Read a Book a Week

E-books Now Make Up 1/5 of U.S. Book Sales

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E-books Now Make Up 1/5 of U.S. Book Sales.

A reader questioned why I did not read E-books several years ago.  I grew up in a dead tree book world and preferred paper books.  This despite a growing dependence upon computers and the internet for work where most of my reading was done.

I am now equipped with a smart phone and an E-book reader.  When reading a book I now have my choice of four different devices.  I like this a lot.  So while I continue my love for paper books, E-books have found a place on my digital shelf.

 

Tablet and E-Book Reader Ownership Nearly Doubles

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The share of adults in the United States who own tablet computers nearly doubled from 10% to 19% between mid-December and early January and the same surge in growth also applied to e-book readers, which also jumped from 10% to 19% over the same time period.

The number of Americans owning at least one of these digital reading devices jumped from 18% in December to 29% in January.

via Tablet and E-book reader Ownership Nearly Double Over the Holiday Gift-Giving Period | Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project.

Faithful followers are aware this author abandoned his Read a Book a Week project sometime in 2011.  Workload got very busy so I ultimately had to trade non-work reading time for revenue.  Not a bad trade-off but I still miss my recreational reading time.

I’ve owned a Kindle for over a year now and received a smart phone this past Christmas.  I can now access my Kindle books on my phone.  We’ll see if this helps me read more books this year.

Click through to the Pew website where you can download a PDF copy of this study.

An Expert Life Underwriter Bears Witness to the Growth of Ebooks

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globeandmail.com: Ebook sales are close to $1-billion. From Sentimentalists to Imperfectionists, John Barber explores how the publishing world shifted in 2010

The slow yet steady shift from dead tree to digital versions of books is fascinating.  One of my holiday presents was a Kindle.  I have joined the movement.

Last year was a disappointing year in my personal book reading.  I read just 30 books in 2010.  The reason was simple to deduce.  I spent too much time doing other things  (like working).

And in recognition of the new reality I am not increasing my effort to meet my goal of reading a book a week.  I’ve decided to approach this situation with more intelligence than I have in the past.  Yes, I’m setting the bar lower.

Read a Book a Week is now Read a Book Every Other Week.

26 books this year should be doable, no?

Read a Book a Week – 3Q 2010 Update

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Life has been rich, full, and busy.  Thankfully, business for me has been good.

These are my excuses for not reading a book a week.

I’ve managed to read about half a book a week this year through the end of September.  The 4Q has traditionally been a low reading period due to football, hockey, basketball, and baseball playoffs.  The number of RSS feeds I have decided to follow have increased.  This website is taking more time to maintain.

What to do…what to do?

Kindle Ebooks Outselling Dead Tree Versions

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I am still holding out for lower prices on my Ebook reader of choice.  Besides I like dead tree versions of books.

Amazon: Kindle Books Now Outselling Hardcovers

E-books have hit a significant milestone. In each of the last three months, Amazon reports that sales of books for Kindle have outpaced the sale of hardcover books, and that growth is only accelerating.

In a statement, Amazon says that, “over the past three months, for every 100 hardcover books Amazon.com has sold, it has sold 143 Kindle books. Over the past month, for every 100 hardcover books Amazon.com has sold, it has sold 180 Kindle books.”

Read a Book a Week – Update 5/15/10

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The Future of E-Readers Is Brighter Than We Knew | The Big Money

The report has much more information, including the stunning number that 49 percent of the respondents—whether they were familiar with e-readers—were planning to buy a tablet device within the next three years. (Holy smokes!)

I recall an exchange between one of my readers who posted a comment on one of my read a book a week posts.  He was a fervent admirer of ebooks.  I hereby dedicate this post to that anonymous reader.
I am saddened to report I have read just 16 books this year.  Working too much and not spending enough free time reading is my excuse.
And no ebook reader…yet.

Get a Life, Not a Job

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I made a new friend the other day.  While catching up on my non-book reading I came across a manifesto from http://changethis.com/ with the title Get a Life, Not a Job. My curiosity took hold; I thought this short essay might help me figure out where I’m headed in my life and career, so I read it.  Then I contacted the author to tell her how much I liked her manifesto.  Now we’ve connected on LinkedIn and I’ve made a new friend.

My new friend’s name is Paula Caligiuri. The following bio comes from her website:

Paula Caligiuri, Ph.D. is a work psychologist dedicated to helping people navigate the professional and personal challenges associated with their careers. She is the author of several books including Get a Life, Not a Job: Do What You Love and Let Your Talents Work for You, which FT Press will publish in April 2010, and the career blog. Dr. Caligiuri is a frequent contributor to CNN on career and management topics and has completed a pilot for a television show, CareerWATCH.

Dr. Caligiuri is also a Professor in the Human Resource Management Department at Rutgers University, where she teaches courses in career management and global human resources at the masters, PhD, and executive levels. She is an internationally recognized expert on global careers and strategic human resource management. She has lectured in numerous universities and has been a speaker for many major corporations in the United States, Asia, and Europe.

As a consultant, Dr. Caligiuri is the President of Caligiuri and Associates, Inc., a consulting firm that advises leading global organizations on ways to ensure the success of their internationally-oriented talent through assessment, training, and development.

Dr. Caligiuri holds a M.S. and Ph.D. from Penn State University in industrial and organizational psychology.

The book should be an awesome read.  You can get a copy of Paula’s manifesto by clicking the link below.  I’ve also added a link to her website on my sidebar.  I get a steady stream of visitors to my site who are looking for work.  I do hope you find or create what you are looking for.

69.04.Get a Life