Hachette Audio & Wax Audio Group Launch Vinyl Audiobook Series, Featuring Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jerry Garcia & More: Exclusive - Billboard

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere just enjoying the ride when he heard a bunch of oohing and ahhing. Chasing after the noises took our inquisitive kitty to the Billboard site. There he discovered a post about the Hachette Book Group's  new plans for their audio books.

According to Keith Caulfield, Hachette Book Group's Hachette Audio has formed a publishing partnership with Wax Audio Group. The two will release audio books and audiobook-on-vinyl (vinyl records/LPs) with their first selection out yesterday. Three more are already in the works with more being issued throughout 2018. The most recent announced selections are at least in part read by the book's author(s).

Nobody knows I did it.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Audiobook-on-vinyl? Just goes to show ... Give it enough time and everything old is new again. This little kitty just wishes he wouldn't have given away all Mom's Grandma's vinyl records."

Note: This is a long-medium length post. Bring a cup of tea, a muffin and a chocolate chip cookie (biscuit).

To read the post tootle over to Hachette vinyl audiobook series

Is the e-ink reader dead? And does it matter? - TeleRead

Panzer barely had time to lay down for his nap when he heard howling and growling. Our brave kitty boy jumped in the Panzermobile and headed into the Catosphere. Following all the noise took him to the TeleRead site. There he found a post about the death of the e-ink reader.

According to Chris Meadows, it appears the e-ink reader (also known as Kindle and Nook et al) are in their death throes. While ebooks are still thriving e-ink reader sales are not. With the increase in smart phones and tablets as reading devices the e-ink reader has suffered. There are several links to other sources included in this post.

Now for my nap.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Mom has a Kindle, a Paper White and a tablet and she reads on all three."

Note: This is a h-u-m-o-n-g-o-u-s post. Bring a thermos of tea and a dozen muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to e-ink reader

Parragon Faces Closure - Publishers Weekly

Step forward now to buy them.

Today's trip took Panzer to the Publishers Weekly (PW) site. There our intrepid kitty reporter found a post about the impending closure of book publisher Parragon.

According to Jim Milliot at Publishers Weekly, publisher Parragon has announced the company's closure. The U. K.-based company has employees around the world, including the U.S. Employees have already been notified of the company's decision. While the company is looking for a buyer there doesn't appear to be any interest.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This was an unexpected announcement."

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

To read the post tootle over to Parragon

A New Panzerism

Panzer on tranquiliry:

I believe in the universal chaos theory.

You know ...

Or ... I can do it for you.

That theory when 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.



* From Cat Wisdom for humans

We visited Amazon and Barnes & Noble bookstores to see who does it better - and the winner is clear - Business Insider

Today Panzer's trip into the Catosphere was an interesting one. Our traveling kitty reporter made a stop at the Business Insider site. With a little digging he uncovered a post that contains a comparison of Amazon with Barnes and Noble.

According to Mark Matousek, he visited an Amazon bookstore and a Barnes and Noble bookstore in New York City to see which provided a better book-buying customer experience. He compared store layouts, book selections, book displays, ease of store use, and other features customers would be interested in. Based on his observations and experiences in both stores Mr. Matousek determined Barnes and Noble is the winner. There are several photos taken inside both stores to illustrate various points in the post.

Where are the customers?

Panzer says, "If visiting a Barnes and Noble bookstore is a better environment for buyers and provides a better customer experience than an Amazon bookstore, this little kitty wants to know why Barnes and Noble is struggling?"

Note: This is a long post. Bring a thermos of coffee and a dozen muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Amazon Books vs Barnes and Noble

Coalition Opposes Imposition of Paper Tariffs - Publishers Weekly

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when the Panzermobile was buffeted by yelling and shouting. Following all the noise took our brave kitty boy to the  Publishers Weekly site. With a little digging he discovered the hullabaloo was caused by the threat of the United States placing a tariff on Canadian uncoated groundwood.

According to the post by Jim Milliot, the U.S. company North Pacific Paper Company (NORPAC) filed a complaint that the Canadian government is "dumping" uncoated groundwood at a reduced price in the U.S. market. The wood is used in the U.S. to make paper for use by book, newspaper and directory publishers. The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has already announced in January they are recommending a duty (tariff) of between 4.4 percent and 9.9 percent be placed on the Canadian wood. A coalition of publishers is meeting with the U.S. Department of Commerce in February to present their opposition to the tariff. The Department of Commerce will make their decision available in March.

