06:00 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Week in Review

Previously at MobileRead:

E-Book General - News and Commentary

• Barnes and Noble announces upcoming eReader
• BeBook mini to hit stores within 4 weeks
• calibre 0.6.0 released!

E-Book General - Reading Recommendations

• August 09 Book Club Nominations

E-Book Formats - ePub

• The Official Motion for Introduction of the Epub Dictionary Format

Miscellaneous - Announcements

• First Toronto (Canada) MobileRead Meetup, 15 August, 2009
• First MobileRead Meet Up in Montréal, August 8th

11:36 PM by kovidgoyal in E-Book General | News

Hi All,

Finally, after a two month long beta process, I've released calibre 0.6.0. It has tons of new features and bug fixes, some of which you can read about here http://calibre.kovidgoyal.net/new_in_6

A big thank you to all the calibre code contributors, translators and beta testers, without you, this release would not have been possible.

Now that I have 0.6.0 out of my hair, I should be going back to the one release per week development cycle you've come to know and love

There is also a nice video tour of calibre at http://calibre.kovidgoyal.net/downloads/videos/

Enjoy!

11:25 AM by Verencat in Miscellaneous | Announcements

I am extremely happy to announce that a Canadian Meet Up will be held in Montréal on August 8th !

From Thursday, August 6th to Monday, August 10th, the 67th World Science Fiction Convention will be held in Montréal, and what better excuses could we have to gather up, exchange on our wonderful devices, eat out and have the best of times!

After the event, those interested are welcome to join us to enjoy Montréal's Fireworks Internationals on St-Laurent river banks.

Need we say more? This reunion will be one to remember!

Details:

Date: Saturday, August 8th
Time: 6 PM for drinks and dinner, 10 PM for the fireworks
Place: Pub St-Paul, in Montréal's Old Port

Leave a message to say you'll be there and get more information in this thread.

You can also RSVP to the event on Mobile Read Facebook page here.

10:47 AM by Abelturd in E-Book Formats | ePub

Dear MobileReaders,

the EPUB industry standard ebook format is on the verge of becoming the predominant format for electronic publishing. This is a turn for the better, because it could resolve the chaotic situation with the myriad of ebook formats out there and make things easier for the publishers and the liseuse manufacturers, and of course for readers.

It has it's shortcomings, though, one of which is the lack of dictionary support.

Admirable initiative addressing this issue has come from Nate the Great, who started work on the tag specification in this -> thread.

In a different thread I proposed that some official body, it would be best if it was IDPF, should prepare the specification for epub dictionary format and then forward it to the publishers and liseuse manufacturers. We as users can put things in motion. My idea was that we, MR members, roundup our suggestions concerning the epub dictionary format and explicitly state our wish for it to be brought into existence. Kind of a petition, if you like. That's what this thread is for. When we come to a general consensus on the matter, we will forward our ideas to IDPF , who is in a position to act on them.

Please, any ideas, comments, wishes and suggestions on your side are most welcome.

09:54 AM by zelda_pinwheel in Miscellaneous | Announcements

We are very excited to announce that the first Toronto (Canada) Meetup will be held on the 15th of August !

According to MobileRead member nrapallo, "It will be a gathering to see the latest gadgetry (e-ink in all its glory) as well as those tried and true legacy ebook readers (what started it all...) and some in-between attempts...

So, mark it in your day planners, bring your ebook reader and come join us for some lively discussions (Did someone say DRM?...) and general friendliness attributed to Torontonians the world over... "

Sounds like a don't miss occasion to us ! So clear your calendar and charge up your gadgets, and enjoy a bagel for us !

Here are the important details :

DATE: Saturday August 15th, 2009
TIME: Starts from 1:00pm (Hey, it's lunchtime!)
PLACE: What A Bagel (Google Maps) (Parking Info)
2275 Yonge Street,
Toronto, ON M4P 2C6
(416) 489-2166

Leave a message to say you'll be there and get more information in this thread.

update : thanks to Verencat, you can all also RSVP on the new and shiny MobileRead Facebook page here !

01:58 PM by ebookreaders in E-Book General | News

The 5" version of the BeBook, the BeBook mini, will be available for sale within 'the next 4 weeks', according to a tweet from Endless Ideas, the company behind the BeBook.

The BeBook mini will be able to display ePub ebooks. It is not sure yet whether drm'ed Mobipocket is also supported. The ereader does not offer wireless connectivity; this option will be featured by BeBook 2, which is expected fall 2009.

Source: eReaders.nl

02:34 AM by Madam Broshkina in E-Book General | News

Click the link to read about Barnes and Nobles new eReader.

Barnes and Noble Announces "World's Largest eBookstore", Upcoming eReader

I think the announcement could not have come at a better time concerning all whats happened with Amazon and Kindle recently.

