New categories in the USA Kindle store

New categories in the USA Kindle store

In March of last year (2012), I did a post which broke down the categories in the USA Kindle store:

Kindle bestsellers (free and paid)…by category

Well, I’ve noticed recently that the categories have really changed! There are a lot more of them, and they seem more…in the know.

There are also some other searches which appear in the Kindle store: for example, I’ve seen searches for types of characters, for authors within a category, and for series.

I find categories of things fascinating. 🙂 It just intrigues me the way that humans try to lump things together, and split other things apart.

It’s a natural tendency and yes, it can make things a lot more efficient.

However, it can also paint things with an inappropriate brush. Let’s say you decided that, oh, all bees will sting you. Certainly, some bees will, but some bees are not going to sting you. It’s a safe strategy to avoid all bees in that case, by lumping them into the “stingers” group. The “bee fly” takes advantage of that, and even though it doesn’t have a stinger, it looks like a bee…so it stays safe because people (and other animals) avoid it.

Forteans (followers of Charles Fort) make an effort not to categorize things. One of the core ideas of Fort is that definitions are artificial. As Fort put it,

“…if, upon the basis of yellowness and redness, Science should attempt to classify all phenomena, including all red things as veritable, and excluding all yellow things as false or illusory, the demarcation would have to be false and arbitrary, because things colored orange, constituting continuity, would belong on both sides of the attempted border-line.”

One of my old jokes: “Question: Why did the Fortean cross the road? Answer: There isn’t another side.” 😉

Let’s, then, take a look at some of these new categories…and a bit at the other searches.

We’ll start out with

Science Fiction & Fantasy

The categories are:

• Adventure (16,991)
• Alien Invasion (688)
• Alternative History (3,109)
• Anthologies & Short Stories (8,879)
• Classics (591)
• Colonization (516)
• Cyberpunk (583)
• Dystopian (1,647)
• First Contact (297)
• Galactic Empire (322)
• Genetic Engineering (1,126)
• Hard Science Fiction (4,116)
• Metaphysical & Visionary (1,140)
• Military (3,598)
• Post-Apocalyptic (1,805)
• Space Exploration (429)
• Space Opera (5,378)
• Steampunk (865)
• Time Travel (1,955)
• TV, Movie, Video Game Adaptations (1,548)

Under that, we get an author list that calls out to me what is an odd assortment:

• Victor Methos (4)
• Susan Kaye Quinn (12)
• Orson Scott Card (57)
• Max Brooks (1)
• Hugh Howey (19)
• Matthew Mather (3)
• Kurt Vonnegut (20)

However, there is also a link to “See more…”, and that brought me to this fascinating page:

Science Fiction authors page

It has thirty-four pages, with about 50 authors per page…and some of those authors only have one title listed. It’s possible that every author is listed (alphabetically by first name, by the way).

For example, I could click

Alastair Reynolds

and get to a page with just that author’s books…which I could bookmark for future use using my browser.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen people wanting to search by author. Yes, you can put the name in the browser, but that’s not really very reliable. Well, there is a search box on the author page, and it seems to work.

That should mean…yes, there is an authors page for the whole Kindle store!

Kindle Store authors page

There you go: you can now search by author. I’m going to add that link into the blogsite.

Okay, back to SF&F.

After authors, you have series, and again, that list is a bit odd to me:

• Mindjack (5)
• Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood (18)
• Ender (8)
• The Descent (8)
• Odd Thomas (8)
• Elemental Mysteries (4)
• Silo Saga (10)

Again, clicking “See more” brings up this:

SF&F series page

There doesn’t seem to be one of those for the whole store, though.

It does have a searchbox.

Here are the filters for types of characters:

• Aliens (4,781)
• AIs (535)
• Clones (345)
• Corporations (124)
• Mutants (197)
• Pirates (341)
• Psychics (624)
• Robots & Androids (1,140)

No “See more…” on that one, though.

Next we get genres:

Horror (2,884)
Humor (1,975)
Mystery (2,320)
Non-Romantic (45,922)
Romantic (4,505)
Thriller (3,493)

Those are genres within science fiction and fantasy.

One more thing: there is a link to filter for books which have Whispersync for Voice:

Whispersync for Voice (1,157)

Oh, actually, there is another filter…number of stars:

4 & Up (19,120)
3 & Up (22,903)
2 & Up (23,644)
1 Up (24,032)

Hm…does that mean that no SF&F book has gotten 5 stars average? Sorting by Customer Reviews for the whole list, that seems to be correct…nothing higher than 4.9. Looking at these numbers, my guess is that there is a threshold for number of reviews before it counts for this listing.

Okay, let’s take a look at Romance:

African American (2,598)
Collections & Anthologies (5,993)
Contemporary (40,800)
Fantasy (9,506)
Gay Romance (6,611)
Gothic (600)
Historical Romance (18,051)
Holidays (2,031)
Inspirational (6,958)
Lesbian Romance (1,371)
Military (1,232)
Multicultural & Interracial (1,893)
Mystery & Suspense (12,279)
New Adult & College (1,026)
Paranormal (15,394)
Romantic Comedy (5,203)
Science Fiction (1,615)
Series (14,777)
Sports (764)
Time Travel (1,645)
Westerns (3,640)

Author
Anya Wylde (1)
Ann Charles (2)
Martin Crosbie (1)
Kate Perry (7)
Marie Force (17)
Linda Ladd (2)
Kimberly Kinrade (2)
› See more…

Romantic Themes
Amnesia (182)
Beaches (536)
Gambling (200)
International (119)
Love Triangle (1,243)
Medical (928)
Secret Baby (553)
Vacation (184)
Wedding (689)
Workplace (230)

Romantic Heroes
Cowboys (1,364)
Doctors (321)
Firefighters (115)
Highlanders (473)
Pirates (436)
Politicians (510)
Royalty & Aristocrats (1,097)
Spies (749)
Vikings (181)
Wealthy (942)

Whispersync for Voice
Whispersync for Voice (3,731)

Avg. Customer Review
4 & Up (67,675)
3 & Up (80,362)
2 & Up (82,839)
1 & Up (83,929)

Looking at these, I wonder if they are derived from customer placed tags? It seems odd for an Amazon employee to create a category for “Secret Baby”. You know, that would make sense: Amazon is probably creating filters out of popular tags…clever. That crowdsources the categorizing, which is probably not a bad way to go.

Now, what Amazon needs to do is let us sign up for an e-mail when a page changes, so we could know when our favorite authors/genres/characters/series have new books…

What do you think? Are these the categories you would have picked? Do you care about categories? Are you going to bookmark author or series pages? Feel free to let me and my readers know by commenting on this post.

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.

Round up #175: my new hero, Apple trial begins

Round up #175: my new hero, Apple trial begins

The ILMK Round ups are short pieces which may or may not be expanded later.

Apple Agency Model trial begins

We can now refer to the trial as the Apple Agency Model trial. Initially, the Department of Justice (DoJ) went after five publishers and Apple for conspiring to raise e-book prices (basically…I’m simplifying here), but all five publishers have settled with the DoJ. That leaves Apple as the only defendant, so it’s not “Apple and the publishers” any more.

Even though lawyers can’t pivot very quickly, that does change the dynamic. I think, for one thing, it lets Apple set it up as much more that the DoJ was out to get them, specifically, and was supporting Amazon. If you are the only person being “picked on”, it’s easier to convince people that it is unfair, in my opinion.

Judge Cotes expects the non-jury trial to last three weeks, according to this

Washington Post article by Cecilia Kang

We could see some very interesting things come out of this. Who testifies? What industry secrets might be revealed (including ones about Amazon)? How does Steve Jobs’ reputation come out of it? Will any of the publisher big wigs testify against Apple?

I’ll keep an eye on it for you.

Update: here is a slide deck that the DoJ presented…I may write more about it later, but you can see why Judge Cote thought the government might have enough evidence, in my opinion:

http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/145535056

Kindle Fire sale

Through June 8th, US customers can get a Kindle Fire HD (7″ or 8.9″, with or without 4G) for $20 off, subject to these

Deal Terms & Conditions

One of the main things: you need to enter a code (DADSFIRE), meaning that you can not make this purchase with 1-Click.

Mini review: Ender’s Game

Ender’s Game (The Ender Quintet)
by Orson Scott Card

When I recently polled my readers about what they like in ILMK (I Love My Kindle), reviews weren’t very high (although they weren’t super low). So, to accommodate that, I may do more of these “mini reviews”…that way, you don’t have a whole post on one book as often, but for those not insubstantial numbers who liked them, you still get my opinion. 😉

One interesting thing for me about the current e-book market is that I’ll see books put on sale for a short period of time that may be books about which I’ve certainly heard, but have never read. As a former brick-and-mortar bookstore, I can assure you that prices fluctuate much more wildly in e-books than they do in paper!

Ender’s Game is a case like that. It’s not that expensive now ($4.39 at the time of writing), but it was on sale and I wanted to read it before the movie comes out on November 1st.

I’d heard a bit about it (it is one of my relative’s favorite books), but was going into it reasonably spoiler free. 🙂

I’m also aware of the…controversy over the author’s personal beliefs (I think that may lead to protests or boycotts of the movie), but as I’ve written about before, I try to separate the art and the artist.

The first thing I’ll say is that, if you think you don’t like science fiction…well, this book is probably not going to change your mind. 😉 A lot of the book is involved with technology, and with some speculative social things. I didn’t recommend it to my Significant Other, partially for that reason…too much techno going on.

It does, though, also focus on people, and I’d be reasonably certain that the people who like it, like it mainly for that reason.

Well, more accurately, it focuses on one person…Ender Wiggins. In the same way that you have to empathize with Katniss Everdeen to like The Hunger Games trilogy (despite there being other interesting characters), you have to connect to Ender to like Ender’s Game.

“Empathize” might be a tricky word here, though…I don’t mean that you have to wish you were Ender, or even think you would like Ender in the real world, but what happens to Ender, what Ender feels has to matter to you.

I think Ender (and the whole book) may particularly appeal to adolescents who are feeling that “outsider” thing, and that the adults have too much power (and may not deserve it).

The book was a bit of an odd mix for me. There were definitely action sequences, but the book is much more conceptual than it is emotional (although it is that, too).

