B&N Education BuysMBS for $174 Million - Publishers' Weekly

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to the PW (Publishers' Weekly) site. After a little digging around our ingenious kitty pilot found a post about Barnes and Noble Education.

Inquiring kitties want to know. Who?

According to the post by Jim Milliot, Barnes and Noble Education announced the acquisition of MBS Textbook Exchange. B and N Education is spending $174.2 million in cash for MBS's physical and digital textbooks and course materials, their customer base, the textbooks.com site, and other assets. The end of the post also includes Barnes and Noble Education's third quarter financial information.

Panzer says, "There's some interesting, but confusing, information about who is selling MBS."

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

To read the post, tootle over to BN Education buys MBS

A New Panzerism

Panzer on recorded history:

I really need a kitty-sized collar camera.

Then ...

I could capture wonderful leaps, acts of amazing balance,

and ...

It's cat magic! *

sudden feats of startling magic,

when ...

furballs appear without warning.


* From Cat Wisdom for Humans

Draft2Digital is Adding Kobo Plus as a Distribution Option, But Not Smashwords - The Digital Reader

Today, Panzer's quiet trip in the Catosphere was interrupted by clapping and shouting. Following all the noise took our intrepid kitty explorer to The Digital Reader site. There he found a post about Kobo Plus. Panzer told you about Kobo's new subscription service yesterday.

According to the post by The Digital Reader site owner Nate Hoffelder, Draft2Digital (D2D) has a new distribution agreement with Kobo Plus. D2D's authors' Dutch language ebooks will be distributed to Kobo Plus. Until this agreement between D2D and Kobo Plus books were required to be published via Kobo Writing Life. D2D is an ebook distribution service similar to Smashwords. The Digital Reader post states Smashwords' Mark Coker said they will not be extending distribution to Kobo Plus.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Maybe I should find a translator and use Draft2Digital."

Indie publishing is always changing.

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

To read the post, tootle over to Draft2Digital

To read Panzer's post about Kobo Plus, tootle over to Kobo subscription service

Kobo Has New Dutch Subscription Service - Kobo

Panzer was tootling around the Catosphere when he decided to make a stop at the Kobo site. There our traveling kitty pilot discovered Kobo has opened an ebook subscription service.

It was worth the trip ... I think.

According to the landing page, Kobo and online bookseller Bol.com have a new Dutch ebook subscription service. The service is called Kobo Plus. For a monthly fee you get unlimited reading. The landing page has a 30 day free trial sign-up link on it.

Panzer says, "Umm ... The landing page is in English ... but ... when I clicked the FAQs link for more info ... this little kitty needed a translator."

Note: This is a landing page with a lot of information. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin.

To read the page, tootle over to Kobo Plus

Amazon Introduces Latest Generation Fire TV Stick in the UK, Germany and Japan - Business Wire

Maybe I can get some sleep now.

Panzer had just settled down for his evening nap when he was shaken awake by cheering and clapping coming from the Catosphere. Jumping into the Panzermobile, our adventuresome kitty hit the jets. Following the cacophony took him to the Business Wire site. There he found a press release from Amazon.

According to the release, Amazon has announced the upcoming release of a new generation Fire TV stick in the UK, Germany and Japan. The new stick is 30 percent faster than the previous version. Fire TV offers a variety of movies, TV show episodes and apps. The new Fire TV stick is available for pre-order now in all three countries. The post includes links to the press release in each country.

Panzer says, "MeWoW! Thirty percent faster!"

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

To read the post, tootle over to Fire TV

This year's Nebula nominees are incredibly diverse - read some online - The Verge

Panzer made a quick trip into the Catosphere today. Our big kitty boy went to The Verge site. There he found a post about the Nebula Awards.

According to the post by Andrew Liptak, the 2016 Nebula Award nominees were announced by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. The winners will be announced at the Nebula conference. The conference will be May 18 - 21 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The post includes several links to the nominated works.

I know what I'll be doing tonight.

Panzer says,"Umm ... A nice fire in the fireplace, a bowl of milk and Mom's tablet to read the nominees. That's this kitty's idea of a fun evening."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection. Bring a thermos of tea and half-a-dozen muffins if you plan to read the nominees.

