Book News, In Brief

Bezos may be a b*tch, but he's no dummy. The Motley Fool has an intriguing article detailing Amazon's 'Divides to Conquer' e-book sales strategy.


Well, you can bet your bottom dollar that the conservative-leaning Amazon won't be able to compete with this idea: Tor Launches Publisher Agnostic Online Store. Skeptics will find the shop well-stocked with science titles, art texts, science fiction and fantasy novels.


The Ellwood City Ledger reports that the current economic crises has increased library usage to numbers never before seen. Of course, this "usage" is actually just job-hunters camped out in the computer areas, but hey -- maybe they'll take a chance on one of those book-thingies while they're there.


Penguin has launched three new sites -- one audio, one video, and one print -- to help promote those books and authors that they feel are being ignored by the mainstream media. While I usually try and cap these news bits off with some sorta wise-ass aside, I've gotta say, this actually impresses the hell out of me.


This is the sort of criminal mastermind that makes me appreciate the inept shoplifters we catch in our shop. Earth Times reports, "A Taiwan bookstore is trying to catch a book thief who not only steals books, but also leaves cards in the store's books with tips on how to steal books." This reminds me of the ancient Tiawanese proverb that says, "Steal me a book, I'll read today. Teach me how to steal a book, I'll read for a lifetime."