I did find it interesting…I think that may be a better way to put it than saying that I enjoyed it.

Mini reviews: Tetris Blitz and Plasma Sky

I try not to write too much just about the Kindle Fire (although one of my purely Kindle Fire posts has become one of the most popular in the blog). I did write about a Kindle Fire sale earlier, but I figure this won’t make it too much in this round-up. 🙂

While I still play Dabble (and I do like word games), I’ve been enjoying two other Kindle Fire games recently (to varying degrees and for different reasons).

TETRIS® Blitz (Kindle Tablet Edition) is from the makers of Tetris, and is sort of a speed round version of the game. Each game only last two minutes…I did think that sometimes a Tetris game would seem to go on forever (or at least too long) if I was playing well.

You also have to make decisions much more quickly…you don’t just let the blocks (“Tetriminos”) drip-drip-drip down from the top…you can tap on the screen and place them quickly, and you’ll need to do that to get a good score.

There are also “power ups”, and some of those are cool…I particularly like the “lasers”, which wipe out three rows at a time.

However…

The game is free, and that’s a problem.

Why is it a problem?

They constantly want you to buy more stuff (including the aforementioned power-ups). Even though we are both adults using our Fires, we’ve turned off In-App purchasing (Swipe down from the top – More – Applications – Apps (in the bottom part) – In-App Purchasing) so we don’t accidentally buy things. In this case, you buy things with coins. You can earn the coins (somewhat slowly…you’d need to play about ten games before you had enough coins to buy a power-up, usually), or you can buy them with real money.

I’d be very careful with kids with this one…the temptation to buy things is going to be as strong as the lure of a Vegas slot machine. 😉

It’s a fun game…but I would say I would have paid $2.99 to get a version without all of those enticements!

I got Plasma Sky – Rad Space Shooter as a Free App of the Day (it’s currently $1.99), and that worked just the way it is supposed to work.

I’m writing about it, to tell you it’s fun!

It’s really like an old 1980s style arcade game (in particular, Galaga), but you control your spaceship by tilting the Kindle Fire. It is the thing I’ve used so far that takes the most advantage of the inclinometer. The controls are easy, and you can just keep continuing the game if you want to get to different levels.

You have three game modes…I’ve mostly played Conquest, which has eighty levels.

Like many older videogames, you have to develop different strategies to defeat different enemies…which means it is a thinking game, in addition to being a shooter.

If, like me, you think of it all as being done by unpiloted craft, it’s not really violent…no screams, no blood.

It’s not frustratingly difficult, but it would take you a lot of work to get a perfect score…for me, that’s great design.

The enemies and power-ups are creative and fun.

I highly recommend Plasma Sky is you like a simple arcade style game. Tetris Blitz…well, if you are okay with being asked to spend more money all the time (you can say no…and then say no again, and again, andagainandagainandagain…), it’s an interesting game.

5-year old Sophia Moss is my new hero

My record is reading 3 1/2 novels in a day…at that pace, I could hypothetically read 1,277.5 books in one year of 365 days.

Sophia Moss, who is 5-years old, has read 875 books…this school year (kindergarten).

ABC News article

Sure, those aren’t full length novels, but come on! If we figure that was in only 3/4s of a year, Sophia could hit 1,165.75 books in a year…close enough to me, and I suppose this bookworm might read faster in the summer than when in school.

I, by the way, was never maintaining my pace!

A tip of the hat to you, Sophia Moss…and to your school and your legal guardian(s)! You did it, but they helped make it possible.

What do you think? Do you want to add in your congratulations to Sophia Moss? 🙂 Will Apple prevail? If they do (or if they don’t), what will that mean for e-books? Are you a big Ender’s Game fan? Feel free to tell me and my readers what you think by commenting on this post.

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.

100 Kindle books for $3.99 or less each: June 2013

100 Kindle books for $3.99 or less each: June 2013

Amazon does the Kindle Daily Deal, which discounts (usually) four books a day (often general fiction, a romance, a science fiction/fantasy book, and a kids’ book).

They’ve also been doing 100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or Less each month.

Those prices only apply to the USA, and one weird thing is that some of the books seem to sell out at that price sometimes (or become unavailable for some other reason).

It’s also interesting…about 46% of the books in the USA Kindle store are $3.99 or less (902,231 of 1,974,209). Still, these are on sale, and that’s worth something. 

I’m going to list some of the $3.99 or lower ones that caught my eye…I’m not necessarily recommending them, but I do think they are interesting.

The ones I list also don’t block text-to-speech access…but I think blocking it is becoming rarer.

Galapagos
Mother Night
both by Kurt Vonnegut

I’m so grateful that RosettaBooks bought the rights to these Kurt Vonnegut novels, and brought them to us as e-books! They made those moves when the tradpubs (traditional publishers) were sort of ignoring e-books, and they haven’t followed in the footsteps of the tradpubs. These two books are quite different. Galapagos is more of the surrealism you might expect from Vonnegut; Mother Night isn’t even science fiction. If you haven’t read Vonnegut, you may find that Mother Night convinces you of the author’s worthiness to be considered one of the American greats.

Forever, Erma: Best-Loved Writing From America’s Favorite Humorist
by Erma Bombeck

For decades, Erma Bombeck was one of America’s favorite humor writers. The columns and books were observational and often domestic…the idea of a mother telling us (in a funny way) that motherhood wasn’t always sweetness and light gave birth (so to speak) to other comedians who did the same (Roseanne comes to mind, but certainly, not the only one).

Open Road has published a number of Bombeck’s best known works in e-book form, but at $2.99 at time of writing, this one is a bargain and a good introduction. Some of the others, so you can see a price comparison:

• The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank $11.99
• Motherhood: The Second Oldest Profession $9.99
• If Life Is a Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing in the Pits? $6.83

Fuzz (RosettaBooks into Film)
by Ed McBain

Some big names this time! This is one of the 87th Precinct novels by Ed McBain, which was a very popular police procedural series…it was also made into a movie with Burt Reynolds.

We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting for: Inner Light in a Time of Darkness
by Alice Walker

Alice Walker is a Pulitzer Prize winning novelist (for The Color Purple). It’s important to note that this one is not a novel, but a series of essays and thoughts on how to be a better person.

Deviants (The Dust Chronicles)
by Maureen McGowan

Young adult, post-apocalyptic…and 4.2 stars out of 5 with 95 reviews.

They Came to Baghdad
by Agatha Christie

Not a Christie mystery, this one is more of a spy thriller.

The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements
by Sam Kean

Science! Non-fiction, with 240 reviews and 4.4 stars.

The Secret Zoo
by Bryan Chick

Well-reviewed kids book…looks like around seven or eight years old is good.

Smoking Ears and Screaming Teeth: A Celebration of Scientific Eccentricity and Self-Experimentation
by Trevor Norton

Yes, that’s right…”self-experimentation”. This is another non-fiction book, and it covers just what it suggests..scientists can (and do) experiment on themselves.

The First Deadly Sin (The Edward X. Delaney Series)
by Lawrence Sanders

The first in a popular series of mysteries…and $1.99.

The Boo
by Pat Conroy

You know how some people (I think not typically readers of this blog) refer to independent authors who self publish their works in…um…less than glowing terms? Pat Conroy was one of those, with this book. No, you probably aren’t going to like it as much as The Prince of Tides, but arguably, without first self-publishing in the face of rejection from tradpubs (traditional publishers), you wouldn’t have eventually had that book, either.

The Taliban Cricket Club
by Timeri N. Murari

Gender politics and sports…in contemporary Kabul. I find the comments about this novel intriguing.

Well, those are a few of the ones that caught my eye. I’m happy to say that only one I checked had TTS (text-to-speech) access blocked. It’s nice to see a number of well-known authors in this batch. I’m guessing there is something that will appeal to just about everybody. If there is one here you want to point out to other people, or if you have other things to say to me and/or my readers, feel free to comment on this post.

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.

Snapshot: June 1 2013

Snapshot: June 1 2013

I generally run this information through eReaderIQ.com (it’s just easier than Amazon), and there are some vagaries in the searches (both there and on Amazon). I do try to run it the same way every time, so unless Amazon changes something, it should give you a pretty good idea.  NOTE: I’ve changed this explanation from saying “Jungle-Search.com” to “eReaderIQ.com”. It’s the same people and I assume the results are the same. eReaderIQ is just for the Kindle, Jungle-Search does Amazon generally. eReaderIQ has a slightly better interface for the searches.

Titles in Kindle Store

Titles in Kindle Store

June 1, 2013: 1,972,277
May 1, 2013: 1,940,274
April 1, 2013: 1,924,138
March 1, 2013: 1,913,164
February 1, 2013: 1,849,479
January 1, 2013: 1,805,001
December 1, 2012: 1,742,991
November 1, 2012: 1,641,362
October 1, 2012: 1,579,329
September 1, 2012: 1,531,069
August 1, 2012: 1,486,649
July 1, 2012: 1,451,504
June 1, 2012: 1,407,210
May 1, 2012: 1,358,922
April 1, 2012: 1,315,927
March 1, 2012: 1,265,632
February 1, 2012: 1,207,522
January 1, 2012: 1,165,654
December 1, 2011: 1,112,876
November 1, 2011: 1,058,635
October 1, 2011: 1,033,611
September 1, 2011: 995,265 (roughly 40,000 removed one day: PLR?)
August 1, 2011: 1,015,056
July 1, 2011: 980,434
June 1, 2011: 974,841
May 1, 2011: 937,831
April 1, 2011: 897,663
March 1, 2011: 868,351
February 1, 2011: 828,708
January 1, 2011: 796,131
December 1, 2010: 768,865
November 1, 2010: 743,692
October 1, 2010: 714, 663
September 1, 2010: 687,246
August 1, 2010: 659,479
July 1 2010: 627,343
June 1 2010: 596,300
May 1 2010: 509,229
April 1 2010: 476,653
March 1 2010: 450,625
February 1 2010: 415,100
January 1 2010: 401,773
December 1 2009: 385,484
November 1 2009: 368,813
October 1 2009: 342,865
September 21 2009: 355,805
July 28 2009: 332,813
May 16 2009: 284,491

Approximate average of titles added per day:

June 1, 2013: 1,032
May 1, 2013: 538
April 1, 2013: 354
March 1, 2013: 2,274
February 1, 2013: 1,435
January 1, 2013: 2,000
December 1, 2012: 3,388
November 1, 2012: 2,001
October 1, 2012: 1,609
September 1, 2012: 1,433
August 1, 2012: 1,134
July 1, 2012: 1,476
June 1, 2012: 1,558
May 1, 2012: 1,433
April 1, 2012: 1,622
March 1, 2012: 2,004
February 1, 2012: 1,351
January 1, 2012: 1,703
December 1, 2011: 1,808
November 1, 2011: 807
October 1, 2011: 1,278
September 1, 2011: -638
August 1, 2011: 1,117
July 1, 2011: 186
June 1, 2011: 1,194
May 1, 2011: 1,339
April 1, 2011: 946
March 1, 2011: 1,416 (corrected from last post)
February 1, 2011: 1,051
Taken January 1, 2011: 880 (average for December 2010)
December: 839
November:  968
October: 914
September: 896
August: 1,037
July: 1,035
May: 2,809 (may be affected by Penguin return)
April: 1,086
March: 840
February: 1,146
January: 430 (may be impacted by Macmillan removal)
December 2009: 525
November: 556
October: 837

Magazines:

June 1, 2013: 626
May 1, 2013: 620
April 1, 2013: 609
March 1, 2013: 605
February 1, 2013: 601
January 1, 2013: 586
December 1, 2012: 573
November 1, 2012: 567
October 1, 2012: 558
September 1, 2012: 547
August 1, 2012: 510
July 1, 2012: 497
June 1, 2012: 476
May 1, 2012: 469
April 1, 2012: 453
March 1, 2012: 430
February 1, 2012: 409
January 1, 2012: 370
December 1, 2011: 340
November 1, 2011: 132
October 1, 2011: 129
September 1, 2011: 127
August 1, 2011: 119
July 1, 2011: 115
June 1, 2011: 110
May 1, 2011: 93
April 1, 2011: 86
March 1, 2011: 81
February 1, 2011:  80
January 1, 2011: 74
December 1, 2010:  83
November 1, 2010: 84
October 1, 2010: 80
September 1. 2010: 70
August 1, 2010: 64
July 1, 2010: 61
June 1, 2010: 60
May 1, 2010: 58
April 1, 2010: 53
March 1, 2010: 50
February 1, 2010: 46
January 1, 2010: 43
December 1, 2009: 40
November 1, 2009: 38

Newspapers:

June 1, 2013: 180
May 1, 2013: 185
April 1, 2013: 181
March 1, 2013: 198
February 1, 2013: 201
January 1, 2013: 200
December 1, 2012: 198
November 1, 2012: 202
October 1, 2012: 200
September 1, 2012: 201
August 1, 2012: 204
July 1, 2012: 201
June 1, 2012: 199
May 1, 2012: 195
April 1, 2012: 194
March 1, 2012: 193
February 1, 2012: 190
January 1, 2012: 188
December 1, 2011: 211
November 1, 2011: 191
October 1, 2011: 184
September 1, 2011: 177
August 1, 2011: 176
July 1, 2011: 176
June 1, 2011: 169
May 1, 2011: 167
April 1, 2011: 164
March 1, 2011: 161
February 1, 2011:  156
January 1, 2011: 153
December 1, 2010: 148
November 1, 2010: 145
October 1, 2010: 144
September 1, 2010: 138
August 1, 2010: 135
July 1, 2010: 136
June 1, 2010: 133
May 1, 2010: 128
April 1, 2010: 118
March 1, 2010: 107
February 1, 2010: 93
January 1, 2010: 89
December 1, 2009: 76
November 1, 2009: 58

Blogs:

June 1, 2013: 14,157
May 1, 2013: 14,552
April 1, 2013: 14,234
March 1, 2013: 13,870
February 1, 2013: 13,461
January 1, 2013: 13,110
December 1, 2012: 13,559
November 1, 2012: 13,178
October 1, 2012: 12,908
September 1, 2012: 12,417
August 1, 2012: 12,087
July 1, 2012: 12,759
June 1, 2012: 12,680
May 1, 2012: 12,914
April 1, 2012: 13,295
March 1, 2012: 13,038
February 1, 2012: 13,984
January 1, 2012: 13,571
December 1, 2011: 13,178
November 1, 2011: 14,286
October 1, 2011: 15,116
September 1, 2011: 14,801
August 1, 2011: 14,477
July 1, 2011: 14,053
June 1, 2011: 13,616
May 1, 2011: 12,901
April 1, 2011: 12,502
March 1, 2011: 12,080
February 1, 2011: 11,355
January 1, 2011: 11,087
December 1, 2010: 10,585
November 1, 2010: 10,255
October 1, 2010: 10,056
September 1, 2010: 10,036
August 1, 2010: 9,716
July 1, 2010: 9,429
June 1, 2010: 9,228
May 1, 2010: 9,094
April 1, 2010: 8,944
March 1, 2010: 8,754
February 1, 2010: 8,651
January 1, 2010: 7992
December 1, 2009: 7589
November 1, 2009: 7365

Percentage of books priced from one penny to $50 that are under ten dollars

May (taken June 1, 2013): 87.8% (1,605,912 of 1,828,577)
April (taken May 1, 2013): 87.8% (1,582,685 of 1,801,844)
March (taken April 1, 2013): 88.1% (1,573,845 of 1,785,986)
February (taken March 1, 2013): 88.4% (1,564,429 of 1,770,452)
January (taken February 1, 2013): 89.6% (1,534,604 of 1,713,256)
December (taken January 1, 2013): 89.9% (1,502,267 of 1,671,220)
November (taken December 1): 89.8% (1,451,437 of 1,615,716)
October (taken November 1): 90.0% (1,371,227 of 1,522,810)
September (taken October 1): 90.1% (1,322,272 of 1,466,890)
August (taken September 1): 90.0% (1,278,733 of 1,421,168)
July (taken August 1): 89.9% (1,240,642 of 1,379,399)
June (taken (July 1): 89.7% (1,204,888 of 1,343,776)
May (taken June 1): 89.8% (1,1174,668 of 1,308,331)
April (taken May 1): 89.9% (1,113,793 of 1,261,606)
March (taken April 1): 89.6% (1,089,619 of 1,215,625)
February (taken March 1): 89.7% (1,044,889 of 1,165,368)
January (taken February 1): 89.4% (994,448 of 1,112,467)
December (taken January 1): 89.0% (955,187 of 1,073,539)
November (taken December 1): 88.8% (907,647 of 1,021,647)
October (taken November 1): 88.7% (859,492 of 968,948)
September (taken October 1): 88.6% (835,590 of 943,545)
August (taken September 1): 88.4% (803,271 of 908,602)
July (taken August 1): 89.1% (829,823 of 931,713)
June (taken July 1): 89.2% (801,631 of 898,735)
May (taken June 1): 89.4% (799,845 of 895,091)
April (taken May 1): 89.2% (769,798 of 862,970)
March (taken April 1): 88.9% (739,192 of 831,867)
February (taken March 1): 92.4% (752,043 of 814,009)
January (taken February 1): 88.9% (692,840 of 779,683)
December (taken January 1): 88.8% (663,315 of 746,963)
November (taken December 1): 88.8% (639,676 of 720,179)
October: (taken November 1): 88.8% (617,133 of 695,278)
September (taken October 1): 93.0% (589,877 of 634,375)
August: 88.2% (565,260 of 640,936)
July: 87.7% (522,046 of 595,370)
June: 87.1% (479,793 of 563,436)
May: 86.8% (462,359 of 532,646)
April: 84.8% (377,624 of 445,421)
March: 83.9% (413,302 of 346,665)
February: 84.2% (328,597 of 390,178)
January: 83.4% (295,634 of 354,499)
December: 83.1% (283,497 of 341,112)
November: 82.8% (268,366 of 324,230)
October: 82.2% (252,511 of 307,241)
September: 82.0% (239,666 of 292318)
August: 83.2% (245,524 of 295,210)

Percentage of books with a publication date of the previous month priced from one penny to $50 that are under ten dollars

Books for May: 92.3% (51,237 of 55,482)
Books for April: 93.3% (53,929 of 57,818)
Books for March: 94.5% (53,632 of 56,758)
Books for February: 94.0% (48,876 of 52,015)
Books for January: 93.8% (50,100 of 53,418)
Books for December: 95.7% (49,147 of 51,337)
Books for November:  93.3% (47,702 of 51,103)
Books for October: 93.5% (48,869 of 52,243)
Books for September: 95.0% (52,571 of 49,491)
Books for August: 94.9% (45,180 of 47,593)
Books for July: 95.2% (46,712 of 49,072)
Books for June: 90.8% (50,056 of 55,143)
Books for May: 93.8% (44,463 of 47,396)
Books for April: 96.6% (45,211 of 46,800)
Books for March: 95.6% (48,578 of 50,788)
Books for February: 97.1% (51,180 of 52,734)
Books for January 2012: 96.9% (49,134 of 50,703)
Books for December: 96.8% (46,619 or 48,151)
Books for November: 96.0% (41,067 of 42,678)
Books for October: 96.2% (37,305 of 38,792)
Books for September 96.1% (33,889 of 35,254)
Books for August: 95.8% (37,440 of 39,100)
Books for July: 96.7% (42,922 of 44,400)
Books for June: 96.4% (45,332 of 47,018)
Books for May: 96.9% (51,840 of 53,484)
Books for April: 96.2% (42,795 of 44,464)
Books for March: 96.1% (38,961 of 40,558)
Books for February: 94.7% (32,379 of 34,206)
Books for January: 95.9% (29,010 of 30,260)
Books for December, 2010: 95.2% (23,419 of 24,593)
Books for November: 96.4% (28,189 of 29.251)
Books for October: 94.6% (22,005 of 23,268)
Books for September: 94.7% (22,338 of 23,592)
Books for August: 95.6% (24,514 of 25,638)
Books for July: 95.3% (24,375 of 25,579)
Books for June: 94.9% (21,774 of 22,945)
Books for May: 94.9% (24,436 of 25,737)
Books for April: 95.9% (23,695 of 24,714)
Books for March: 96.0% (23,703 of 24,699)
Books for February: 96.5% (26,850 of 27,815)
Books for January: 93.3% (11,857 of 12,704)
Books for December: 90.6% (8,948 of 9,879)
Books for November: 94.1% (11,520 of 12,239)
Books for October: 91.2% (6,789 of 7,445)
Books for September: 91.0% (5,104 of 5,608)
Books for August: 96.4% (20,239 of 21,079)