Thank you NORPAC.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This little kitty thinks, if the tariff goes into effect, the cost of books, newspapers and directories will have to go up. The publishers are already struggling to stay alive. Some of those publications will disappear."

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

To read the post tootle over to paper tariffs

Storytel launches in Iceland. Italy, Bulgaria and Turkey next? - The New Publishing Standard

Today, Panzer's trip into the Catosphere took him to The New Publishing Standard site. There our traveling kitty boy found a post about Sweden's Storytel.

According to Mark Williams, audio book subscription service Storytel has launched its service  in Iceland. This was expected since the company had already bought the Icelandic audio book retailer Skynjun. This is a somewhat confusing post. After the initial information about Storytel's Icelandic launch and speculation about other launches, there are links to other posts about Storytel.

I hope they're not growing to big to fast.

Panzer says, "This little kitty thinks Storytel is beating everybody else in launches in the audio books marketplace outside the U.S. and Canada."

Note: This is a short post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow all the links and read the other information on Storytel, bring a thermos of tea and half a dozen muffins.

To read the post tootle over to Storytel

"The ebook is a stupid product. Our business cosists of saying no to three thousand manuscripts and saying yes to one." - Hachett CEO

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard booing and hissing outside. Following the cacophony of noise took our brave kitty pilot to The New Publishing Standard site. There he found a post about publisher Hachette Livre.

He sure hates indie publishers.

According to the post by Mark Williams, Hachette Livre CEO Arnaud Nourry doesn't find Amazon (or any other tech company) a problem to the company's publishing markets. While Amazon is the dominant company in the English speaking readers realm, Hachette concentrates their business in the non-English speaking countries only deriving 25 percent of their market from English readers. Amazon's concentration in the self-publishing arena is also part of the mix. As the title of Mr. Williams' post emphasizes, Mr. Nourry doesn't support self-publishing. Since there are no gatekeepers in the self-publishing realm, he believes most of what is in the reading arena should not have been published at all.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... From this post it looks like Hachette controls the paperback and hardback market outside the English-speaking readers in the United States and Canada."

Note: This is a long post. Bring a thermos of tea and half a dozen muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Hachette CEO

A New Panzerism

Panzer on winter fun:

Winter has a special place in my heart.

Every year to protect his Koi What's His Name goes outside to check the ice thickness on the fish pond.

He's always worried about those expensive fish of his.

He gets so impatient ...

Checks it at least twice a day ...

And ...

Next thing he knows ...

Those fish don't even taste good.

Ice breaks ...

And ...

He's knee-deep in water.

That's just good wholesome family entertainment.



From Cat Wisdom for humans

The entirely unnecessary demise of Barnes and Noble - Brain Fuzzies

Panzer was shaken awake by shouting coming from the Catosphere. Climbing into the Panzermobile, our poor sleepy kitty followed all the noise to the Brain Fuzzies Tumbler site. It didn't take any digging at all to discover a post about the employee layoffs at Barnes and Noble bookstores was causing all the hullabaloo. Panzer told you about the cost saving layoffs earlier this week.

According to the post, Barnes and Noble's employee layoffs earlier this week as a cost cutting measure to save $40 million was an ill-conceived plan. Audreyii-fic believes these layoffs will lead to the demise of Barnes and Noble. This opinion is based on the premise that by laying off the higher paid employees Barnes and Noble won't be able to provide good customer service. The post includes Twitter Tweets from some of the estimated 1,800 laid-off employees to illustrate who was let go. Also included are three posts from other sites about the layoffs. (One of the included posts is the one Panzer told you about earlier this week.)

Do you understand it?

Panzer says, "Hmm ... 1,800 employees laid-off ... Total of $11 million in severance payments for being laid-off ... Umm ... Who gets the $11 million? ... This little kitty is really confused ... How about you?"

Note: This is a humongous post. Bring two thermoses of tea and two dozen muffins for today's reading selection.

To read today's post tootle over to Barnes and Noble


 

Very Weird Meow - Margaret Gunning's Blog

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard awwing and oohing. Following all the noise took our brave kitty pilot to author Margaret Gunning's blog. There he found a YouTube video was the source of all the excitement.

What's all the hubbub about?

