Amazon’s Best 100 Books of 2009

Amazon.com Book Editors Announce Their Favorite 100 Books of 2009, as Well as Top 100 Customer Favorites, the Majority of Which Are Available on Kindle. Top 100 of 2009

Amazon zaps purchased copies of 1984, Animal Farm from Kindles

“People who bought Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm for their Kindle were surprised to discover that it had disappeared from their devices overnight. It turns out the publisher changed its mind about offering an electronic version, and Amazon caved into their demand to sneak into people’s electronic libraries and take back the book at the publisher’s request.”

Interestingly, as the article mentions, not all countries have the same copyright laws, and in Australia “works of authors, who died before 1955, have expired and are now within the ‘public domain’ and freely downloadable on the net…The works of George Orwell are still under copyright in the United States and the European Union, and therefore users in those countries should not download these works.”  But will people be so respectful of copyright when publishers take purchased books off their Kindles, without warning?    Full Story

Google To Take on Amazon, With Plans to Sell E-Books

“[At the] BookExpo convention in New York over the weekend, Google signaled its intent to introduce a program by that would enable publishers to sell digital versions of their newest books direct to consumers through Google.  The move would pit Google against Amazon.com, which is seeking to control the e-book market with the versions it sells for its reading device.

Google’s move is likely to be welcomed by publishers who have expressed concerns about Amazon’s aggressive pricing strategy for e-books.  Amazon offers Kindle editions of most new best sellers for $9.99, far less than the typical $26 at which publishers sell new hardcovers.  In early discussions, Google has said it will allow publishers to set consumer prices.”   Story

(Something to consider: If Google charges more than Amazon for the same ebook (because Amazon takes a loss on each $9.99 sale) this could make the Kindle seem like a bargain to heavy readers.  Only time will reveal how this all works out. )

Fmr Librarian, Top Amazon Reviewer

At 54, Klausner, a former librarian from Georgia, has posted more book reviews on Amazon.com than any other user—12,896, as of this writing, almost twice as many as her nearest competitor. That’s a book a day for 35 years.    Full Story

Seems the lowest review she gives a book is 4 stars out of 5.  No wonder publishers send her 50 free books a week. – Ed.

Amazon Debuts $489 Kindle DX

“Amazon on Wednesday launched a next generation Kindle, an e-reader with a large, textbook and newspaper-friendly screen dubbed the DX.  With a screen that measures 9.7 inches diagonally — two-and-a-half times the size of the current-gen Kindle 2 — the DX is aimed squarely at penetrating for the first time the potentially massive and untapped market of textbooks, as well offering some life support for the struggling business of subscription-based electronic newspapers.”    Story

NYT: Big-screen Kindle this week?

“A breaking report from The New York Times has it that Amazon will introduce a larger version of its Kindle e-reader “as early as this week,” one that’s tailored for “displaying newspapers, magazines and perhaps textbooks.” If you’ll recall, magazine publisher Hearst made its intentions public to produce such a device earlier this year, noting that a larger panel would be more conducive to traditional print media layouts, and thus, additional revenue from ads.”    Engadget (brief)   NYT (full)

Jeff Bezos Works In Kentucky Distribution Center For A Week

“Jeff Bezos is spending this week working in an Amazon distribution center in Lexington, Kentucky.  He apparently wants to see what it’s like to be a rank-and-file Amazon employee.  More CEOs should try that once in a while.

(Note that this is not an hour with the press entourage on a factory floor.  It’s a week, 3000 miles away from home, with no cameras allowed.)

Local Amazon employees say Bezos is working in the warehouse with the company’s hourly employees to see what they do and hear their comments about their work.”

Is This Kindle 2.0?

“We’re not going to call it official yet, but a bunch of very real-looking Kindle 2 press images just hit the tubes, and we’ve got to say we’re pretty convinced..It’s way thinner, the back is apparently made of metal and there are stereo speakers at the bottom. It arrives on February 24. We’ll find out what’s what for sure on Monday”

Full Story

(Shennanigans Alert – in the bottom photo, the Kindle looks no wider than a postcard, while the photo at top suggests you’d have to be a giant to hold it as easily in your palm.  What’s that about?)

Amazon Set to Rekindle Its E-Book Reader

It’s nip-and-tuck time as Amazon’s popular e-book reader is set to get a face lift…Amazon will host a media event in the Morgan Library & Museum in New York City on Feb. 9.  The timing and the venue strongly suggest that Amazon will use the event to announce Kindle 2.0,  a slimmer and better-designed device.    Full Story

Amazon’s Kindle 2 leaked

“From the looks of the new device, Amazon has tried to address some of the criticisms of the Kindle, most of which revolve around its somewhat homely design and a few poorly placed buttons. The shape has been modified to make the new Kindle more attractive, but it appears Amazon is sticking with the same off-white color scheme–for better or worse.”

See the leaked picture and read about it here