Books in the Seventy Percent Royalty Range ($2.99 – $9.99)

June 1, 2013: 65.0 (1,282,211 of  1,972,277)
May 1, 2013: 65.0% (1,261,991 of 1,940,274)
April 1, 2013: 65.7% (1,264,685 of 1,924,138)
March 1, 2013: 66.2% (1,265,680 of 1,913,164)
February 1, 2013: 67.4% (1,247,401 of 1,849,479)
January 1, 2013: 67.8% (1,224,368 of 1,805,001)
December 1, 2012: 67.9% (1,183,346 of 1,742,991)
November 1, 2012: 64.7% (1,061,871 of 1,641,362)
October 1, 2012: 61.4% (969,791 of 1,579,329)
September 1, 2012: 60.4% (924,771 of 1,531,069)
August 1, 2012: 59.4% (883,612 of 1,486,649)
July 1: 61.3% (890,148 of 1,451,504)
June 1:  62.1% (874,145 of 1,407,210)
May 1: 62.6% (850,030 of  1,358,922)
April 1: 66.8% (812,423 of 1,215,625)
March 1: 61.1% (773,783 of 1,265,632)
February 1: 60.5% (731,051 of 1,207,522)
January 1, 2012: 61.6% (718,191 of 1,165,654)
December 1: 62.5% (694,766 of 1,112,876)
November 1: 61.8% (653,971 of 1,058,635)
October 1: 64.6% (667,521 of 1,033,611)
September 1: 65.8% (654,521 of 995,265)
August 1: 66.8% (677,646 of 1,015,056)
July 1: 63.5% (622,648 of 980,434)
June 1: 65.8% (641,867 of 974,841)
May 1: 67.4% (631,871 of 937,831)
April 1: 67.5% (606,223 of 897,663)
March 1: 68.2% (592,077 of 868,351)
February 1: 67.7% (561,035 of 828,708)
January 1: 66.8% (532,092 of 796,131)
December 1, 2010: 66.9% (514,086 of 768,865)
November 1: 66.7% (493,644 of 743,692)
October 1: 68.2% (487,833 of 714,863)
September 1:  66% (453,408 of 687,246)
August 1: 58% (382,691 of 659,479)
July 1: 57.3% (359,361 of 627,343)
June 1: 57.1% (340,379 of 596,300)
May 1: 51.4% (261,869 of 509,229)
April 1: 51.1% (243,718 of 476,653)
March 1: 52.5% (236,418 of 450,625)
February 1: 50.8% (210,978 of 415,100)

Books from one penny to $2.98

June 1, 2013: 16.8% (330,723 of 1,972,277)
May 1, 2013: 16.9% (326,947 of 1,940,274)
April 1, 2013: 16.4% (315,280 of 1,924,138)
March 1, 2013: 15.9% (304,800 of 1,913,164)
February 1, 2013: 15.8% (293,041 of 1,849,479)
January 1, 2013: 15.7% (283,545 of 1,805,001)
December 1, 2012: 15.5% (270,520 of 1,742,991)
November 1, 2012: 19.2% (315,137 of 1,641,362)
October 1, 2012: 22.7% (358,015 of 1,579,329)
September 1, 2012: 23.5% (359,257 of 1,531,069)
August 1, 2012: 24.3% (361,675 of 1,486,649)
July 1: 22.0% (319,951 of 1,451,504)
June 1:  21.7% (305,794 of 1,407,210)
May 1: 21.3% (288,796 of  1,368,922)
April 1: 23.2% (282,254 of 1,215,625)
March 1: 21.8% (275,556 of 1,265,632)
February 1: 22.2% (268,203 of 1,207,522)
January 1, 2012: 20.7% (241,553 of 1,165,654)
December 1: 19.5% (217,026 of 1,112,876)
November 1: 19.8% (209,435 of 1,058,635)
October 1: 16.7% (172,745 of 1,033,611)
September 1: 15.5% (153,891 of 995,265)
August 1: 15.6% (158,010 of 1,015,056)
July 1: 18.9% (185,041 of 980,434)
June 1: 17.0% (165,687 of 974,841)
May 1: 15.6% (146,540 of 937,831)
April 1: 16.2% (145,638 of 897,863)
March 1: 16.9% (147,076 of 868,351)
February 1: 18.1% (149,809 of 828,708)
January 1: 18.7% (148,681 of 796,131)
December 1, 2010: 18.5%  (142,549 of 768,865)
November 1: 18.4% (136,964 of 743,692)
October 1: 17.9% (127,830 of 714,863)
September 1: 18.5% (127,165 of 687,246)
August 1: 21.1% (139,277 of 659,479)
July 1: 21% (131,432 of 627,343)
June 1: 20.5% (121,981 of 596,300)
May 1: 22.7% (115,756 of 509,229)
April 1: 21.6% (102,948 of 476,653)
March 1: 20.5% (92,180 of 450,625)
February 1: 20.4% (84,721 of 415,100)

Price Point Analysis of New York Times Hardback Fiction Equivalents

June 1, 2013:

12.99 12.99 12.99 11.99 8.99 12.99 13.99 12.99 12.99 9.00

14.99 12.99 9.99 9.99 10.99 14.99 10.99 12.80 9.68 12.99

Average: $12.12

May 1, 2013:

12.99 10.99 12.74 12.99 7.99 12.99 10.99 12.99 12.99 12.99
12.99 14.99 12.99 12.99 10.99 10.99 12.99 7.49 14.99 12.59

Average: $12.23

April 1, 2013:

12.74 12.99 11.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 9.45
11.99 14.99 14.99 9.68 12.99 12.99 12.99 9.78 11.04 10.67

Average: $12.36

March 1, 2013:

12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 N/A 10.99 12.99 12.99 11.99 12.99
12.74 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 14.99

Average: $12.92

February 1, 2013:

N/A 12.99 12.74 12.99 9.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 11.04 12.99

9.99 8.00 12.99 11.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 14.99 12.99 13.59

Average: $12.38

January 1, 2013:

12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 11.04 11.04 12.74 11.43 12.74 12.99

11.99 9.99 12.99 7.50 12.99 8.00 19.99 13.49 13.99 14.99

Average: 12.49

December 1, 2012:

12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 14.99 12.99 12.99 11.99

12.99 12.99 19.99 9.50 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99

Average: $13.22

November 1, 2012:

12.99 12.99 14.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 19.99 12.99 9.50 12.99

11.99 12.99 12.99 11.99 12.99 13.99 14.99 12.80 11.99 12.99

Average: $13.26

October 1, 2012:

19.99 12.99 12.99 9.50 12.99 12.99 9.99 12.99 12.99 12.99

12.99 12.99 14.99 12.99 11.99 9.45 12.99 11.99 12.99 12.99

Average: $12.84

September 1, 2012:

12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 11.99 14.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99

12.99 12.99 12.99 11.99 12.99 12.99 9.99 14.99 12.99 14.99 1.99

Average: $12.49

August 1, 2012:

12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 14.99 12.99 12.99

12.99 12.99 12.99 11.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99

Average: $13.04

July 1, 2012:

12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99

12.99 14.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 14.99 14.99 12.99 12.99

Average: 13.29

June 1, 2012:

12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 11.99

12.99 9.99 14.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 11.99 12.99 14.99

Average: $12.94

May 1, 2012:

12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99

12.99 12.99 12.99 14.99 11.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99

Average: $13.04

April 1, 2012:

12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99

14.99* 12.99 12.99 12.99 14.99 11.9912.99 12.99 12.99 12.99

Average: $13.14

March 1, 2012:

12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 14.99* 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99

9.99 12.99 14.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99

$13.04

February 1, 2012:

12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 14.99* 12.99 9.99 12.99 12.99

12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 14.99 12.99 12.99 12.99

Average: $13.04

* There was also an enhanced audio/visual version of this book for $16.99. I chose to enter it here only in the standard version, since that most closely represents the comparison between paper and e-book versions. It isn’t necessary to pay $16.99: it’s an additional payment for more features

January 1, 2012

Average: $13.14

December 1, 2011

Average: $12.40

November 1, 2011:

Average: $12.45

October 1, 2011:

Avg: $13.09

September 1, 2011:

Avg: 12.99

August 1, 2011:

Avg $13.29

July 1, 2011

Avg $13.09

June 1, 2011

Avg: $12.81

May 1, 2011

Average: $12.84

April 1, 2011

Average: $12.69

March 1, 2011

Average: $12.83

February 1, 2011

Average: $12.25
Agency Model average: $12.86
Non-Agency Model average: $9.99

January 1, 2011

Average: $12.52

Agency Model: $12.99

Non-Agency: $9.99

December 1, 2010:

Average: $12.78
Agency Model average: $13.52
Non-Agency Model average: $9.99

November 1, 2010:

Average: $12.83
Agency Model average: $13.59
Non-Agency Model average: $9.99

October 1, 2010:

Average: $12.38
Agency Model average: $12.79
Non-Agency Model average: $10.87

September 1, 2010:

Average: $12.52
Agency Model average $12.99
Non-Agency Model average $9.99

Textbooks in the Kindle Store

June 1, 2013: 28,194
May 1, 2013: 27,110
April 1, 2013: 26,35
March 1, 2013: 26,100
February 1, 2013: 25,000
January 1, 2013: 23,256
December 1, 2012: 21,507
November 1, 2012: 19,796
October 1, 2012: 19,095
September 1, 2012: 18,369
August 1, 2012: 17,756
July 1, 2012: 24,629
June 1, 2012: 15,581
May 1, 2012: 14,868
April 1, 2012: 16,509
March 1, 2012: 15,434
February 1, 2012: 14,827
January 1, 2012: 13,828
December 1, 2011: 13,396
November 1, 2011: 13,131
October 1, 2011: 12,788
September 1, 2011: 11,966
August 1, 2011: 10,316
July 1, 2011: 9,852
June 1, 2011: 9,442
May 1, 2011: 9,193
April 1, 2011:  8,952
March 1, 2011: 8,633
February 1, 2011: 8,342
January 1, 2011: 7,926
December 1, 2010: 7,637
November 1, 2010: 7,355
October 1, 2010: 7, 162
September 1, 2010: 6,831
August 1, 2010: 6,661
July 1, 2010: 6,481
June 1, 2010: 6,249
May 1, 2010: 6,117
April 1, 2010: 5,973
March 1, 2010: 5,728
February 1, 2010: 5,673
January 1, 2010: 5,549
December 1, 2009: 4,892
November 1, 2009: 4,768
October 1, 2009: 4,633
September 24, 2009: 4,678
August 11, 2009: 4,381

