Hasta La Gadget!

The Sony Reader Store has announced the Sony Readers Book Club, a virtual book club for those who prefer to give their literary analysis online rather than in the coffee shop. Once a month, the Sony Reader Store will select one lucky book for the new club. Users can engage with each other via a monthly hosted meeting, which will include an interview with the book’s author.

The author Q&A will take place on the Sony Reader Facebook and Twitter accounts, where users can also interact with each other and discuss the book of the month. The Reader Book Club will bring with it special offers, discounts, and downloads (for U.S. customers). The Reader Store supports Sony’s Reader device, as well as Android, PC, and Mac.

In addition, customers can participate in a drawing on the Sony Electronics Blog for one of 25 VIP membership slots in the Reader Book Club. The selected 25 VIPs will get a free Sony Reader with cover and the first four book-of-the-month ebooks. Later on in February, the 25 VIP members can then attend an in-person book club in LA with author Michael Connelly (all expenses paid).

Said Natascha Helbig, Director of Sony Reader Store, “We’re excited that together with Hachette Book Group and HarperCollins Publishers we are able to bring these esteemed authors to our readership. The Sony Readers Book Club will not only offer book lovers unique access to a diverse set of some of our most popular authors but also a community where they can share their passion for books with other avid readers.” The first four book-of-the-month picks are Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor (November), Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver (December/January), The Black Box by Michael Connelly (February), and When it Happens To You by Molly Ringwald (March).

[via Sony]

Sony Reader Store announces Readers Book Club is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

iDevice owners in New Zealand and 17 Latin American countries are no longer restricted to a diet composed of free content when it comes to their respective iBookstores. A quick search of the storefronts will reveal virtual shelves stocked with paid-content that haven’t yet found their way to the shops’ homepages. Reside in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru or Venezuela? Head on over to the appropriate store and books with price tags will be available for purchase. If this is any sign of what Apple has up its sleeve for tomorrow, we suspect that “a little more” will involve a bit of reading.

Filed under: Tablets

iBookstore lines its shelves with paid content in New Zealand, 17 Latin American countries originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Oct 2012 21:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Humble eBook Bundle has just about a week left to go before it wraps up, and like clockwork, five new books have been tossed into the mix to tempt bookworms who might be on the fence. As with all Humble Bundles before this one, you’ll need to pay more than the average to get these five bonus books, whereas those who have already purchased the bundle should see them on their download page now. The addition of these new books brings the total number of eBooks available in the bundle up to 13, which we have to say is pretty awesome.

The fact that you only need to beat an average $12.82 makes this deal even more awesome. The books that have been added are xkcd: volume 0 by Randall Monroe; Save Yourself, Mammal! and The Most Dangerous Game by Zach Weiner; and a pair of Penny Arcade graphic novels by creators Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik: Attack of the Bacon Robots and Epic Legends of the Magic Sword Kings. All you have to do to get them is beat the average, which is surprisingly much higher than the averages we’re used to seeing in video game-centric Humble Bundles. It would appear that people place more value on literature than they do on indie games.

To be honest, we’re pretty surprised by how well the Humble eBook Bundle has been doing. We weren’t sure how a Humble Bundle that didn’t feature any games would fair, but it seems that the Humble eBook Bundle has been holding its own. After one week of availability, more than 50,000 bundles have been sold, totaling right around $640,000 for the authors and charity.

Speaking of charity, there’s a new group benefiting from the sales of this bundle. While the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Child’s Play still receive a portion of the profits, the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America group is also being given a cut of the money raised. There’s just over 7 days left to go before the Humble eBook Bundle comes to a close, so you’ve got just about a week to get those orders in!

Humble eBook Bundle adds five new books is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Bibliophiles on a budget may have some bright news on the way: a burgeoning startup is getting ready to hit the literary world with the Spotify-style book service, Oyster. A yet-to-be-determined monthly fee will give the voracious readers of the world unlimited access to Oyster’s library. And while the launch date remains a mystery, we do know that its first rendition is coming in the form of an iPhone app—though an Android version will likely follow. More »

We’ve barely had time to enjoy the games featured in Humble Indie Bundle 6, but already the Humble Bundle folks are at it again. This time, however, there’s a twist. Instead of targeting this latest bundle at the unwashed gaming masses (only kidding), this latest Humble Bundle is all about the bookworms. Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to the Humble eBook Bundle.

Instead of letting buyers name their own price for a series of indie games, the Humble eBook Bundle features a collection of – you guessed it – six eBooks. The eBooks included in this bundle are Invasion by Mercedes Lackey, Zoo City by Lauren Beukes, Pump Six by Paolo Bacigalupi, Pirate Cinema by Cory Doctorow, and two books by Kelly Link, Stranger Things Happen and Magic for Beginners. If you pay more than the average, which currently sits $11.14, you’ll also get copies of Old Man’s War by John Scalzi and the graphic novel Signal to Noise by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean.

A new charity has also been added for the Humble eBook Bundle. In addition to the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Child’s Play, which have been mainstays since the very first Humble Bundle, a portion of the proceeds from each sale will also be going to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. The books are available in PDF, MOBI, and ePub formats, so they should work with computers, eReaders, and mobile devices.

The Humble Bundle folks are quick to point out that many of these books are making their digital debuts in the Humble eBook Bundle, so there may be a few viewing issues left to iron out. Regardless, paying what you want for six eBooks is a great deal, so if you’ve been on the lookout for new books to read, we highly suggest checking out the Humble eBook Bundle. There’s just over two weeks to go before the Humble eBook Bundle says “sayonara,” so get those orders in!

Humble Bundle returns offering eBooks galore is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.