, more than Amazon. It is a “hmmm” purchase. The B&N Nook and the Amazon Kindle are currently $259. If B&N was REALLY smart, they’d run some sort of Valentine’s deal on the Nook, pricing it slightly under the Kindle.
NEW YORK (AFP) – US book publishers are smiling again, after years of watching digital versions of their titles sell for below what they thought they were worth. FP————————————————————————
Mari says: Amazon controlled the pricing for ebook versions of hardback books at 9.99 per title. Publishers wanted more, after all hardback titles are sold at a much higher rate. When Macmillan said they want their hardback titles to be sold at 12.99 to 14.99 with Amazon getting 30% cut, the war began. But Amazon’s Kindle isn’t the only ereader out there. With the Nook and iPad there is more competition, thus more competition in pricing. Basically, readers get the short end of the stick. They have to pay more for hardback books. Will readers pay 14.99 for a title previously priced at 9.99? Will readers pass over the 14.99 title for a cheaper one? We’ll see.
DOJ Cites Antitrust Issues with Google Book Settlement
NewsFactor – Fri Feb 5, 3:22 pm ET
Mari says: I found my one NY title in Google Books. The entire book is there online. Why should I bother writing anymore? When my hard work is posted online for free, I get nothing in return. Nothing. It is the same as stealing music instead of going to iTunes and getting a legal copy. As if piracy of ebooks isn’t bad enough, they post print-only books too.