Free books (including public domain)

June 1, 2013: 55,811
May 1, 2013: 54,033
April 1, 2013: 55,670
March 1, 2013: 54,946
February 1, 2013: 54,567
January 1, 2013: 54,538
December 1, 2012: 50,869
November 1, 2012: 50,938
October 1, 2012: 50,982
September 1, 2012: 52,601
August 1, 2012: 51,680
July 1: 53,728
June 1: 50,470
May 1: 48,904
April 1: 49,826
March 1: 51,860
February 1: 48,207
January 1, 2012: 46,201
December 1: 43,757
November 1: 42,657
October 1, 2011: 42,710
September 1, 2011: 39,540
August 1, 2011: 38,936
July 1, 2011: 38,627
June 1, 2011: 37,415
May 1, 2011: 36,481
April 1, 2011: 33,469
March 1, 2011: 15,931
February 1, 2011: 15,947
January 1, 2011: 16,758
December 1, 2010: 16,708
November 1, 2010: 16,703
October 1, 2010: 16,702
September 1, 2010: 16,726
August 1, 2010: 20,634
July 1, 2010: 20,628
June 1, 2010: 20,590
May 1, 2010: 20,601
April 1, 2010: 20,619
March 1, 2010: 20,143
February 1, 2010: 19788
January 1, 2010: 19,802
December 1, 2009: 19,895
November 1, 2009: 18,547
October 1, 2009: 7,428
February 28, 2009: 7,401

Free books (without public domain)

June 1, 2013: 9,582
May 1, 2013: 7,807
April 1, 2013: 7,761
March 1, 2013: 7,710
February 1, 2013: 7,404
January 1, 2013: 7,261
December 1, 2012: 7,089
November 1, 2012: 7,186
October 1, 2012: 7,259
September 1, 2012: 8,701
August 1, 2012: 7,829
July 1, 2012: 9,660
June 1, 2012: 6,715
May 1, 2012: 5,195
April 1, 2012: 5,622
March 1, 2012: 8,356
February 1, 2012: 6,109
January 1, 2012: 4,102
December 1, 2011: 2,007
November 1, 2011: 1,681
October 1, 2011: 1,449
September 1, 2011: 1,283
August 1, 2011: 1,046
July 1, 2011: 883
June 1, 2011: 707
May 1, 2011: 20,984
April 1, 2011: 17,832
March 1, 2011: 241
February 1, 2011: 240
January 1, 2011: 230
December 1, 2010: 183
November 1, 2010: 171
October 1, 2010: 161
September 1, 2010: 143
August 1, 2010: 621 (125 without Amazon Breakthrough nominees)
July 1, 2010: 599 (102 without Amazon Breakthrough nominees)
June 1, 2010: 559 (63 without Amazon Breakthrough nominees)
May 1, 2010: 556 (57 without Amazon Breakthrough nominees)
April 1, 2010: 560 (59 without Amazon Breakthrough nominees)
March 1, 2010: 67
February 1, 2010: 52
January 1, 2010: 53
December 1, 2009: 84
November 1, 2009: 64
October 1, 2009: 67

Spanish edition books*

June 1, 2013: 66,070
May 1, 2013: 63,842
April 1, 2013: 61,264
March 1, 2013: 54,839
February 1, 2013: 52,638
January 1, 2013: 51,302
December 1, 2012: 48,905
November 1, 2012: 46,790
October 1, 2012: 44,232
September 1, 2012: 41,659
August 1, 2012: 40,214
July 1, 2012: 38,684
June 1, 2012: 36,891
May 1, 2012: 34,308
April 1, 2012: 32,157
March 1, 2012: 29,480
February 1, 2012: 22,834
January 1, 2012: 22,492
December 1, 2011: 19,928
November 1, 2011: 15,758
October 1, 2011: 16,874
September 1, 2011: 14,805
August 1, 2011: 11,383
July 1, 2011: 10,552
June 1, 2011: 9,917
May 1, 2011: 9,251
April 1, 2011: 8,362
March 1, 2011: 9,244
February 1, 2011: 8,608
January 1, 2011: 8.045
December 1, 2010: 5,839
November 1, 2010: 5,286
October 1, 2010: 4,982
September 1, 2010: 4,723
August 1, 2010: 4,623
July 1, 2010: 4,398
June 1, 2010: 4,078
May 1, 2010: 3,735
April 1, 2010: 3,383
March 1, 2010: 2,841
February 1, 2010: 2,548
January 1, 2010: 2,363
December 1, 2009: 3,483

Books in the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library (KOLL)

June 1, 2013: 352,649 (17.1%)
May 1, 2013: 336,351 (17.3%)
April 1, 2013: 319,676 (16.6%)
March 1, 2013: 302,080 (15.8%)
February 1, 2013: 283,641 (15.3%)
January 1, 2013: 264,444
December 1, 2012: 242,716
November 1, 2012: 235,957
October 1, 2012: 216,873
September 1, 2012: 198,009
August 1, 2012: 180,133
July 1, 2012: 168,440
June 1, 2012: 159,937
May 1, 2012: 146,182
April 1, 2012: 131,110
March 1, 2012: 117,652
February 1, 2012: 95,020
January 1, 2012: 69,850 (new measurement)

Price Point Analysis

April 1, 2010 was “Agency Day”, when the pricing system for some of the largest trade publishers in the US changed. I’ve started tracking price points, to see how that is affecting things. These are not ranges: it’s how many books are at a specific price point.

	4/1/2010
Total	476653
Prime	413032
Under $10	346665
	83.9%
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$ 0.99	43,993	9.17%	0.01%
$ 1.99	7,704	1.61%	0.00%
$ 2.99	14,560	3.03%	0.00%
$ 3.99	17,390	3.62%	-0.02%
$ 4.99	9,758	2.03%	-0.01%
$ 5.99	2,691	0.56%	0.00%
$ 6.99	1,800	0.38%	0.00%
$ 7.99	10,927	2.28%	-0.25%
$ 8.99	1,312	0.27%	0.00%
$ 9.99	51,857	10.80%	-0.26%
$ 10.99	191	0.04%	0.00%
$ 11.99	196	0.04%	0.00%
$ 12.99	308	0.06%	0.00%
$ 13.99	93	0.02%	0.00%
$ 14.99	806	0.17%	0.00%
$ 15.99	114	0.02%	0.00%
$ 16.99	67	0.01%	0.00%
$ 17.99	43	0.01%	0.00%
$ 18.99	21	0.00%	0.00%
$ 19.99	201	0.04%	0.00%
$ 20.99	11	0.00%	0.00%
$ 21.99	11	0.00%	0.00%
$ 22.99	21	0.00%	0.00%
$ 23.99	5	0.00%	0.00%
$ 24.99	50	0.01%	0.00%

—

4/1/2011
Total	897,663
Prime	831,867
Under $10	739192
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$    0.99	71,036	7.91%	-0.84%
$    1.99	15,994	1.78%	0.06%
$    2.99	50,033	5.57%	0.30%
$    3.99	23,986	2.67%	0.24%
$    4.99	20,374	2.27%	0.48%
$    5.99	10,560	1.18%	0.16%
$    6.99	7,422	0.83%	0.07%
$    7.99	18,354	2.04%	0.20%
$    8.99	4,436	0.49%	-0.04%
$    9.99	96,211	10.72%	0.88%
$   10.99	766	0.09%	0.02%
$   11.99	1,383	0.15%	-0.01%
$   12.99	2,122	0.24%	0.01%
$   13.99	506	0.06%	0.00%
$   14.99	1,519	0.17%	-0.01%
$   15.99	172	0.02%	0.01%
$   16.99	225	0.03%	0.00%
$   17.99	403	0.04%	0.02%
$   18.99	199	0.02%	0.01%
$   19.99	568	0.06%	-0.01%
$   20.99	45	0.01%	0.00%
$   21.99	152	0.02%	0.00%
$   22.99	21	0.00%	0.00%
$   23.99	22	0.00%	0.00%
$   24.99	104	0.01%	-0.04%

—

5/1/2011
Total	937,831
Prime	862,970
Under $10	769,798
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	74,929	7.99%	0.08%
$        1.99	16,497	1.76%	-0.02%
$        2.99	56,878	6.06%	0.49%
$        3.99	22,937	2.45%	-0.23%
$        4.99	24,880	2.65%	0.38%
$        5.99	13,387	1.43%	0.25%
$        6.99	5,215	0.56%	-0.27%
$        7.99	18,992	2.03%	-0.02%
$        8.99	5,053	0.54%	0.04%
$        9.99	103,463	11.03%	0.31%
$      10.99	865	0.09%	0.01%
$      11.99	1,412	0.15%	0.00%
$      12.99	2,271	0.24%	0.01%
$      13.99	490	0.05%	0.00%
$      14.99	1,577	0.17%	0.00%
$      15.99	134	0.01%	0.00%
$      16.99	235	0.03%	0.00%
$      17.99	471	0.05%	0.01%
$      18.99	207	0.02%	0.00%
$      19.99	465	0.05%	-0.01%
$      20.99	29	0.00%	0.00%
$      21.99	172	0.02%	0.00%
$      22.99	34	0.00%	0.00%
$      23.99	79	0.01%	0.01%
$      24.99	110	0.01%	0.00%

