Amazon announced they will hold an event this Wednesday (May 6th:10 a.m.) in New York. Most are expecting the unveiling of a large-format e-reader geared towards newspaper subscriptions. Which would be a smart move for Amazon, as many newspapers aren’t happy with the Kindle and its inability to serve up newspaper styles content and ads as the industry needs. That’s a fact that has many of the major newspaper chains partnering with other e-reader device manufacturers to develop their own e-ink devices.
A trend that Amazon would no doubt like to curb with its potential to cut into it’s growing revenue stream of (on avergae) $14 a month per newspaper subscription.
I used to think that days like today were nothing more than some marketing gimmick conjured up by various trade associations, but today is different. “Buying local” seems to be the savior we’ve been looking for all this time. Which financial institutions are surviving the financial crisis the best? Local ones. Where is the best place to buy food, ensuring no crazy chemicals or pests have been involved? Locally. You want to support your community and keep your neighbors employed? Buy local.
This holiday has been around since 1923. But for some reason, it’s never really caught on here in the states. Not sure why. These days it’s organized by UNESCO and seems like a good idea. This older Wolrd Book Day originates in Spain and is different than England’s World Book Day (which they celebrate on March 5th) which was founded in 1998. So, anyway…
Happy World book Day (for the second time in 2009)!
The weather could not have been any better down in Montgomery for the Alabama Book Festival this year. There was even a small 2 minute light rain, just to make sure no one overheated. There was plenty to do, as usual and some of the old favorites were there. APTV sponsored the children’s area, so there were lots of costumed characters, stickers and free books making making the rounds. I mean FREE books! It’s worth the trip right there.
My only regret is not getting to make my way to the New South Books open house. I hope they do it again for next year’s festival. There are a few (I was a photo slacker this year) more pics (including Rick Bragg and Frank Stitt) after the jump.