BARNES & NOBLE LAUNCHES WORLD'S LARGEST eBOOKSTORE

Introduces "Every Device" Strategy

Upgrades eReader Application

Free Downloads

Announces Strategic Partnership with Plastic Logic

New York, New York – July 20, 2009 – Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world's largest bookseller, announced today the launch of the Barnes & Noble eBookstore (www.bn.com/ebooks), the world's largest eBookstore, on Barnes & Noble.com (www.bn.com), enabling customers to buy eBooks and read them on a wide range of platforms, including the iPhone and iPod touch, BlackBerry® smartphones, the forthcoming new eReader device by Plastic Logic, as well as most Windows® and Mac® laptops or full-sized desktop computers.

10:35 AM by pilotbob in Reading Recommendations | Book Clubs

Help us select the next book that the Mobile Read Book Club will read for August 2009.

The nominations will run through Jul 26th.
Voting (new poll thread) will run for 5 days starting Jul 27.

Book selection category for February per the "official" club opening thread is:

August
Contemporary (can be any genre)

In order for a book to be included in the poll it needs THREE NOMINATIONS (original nomination, a second and a third).

How Does This Work?
The Mobile Read Book Club (MRBC) is an informal club that requires nothing of you. Each month a book is selected by polling. On the last week of that month a discussion thread is started for the book. If you want to participate feel free. There is no need to "join" or sign up. All are welcome.

How Does a Book Get Selected?
Each book that is nominated will be listed in a poll at the end of the nomination period. The book that polls the most votes will be the official selec
tion.

How Many Nominations Can I Make?
Each participant has 3 nominations. You can nominate a new book for consideration or nominate (second, third) one that has already been nominated by another person.

How Do I Nominate a Book?
Please just post a message with your nomination. If you are the FIRST to nominate a book, please try to provide an abstract to the book so others may consider their level of interest.

How Do I Know What Has Been Nominated?
Just follow the thread. This message will be updated with the status of the nominations as often as I can. If one is missed, please just post a message with a multi-quote of the 3 nominations and it will be added to the list ASAP.

When is the Poll?
The poll thread will open at the end of the nomination period, or once there have been 10 books with 3 nominations each. At that time a link to the poll thread will be posted here and this thread will be closed.

The floor is open to nominations.

Official choices each with three nominations:

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy
"The book tells the story of Julian West, a young American who, towards the end of the 19th century, falls into a deep, hypnosis-induced sleep and wakes up more than a century later. He finds himself on the same spot (Boston, Massachusetts) but in a totally changed world: It is the year 2000 and, while he was sleeping, the U.S.A. has been transformed into a socialist utopia."

The Road Home by Rose Tremain
"In the wake of factory closings and his beloved wife's death, Lev is on his way from Eastern Europe to London, seeking work to support his mother and his little daughter. After a spell of homelessness, he finds a job in the kitchen of a posh restaurant, and a room in the house of an appealing Irishman who has also lost his family. Never mind that Lev must sleep in a bunk bed surrounded by plastic toys--he has found a friend and shelter. However constricted his life in England remains he compensates by daydreaming of home, by having an affair with a younger restaurant worker (and dodging the attentions of other women), and by trading gossip and ambitions via cell phone with his hilarious old friend Rudi who, dreaming of the wealthy West, lives largely for his battered Chevrolet. Homesickness dogs Lev, not only for nostalgic reasons, but because he doesn't belong, body or soul, to his new country-but can he really go home again?"

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow
Jules is a young man barely a century old. He’s lived long enough to see the cure for death and the end of scarcity, to learn ten languages and compose three symphonies...and to realize his boyhood dream of taking up residence in Disney World. Disney World! The greatest artistic achievement of the long-ago twentieth century. Now in the care of a network of volunteer “ad-hocs” who keep the classic attractions running as they always have, enhanced with only the smallest high-tech touches. Now, though, it seems the “ad-hocs” are under attack. A new group has taken over the Hall of the Presidents and is replacing its venerable audioanimatronics with new, immersive direct-to-brain interfaces that give guests the illusion of being Washington, Lincoln, and all the others. For Jules, this is an attack on the artistic purity of Disney World itself. Worse: it appears this new group has had Jules killed. This upsets him. (It’s only his fourth death and revival, after all.) Now it’s war: war for the soul of the Magic Kingdom, a war of ever-shifting reputations, technical wizardry, and entirely unpredictable outcomes.

At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft.
From user hudson on Feedbooks: "One of the best longer Lovecraft novels, a story of a doomed antarctic exploration party that uncovers the eldritch nightmares buried and sleeping under the snow." I've been reading a lot of Lovecraft recently, but haven't read this one yet.

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
This first novel in Alexander McCall Smith's widely acclaimed The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series tells the story of the delightfully cunning and enormously engaging Precious Ramotswe, who is drawn to her profession to "help people with problems in their lives." Immediately upon setting up shop in a small storefront in Gaborone, she is hired to track down a missing husband, uncover a con man, and follow a wayward daughter. But the case that tugs at her heart, and lands her in danger, is a missing eleven-year-old boy, who may have been snatched by witchdoctors. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency received two Booker Judges' Special Recommendations and was voted one of the International Books of the Year and the Millennium by the Times Literary Supplement.