—

6/1/2011
Total	974,841
Prime	895,091
Under $10	799,845
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	81,095	8.32%	0.33%
$        1.99	16,628	1.71%	-0.05%
$        2.99	54,630	5.60%	-0.46%
$        3.99	22,026	2.26%	-0.19%
$        4.99	18,976	1.95%	-0.71%
$        5.99	10,685	1.10%	-0.33%
$        6.99	7,039	0.72%	0.17%
$        7.99	15,841	1.62%	-0.40%
$        8.99	4,226	0.43%	-0.11%
$        9.99	90,005	9.23%	-1.80%
$      10.99	619	0.06%	-0.03%
$      11.99	1,481	0.15%	0.00%
$      12.99	2,112	0.22%	-0.03%
$      13.99	571	0.06%	0.01%
$      14.99	1,720	0.18%	0.01%
$      15.99	176	0.02%	0.00%
$      16.99	230	0.02%	0.00%
$      17.99	251	0.03%	-0.02%
$      18.99	178	0.02%	0.00%
$      19.99	468	0.05%	0.00%
$      20.99	25	0.00%	0.00%
$      21.99	200	0.02%	0.00%
$      22.99	29	0.00%	0.00%
$      23.99	59	0.01%	0.00%
$      24.99	121	0.01%	0.00%

—

July 1, 2011

7/1/2011
Total	980,434
Prime	898,735
Under $10	801,631
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	73,957	7.54%	-0.78%
$        1.99	18,207	1.86%	0.15%
$        2.99	34,414	3.51%	-2.09%
$        3.99	26,942	2.75%	0.49%
$        4.99	8,926	0.91%	-1.04%
$        5.99	5,117	0.52%	-0.57%
$        6.99	3,725	0.38%	-0.34%
$        7.99	14,537	1.48%	-0.14%
$        8.99	2,009	0.20%	-0.23%
$        9.99	79,377	8.10%	-1.14%
$      10.99	491	0.05%	-0.01%
$      11.99	1,574	0.16%	0.01%
$      12.99	1,863	0.19%	-0.03%
$      13.99	509	0.05%	-0.01%
$      14.99	1,555	0.16%	-0.02%
$      15.99	453	0.05%	0.03%
$      16.99	201	0.02%	0.00%
$      17.99	138	0.01%	-0.01%
$      18.99	118	0.01%	-0.01%
$      19.99	271	0.03%	-0.02%
$      20.99	18	0.00%	0.00%
$      21.99	186	0.02%	0.00%
$      22.99	32	0.00%	0.00%
$      23.99	111	0.01%	0.01%
$      24.99	125	0.01%	0.00%

—

August 1, 2011

8/1/2011
Total	1,015,056
Prime	931,713
Under $10	829,823
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$    0.99	76,233	7.51%	-0.03%
$    1.99	17,083	1.68%	-0.17%
$    2.99	66,967	6.60%	3.09%
$    3.99	12,921	1.27%	-1.48%
$    4.99	27,893	2.75%	1.84%
$    5.99	12,894	1.27%	0.75%
$    6.99	2,715	0.27%	-0.11%
$    7.99	18,431	1.82%	0.33%
$    8.99	5,638	0.56%	0.35%
$    9.99	111,705	11.00%	2.91%
$   10.99	473	0.05%	0.00%
$   11.99	1,691	0.17%	0.01%
$   12.99	2,129	0.21%	0.02%
$   13.99	576	0.06%	0.00%
$   14.99	1,768	0.17%	0.02%
$   15.99	252	0.02%	-0.02%
$   16.99	230	0.02%	0.00%
$   17.99	128	0.01%	0.00%
$   18.99	249	0.02%	0.01%
$   19.99	468	0.05%	0.02%
$   20.99	46	0.00%	0.00%
$   21.99	166	0.02%	0.00%
$   22.99	64	0.01%	0.00%
$   23.99	90	0.01%	0.00%
$   24.99	59	0.01%	-0.01%

September 1, 2011

9/1/2011
Total	995,265
Prime	908,602
Under $10	803,271
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$    0.99	77,793	7.82%	0.31%
$    1.99	16,614	1.67%	-0.01%
$    2.99	56,503	5.68%	-0.92%
$    3.99	21,995	2.21%	0.94%
$    4.99	21,595	2.17%	-0.58%
$    5.99	11,312	1.14%	-0.13%
$    6.99	7,477	0.75%	0.48%
$    7.99	16,948	1.70%	-0.11%
$    8.99	14,883	1.50%	0.94%
$    9.99	102,626	10.31%	-0.69%
$   10.99	485	0.05%	0.00%
$   11.99	983	0.10%	-0.07%
$   12.99	1,374	0.14%	-0.07%
$   13.99	316	0.03%	-0.02%
$   14.99	1,501	0.15%	-0.02%
$   15.99	160	0.02%	-0.01%
$   16.99	159	0.02%	-0.01%
$   17.99	285	0.03%	0.02%
$   18.99	165	0.02%	-0.01%
$   19.99	446	0.04%	0.00%
$   20.99	50	0.01%	0.00%
$   21.99	171	0.02%	0.00%
$   22.99	41	0.00%	0.00%
$   23.99	33	0.00%	-0.01%
$   24.99	109	0.01%	0.01%

—

10/1/2011
Total	1,033,611
Prime	943,545
Under $10	835,590
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	81,946	7.93%	0.11%
$        1.99	16,172	1.56%	-0.10%
$        2.99	48,287	4.67%	-1.01%
$        3.99	16,808	1.63%	-0.58%
$        4.99	17,389	1.68%	-0.49%
$        5.99	8,259	0.80%	-0.34%
$        6.99	5,300	0.51%	-0.24%
$        7.99	10,833	1.05%	-0.65%
$        8.99	12,478	1.21%	-0.29%
$        9.99	89,175	8.63%	-1.68%
$      10.99	395	0.04%	-0.01%
$      11.99	804	0.08%	-0.02%
$      12.99	1,285	0.12%	-0.01%
$      13.99	302	0.03%	0.00%
$      14.99	1,386	0.13%	-0.02%
$      15.99	146	0.01%	0.00%
$      16.99	151	0.01%	0.00%
$      17.99	144	0.01%	-0.01%
$      18.99	75	0.01%	-0.01%
$      19.99	368	0.04%	-0.01%
$      20.99	22	0.00%	0.00%
$      21.99	150	0.01%	0.00%
$      22.99	26	0.00%	0.00%
$      23.99	35	0.00%	0.00%
$      24.99	66	0.01%	0.00%

—

11/1/2011
Total	1,058,635
Prime	968,948
Under $10	859,492
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$    0.99	84,612	7.99%	0.06%
$    1.99	7,659	0.72%	-0.84%
$    2.99	19,157	1.81%	-2.86%
$    3.99	10,245	0.97%	-0.66%
$    4.99	7,451	0.70%	-0.98%
$    5.99	3,026	0.29%	-0.51%
$    6.99	2,533	0.24%	-0.27%
$    7.99	8,414	0.79%	-0.25%
$    8.99	11,882	1.12%	-0.08%
$    9.99	70,312	6.64%	-1.99%
$   10.99	348	0.03%	-0.01%
$   11.99	1,144	0.11%	0.03%
$   12.99	1,068	0.10%	-0.02%
$   13.99	280	0.03%	0.00%
$   14.99	1,171	0.11%	-0.02%
$   15.99	69	0.01%	-0.01%
$   16.99	118	0.01%	0.00%
$   17.99	116	0.01%	0.00%
$   18.99	59	0.01%	0.00%
$   19.99	234	0.02%	-0.01%
$   20.99	33	0.00%	0.00%
$   21.99	153	0.01%	0.00%
$   22.99	29	0.00%	0.00%
$   23.99	28	0.00%	0.00%
$   24.99	89	0.01%	0.00%

—

12/1/2011
Total	1,112,876
Prime	1021677
Under $10	907,647
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$    0.99	90,203	8.11%	0.11%
$    1.99	17,711	1.59%	0.87%
$    2.99	29,634	2.66%	0.85%
$    3.99	23,617	2.12%	1.15%
$    4.99	23,320	2.10%	1.39%
$    5.99	4,606	0.41%	0.13%
$    6.99	4,887	0.44%	0.20%
$    7.99	13,241	1.19%	0.40%
$    8.99	10,646	0.96%	-0.17%
$    9.99	71,709	6.44%	-0.20%
$   10.99	466	0.04%	0.01%
$   11.99	598	0.05%	-0.05%
$   12.99	1,038	0.09%	-0.01%
$   13.99	317	0.03%	0.00%
$   14.99	1,234	0.11%	0.00%
$   15.99	78	0.01%	0.00%
$   16.99	109	0.01%	0.00%
$   17.99	132	0.01%	0.00%
$   18.99	50	0.00%	0.00%
$   19.99	278	0.02%	0.00%
$   20.99	25	0.00%	0.00%
$   21.99	168	0.02%	0.00%
$   22.99	31	0.00%	0.00%
$   23.99	25	0.00%	0.00%
$   24.99	104	0.01%	0.00%

—

1/1/2012
Total	1,165,654
Prime	1073539
Under $10	955,187
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	99,225	8.51%	0.41%
$        1.99	16,088	1.38%	-0.21%
$        2.99	38,295	3.29%	0.62%
$        3.99	24,602	2.11%	-0.01%
$        4.99	18,289	1.57%	-0.53%
$        5.99	4,438	0.38%	-0.03%
$        6.99	5,002	0.43%	-0.01%
$        7.99	11,495	0.99%	-0.20%
$        8.99	12,412	1.06%	0.11%
$        9.99	68,467	5.87%	-0.57%
$      10.99	421	0.04%	-0.01%
$      11.99	549	0.05%	-0.01%
$      12.99	1,010	0.09%	-0.01%
$      13.99	270	0.02%	-0.01%
$      14.99	1,272	0.11%	0.00%
$      15.99	142	0.01%	0.01%
$      16.99	102	0.01%	0.00%
$      17.99	192	0.02%	0.00%
$      18.99	44	0.00%	0.00%
$      19.99	279	0.02%	0.00%
$      20.99	19	0.00%	0.00%
$      21.99	134	0.01%	0.00%
$      22.99	30	0.00%	0.00%
$      23.99	36	0.00%	0.00%
$      24.99	108	0.01%	0.00%

