You may be familiar with the Nook by Barnes and Noble, and (unless you don't watch TV at all) you've probably seen Jane Lynch's Nook commercial. Now needless to say, I prefer Barnes and Nobel over Amazon. Amazon made a lot of mistakes that cost publishers and authors, heck the whole book business, a lot of money. And Amazon did nothing to correct those mistakes. And that's why I have a Nook, not a Kindle.
When Amazon made Kindle and started to sell ebooks, they set the price of all ebooks to $9.99, decreasing the margin for publisher and author income. Though Amazon did not make as much of a profit, they set the prices lower to expand their market. Publishers were in uproar, and since Amazon was the only seller of ebooks at the time, there was nothing publishers could do. If they refused to let Amazon sell their books, then they would not make any profit off ebooks. Amazon shortchanged publishers just so they could expand their market. Now there's a lot more details that I won't get into. Just know there's a reason authors hate Amazon and want you to buy elsewhere.
But I actually don't like e-readers. I hate them, in fact. I love real books so much better, and e-readers are slowly annihilating the market for print books. That's not to say that print books will be off the shelves anytime soon, however. There are still a lot of people that love real books and buy them over ebooks, myself included. But honestly, I can't carry all the books I want to take with me on vacation in my suitcase. Which is why I travel with my e-reader. But I still love print books, and I especially love buying them from my local bookstore or Indiebound.
Local bookstores are being overshadowed by big chain bookstores and especially Amazon. When you support local bookstores, you support the authors and the local sellers. The people are there because they love books. I love my local bookshop and if it were closer, I'd go every time I wanted books. Plus, if you go to an author's local bookstore, most of the time they will have signed copies in stock and can often get a copy personalized.
If you don't have a local bookstore, but you want to support authors the best you can, then indiebound.org is a great site to visit. Its mission is to connect readers with their local bookstore to support local businesses and "strengthen the health of Main Street ecosystems across the United States." Indiebound not just works to connect readers with local bookshops, but it allow you to buy online from a local store if you don't know the website. Plus, Indiebound has ebooks!! So you can buy an E-reader from Barnes and Noble and still support local booksellers by buying ebooks from Indiebound. How great is that?
So remember to support your local bookstores and support the author that bring you words to devour. Don't fall into Amazon's trap just because prices may be cheaper!! In the end, it really hurts the authors. Remember that as you do your holiday shopping. Happy holidays, and don't forget to read!
-Jill
Sunday
Release date for GG5 moved up!
So I don't know if you've heard...but the latest Gallagher Girls book by the wildly popular YA novelist, Ally Carter has been moved up...a whole week! Now some of you might be saying "Only a week?" But seriously people. This. Is. Big. Over at her blog, a bunch of her fans have been petitioning to get the release date moved up. And it HAPPENED. Normally these this don't happen. But of course there are exceptions such as John Green, whose new book The Fault in Our Stars was slated for mid-Spring, when his publishers noticed the outcry of the nerdfighters on John's blog. The release date was moved up...a whole lot. Now set for early January, John will hand sign every copy from the first print. That's 50,000 books. Thats a whole lot of signatures.
This doesn't happen very often. Usually it happens when a large number of fans comment and blog about how they want the release date moved up. But that's not to say you should pester your favourite authors. In fact, they usually don't have any control whatsoever as to when the book will be published (other than when they finish writing it, obviously.)
Point is, that Out of Sight, Out of Time will now be release on March 13, 2012. Be happy. Jump for joy. Run around in circles. Just remember: next time you're on Ally's (or any of your favourite authors') site, be sure to thank her. Tell her how much you love reading her books and how much you appreciate her efforts to write the best she can. That's all you can ask for.
-Jill
Hello!
So, you found me, have you? Well alright, keep reading. My name is Jill. I love to read. A lot. I have previously done a blog of book reviews but it didn't get much traffic, so I decided to pack up and move. Plus everyone else I follow uses blogger. So here I will be reviewing and recommending books, plus posting bits of my writing. I will also post bits of inspiration such as videos, music, quotes etc. I will try to post as often as possible and review (well my version of reviewing) a book at least once a week. Have a nice weekend!
-Jill
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