2016 National Novel Writing Month Winner

Panzer and Mom took part in the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) that ends today. As of today we have completed 50,243 words of the required 50,000.

And ...

We survived!

Yay!

Amazon to move book-making warehouse in North Charleston, cutting 149 jobs - The Post and Courier

Panzer made a short trip into the Catosphere today. Our busy kitty had hardly started his travels when he began hearing crying and moaning. Following all the noise took him to The Post and Courier site. There he found some news about Amazon.

You know, they print my paperbacks.

According to the post by Thad Moore, Amazon is closing their warehouse in North Charleston, South Carolina. The warehouse is one of Amazon's Createspace locations. Createspace is the print-on-demand arm of Amazon. An Amazon representative said the lease on the location is expiring and the company wants to move the operation to Midlands closer to the distribution hub.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... I wonder if this move will cause any immediate problems with Createspace paperback books print-on-demand operations."

Note: This is a short-medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Amazon

New Panzerism

Panzer on the Kitty Toy Hall of Fame:

1. Wadded up ball of paper

2. Paper bag (Tie for 2nd Place)

Save your money. Read the list.

2. Cardboard box (Tie for 2nd Place)

3. Shadows on the wall

4. Grape

5. Fly

BookBaby Announces 2017 Self-Publishing Survey - The Largest Study of Indie Book Marketing and Promotion - Press Release

Let them know about your experiences.

Panzer's trip today took him to the Book Business site. There our inquisitive kitty found a press release about self-publisher BookBaby.

According to the press release, BookBaby and it's 15 partners are conducting a survey of self-publishing/indie authors. The survey will focus on what the authors do for promotion and marketing of their books/ebooks as well as the self-publishing industry in general now and in the future. The press release states more than one million authors have been invited to participate. There's a link included in the press release for the survey.

Panzer says, "Mom and I are indie authors, so we took the survey. When you finish it, there are offers from BookBaby's partners."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to  BookBaby.

Happy Thanksgiving 2016

To Everyone Who Celebrates The Day
From Panzer, Mom and What's His Name

Barnes & Noble Appoints Demos Parneros as Chief Operating Officer - Press Release

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he made a planned stop at the Book Business site. After a little digging around our illustrious traveling kitty found a post about Barnes and Noble.

That's two cat lifetimes at one place.

According to the press release at the Book Business site, Barnes and Noble bookstores has a new Chief Operating Officer, Demos Parneros. Mr. Parneros comes to Barnes and Noble after working at Staple, Inc. since 1987. Mr. Parneros will bring his 30 years of business experience to work with Barnes and Noble CEO Len Riggio.

Panzer says, "MeWoW! Thirty years with the same company."

Note: This is a medium post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading session.

To read the post, tootle over to Barnes and Noble

A New Panzerism

Panzer on politics:

If I was the President of the red, white and blue, the first thing I would do is declare climate change a hoax.

Really ...

So ... This spaceship you call Earth is heating up big time.

So ... What's the problem with that?

Me and my cat friends ...

What ice cap? I don't need a cap.

We like it warm ... warmer ... warmest.

You say, "Climate change is bad."

We say, "No! No! No!"

It's just like having a cat in control of the thermostat.

Scribd Aquires Oximity to Streamline Content Publishing and Distribution - Scribd Blog

Today, Panzer washed the windshield on the Panzermobile. When he was checking the glass for streaks, he noticed a post wedged into the passenger seat inside. Looking at the post after he got inside, he discovered it was from the reader subscription service site Scribd's blog.

Just say what you mean.

According to the post, Scribd bought the Oximity site and its assets. Oximity is a site which has accrued almost one million articles for distribution. Scribd intends to use Oximity for distribution of content through the company's social media channels software.

Panzer says, "Umm ... This is the best I can get out of the post.  It's complicated, but I think this is what it says. ... But don't quote me on it."

Note: This is a shortish-medium post. Bring a cup of tea and half a muffin.

To read the post, tootle over to Scribd

Bookstackk Lets Readers Share Book Recommendations - GalleyCat

Panzer was cleaning out the Panzermobile today when he found found a wadded up post under the pilot's seat. After smoothing out the post, our fastidious kitty discovered it was from the GalleyCAT site.

