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Amazon Kindle back in stock, you better hurry
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Wireless / WiFi,
Hey, would you look at that - the Amazon Kindle is back on sale for the first time in months! If you’ve got $399 USD burning a hold in your pocket, and you want what we consider to be one of the breakout devices in the last year, then head on over to Amazon and purchase a Kindle. Seriously, all quirks aside, we’ve done a lot more (offline) reading in the past four months than we have in the past four years, all thanks to Amazon’s e-Book reader.
We expect these to go quickly though, so if you want one, act quickly.
Read More 
| Amazon Kindle product page
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Harry Potter Lawsuit Brings Writer to Tears
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Breaking News,
Steven Vander Ark, Harry Potter fan, cried on the witness stand today as he talked about the current lawsuit between his publishers - RDR Books - and J.K. Rowling.
The lawsuit stems from Ark’s deal with RDR to publish a Harry Potter Lexicon, based on a highly successful site created by Ark himself. Rowling’s suit claims the work infringes upon her own copyright.
Just yesterday, Potter author J.K. Rowling stated that she’s been creatively stopped by the suit, claiming she can no longer work on her book projects due to stress created by the case. Today, Ark got emotional when asked how his relationship with other Potter fans has been affected by the case. “It’s been difficult because there has been a lot of criticism, obviously, and that was never the intention,” Ark said in court. “This has been an important part of my life for the last nine years or so.”
Click to continue reading Harry Potter Lawsuit Brings Writer to Tears
Yahoo! News
J.K. Rowling’s Testimony
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Breaking News,
J. K. Rowling, arguably one of the most successful writers ever to walk the Earth, recently took the stand against Steve Vander Ark to argue about Harry Potter, arguably one of the most successful series of books ever penned. A lot of people have made a lot of money off of Harry Potter - including these two. So what could they possibly be arguing about?
Ark signed a deal with RDR Books to publish a reference manual dubbed “The Harry Potter Lexicon,” based on the Web site of the same name. And boy, is Rowling pissed about it. The novelist said she’s had to cease working on her new book due to stress, and that the problems of this lawsuit (and there is one, by the way) have “decimated my creative work over the past month.”
Click to continue reading J.K. Rowling’s Testimony
Yahoo! News
Oprah Duped by Another Writer
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Television,
Unless you’ve recently come out of hibernation, you were aware of the issue between Oprah and James Frey a while back. After Winfrey selected his book, A MIllion Little Pieces, for her book club in October 2005, the talk show host was blindsided by controversial news: the ‘memoir’ was partially made up.
Although it’s been over two years since Frey received a very public scolding from Oprah on her show, it seems the mogul’s peeps have not learned their lesson. While you would think they had a very large fact-checking operation going on - heaven forbid she be embarrassed again - they’ve let another supposed ‘memoir’ get past their sensors.
Click to continue reading Oprah Duped by Another Writer
New York Daily News
ICUE Lets You Read Via Cell Phone
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Smartphones, Internet, Misc. Tech,
Forget the Kindle and the Readius.You can now receive hundreds of books via ICUE on your cell phone, priced from .50 (~$.98) to £4.50 (~$9.00) Your phone will store them to read when you like, either one word at a time, a phrase, or moving left to right at your chosen pace. You can also receive newspapers, e-mail, and blogs.
Simply download the application 64888 to your phone and you are registered for free once you sign up with Bango for payment. Then select classic, sci-fi, western, or hot best-sellers off their menu and your phone company places the charges on your monthly bill. There is also a folder for storage. We think the idea is great, but that would take a lot of battery charging if your phone is one of the older models.
Read More | ICUE
Publish Your Great American Novel on Blurb
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Design, Internet, Software,
What Cafe Press does for t-shirts and gift items, Blurb can do for aspiring writers. Download the Booksmart software for Microsoft Windows XP/Vista or Mac OS X 10.4.5 or later. Create your own cookbook, business project, wedding album, travelogue, or other idea with images, words, or a combination of the two. There are hundreds of templates to choose from, different book styles, and multiple fonts and colors. Softcover prices start at $12.95 and hardcover at $19.95 for up to 40 pages and $64.95 for 440 pages or more. You can give it as a gift or leave it on their site, and you will not be charged until it sells.
Read More | Blurb
Catholic League Seeks Boycott of ‘Golden Compass’
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: New Line, Celeb News, Upcoming Releases,
Hollywood adaptations are as ubiquitous to the city as would-be starlets – they’re everywhere, and they’re constantly being forced upon us moviegoers. One of the latest adaptations to make it to theaters is The Golden Compass, based on the novel Northern Lights by Phillip Pullman. It’s set for release Dec. 7, but already there are several groups feeling upset with the movie’s mere existence. Fans of the book are unhappy with the changes, but “unhappy” doesn’t begin to describe what the Catholic Church seems to be feeling.
Starring Nicole Kidman among others, The Golden Compass doesn’t have a lot to do with religion. And many think that’s very, very bad. The Catholic League, an U.S. organization, is urging Christians not to see the movie, and has said that Pullman is “a noted English atheist.” They’re calling the movie an attempt to “bash Christianity and promote atheism. To kids.” In the book, the Church plays a central role, part of a weird group that’s determined to discover the nature of sin by experimenting on children. In the movie, however, the Church isn’t referenced…at all. Kidman, who is Catholic, won’t even be part of any film that’s anti-religious.
Reviews of the movie have already been released, many singing Nicole’s praises, but fans of the book are disappointed in the differences. Don’t worry. The Golden Compass - a very diluted version of Northern Lights - won’t step on any toes.
AOL News
Will Madonna’s Daughter Join Harry Potter?
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Adventure, Family, Sequels, Casting, Celeb News, Celebrity Gossip, Upcoming Releases,
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix isn’t even out on video yet, and already talk has turned to the sixth movie installment for the franchise. Sneak peeks of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince are already surfacing, and the casting isn’t even complete.
According to the latest Hollywood-goes-to-Britain gossip, Madonna’s daughter, Lourdes, may soon don a witch’s robe; the 11-year-old is reportedly being sought to join the next Harry-themed movie.
Famed pop singer Madonna has made plenty of forays into the acting field herself, and while her roles in movies like The Next Best Thing and Desperately Seeking Susan were roundly bashed by critics, I still say A League of Their Own is a great movie (and she was pretty good in it, too). Maybe the movie success Madonna once sought will be discovered by Lourdes. Then again, maybe not.
E! Online
Kindle Receives Widespread Attention
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories:
Although it has been around for about 3 years, CEO and President of Amazon Jeff Bezo is hyper-touting the Kindle, the book size device that can store up to 200 books in its memory, as well as newspapers, magazines, and blogs. We watched Mr. Bezo explain its virtues Monday night on the Canadian “Charlie Rose Show,” such as its being able to handle multiple books at a time, free first chapter previews, an included Oxford English Dictionary, auto-page memory, and 30 hour recharge time.
He also mentioned that most of the 90,000 books that you can download are on best seller lists and are only $9.95 apiece. The only thing he didn’t mention were its rivals, the Sony e-reader and Illiad, and the exorbitant price of $399.99.
Read More | Charlie Rose
Giving Back to Schools
Posted by Monica Edwards Categories: Business, Personal,
Click to continue reading Giving Back to Schools
