First impressions of an Amazon bookstore - The Idea Logical Company

Panzer took a long trip in the Catosphere today. Our kitty pilot was looking for a little adventure. After traveling hither and yon he found a site called The Idea Logical Company. At the site he discovered a blog called The Shatzkin Files. After digging around for a while, he uncovered a post about what Amazon's Manhattan (New York) bookstore is like inside.

This kitty says it's not worth a visit.

According to site founder Mike Shatzkin, his wife found the Amazon store to be like an airport bookstore because all the book covers face outward. Mr. Shatzkin advises it only takes about 20 minutes to browse the entire store. Mainly this is because the store only contains 3,000 titles. Because of this small number, he points out a problem his wife had finding a book she wanted for a gift. Included in the post is a breakdown of the different types of books available.The post also has descriptions of two visits Mr. Shatzkin and his wife made to the bookstore and the differences in each visit.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Only 3,000 books ... Doesn't sound like their sales would be enough to pay the rent."

Note: This is a h-u-m-o-n-g-o-u-s post. Bring two thermos of tea, three dozen muffins and a sleeping bag for a nap in the middle of today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to  Amazon bookstore

B&N CEO Parneros Defends B&N's Chances - Because He Had To - The Digital Reader

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to The Digital Reader site. There our kitty pilot found a post about Barnes and Noble bookstores.

I need to watch what happens there.

The post by The Digital Reader site owner Nate Hoffelder concerns an interview in Fortune (magazine) with Barnes and Noble's new CEO Demos Parneros. Mr. Hoffelder quotes questions and answers from the interview in which Mr. Parneros addresses questions about the number of bookstores and sales at the online Barnes and Noble site. Mr. Hoffelder doesn't agree with CEO Parneros' answer about Barnes and Noble's continuing viability as a bookstore company. Included in the post is a link to the Fortune interview. You can read the interview and make your own decision about Barnes and Noble's future.

Panzer says, "Umm ... I hope Mr. Hoffelder is wrong. This kitty sells more ebooks through Barnes and Noble's online site than through Amazon."

Note: This is a smallish-medium post. Bring a cup of tea and half a muffin for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the link to the Fortune interview, bring another cup of tea and another muffin and a half.

To read the post, tootle over to Barnes and Noble CEO Parneros

A New Panzerism

Panzer on cat research:

After months of study and close observation ...

Professor Panzer has concluded the following:

One out of every one dogs is noisy and stinky.

Maybe Dog News Monthly?

Okay, it may have been a small sample size ...

but the results still hold up.

Now ...

Where can I get my research paper published?

Conde Nast & Hearst Divest Themselves of the U.K. Distribution Business, Comag U.K.'s Future Is Uncertain - Publishing Executive

What will happen now?

Today, Panzer was barely into the Catosphere when he heard wailing and crying. Our brave kitty followed the lamentations and found himself at the Publishing Executive site. It didn't take any digging at all to discover the source of all the noise was a post about distribution company Comag U.K.

According to the post by Linda Ruth, Conte Nast and Hearst have withdrawn from Comag U.K. Since these two are the sole owners of Comag, the distribution company's future is unknown. The options would appear to be the sale of the company or shutting it down. Currently, the company is continuing business as usual. Comag is responsible for 23 percent of the U.K. newsstand distribution of U.S. publications.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... How can it be business as usual if there's nobody to run the company?"

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

To read the post tootle over to Comag U.K. Distribution Business

George RR Martin says Game of Thrones spin-offs will all be prequels - and announces a fifth - The Guardian

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard clapping and cheering. Following all the jocularity took our handsome kitty pilot to The Guardian site. With just a little digging around he found a post about George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones.

Do the novel now. I can't wait.

According to the post by Danuta Kean, George R.R. Martin has announced in conjunction with HBO he's helping with the creation of five Game of Thrones spin-offs. These won't be spin-offs in the usual use of the word, but prequels to aspects of the world he created for Game of Thrones. Each prequel is getting a pilot episode. Each pilot is written by a different writer with Mr. Martin's input. Mr. Martin does stress that he's still working on his next novel Winds of Winter. There are several links in the post including one to Mr. Martin's blog post about the spin-offs.

Panzer says, "This kitty wishes Mr. Martin would hurry up and finish Winds of Winter."

Note: This is a long post. Bring a big cup of tea and two muffins for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the links in The Guardian post, bring a thermos of tea and two extra muffins.