—

2/1/2012
Total	1,207,522
Prime	1,112,467
Under $10	994,448
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	107,238	8.88%	0.37%
$        1.99	8,528	0.71%	-0.67%
$        2.99	28,515	2.36%	-0.92%
$        3.99	7,463	0.62%	-1.49%
$        4.99	6,509	0.54%	-1.03%
$        5.99	2,761	0.23%	-0.15%
$        6.99	2,740	0.23%	-0.20%
$        7.99	7,571	0.63%	-0.36%
$        8.99	13,377	1.11%	0.04%
$        9.99	58,244	4.82%	-1.05%
$      10.99	331	0.03%	-0.01%
$      11.99	476	0.04%	-0.01%
$      12.99	914	0.08%	-0.01%
$      13.99	186	0.02%	-0.01%
$      14.99	988	0.08%	-0.03%
$      15.99	82	0.01%	-0.01%
$      16.99	98	0.01%	0.00%
$      17.99	194	0.02%	0.00%
$      18.99	59	0.00%	0.00%
$      19.99	167	0.01%	-0.01%
$      20.99	15	0.00%	0.00%
$      21.99	163	0.01%	0.00%
$      22.99	20	0.00%	0.00%
$      23.99	19	0.00%	0.00%
$      24.99	58	0.00%	0.00%

—

3/1/2012
Total	1,265,632
Prime	1,165,368
Under $10	1,044,889
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	113,150	8.94%	0.06%
$        1.99	10,638	0.84%	0.13%
$        2.99	43,320	3.42%	1.06%
$        3.99	18,776	1.48%	0.87%
$        4.99	8,565	0.68%	0.14%
$        5.99	3,879	0.31%	0.08%
$        6.99	3,591	0.28%	0.06%
$        7.99	8,164	0.65%	0.02%
$        8.99	14,825	1.17%	0.06%
$        9.99	62,009	4.90%	0.08%
$      10.99	375	0.03%	0.00%
$      11.99	673	0.05%	0.01%
$      12.99	936	0.07%	0.00%
$      13.99	249	0.02%	0.00%
$      14.99	1,005	0.08%	0.00%
$      15.99	117	0.01%	0.00%
$      16.99	102	0.01%	0.00%
$      17.99	210	0.02%	0.00%
$      18.99	55	0.00%	0.00%
$      19.99	213	0.02%	0.00%
$      20.99	12	0.00%	0.00%
$      21.99	170	0.01%	0.00%
$      22.99	26	0.00%	0.00%
$      23.99	20	0.00%	0.00%
$      24.99	73	0.01%	0.00%

—

4/1/2012
Total	1,315,927
Prime	1,215,625
Under $10	1,089,619
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	118,411	9.00%	0.06%
$        1.99	12,440	0.95%	0.10%
$        2.99	53,686	4.08%	0.66%
$        3.99	30,997	2.36%	0.87%
$        4.99	10,786	0.82%	0.14%
$        5.99	5,026	0.38%	0.08%
$        6.99	4,705	0.36%	0.07%
$        7.99	8,988	0.68%	0.04%
$        8.99	5,461	0.41%	-0.76%
$        9.99	71,568	5.44%	0.54%
$      10.99	654	0.05%	0.02%
$      11.99	1,281	0.10%	0.04%
$      12.99	1,835	0.14%	0.07%
$      13.99	438	0.03%	0.01%
$      14.99	1,739	0.13%	0.05%
$      15.99	323	0.02%	0.02%
$      16.99	236	0.02%	0.01%
$      17.99	86	0.01%	-0.01%
$      18.99	118	0.01%	0.00%
$      19.99	395	0.03%	0.01%
$      20.99	25	0.00%	0.00%
$      21.99	272	0.02%	0.01%
$      22.99	34	0.00%	0.00%
$      23.99	17	0.00%	0.00%
$      24.99	96	0.01%	0.00%

—

5/1/2012
Total	1,358,922
Prime	1,261,606
Under $10	1,133,793
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	122,040	9.27%	0.28%
$        1.99	13,124	1.00%	0.05%
$        2.99	64,106	4.87%	0.79%
$        3.99	37,072	2.82%	0.46%
$        4.99	12,631	0.96%	0.14%
$        5.99	6,288	0.48%	0.10%
$        6.99	4,897	0.37%	0.01%
$        7.99	10,145	0.77%	0.09%
$        8.99	3,156	0.24%	-0.18%
$        9.99	76,063	5.78%	0.34%
$      10.99	809	0.06%	0.01%
$      11.99	1,816	0.14%	0.04%
$      12.99	2,159	0.16%	0.02%
$      13.99	565	0.04%	0.01%
$      14.99	2,010	0.15%	0.02%
$      15.99	140	0.01%	-0.01%
$      16.99	306	0.02%	0.01%
$      17.99	78	0.01%	0.00%
$      18.99	91	0.01%	0.00%
$      19.99	471	0.04%	0.01%
$      20.99	24	0.00%	0.00%
$      21.99	283	0.02%	0.00%
$      22.99	34	0.00%	0.00%
$      23.99	27	0.00%	0.00%
$      24.99	150	0.01%	0.00%

—

5/1/2012
Total	1,407,210
Prime	1,308,331
Under $10	1,174,668
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	125,811	9.56%	0.29%
$        1.99	13,076	0.99%	0.00%
$        2.99	66,685	5.07%	0.20%
$        3.99	36,204	2.75%	-0.07%
$        4.99	11,225	0.85%	-0.11%
$        5.99	5,903	0.45%	-0.03%
$        6.99	4,569	0.35%	-0.02%
$        7.99	10,524	0.80%	0.03%
$        8.99	2,717	0.21%	-0.03%
$        9.99	71,733	5.45%	-0.33%
$      10.99	885	0.07%	0.01%
$      11.99	1,818	0.14%	0.00%
$      12.99	2,140	0.16%	0.00%
$      13.99	684	0.05%	0.01%
$      14.99	2,042	0.16%	0.00%
$      15.99	182	0.01%	0.00%
$      16.99	302	0.02%	0.00%
$      17.99	73	0.01%	0.00%
$      18.99	108	0.01%	0.00%
$      19.99	513	0.04%	0.00%
$      20.99	29	0.00%	0.00%
$      21.99	251	0.02%	0.00%
$      22.99	35	0.00%	0.00%
$      23.99	29	0.00%	0.00%
$      24.99	97	0.01%	0.00%

—

7/1/2012
Total	1,451,504
Prime	1,343,776
Under $10	1,204,888
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	129,323	8.91%	-0.65%
$        1.99	12,780	0.88%	-0.11%
$        2.99	64,315	4.43%	-0.64%
$        3.99	27,128	1.87%	-0.88%
$        4.99	12,335	0.85%	0.00%
$        5.99	6,307	0.43%	-0.01%
$        6.99	5,118	0.35%	0.01%
$        7.99	10,689	0.74%	-0.06%
$        8.99	2,871	0.20%	-0.01%
$        9.99	78,303	5.39%	-0.06%
$      10.99	875	0.06%	-0.01%
$      11.99	1,804	0.12%	-0.01%
$      12.99	2,291	0.16%	0.00%
$      13.99	688	0.05%	0.00%
$      14.99	2,225	0.15%	0.00%
$      15.99	218	0.02%	0.00%
$      16.99	332	0.02%	0.00%
$      17.99	79	0.01%	0.00%
$      18.99	104	0.01%	0.00%
$      19.99	443	0.03%	-0.01%
$      20.99	26	0.00%	0.00%
$      21.99	319	0.02%	0.00%
$      22.99	44	0.00%	0.00%
$      23.99	30	0.00%	0.00%
$      24.99	109	0.01%	0.00%

—

8/1/2012
Total	1,486,649
Prime	1,379,399
Under $10	1,240,062
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	137,876	9.27%	0.36%
$        1.99	9,880	0.66%	-0.22%
$        2.99	46,971	3.16%	-1.27%
$        3.99	12,096	0.81%	-1.06%
$        4.99	8,445	0.57%	-0.28%
$        5.99	4,956	0.33%	-0.10%
$        6.99	3,180	0.21%	-0.14%
$        7.99	10,781	0.73%	-0.01%
$        8.99	2,877	0.19%	0.00%
$        9.99	70,140	4.72%	-0.68%
$      10.99	962	0.06%	0.00%
$      11.99	1,910	0.13%	0.00%
$      12.99	2,371	0.16%	0.00%
$      13.99	636	0.04%	0.00%
$      14.99	2,056	0.14%	-0.01%
$      15.99	192	0.01%	0.00%
$      16.99	357	0.02%	0.00%
$      17.99	121	0.01%	0.00%
$      18.99	82	0.01%	0.00%
$      19.99	337	0.02%	-0.01%
$      20.99	35	0.00%	0.00%
$      21.99	364	0.02%	0.00%
$      22.99	38	0.00%	0.00%
$      23.99	24	0.00%	0.00%
$      24.99	86	0.01%	0.00%

—

9/1/2012
Total	1,531,069
Prime	1,421,168
Under $10	1,278,733
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	144,288	9.42%	0.15%
$        1.99	13,399	0.88%	0.21%
$        2.99	68,395	4.47%	1.31%
$        3.99	14,760	0.96%	0.15%
$        4.99	11,627	0.76%	0.19%
$        5.99	6,456	0.42%	0.09%
$        6.99	5,407	0.35%	0.14%
$        7.99	11,697	0.76%	0.04%
$        8.99	3,050	0.20%	0.01%
$        9.99	74,605	4.87%	0.15%
$      10.99	955	0.06%	0.00%
$      11.99	1,973	0.13%	0.00%
$      12.99	2,119	0.14%	-0.02%
$      13.99	582	0.04%	0.00%
$      14.99	2,039	0.13%	-0.01%
$      15.99	212	0.01%	0.00%
$      16.99	347	0.02%	0.00%
$      17.99	127	0.01%	0.00%
$      18.99	81	0.01%	0.00%
$      19.99	385	0.03%	0.00%
$      20.99	19	0.00%	0.00%
$      21.99	313	0.02%	0.00%
$      22.99	38	0.00%	0.00%
$      23.99	26	0.00%	0.00%
$      24.99	99	0.01%	0.00%