To read the post, tootle over to 2016 Nebula Award nominations

A New Panzerism

Panzer on jokes:

Panzer: Knock. Knock.
Mom: Hmmm.
Panzer: Knock. Knock.
Mom: Hmmm. What?

Panzer: I say, Knock. Knock. and You say, Who's there?

There's a first time for everything.

Mom: Okay. Knock. Knock.
Panzer: Who's there?
Mom: It's me, Mom. You've known me your whole life, Panzer.

Panzer: What? Wait! I mean, what? Hey! What happened?



* From Cat Wisdom for Humans

Western Sydney University makes etextbooks available for free to all first-year students - No Shelf Required

Today, Panzer made a long trip into the Catosphere. Our brave kitty went all the way to the No Shelf Required site. With a little digging he found a post about a free etextbook service available at Western Sydney University.

According to the post at No Shelf Required, every first year student at Western Sydney University now has free access to etextbooks for their classes. The etextbooks are made available to the students through ProQuest. The etestbooks can be used anywhere, so students can download them to their tablets or smartphones. The program was instituted to help control the costs of attending the University. The post includes information from the Western Sydney University website and information supplied by ProQuest.

I can go there right now.

Panzer says, "MeWoW! Free etextbooks? I wonder ... Would they accept an American kitty as a student?"

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 Western Sydney University makes etextbooks available for free to all first-year students

Wharton Uses Zola's Everywhere Store to Launch Online Bookstore - PW (Publishers' Weekly)

Panzer was just tootling around in the Catosphere today when the Panzermobile was buffeted by a chorus of oohing and aahing. Following all the noise took our adventurous kitty to the Publishers' Weekly site. There he found a post about Zola's Everywhere Store.

According to the post by Andrew Albanese, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania has opened their Zola's Everywhere Store. Books by Wharton Digital Press authors and Wharton School faculty will be available for purchase through the online store. Zola's Everywhere Store is a widget authors and publishers can use by putting the code on their website. Once the code is inserted, the store is functioning. The widget is free, but Zola's receives a portion of each sale. There's a link included in the post to the Zola's site.

Hmm ... Should I try it?

Panzer says, "This little kitty followed the link to Zola's site. There's some interesting information and profit charts at Zola's site."

Note: This is a shortish-medium post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the link to Zola's site too, bring an extra muffin.

To read the post, tootle over to Zola's Everywhere Store

KDP Print Enters Public Beta - The Digital Reader

Who prints the books?

Panzer's trip into the Catosphere today took him to The Digital Reader site. With no digging at all our kitty boy found a post about Amazon's KDP Print platform.

According to The Digital Reader site owner Nate Hoffelder's post, Amazon has opened the KDP Print platform to everyone. Currently, the new KDP Print platform does not offer the same options as Amazon's CreateSpace (CS) print platform. Author proof copies are one of the options not available, which means authors will not be able to see what their books look like before they're sold through Amazon. Be sure to read the Comments Section.

Panzer says, "This kitty is staying with CreateSpace for now. I want to okay my proof copies. But ... Maybe ... Amazon is going to close CreateSpace. Why? There have been some complaints about CreateSpace ... And ... Maybe ... Amazon doesn't want to be part of those complaints. "

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

To read the post, tootle over to KDP Print

A New Panzerism

Panzer on showing love on Valentine's Day:

I gave Mom a dead mouse today.

I left it on her pillow, so she'd see it when she woke up.

Then ...

She let What's His Name have it.

That really hurts. *

and ...

he threw it in the garbage can outside.

Humans just don't know the value of love gifts.



*From Cat Wisdom for Humans

Amazon 'hunting for high street sites in London' - The Bookseller

Today, Panzer made a quick trip into the Catosphere. Our adventurous kitty stopped in at The Bookseller site. There he found a post about Amazon's rumored foray into the U.K.

A mouse, a bug, some catnip ...

