First of all, if you're interested in the e-book revolution and haven't already read Ken Auletta's April 26th New Yorker article, Publish or Perish: Can the iPad topple the Kindle, and save the book business? you might want to check it out. It's a standout piece on an often-discussed topic that really puts Apple and Amazon.com's role in the e-book revolution into interesting perspective.

One thing I found particularly interesting about the article was its exploration of some of the stats and financial figures that attest to the speed with which e-books are gaining traction in the book marketplace.

A few highlights:

While it surprises me a bit to see neither Malcolm Gladwell nor the Freakonomics guys in the top ten of the nonfiction charts we follow this week, it seems like consumers have settled into the type of books they're willing to buy on the non-fiction front.  Is the book by a prominent conservative who hates the policies of Pres. Obama?  Does the book have some sort of insight into our current financial mess?  Has the book been prominently promoted on television while promising to provide a better you?  Consider those sorts of books likely to very likely to be a bestseller, but that probably isn't terribly surprising.

Publishers have stacks of research to figure out what people like, so when the book accompanying a very popular HBO miniseries produced by Tom Hanks sells a ton of copies, no one is likely surprised.  So, in the midst of titles that are predisposed to bestsellerdom, it's the little surprises that bring me joy.  Rebecca Skloot has been a fascinating narrative journalist largely working in the field of science for sometime, so it's no surprise that her first book is well-written, but the fact that she uncovers such an interesting story - one that would likely be lost to time otherwise - is what makes The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks such a welcome addition to the bestseller list.  While it's fun to read interesting takes on seemingly tired topics sometimes, a book like Skloot is like finding buried treasure.  Read our analysis of the nonfiction charts this month on our website.

As the April 3rd launch date of the iPad inches closer, the details of what we're actually going to see on the laptop without a hinge and a keyboard have been a little sparse. We were promised the future with this thing!  I want to see some magic books!

 

Well, at very least, I would like to see some reason to fork out several hundred dollars for what still seems a little like a bigger version of my iPhone.  Finally, however, we're hearing from individual publishers what they'll have going on around the device's launch date.

 

 

PaidContent UK has a look at what Penguin has up its sleeve for the Apple iPad, and in a few words, what they have planned is exciting.

As you may or may not know, Behind the Bestsellers was a monthly feature of our e-zine, and while we haven't looked at the charts officially since November, to some extent, not much has changed.

The Help is now the publishing feel good story of this year, like it was in 2009.  The Lost Symbol is still on the charts and there's a James Patterson book there as well, along with a stack of similar detective novels.  Also, we might not ever rid ourselves of vampires.

Normally, when giant corporations fight, it's more a source of indifferent amusement for me more than anything.  While I recognize there was some drama last month over whether companies should be able to act like people, most of the time when public kefuffles occur, it's provides me a giggle over whether Papa John's hurt Pizza Hut's market share by saying that their ingredients are better.  There are certainly underlying issues involved, but it ends up sounding like two fifth graders upset that one didn't invite the other to a birthday party.  Even though it involves the business I work in, I have to admit, this whole Amazon vs. Macmillan seemed to fall into that category, until I started reading authors talk about how they've been affected.

It's Apple tablet day, and since Apple has a level of security that beats the C.I.A., no one really what these things will actually be like, but that doesn't stop a wave of a wild speculation. 

However, with the general success and market domination of Apple products (seriously, do you spend much time thinking about Zunes?), you'd have to believe that the existing producers of e-book readers are sitting on the edge of their plush, executive seats today.  Publishers are on edge as well...how will this change the market for electronically distributed books?  How will Amazon react?  Will there be a price war on titles?  It's a lot to think about and it will likely take a while for the smoke to clear to actually know what will happen next, but what we can be happy about as authors, editors, publishers, agents, and readers is that people are excited for an innovate device that will likely help them read more. 

We love books here at the Editorial Department...even the ones we weren't personally involved with. However, with dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites covering new releases, it can be difficult to keep track of what people are saying about books newly on shelves. To try to resolve that dilemma, we offer our Tuesday Review Wrapup, using the last sentences of prominent book reviews as literary tea leaves to discern the trends guiding our industry. This week,book review sections have been turned over to a series of best of lists for the year and the decade as a whole, so we give in with a recap of the best of 2009 in science fiction (and some fantasy, as well).

 

We love books here at the Editorial Department...even the ones we weren't personally involved with.  However, with dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites covering new releases, it can be difficult to keep track of what people are saying about books newly on shelves.  To try to resolve that dilemma, we offer our Tuesday Review Wrapup, using the last sentences of prominent book reviews as literary tea leaves to discern the trends guiding our industry.  This week, we're looking at Sarah Palin's memoir, Going Rogue.