Trick or Treat?

Happy Halloween!

Trick or Treat? Your Choice.

Ruth Rendell's 'remarkable legacy' remembered - The Bookseller

A loss to us all.

Panzer visited The Bookseller site today. Our big kitty boy wanted to read the details of Ruth Rendell's memorial service.

According to a post by Katherine Cowdrey, the service was held on October 29. It was attended by 200 family members, friends, actors, and politicians. Ms. Rendell wrote over 50 novels under her own name and her pen name Barbara Vine. Even so, she still managed to have time to be active in politics and social issues.

Panzer says, "Her mystery stories had characters that almost seemed so alive they had a life off the page. That's why they transferred to TV so well."

Note: You'll need two cups of tea and a tissue to read the post.

To read the post, tootle over to Ruth Rendell

How German Publishers Deal with Amazon - Publishers' Weekly

Tolino? Who knew?

Panzer was in the Catosphere today visiting some of his favorite sites. Our inquisitive kitty stopped in at the Publishers' Weekly site. After doing some digging around in there he found an interesting post from a couple of days ago about Amazon.

According to a post by Andrew Albanese, Amazon's Kindle ereader is not the market leader in Germany that it is in the United States. The Tolino ereader is. The Tolino has been around since 2013 and has managed to develop a large footprint in Germany. Combined sales of the several Tolino ereader models have 45 percent of the market there. Most of the post consists of an interview with the Chairman of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association Heinrich Riethmuller.

Panzer says, "Hmmm. Did Amazon make a misstep in Germany?"

Note: A cup of tea should be enough for reading this post.

To read the post, tootle over to German publishers

Amazon delivery workers sue, say they should be full employees - MarketWatch

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere looking for interesting news today. Our big kitty boy made a stop at the MarketWatch site. There he found a post about a new lawsuit against Amazon.

According to a post by Greg Bensinger, Amazon's new one-hour delivery service has come under fire. The service is made up of on-demand contract workers who work when a delivery needs to be made. Those workers have filed a lawsuit against Amazon about their employment status. They want the same benefits regular employees receive. The post includes a link to a longer Wall Street Journal post on the same subject.

I'm confused about this one.

Panzer says, "Hmmm. Not sure what will happen with this one."

Note: This post needs only a cup of tea ... however, if you follow their link to the WSJ post, bring a muffin too.

To read the post, tootle over to Amazon delivery workers

Official Announcement: National Black Cat Day

Today is National Black Cat Day

What took you humans so long to recognize my greatness?   Haven't you read CAT WISDOM for humans yet?

A New Panzerism

Panzer on tranquility:

I believe in the universal chaos theory.

You know ...

Or ... I can do it for you.

that theory where you humans say everything should be in chaos.

So ...

If things aren't chaotic in your life ...

You should try harder to be like everybody else.

Amazon's Jeff Bezos is the third-richest man in the nation - New York Post

Can you believe it? Just a few books.

Panzer made a quick trip into the Catosphere today. Our big bad kitty stopped in at the New York Post site to find news for you today.

According to a post by James Covert, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is now the third-richest man in the United States. Mr. Bezos is now worth $55 billion. His 20 percent ownership in Amazon stock increased in value after Amazon reported their third quarter profit of $79 million on Thursday.

Note: For your reading today, a cup of tea will do.

Panzer says, "And it all started with dead tree books."

To read the post, tootle over to Jeff Bezos

HMH Debuts Kids' Digital Subscription Service - Publishers' Weekly

Halloween is coming!

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere today when he heard giggling and laughing coming from the Publishers' Weekly site. Hurrying over there, our big bad kitty boy discovered a post about publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's newest endeavor.

According to Calvin Reid's post, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is starting a new children's subscription service with ebooks, videos and games. HMH's service will be available for younger children in the 3 years old to 7 years old age bracket. At $9.99 per month the service will be expensive when compared to the other children's subscription services which range in the $3.99 to $4.99 bracket.

To read the post, tootle over to online kids' digital subscription service

The Martian and 6 More Movies That Began as Self-Published Books - People

Self-published to movies. Who knew?

Panzer made a quick trip into the Catosphere today. Our kitty boy was greeted by sounds of cheering and shouting and ahhhs. Following all the noise took him to the People site. There he found a post by Drew Mackie about self-published (indie published) books that have made it big as movies.

According to Mackie there have been seven highly successful self-published books in this category. For example the newest one is The Martian and before that we have Legally Blonde and Still Alice. Mackie includes four more books and all include quotes from the authors about why they went the self-publishing route and/or movie trailers.

Panzer says, "Hmmm ... I have a couple of books that would make good movies."

Note: Bring a cup of tea and a bag of popcorn for the movie trailers.

To read the post, tootle over to self-published books

Barnes and Noble to Buy Back $50M in Stocks - GalleyCat

Panzer made a quick trip over to the GalleyCAT site. Digging around in the post pile there, our big bad kitty boy found some information about Barnes and Noble.