According to the post by The Bookseller's staff, Amazon is looking at expanding its physical presence to London. Quoting from a post on the Sunday Times site, The Bookseller reports Amazon is looking for a location for one of their Amazon Go grocery stores. Patrons of the Amazon Go store give Amazon access to purchasing information as they shop in the store. When they exit the store the money for their purchases is automatically deducted from their account. There is no mention of a bricks-and-mortar book store. A link is included in The Bookseller post to the Sunday Times post.

Panzer says, "Umm ... Do you really want everybody to know what you eat?"

Note: This is a short post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection. If you follow the link to the Sunday Times, add a muffin.

To read the post, tootle over to Amazon

Draft2Digital Drops Minimum Payment to PayPal & US Directi Deposit - The Digital Reader

Panzer made a quick trip to The Digital Reader site today. After a little digging around there our inquisitive traveler is doing the happy kitty dance. He uncovered a post about Draft2Digital's new payment program.

According to the post by site owner Nate Hoffelder, Draft2Digital (D2D) will now make payments to authors' PayPal accounts or U.S. bank direct deposits on a regular schedule no matter what the monetary amount. Previously D2D would only issue payments when authors reached a minimum amount. D2D's competitor Pronoun is also offering this payment option. Mr. Hoffelder speculates the shrinking indie author market is driving the better author payment terms.

Always watch your competition.

Panzer says, "Umm ... I think Draft2Digal and Pronoun are both a little late to the party. Amazon dropped the minimum payment requirement three years ago."

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

To read the post, tootle over to Draft2Digital

More Protests Against 'NYT' Bestseller Cuts - Publishers' Weekly

Panzer was just tootling around in the Catosphere today when his delicate kitty hearing was attacked by yelling and screaming. Following the cacophony took our poor kitty to the Publishers' Weekly (PW) site.  With a little digging there he found a news release about the New York Times (NYT) cuts to their bestseller lists. A few days ago Panzer told you when the cuts happened and authors' and publishers' reactions to them then.

A lot of humans are really angry.

According the release, now there is even more backlash against the New York Times (NYT) cuts of the mass market paperback bestseller list and the ebook bestseller list. Six authors' organizations, including the Mystery Writers of America, have joined forces to protest NYT's cuts to the lists. A total of 20,000 authors are members in the organizations issuing the statement.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Do you think the New York Times cares if 20,000 authors complain? Now, if it was 20,000 subscribers, they might care. But 20,000 authors? I don't think so."

Note: This is a short news release. Bring a cup of tea to read today's selection. If you want to read Panzer's other post about the bestseller list cuts (this one has links to other posts), bring a thermos of tea and two muffins.

To read the post, tootle over to New York Times Bestseller Lists

To read Panzer's other post about NYT's bestseller lists cuts, tootle over to bestseller list cuts

Books-a-Million Outsourced Its Self-Pub Unit to an Iffy Services Company - The Digital Reader

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to The Digital Reader site. There our kitty boy found a post about Books-a-Million's BAM Publishing.

Self-publishing really is complicated.

According to a post by site owner Nate Hoffelder, Books-a-Million's BAM Publishing now contracts it's author services through a vanity publisher. Apparently, this isn't obvious at the BAM Publishing site and takes some sleuthing to find out. Mr. Hoffelder quotes a post at the Indies Unlimited site as reporting that although BAM uses the FastPencil software platform, their other services now go through vanity publisher Infinity Publishing. There's a link included in the post to the original Indies Unlimited post.

Panzer says, "Hmmm ... Maybe they just don't want you to know who they use."

Note: This is a medium post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin to read today's selection or, if you plan to follow the link to the second selection, bring another cup of tea and muffin.

To read the post, tootle over to Books A Million

A New Panzerism

Panzer on Mom's ideas about catnip:

The thing about catnip is,

If there's enough, I can start now. *

well ...

Mom said I should go on the wagon for a little while.

Okay ...

Exactly how much catnip is in the wagon anyway?


From Cat Wisdom for Humans

Smashwords to Supply Nearly 300,000 Titles to Bibliotheca cloudLibrary - Smashwords

Panzer was shaken from his afternoon nap by cheering and clapping. Jumping into the Panzermobile our sleepy kitty followed all the noise to the Smashwords site. There he found an announcement about Bibliotheca.

