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Amazon says it now sells more ebooks than hardcovers


The rate of ebook adoption in the marketplace is increasing rapidly, at least for Amazon. The company announced yesterday that it sold an average of 43% more ebooks than hardcovers in the second quarter of 2010, and that number jumped up to 80% more in June.

Those ebooks aren’t just being read by voracious early adopters, either. Sales of the $189 Kindle tripled increased last month after Amazon dropped the price. (Update: Amazon says the growth rate of sales tripled, but more math-minded people elsewhere have pointed out that this doesn’t actually provide any information on how many units were sold–it could literally be as few as three more units and still be described as a tripling of growth rate.)

“Amazon Sells More E-Books Than Hardcovers” [Wired]

(Photo: antwerpenR)

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Friday, September 10th

“Map of Bones” by James Rollins
Price: $1.99
“During a crowded service at a cathedral in Germany, armed intruders in monks’ robes unleash a nightmare of blood and destruction. But the killers have not come for gold; they seek a more valuable prize. With the Vatican in turmoil, an elite team of scientific and Special Forces operatives leaps into action. They are pursuing a deadly mystery that weaves through sites of the Seven Wonders of the World and ends at the doorstep of an ancient, mystical, and terrifying secret order… with dark plans that will alter the future of humankind.”


Thursday, September 9th

“The First: A Collection of Dark Fiction” by Scott Nicholson
Price: $0.89
“A collection of 14 dark fantasy, dystopia, and science fiction stories from award-winning author Scott Nicholson. These stories visit undiscovered countries and shadowy avenues of the heart, lands and times where night never ends and matter doesn’t matter. Features the six-story Aeropagan cycle where time is literally money. Nicholson, a 1999 Writers of the Future award winner, has published 10 novels and the comic books Grave Conditions, Dirt, and Little Shivers. Includes an afterword and Nicholson’s first-ever published story.”


Wednesday, September 8th

“The Sudoku Murder” by Shelley Freydont
Price: $1.24
From Publishers Weekly: “Mathematician and government employee Katie McDonald returns to her hometown of Granville, NH, at the behest of her former mentor, P.T. Avondale. Katie is shocked to find Avondale frail and preoccupied, his beloved puzzle museum in serious disrepair and dire financial straits. Before Katie can make sense of the situation, she discovers Avondale murdered in his office — slumped over an unfinished Sudoku puzzle that may provide a clue to the killer’s identity. She tops the suspect list and decides to solve the case on her own, not only to clear her name but to save the Avondale museum from the wrecking ball.”


Tuesday, September 7th

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“Once, this was the City of Angels. The angels are no longer in charge. From the extravagant appetites of the vampire world above, to the gritty defiance of the werewolves below, the specter of darkness lives around every corner, the hope of paradise in every heart. All walk freely with humans in a tentative peace, but to live in Los Angeles is to balance on the edge of a knife. One woman knows better than most that death lurks here in nights of bliss or hails of UV bullets. And Fleur Dumont is about to meet the one man who may understand her: a tormented protector who’s lost his way and all he loved.”


Monday, September 6th

“The Pawn (The Patrick Bowers Files, Book 1)” by Steven James
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Saturday, September 4th

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