Looks interesting. I think I'll join.

According to the post by Dianna Dilworth, there's a new site similar to Goodreads called Bookstackk. The Bookstackk network lets readers have a library, review books they've read, see others' reviews, and have book discussions with other readers. There's a link to the Bookstackk site included in the post.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Do you think Amazon will buy Bookstackk like they did Goodreads?"

Note: This is a shortish post. If you just plan to read the post, bring a cup of tea; but, if you plan to follow the link and go to the Bookstackk site as well, bring a muffin too.

To read the post, tootle over to Bookstackk

New Nook 7 Android Tablet Costs $50, Ships on Black Friday - The Digital Reader

Panzer made a quick trip into the Catosphere today. There our inquisitive kitty boy stopped in at The Digital Reader site. With just a little digging around, he found a post about Barnes and Noble's new Nook Tablet.

She's always hiding that card from me.

According to the post by site owner Nate Hoffelder, it's official: the new Nook Tablet 7" is available for pre-order at the Barnes and Noble site for only $49.99. The Nook will ship on November 25. The Nook Tablet has a 7 inch screen, weighs 8.8 ounces, a 7 hour battery, and has front and rear cameras. The post includes a link to the Barnes and Noble site.

Panzer says, "Only $49.99? Okay, where did Mom hide that credit card this time?"

Note: This is shortish post. Bring a cup of tea for today's read.

To read the post, tootle over to Nook 7 Android Tablet

B&N Concept Store to Open Nov. 22 - PW (Publishers' Weekly)

Today's trip took Panzer to the Publishers' Weekly site. There our adventuresome traveling kitty pilot found a post about Barnes and Noble's new concept stores.

According to the post by Jim Milliot, Barnes and Noble has announced the opening date for their first concept store is November 22. The new store is located in Eastchester, New York. As Panzer told you before, these new concept stores have restaurants that serve alcohol as well as food.

I don't want to hear anymore about it.

Panzer says, "Why do you humans want to drink alcohol with everything? Food? ... Books? What's next? In the bathtub? Oh, wait. You already do that."

Note: This is a very short post. Bring a small cup of tea for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Barnes and Noble

A New Panzerism

Panzer on forgiveness:

What's His Name stepped on my food dish this morning. Knocked the whole thing upside down.

Food everywhere ...

and ...

now the food's covered in dirt and whatever else was on the bottom of his shoe.

I couldn't believe it.  He just scooped it up and put it back in my dish. Like I'd eat it now.

Mom told me to settle down. She said it was just an accident and I need to forgive him.

Okay ... Okay. I'm all right now.

So I'm using my new cat mantra to calm down:

To err is human,
To forgive is just plain stupid.

To err is human,
To forgive is ...

Veterans' Day

Today We Salute Those Who Protect Us and Our Country

Amazon Rapids And the Dumbing-Down of Reading - Book Business

Panzer made a short trip into the Catosphere today. Our intrepid kitty traveler stopped at the Book Business site. There he found a review post about Amazon's new reading app for children called Rapids. A few days ago Panzer told you about the introduction of the Rapids app.

He really, really hates it.

In his review Joe Wikert takes issue with the fact the Rapids app only uses text messages between the characters to tell the story. He believes there's no value in the stories at all. In fact, he goes on to say the app itself is worthless. He bases this on his opinion that Amazon is dumbing-down the reading experience for children.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... I thought it was a good idea ... Short ... Fast ... Reads."

Note: This is a very short post. Bring half a cup of cocoa for today's reading selection.

To read the review post, tootle over to Amazon Rapids

To read Panzer's original post about the Rapids app, tootle over to Amazon children's books

What?

Did that really happen?

Books-A-Million and FastPencil have formed a partnership - AL.com

Today, Panzer's trip into the Catosphere took to the AL.com site. There our brave kitty pilot found a post about Books-A-Million and FastPencil.

That's a lot of money.