Libraries are good for readers.

According to the post by Mark Coker, Smashwords announced an agreement with Bibliotheca to distribute ebooks to the 3,000 libraries in the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Australia that use Bibliotheca's cloudLibrary service. Mr. Coker points out that because of the large volume of Smashwords ebooks to be uploaded to the cloudLibrary system, it will be several weeks before all ebooks will be available. To use the service a patron to log into the library through the service and "checks out" their ebook. The ebook then resides on the patron's computer, tablet or device for a specified amount of time and is then "checked back into the library."

Panzer says, "There are several links in the post, including one to download the app."

Note: This is a shortish-long post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin to read the original post and, if you plan to follow the links, bring an extra cup of tea for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to  Smashwords:

Malorie Blackman leads books world's protests against US travel ban - The Guardian

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere today looking for some interesting news. Our kitty traveler made stops at The Guardian and Rap Sheet sites. There he found news about reactions from writers in England and Canada to U.S. President Trump's Executive Order banning travelers from seven countries from entering the United States and specifically banning refugees from Syria from settlement in the U.S. The Executive Order was implemented as soon as the President signed it.

According to The Guardian site post by Danuta Kean, author Malorie Blackman announced she will not attend any book, author or literary function in the United States because of the U.S. President's travel ban. Author Matt Haig has joined her and cancelled his trip to the U.S. as well.

According to the Rap Sheet site post titled, A Principled Stand, by J. Kingston Pierce, Canadian author Linwood Barclay has cancelled his United States book tour in protest of the travel ban.

Panzer says, "This kitty wonders if other writers will join the movement?"

Note: The Guardian post is a shortish-medium length and the Rap Sheet is a short length. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selections.

To read The Guardian post, tootle over to  Malorie Blackman

To read the Rap Sheet post, tootle over to Linwood Barclay

B&N Recalls Defective Charger for $50 Nook Android Tablet - The Digital Reader

My work is never done.

Panzer made a quick trip into the Catosphere today. Our speedy kitty boy stopped in at The Digital Reader site. He barely got out of the Panzermobile when he found a post about the new Barnes and Noble Nook tablet.

According to the post by site owner Nate Hoffelder, Barnes and Noble is recalling the chargers for their new Nook Android tablet. Barnes and Noble will replace the chargers, give a $5 credit and, if the charger is returned by mail instead of in-store, pay the postage. There are links in the post to the refund site and the letter sent to charger purchasers.

Panzer says, "Barnes and Noble gives instructions on how to charge your tablet until you get your replacement charger, too."

Note: This is a short post. Bring a half cup of tea to read the original post and, if you plan to follow the links in the post, add half a muffin.

To read the post, tootle over to Nook Android tablet

RWA Urges 'NYT' to Reconsider Bestseller List Decision - Publishers' Weekly

Today Panzer took a trip into the Catosphere to see what he could find about the New York Times cutting some of their bestseller lists. Our inquiring kitty told you about the cuts a few days ago. His information gathering trip today took him to the Publishers' Weekly site.  After a little digging he found information about publishers reactions to the cuts.

According to a post from the Romance Writers of America (RWA), the group would like the New York Times (NYT) to reconsider the cutting of the mass market and ebook bestseller lists. The RWA feels its female romance author members are being discriminated against since they dominate these bestseller lists.

According to a second post Panzer found, graphic novel and manga publishers were upset to learn that those bestseller lists are also being cut. Most of these publishers feel the loss of the graphic novel and manga bestseller lists will impact their sales.

Wake me in a week.

Panzer says, "Maybe the New York Times should have given some notice they were going to make these cuts."

Note: These posts taken as a whole are very long. Bring three thermos of tea and four dozen muffins if you plan to read all three posts in today's reading selection.

To read the post from the Romance Writers of America (RWA), tootle over to RWA

To read the post about the graphic novel and manga publishers, tootle over to bestseller lists

To read Panzer's original post about the New York Times' announcement about cutting some of their bestseller lists, tootle over to  NYT cuts bestseller lists