To read the post, tootle over to Game of Thrones spinoffs

Streetlib Now Distributes to Kobo Plus - The Digital Reader

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to The Digital Reader site. After doing a little digging our kitty boy found a post about Kobo Plus and Streetlib. Panzer told you about Kobo Plus and Draft2Digital's distribution agreement earlier this month.

Exactly, how big is the market?

According to the post by site owner Nate Hoffelder, distribution service Streetlib announced they'll begin ebook distribution to Kobo Plus. On June 1 Streetlib will distribute all ebooks in their catalog (unless authors opt-out) to subscription service Kobo Plus. Kobo Plus is Kobo's subscription sales arm in the Netherlands. Mr. Hoffelder's post includes a link to Streetlib's original email to authors about the new distribution agreement with Kobo Plus.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Kobo Plus has access to ebooks in Kobo, Draft2Digital and now Streetlib. This kitty wonders what the actual number of ebooks Kobo Plus has is."

Note: This is a short post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection. If you follow the link to Panzer's earlier post, bring a muffin too.

To read the post about Kobo Plus and Streetlib, tootle over to Streetlib

To read Panzer's post about Kobo Plus and Draft2Digital, tootle over to Draft2Digital

Harlequin Closing Five Lines, Including Kimani Romance - Book Riot

A clean Panzermobile is a tired kitty.

Panzer was doing his usual Saturday cleaning of the Panzermobile when he found a wadded up post under the pilot's seat. Smoothing all the wrinkles our fastidious kitty discovered it was a post from the Book Riot site about romance publisher Harlequin.

According to Kay Taylor Rea, Harlequin is no longer accepting submissions for five of its romance lines. The shut down lines include: Harlequin Western, Harlequin Superromance, Love Inspired Historical, Harlequin Nocturne and Kimani Romance. Harlequin attributes the discontinuations to lack of reader interest and changing tastes. It appears the lines will continue publishing to finish out the previously purchased author manuscripts, but won't purchase any more. A lot of the post is made up of quoted tweets explaining the discontinuation.

Panzer says, "This kitty wonders if romance readers are finding more of their romances in online ebooks."

Note: This is a shortish-long post. Bring two cups of tea and two muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Harlequin

9 Reasons Audiobook Growth Is Soaring - DBW

An audiobook for cats? I'd listen.

Today, Panzer made a trip to the DBW site. Our traveling kitty boy hasn't been there for a while. With a little digging around he found a post about audiobooks.

According to the post by Sandy McDowell, audiobook sales are climbing. The post lists nine reasons for this growth. Reasons mentioned by Ms. McDowell range from enjoying listening to a storyteller to the companionship of hearing another voice. There are more reasons listed between these two. Also included are links specific to some of the reasons listed, like a link to the best free audiobook sites.

Panzer says, "You can take a survey at the end about audiobooks, too."

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

To read the post, tootle over to audiobook growth

Amazon Starts Weekly Bestseller Lists - Publishers Weekly

As soon as the Panzermobile got into the Catosphere today Panzer couldn't believe all the cheering and clapping he heard. Following all the jocularity took our kitty pilot to the Publishers' Weekly site. There he found a post about Amazon's newest endeavor.

This needs looking into.

According to the post by Jim Milliot, Amazon has started a new weekly bestseller lists service for readers. Called Amazon Charts the service has two bestseller lists. One has the top 20 books based on sales numbers and the second has the top 20 books based on reading numbers. The sales numbers will include a book's sales across all Amazon platforms. The read numbers will include a book's reads and audio book listens.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... This little kitty can see that authors who have their books in Amazon Kindle ebooks, CreateSpace paperbacks and Audible audio books have a big advantage when it comes to these bestseller lists."

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

To read the post, tootle over to Amazon Bestseller Lists

iOS 10.3.2 Update Stops eBooks in iBooks from Hacking Your iPad - The Digital Reader

I am so tired

Panzer had to go to the vet today for a checkup, so he only made a short trip into the Catosphere. Our kitty boy stopped in at The Digital Reader site. A little digging and he found a post about some important Apple updates.

According to site owner Nate Hoffelder's post, Apple has issued some important updates. If you have an iPad or iPhone, you use the Safari browser, or use iTunes or Apple TV, you need to install the upgrades immediately. The updates address security issues that allow hackers to take over your devices.

Panzer says, "What's an iOS?"

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

To read the post, tootle over to hacking iPad