Author Margaret Gunning has embedded a video of an interesting cat at the beginning of her post. Click the video and listen and learn. The rest of the post is about Ms. Gunning's kitty Bentley with videos of him being a cute kitty boy.

Panzer says, "This little kitty doesn't understand what all the excitement is about. If it cat doesn't want to do something, the answer is, 'No.'"

Note: This is a short-medium length post. If you plan to just watch the opening video, don't bring anything to drink as you'll wind up with it all over your keyboard. If you want to read and watch the other videos, bring a muffin.

To watch/read the post tootle over to Meow

B&N to Save $40 Million Following New Layoffs - Publishers Weekly

Today, Panzer made a stop at the Publishers Weekly site. With just a little digging around our kitty boy found a post about Barnes and Noble's newest employee layoffs.

According to the post by Jim Milliot, Barnes and Noble is in the process of making an undisclosed number of employee layoffs. The layoffs are scheduled to be finished by February 16. While the company plans to pay $11 million in severance payments to the employees, it's estimated there will be a $40 million savings in payroll costs.There has been no announcement concerning what departments the layoffs have occurred in.

Why are your plans a secret?

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This little kitty wonders which employee classifications were let go."

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

To read the post tootle over to Barnes and Noble layoffs

Bill Crider, RIP - The Rap Sheet

Panzer made a quick trip into the Catosphere today. Our traveling kitty boy stopped at The Rap Sheet site where he learned of the death of one of his favorite mystery writers Bill Crider.

Mr. Crider passed away yesterday, February 12, after a long battle with cancer.

He was a prolific writer in multiple genres, but Panzer enjoyed his mysteries best. Panzer also enjoyed Mr. Crider's blog, Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine.

To read the post about his death tootle over to Bill Crider

A New Panzerism

In honor of the upcoming Valentine's Day

Panzer on showing love:

I gave Mom a dead mouse today.
I left it on her pillow so she would see it when she woke up.

Then ...

That really hurts. *

She let What's His Name have it

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 launches a TTS Plugin for Wordpress That Turns Blog Posts Into Podcasts - The Digital Reader

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to The Digital Reader site. There our intrepid kitty traveler found a post about Amazon's new Wordpress plugin.

According to The Digital Reader site owner Nate Hoffelder, Amazon has introduced its new TTS (Text-To-Speech) plugin for Wordpress. Named Polly the plugin allows blog posts to be changed into audio files and then a podcast. Amazon Polly has actually been around since December 2016, but the Wordpress plugin has added features. Polly can now whisper and speaks additional languages the original didn't. There's a link included in the post to the Tech Crunch post announcing the plugin and containing more information about it.

Polly ...  Can you translate Meow?

Panzer says, "This little kitty wants to know if one of the languages Polly speaks is Cat."

Note: This is a medium post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection. If you plan to read the Tech Crunch post as well, bring an extra cup of tea and another muffin.

To read the post tootle over to Amazon Wordpress plugin

Publishers call on Man Booker prize to drop American authors - The Guardian

Panzer had barely entered the Catosphere when he heard booing and hissing coming into the Panzermobile. Following all the hullabaloo took our inquiring kitty to The Guardian site. With no digging at all he found the source of all the bad vibrations in the Catosphere were about the Man Booker prize.

I'm not sure what to think about that.

According to the post by Sian Cain, in 2014 the rules for the Man Booker prize were changed. Thirty publishers have signed a letter asking Man Booker "prize organizers to reverse the change." The letter signers believe American authors will dominate the competition and the prize. The Man Booker Foundation disputes the rules were changed to favor American authors; instead, stressing the new rules allow "authors of any nationality, regardless of geography, to enter the prize providing they are writing in English and published in the U.K."

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This little kitty wonders if an American kitty author's book can enter the competition if Amazon publishes his book in English in the U.K.?"

Note: This is a long-medium post. Being a cup of tea and two muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Man Booker Prize

Indigo Reports Its Highest Quarter Revenue Ever - Publishers Weekly

Today, Panzer was just enjoying tootling around in the Catosphere when the Panzermobile was buffeted by cheering and clapping. Our brave kitty boy followed all the noise to the Publishers Weekly site. There with no digging at all he found a post about Indigo's quarterly sales and revenue figures.

According to the post by Jim Milliot, Canada's Indigo Books and Music announced the latest quarter's revenue was the highest ever. Sales revenue was up 8.2 percent compared to the same quarter in 2016. The largest sales gains were in general merchandise. Online sales were also up. The company still plans to open its first United States store in New Jersey. Company plans include an additional three or four United States stores.

