AbeBooks.com is one of the world's leading marketplaces for new, used, rare, and out of print books with over 13,000 vendors offering over 110 million books. I recently had a chance to interview their CEO, Dr. Hannes Blum. An edited version of the interview will appear in the July issue of Amphora.*********************************************************************************************************Book Patrol - Firstly, I want to thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule, it is appreciated.AbeBooks recently announced its acquisition of Chrislands, a website provider for online booksellers. This comes on the heels of AbeBooks previous acquisitions of Fillz and BookFinder.The earlier acquisitions of...
The Bright Spot at Barnes & Noble : The Rise of BN.com
In 2003 Barnes and Noble took over the reigns of BN.com and in October of last year relaunched a much improved website. In the last year traffic has almost doubled and sales have risen over 7% (compared to only a 1.1% increase in stores). It is safe to say something is working.What I am most impressed with is the Barnes & Noble Studio. It is a rich, multi-faceted approach to the world of books and for those who follow Book Patrol you know that one of my main frustrations in the book world is how segmented it is. Barnes &...
82% Still Curl : Zogby Polls Readers
Random House hired Zogby International to get out there and find out what is going on in the world of reading and book-buying. They polled a little over 8,000 people and here are some of the highlights and lowlights:82% say they still prefer to "curl up with a printed book" rather than reading online or using an e-reader or smartphone.Only 3% of those surveyed currently own an e-book reader, and only 4% have plans to purchase one.A whopping 80% reported that they have no plans to purchase an e-book reader!Independent bookselling did not fare so well in the survey either:The...
Kindle: Smoldering in the Uncanny Valley?
A loupe is something every bookseller should have in their toolbox. I most frequently use mine to help identify prints in books (etching? engraving? woodcut? mezzotint? aquatint?). They are also useful for making out faded, erased, or otherwise-difficult-to-read writing, differentiating between printed and authentically signed autographs, and the like.Yesterday, I decided to turn my loupe on the Kindleto see what the type looked like under closer examination. I was rather shocked at what I saw. The letters, even under high magnification, look remarkably like type on a physical page. I expected to see at least some evidence of pixelation, and...
The Enduring and Evolving Codex
Is the end of the book near? Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer boldy claims in his talk with the Washington Post that "In the next 10 years, the whole world of media, communications and advertising are going to be turned upside down" and there will be "no media consumption left in 10 years that is not delivered over an IP network." Though talking particularly about newspapers and magazines there are many who would include the future of the book in his assessment. While I agree that newspapers in there current state are doomed, magazines less so, the book will continue its...