According to the post by Kelly Poe, Books-A-Million and FastPencil have announced the formation of a new partnership. As part of the partnership Books-A-Million bookstores will begin selling self-published books by FastPencil authors. The caveat self-published authors must be aware of is that FastPencil must be hired to do the book editing and distribution to Books-A-Million. The cost of these editing packages begin at $1,100.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... You'll have to sell a lot of books to get your money back."

Note: This is a medium post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Books-A-Million

A New Panzerism

Panzer on educating What's His Name about the hierarchy in this family:

Earlier today What's His Name was saying bad things about me to Mom ...

Stuff like ... fat kitty ... lazy kitty ... good for nothing kitty.

So tonight ...

Surprise! There's a mouse in his shoe.

I saved Mom from a ferocious mouse** lurking in the kitchen.

And then ...

Mom told What's His Name he better stop picking on me because I'm her good kitty now.


**It's a little known fact that as soon as a kitten is born, they're issued their membership card in The Mouse of the Day Club for emergencies just like today's.

Amazon charges non-Prime members more at physical bookstores, hinting at new retail strategy - GeekWire

Panzer was cleaning out the Panzermobile like he does every Saturday, when he found a post wedged into the passenger seat. The post was from his visit earlier this week to the GeekWire site. The post is about Amazon's new bricks and mortar bookstores.

According to the post by Taylor Soper, apparently, it pays to be an Amazon Prime member even if you're not buying online at Amazon. Turns out, if you are a Prime member and you go to one of Amazon's bricks and mortar stores, you pay the online price not the store's list price for physical books. It seems, however, that the in-store price for devices like the Fire tablet are the same as the online price as the store sign in the photo says that.

Hmm ... Worth $99 a year? ... Maybe.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Inquiring cats want to know: How many books would You have to buy at the store to make the cost of the Prime membership worth it?"

Note: This is a l-o-n-g post with photos. Bring two cups of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Amazon bookstores

Amazon reinvents the children's book: New Rapids app shows stories in the style of a messaging app - Daily Mail.com

Today, Panzer made a very long trip in the Catosphere to the DailyMail.com site. There our kitty pilot found news about Amazon's new app Rapids.

Whew! That was a long read.

According to the post by Stacy Liberatore, Amazon has a new app called Rapids. The app is exclusively for children 7 through 12 years old. The stories for the app are put together with the characters texting back and forth. There are already hundreds of stories available for Rapids. The subscription price is $2.99 a month with an annual fee also available. Sample screen shots and a video accompany the post.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Now where did I put Mom's credit card?"

Note: This is a l-o-n-g post. Bring two cups of tea and a muffin and a cookie (biscuit) for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Amazon app

Subscription Reading Service Scribd Adds Magazines to Platform - Book Business

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the Book Business site. There our intrepid kitty found a post about the ebook and audiobook site Scribd.

How much does a subscription cost?

According to the post at Book Business, Scribd announced they will now offer magazines as part of their subscription service. Included magazines are Time, Money, Fortune, People and several more. The monthly subscription fee won't increase to access the magazine content. Scribd's press release announcing the magazine addition is included at the end of the post.

Panzer says, "Hmmm ... Ebooks ... Audiobooks ... And now magazines ... When will they add TV shows?"

Note: This is a longish medium post. Bring a cup of tea and two cookies (biscuits) for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Scribd

B&N Pays Boire $4.8 Million in Separation Agreement - PW (Publishers' Weekly)

Panzer's trip into the Catosphere today took him to the Publisher's Weekly site. After some digging around, our traveling kitty found a post about the Barnes and Noble bookstores company.

Inquiring kitties want to know.

According to the post by Jim Milliot, Barnes and Noble has reached a separation agreement with former CEO Ron Boire. Mr. Boire was terminated by the company in August for unspecified reasons. No reason for Mr. Boire's termination is included in the announcement of the separation agreement either. The two new things of interest in the announcement are that Mr. Boire has agreed to return the company stock awards given to him earlier and that he will receive $4.8 million to leave the company.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... So ... It's still a puzzle why he got fired."

Note: This is a shortish post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Boire separation agreement