According to a post by Dianna Dilworth, Barnes and Noble will buy back $50M worth of their common stock. Barnes and Noble has a lot going on right now. Last week they announced their new Samsung Galaxy Tab E Nook was available. Before that they did the spinoff of their college bookstore arm and they recently declared a dividend on their common stock shares.

Fewer mice ... each more valuable?

Panzer says, " Mom says when a company does a buyback, it means there are fewer shares available for sale, so each share is worth more and the company is worth more. Makes no sense to me. Less is more?"

Note: This is a short post, so a small cup of tea should suffice while you read it.

To read the post, tootle over to Barnes and Noble

A New Panzerism

Panzer on technology:

Today, Mom and What's His Name were talking about that World Wide Spider Web. What's His Name got lost in it and Mom was trying to help him find his way out.

Well, I can help them because I have that thing all figured out.

It's like those dark and gloomy spaces under Mom's furniture.

If you keep digging around ...

Oh look, What's His Name's wallet.

eventually ...

after you get all the dust bunnies out of the cobwebs ...

you find the good stuff ...

like my feather, my string, my catnip-filled toy mouse.

An undercover sting, Amazon files suit against 1,000 Fiverr users over fake product reviews - GeekWire

Fake is Fake!

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere today and he stopped in at the GeekWire site. After some digging around there, he found an interesting post.

According to the post by Jacob Demmitt, Amazon has filed a court suit against more than 1,000 Fiverr users. In the court case Amazon asserts they were able to hire these persons to write fake product reviews. Amazon was able to do this by posing as product owners/manufacturers. They then approached the Fiverr users and said they wanted to hire them to write fake five star reviews. The users who agreed are named in the suit.

Panzer says, "Didn't anybody learn anything when Amazon went after the fake book reviewers?"

To read the post, tootle over to Fake Product Reviews

A tip of the fedora to  Kevin's Corner for the link to this news post.

A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: Guest Post by Andrea Pearson

She did a lot of work.

Panzer made a trip over to J.A.  Konrath's blog today. Our adventuresome kitty found a guest post by YA fantasy author Andrea Pearson there.

Ms. Pearson begins by giving us a view of how she got started in indie publishing her writing. We then learn how she built her career over the years. She divides the post into six sections: newsletter preparation, reviews, more books, book covers, social media, and marketing. This is a mini-course on how to become a successful indie author.

Panzer says, "Surprise! There's no traditional publishing bashing in this post."

This is a h-u-g-e post, so bring an e-x-t-r-a l-a-r-g-e thermos of tea and a couple of muffins for while you're reading.

To read the post, tootle over to A Newbie's Guide to Publishing: Guest Post by Andrea Pearson:

Apple's Antitrust Monitorship is Over - Publishers' Weekly

Panzer's trip into the Catosphere today took him to the Publishers' Weekly site. After some digging around our kitty boy reporter found a post about the latest on the Apple price-fixing case.

According to Andrew Richard Albanese, monitor Michael Bromwich has finished his work with Apple. Judge Denise Cote had appointed Mr. Bromwich after Apple was convicted of ebook price-fixing charges. Mr. Bromwich was to oversee Apple and monitor their implementation of his recommended policies. This was to make sure they were in compliance with the court order not to engage in antitrust operations.

Just accept it, Apple. It's over.

Panzer says, "Finally. ... This has been dragging on for over two years now. ... Oh, but wait ... Apple can still appeal to the U. S. Supreme Court to have the conviction overturned. ... Maybe, it's not over yet."

To read the post, tootle over to Apple

Smashwords Announces Distribution to Gardners Books

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard clapping and shouting. Following the noise took him to the Smashwords blog. There he found a post by Smashwords founder Mark Coker.

MeWow! Larger market distribution.

Mr Coker's post explains why Smashwords authors are so happy. Smashwords will begin distributing ebooks to Gardners Books on October 22. According to the post, Smashwords will supply 230,000 ebooks to Gardners Books. Gardners will make the ebooks available to stores, public libraries and academic libraries.

Panzer says, "This will open a whole new market for Smashwords authors."

To read the post, tootle over to Smashwords: Smashwords Announces Distribution to Gardners Book...:

Harry Potter Stop-Motion Short Film Goes Viral - Galleycat

I can't believe it. Not a cat anywhere.

Panzer took yesterday off so he could go to the vet. Today he was out in the Catosphere when he heard laughing and clapping and general jocularity. Following all the noise took him to the GalleyCAT site.

There he found a post by Maryann Yin about a film titled Built From the Pages of Harry Potter. It's a stop-motion film by the people at the unPOP YouTube Channel. The film takes less than a minute to build the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Panzer says, "It's a cute film. The only thing it lacks is a black cat."

To read the post and view the film, tootle over to Hogwarts

A New Panzerism

Panzer on humans' lack of appreciation:

At night when Mom is in bed sleeping and I pounce on her head, all that screaming noise she makes is really grating on my delicate hearing.

Really Mom ...

I'm not showing hostility.

I'll keep checking for you.

I'm just verifying there are no mice hiding in your hair.

And ...