They have cafes too don't they?

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This little kitty thinks Indigo Books and Music sounds a lot like Barnes and Noble without the Nook. So why is it working in Canada for them, but not here for Barnes and Noble?"

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 Indigo

Worldbuilding in Seattle - Not A Blog

Today, Panzer made a short trip into the Catosphere to George R. R. Martin's Not A Blog site. With no digging at all our traveling kitty pilot found a post about George R. R. Martin's new scholarship.

I like fantasy ... Maybe I can go.

According to George R. R. Martin's post, he's starting a new scholarship. The Worldbuilder Scholarship will be for science fiction and fantasy writers to be able to attend the Clarion West Writing Workshop. The scholarship is for one writer and is to be used for tuition, fees and lodging at the workshop. The application deadline is March 1. The post says this is an annual scholarship. There's a link included in the post to the Clarion West site.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Know any science fiction or fantasy writers who want to attend the Clarion West Workshop?"

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 Worldbuilder Scholarship

A New Panzerism

Today's Panzerism is late because Panzer needed to go the vet's office for his annual vaccinations.

Panzer on going to the veterinarian's office:

A riddle for you:

What does Panzer call a trip to the vet's office?

Answer:
Singing practice.
Mee-yowh! ... Mee-yowh! ... Mee-yowh!

You can sing along if you want. *

And a second riddle for you:

How does Panzer know when he's hit the right high note?

Answer:
The cars in front of Mom's car pull over and look for the red and blue lights on the police car.



* From Cat Wisdom for Humans

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) Author Proofs, Distribution

Panzer received an email from Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) division. The email was an announcement about the new features available through the KDP print on demand paperbacks option. There were links in the email to Amazon KDP site.

Paperbacks to Europe and Japan?

According to the KDP site, authors can now order proof copies of their paperback books for the cost of printing and shipping. Through the expanded distribution the paperbacks will be distributed to Europe and Japan. There's a video included at the site explaining about publishing with the beta version. There are also links to answers for all the questions users might have about publishing through the new paperback option.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This little kitty wonders if CreateSpace will still be around to distribute to other sites like Barnes and Noble? Or will Amazon shut them down? Not a happy kitty thought."

Note: This is an extremely l-o-n-g post if you need to follow all the links. Bring two thermoses of tea and two dozen muffins for all the reading in today's selection.

To read the post tootle over to Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)

Amazon Sales Soared in 2017 - Publishers Weekly

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he stopped in at the Publishers Weekly (PW) site. There our happy little kitty pilot found a post about Amazon.

According to the post by Jim Milliot, Amazon just did a press release about the company's sales revenue figures for 2017 compared to 2016. While there are no numbers available for ebook and traditional hardback and paperback book sales figures, Amazon reported a 31 percent growth in overall sales for everything combined. (Panzer has included a link to the original Amazon press release at the end of this post after the link to Publishers Weekly.)

Panzer says, "Getting book sales numbers out of Amazon is like pulling a saber tooth tiger's canine teeth."

That thing is definitely long.

Note: This is a short post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection. If you plan to read the press release linked below, bring three thermoses of tea, enough muffins for a week, and a sleeping bag for a nap in the middle. (Yes, it is that long.)

To read the Publishers Weekly post tootle over to Amazon sales

To read Amazon's press release tootle over to Amazon News Room

Barnes & Noble to Rebrand Nook Press as B&N Press - The Digital Reader

Panzer's trip into the Catosphere today took him to The Digital Reader site. There our enterprising little kitty discovered a post about Barnes and Noble's Nook Press.

Hmm ... 65 percent?

According to the post by site owner Nate Hoffelder, Barnes and Noble has renamed the Nook Press the Barnes and Noble Press (B&N Press). In addition, the royalty rate for ebooks priced $10.00 or more is now 65 percent and the pre-order window is lengthened to 12 months. The company has also made changes on the print on demand (POD) book side such as in cover options and trim size. The major portion of the post is an email from Barnes and Noble to the Nook Press authors.

Panzer says,"Hmm ... This little kitty didn't know there was a Barnes and Noble POD paperback press division.  He used CreateSpace POD to make his paperback books available in the b&n.com store."

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

To read the post tootle over to Barnes and Noble