Bookseller Revolt: Independents Vacate Abebooks in Solidarity November 6, 2018 – Posted in: Books and Technology, Bookselling / Collecting, bookshops, Content

Banned Booksellers Week has begun with a bang. David Streitfeld’s piece in the New York Times has kicked off what some hope will be a defining moment in the history of online bookselling. For the week of November 5 to 11, 2018, booksellers around the world will remove their inventory from Abebooks, an Amazon company, in a show of support for their brethren in South Korea, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Russia who were told they…

A Tale of Two Cities: Amazon opens a bookstore while Indiebound adds a ‘Buy Now’ button November 4, 2015 – Posted in: books, Books and Technology, Bookselling / Collecting, bookshops, Content

Photo: Sam Machkovech Here comes the next tremor in the book universe. Amazon.com, the world’s largest online bookseller, has opened it’s first physical bookshop! Amazon Books has opened in Seattle’s University District just a few miles from Amazon headquarters. It’s 5,000 square feet with a majority of the space dedicated to the almighty book. By combining new display tactics (all books are face out!), a largely crowdsourced inventory, and a seamless ebook purchase option Amazon Books…

More Independent Resistance: This time from the Antiquarians September 18, 2014 – Posted in: Bookselling / Collecting, Content

In mid-April 2014 the Austrian antiquarian bookseller Norbert Donhofer was elected president of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB), an umbrella organization compromised of twenty- two national associations, including our own ABAA, representing thirty-four countries and around 1,800 individual affiliates. In his first interview as President he noted that the most important project he was working on at the moment was “a strategic part-time cooperation with AbeBooks.” He went on: The aim is that…

Introducing the Kindle Flare August 1, 2014 – Posted in: Books and Technology, Content

[youtube]http://youtu.be/fDBzQkWeQ5g[/youtube] The Onion has the scoop on Amazon’s latest release, the “Kindle Flare,” a new tablet that will “loudly and repeatedly” announces the title of the book you’re reading. A spokesperson for Amazon says “the Kindle Flare’s repetitive shouting will appeal to fans of print, who miss the ability to display a book’s cover to strangers.” It also offers the revolutionary new technology “auto-explain” for the user who has a little shame about their reading choice. “Auto-explain” offers a rationalization for…