Yes ... I can certify that your hair is currently rodent- free.

The Final Chapter - Liberio is shutting down

Panzer made a quick stop at the Liberio site today. He found some sad news there.

Lost another one.

According to a post at the site, effective immediately, Liberio is closing it's doors. Liberio was an innovative site that allowed anyone to do their ebooks there. In fact, 30,000 people used the service. Everyone from mothers and fathers who wanted their lives chronicled for their families to indie authors who wanted their ebooks done their way could and did use Liberio.

Panzer says, "It was just too much work for two people to keep going."

To read the post, tootle over to Liberio

Barnes and Noble Introduces New Samsung Galaxy Tab E Nook - Business Wire

Panzer was out in the Catosphere today when he heard cheering and clapping off in the distance. Following the noise, he found the source at the Business Wire site. There our busy kitty discovered Barnes and Noble has some news for Nook users.

According to the Business Wire post, Barnes and Noble and Samsung Electronic America introduced the Samsung Galaxy Tab E Nook. The new Nook tablet has a 9.6 inch screen. The larger screen is a sales point for customers who take advantage of Barnes and Nobles over 4 million ebooks for reading and movies and TV shows for entertainment.

Always read the fine print.

Current Nook (and Kindle) owners are being offered a trade in option when they buy the new Nook. There are several restrictions on the trade in offer. For example, it only applies to certain Nook (and Kindle) models and it only applies to in-store purchases.

Panzer says, "Always make sure you check all the rules and regulations before you buy anything."

Note: This is a very l-o-n-g post. Bring two thermoses of tea and a muffin.

To read the post, tootle over to Barnes and Noble

CAT WISDOM for humans Available At Amazon Now

Panzer's trip into the Catosphere today took him to Amazon. His newest ebook, CAT WISDOM for humans, is finally available there. (It's been quite an adventure getting it formatted correctly for Amazon!)

CAT WISDOM for humans contains 101 of our big bad kitty boy's Monday dispensations of his catness to you.

And ...

if you've been here long enough, you know why CAT WISDOM is capitalized and for humans is lower case. (Hint: Cats do consider humans an inferior species to them.)

Panzer says, "Don't worry if you have a different e-reader than the Kindle. After a little more formatting magic, CAT WISDOM for humans will  be available at Smashwords and all the other e-retailers in a few days."

Available at Amazon Now

Smashwords: 250 Smashwords Crime Fiction Authors Featured at B...

This cat wasn't allowed.

Panzer took a short trip into the Catosphere today. Our busy kitty boy stopped in at the Smashwords blog. After a little digging around he found an interesting post by Smashwords founder Mark Coker for you.

According to Mr. Coker, 250 Smashwords crime fiction authors' books will be available on a thumb drive in each of the "goodies bags" at Bouchercon. Bouchercon is the annual mystery fiction convention for writers and fans.

Panzer says, "No, I'm not included ... but ... I have my own big news for you tomorrow."

To read the post and see which authors are included, tootle over to Smashwords: 250 Smashwords Crime Fiction Authors Featured at B...:

A New Panzerism

Panzer on expanding the family:

When we were at the vet's today, I saw Mom looking at kittens. She was cooing little kitten noises at them. It was disgusting.

So ...  she's thinking about getting a new kitten, huh?

Why? Why? Oh, why?

Exactly what's in it for me?

Okay ...

she did tell me the other day she had the world's most self-centered feline ever ...

But a new kitten?

Now that's self-centered.

How Indie Authors' Books Can Get Into Libraries

Panzer has been fighting a kitty cold all week. Today, our poor sick kitty boy made a quick trip into the Catosphere to the Book Life site. He found a post by Jane Friedman there about getting your indie book into the library system.

According to Ms. Friedman, there are three steps to getting your book into libraries. The first is to be fiction. Apparently, non-fiction is harder to place in libraries. The second is to get your book noticed online. Get it noticed on social media sites and get it reviewed on blogs. That way librarians will learn about it. The third is getting your book noticed once it's in the library system. People need to know it's available and check it out, so your track record will convince librarians to order your next book.

My nose hurts ... and my tummy.

Panzer says, "A-choo! I'm going back to my kitty bed now."

To read the post, tootle over to library market

George R. R. Martin: our long obsession with Mars - The Guardian

Panzer made a trip to The Guardian site looking for an interesting post for you today. Before our big brave kitty knew it he was traveling to ... Mars ... with ... George R. R. Martin.

In his post Mr. Martin tells about his childhood reading habits and John Carter of Mars, and Ray Bradbury's Martians, and sandmice, and The War of the Worlds. And ... the lose of the Old Mars with the Mariner Martian explorer. The post is a history of Martian fables, stories, pseudo-science and science.

Old Mars ... Here I come.

Panzer says, "Mr. Martin and Gardner Duzios have edited a book of Old Mars stories. I love the Old Mars stories. I want a copy!"

Note: This is a h-u-g-e post. Bring g-a-l-l-o-n-s of tea and a bag of muffins.

To read the post, tootle over to Mars