—

10/1/2012
Total	1,579,329
Prime	1,466,890
Under $10	1,322,272
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	147,931	9.37%	-0.06%
$        1.99	16,053	1.02%	0.14%
$        2.99	87,788	5.56%	1.09%
$        3.99	20,853	1.32%	0.36%
$        4.99	14,656	0.93%	0.17%
$        5.99	7,558	0.48%	0.06%
$        6.99	6,642	0.42%	0.07%
$        7.99	13,807	0.87%	0.11%
$        8.99	3,256	0.21%	0.01%
$        9.99	84,003	5.32%	0.45%
$      10.99	972	0.06%	0.00%
$      11.99	2,052	0.13%	0.00%
$      12.99	2,189	0.14%	0.00%
$      13.99	587	0.04%	0.00%
$      14.99	2,123	0.13%	0.00%
$      15.99	216	0.01%	0.00%
$      16.99	339	0.02%	0.00%
$      17.99	109	0.01%	0.00%
$      18.99	117	0.01%	0.00%
$      19.99	509	0.03%	0.01%
$      20.99	32	0.00%	0.00%
$      21.99	371	0.02%	0.00%
$      22.99	38	0.00%	0.00%
$      23.99	32	0.00%	0.00%
$      24.99	109	0.01%	0.00%

—

Total	1,641,362
Prime	1,522,810
Under $10	1,371,227
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$    0.99	155,732	9.49%	0.12%
$    1.99	24,777	1.51%	0.49%
$    2.99	134,461	8.19%	2.63%
$    3.99	49,221	3.00%	1.68%
$    4.99	29,671	1.81%	0.88%
$    5.99	15,629	0.95%	0.47%
$    6.99	12,969	0.79%	0.37%
$    7.99	22,527	1.37%	0.50%
$    8.99	6,642	0.40%	0.20%
$    9.99	134,811	8.21%	2.89%
$   10.99	1,576	0.10%	0.03%
$   11.99	2,986	0.18%	0.05%
$   12.99	3,292	0.20%	0.06%
$   13.99	894	0.05%	0.02%
$   14.99	2,717	0.17%	0.03%
$   15.99	319	0.02%	0.01%
$   16.99	481	0.03%	0.01%
$   17.99	235	0.01%	0.01%
$   18.99	237	0.01%	0.01%
$   19.99	902	0.05%	0.02%
$   20.99	68	0.00%	0.00%
$   21.99	431	0.03%	0.00%
$   22.99	87	0.01%	0.00%
$   23.99	86	0.01%	0.00%
$   24.99	218	0.01%	0.01%

—

12/1/2012
Total	1,742,991
Prime	1,615,716
Under $10	1,451,437
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	163,634	9.97%	0.48%
$        1.99	40,111	2.44%	0.93%
$        2.99	192,449	11.72%	3.53%
$        3.99	122,419	7.46%	4.46%
$        4.99	50,073	3.05%	1.24%
$        5.99	27,780	1.69%	0.74%
$        6.99	20,681	1.26%	0.47%
$        7.99	40,348	2.46%	1.09%
$        8.99	10,692	0.65%	0.25%
$        9.99	236,101	14.38%	6.17%
$      10.99	2,423	0.15%	0.05%
$      11.99	4,346	0.26%	0.08%
$      12.99	4,614	0.28%	0.08%
$      13.99	1,299	0.08%	0.02%
$      14.99	3,439	0.21%	0.04%
$      15.99	840	0.05%	0.03%
$      16.99	595	0.04%	0.01%
$      17.99	354	0.02%	0.01%
$      18.99	495	0.03%	0.02%
$      19.99	1,498	0.09%	0.04%
$      20.99	120	0.01%	0.00%
$      21.99	383	0.02%	0.00%
$      22.99	153	0.01%	0.00%
$      23.99	136	0.01%	0.00%
$      24.99	370	0.02%	0.01%

—

1/1/2013
Total	1,805,001
Prime	1,671,220
Under $10	1,502,267
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$    0.99	172,149	10.49%	0.52%
$    1.99	42,262	2.57%	0.13%
$    2.99	206,531	12.58%	0.86%
$    3.99	126,369	7.70%	0.24%
$    4.99	52,158	3.18%	0.13%
$    5.99	29,128	1.77%	0.08%
$    6.99	20,656	1.26%	0.00%
$    7.99	41,417	2.52%	0.07%
$    8.99	10,775	0.66%	0.01%
$    9.99	235,662	14.36%	-0.03%
$   10.99	2,195	0.13%	-0.01%
$   11.99	4,123	0.25%	-0.01%
$   12.99	4,319	0.26%	-0.02%
$   13.99	1,207	0.07%	-0.01%
$   14.99	3,600	0.22%	0.01%
$   15.99	966	0.06%	0.01%
$   16.99	581	0.04%	0.00%
$   17.99	377	0.02%	0.00%
$   18.99	547	0.03%	0.00%
$   19.99	3,087	0.19%	0.10%
$   20.99	105	0.01%	0.00%
$   21.99	418	0.03%	0.00%
$   22.99	144	0.01%	0.00%
$   23.99	136	0.01%	0.00%
$   24.99	359	0.02%	0.00%

—

Percentages for February 1, 2013 were corrected on March 1, 2013

2/1/2013
Total	1,849,479
Prime	1,713,256
Under $10	1,534,604
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$    0.99	178,913	9.67%	-0.81%
$    1.99	45,121	2.44%	-0.14%
$    2.99	214,748	11.61%	-0.97%
$    3.99	130,320	7.05%	-0.65%
$    4.99	54,653	2.96%	-0.22%
$    5.99	31,434	1.70%	-0.08%
$    6.99	21,941	1.19%	-0.07%
$    7.99	42,620	2.30%	-0.22%
$    8.99	10,835	0.59%	-0.07%
$    9.99	230,800	12.48%	-1.88%
$   10.99	2,463	0.13%	0.00%
$   11.99	4,593	0.25%	0.00%
$   12.99	4,563	0.25%	-0.02%
$   13.99	1,304	0.07%	0.00%
$   14.99	3,703	0.20%	-0.02%
$   15.99	1,004	0.05%	0.00%
$   16.99	659	0.04%	0.00%
$   17.99	435	0.02%	0.00%
$   18.99	598	0.03%	0.00%
$   19.99	5,276	0.29%	0.10%
$   20.99	116	0.01%	0.00%
$   21.99	458	0.02%	0.00%
$   22.99	178	0.01%	0.00%
$   23.99	154	0.01%	0.00%
$   24.99	395	0.02%	0.00%

—

3/1/2013
Total	1,913,164
Prime	1,770,452
Under $10	1,564,429
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	187,353	9.79%	0.12%
$        1.99	49,309	2.58%	0.14%
$        2.99	227,956	11.92%	0.30%
$        3.99	133,323	6.97%	-0.08%
$        4.99	58,386	3.05%	0.10%
$        5.99	35,339	1.85%	0.15%
$        6.99	25,102	1.31%	0.13%
$        7.99	45,755	2.39%	0.09%
$        8.99	12,282	0.64%	0.06%
$        9.99	224,082	11.71%	-0.77%
$      10.99	3,590	0.19%	0.05%
$      11.99	7,838	0.41%	0.16%
$      12.99	6,533	0.34%	0.09%
$      13.99	2,318	0.12%	0.05%
$      14.99	4,760	0.25%	0.05%
$      15.99	1,341	0.07%	0.02%
$      16.99	1,129	0.06%	0.02%
$      17.99	719	0.04%	0.01%
$      18.99	920	0.05%	0.02%
$      19.99	5,711	0.30%	0.01%
$      20.99	303	0.02%	0.01%
$      21.99	280	0.01%	-0.01%
$      22.99	359	0.02%	0.01%
$      23.99	250	0.01%	0.00%
$      24.99	482	0.03%	0.00%

—

4/1/2013
Total	1,924,138
Prime	1,785,986
Under $10	1,573,845
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$        0.99	193,771	10.07%	0.28%
$        1.99	50,993	2.65%	0.07%
$        2.99	240,734	12.51%	0.60%
$        3.99	138,910	7.22%	0.25%
$        4.99	60,568	3.15%	0.10%
$        5.99	37,409	1.94%	0.10%
$        6.99	25,863	1.34%	0.03%
$        7.99	47,298	2.46%	0.07%
$        8.99	12,791	0.66%	0.02%
$        9.99	235,041	12.22%	0.50%
$      10.99	3,781	0.20%	0.01%
$      11.99	9,716	0.50%	0.10%
$      12.99	6,538	0.34%	0.00%
$      13.99	2,325	0.12%	0.00%
$      14.99	4,848	0.25%	0.00%
$      15.99	1,403	0.07%	0.00%
$      16.99	1,182	0.06%	0.00%
$      17.99	759	0.04%	0.00%
$      18.99	922	0.05%	0.00%
$      19.99	5,772	0.30%	0.00%
$      20.99	249	0.01%	0.00%
$      21.99	277	0.01%	0.00%
$      22.99	3,212	0.17%	0.15%
$      23.99	281	0.01%	0.00%
$      24.99	519	0.03%	0.00%

—

5/1/2013
Total	1,940,274
Prime	1,801,844
Under $10	1,582,685
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$    0.99	201,240	10.37%	0.30%
$    1.99	52,243	2.69%	0.04%
$    2.99	251,311	12.95%	0.44%
$    3.99	141,835	7.31%	0.09%
$    4.99	62,839	3.24%	0.09%
$    5.99	37,835	1.95%	0.01%
$    6.99	25,567	1.32%	-0.03%
$    7.99	42,663	2.20%	-0.26%
$    8.99	13,147	0.68%	0.01%
$    9.99	237,096	12.22%	0.00%
$   10.99	3,738	0.19%	0.00%
$   11.99	9,891	0.51%	0.00%
$   12.99	7,097	0.37%	0.03%
$   13.99	2,922	0.15%	0.03%
$   14.99	5,166	0.27%	0.01%
$   15.99	1,523	0.08%	0.01%
$   16.99	1,263	0.07%	0.00%
$   17.99	795	0.04%	0.00%
$   18.99	992	0.05%	0.00%
$   19.99	5,704	0.29%	-0.01%
$   20.99	403	0.02%	0.01%
$   21.99	282	0.01%	0.00%
$   22.99	325	0.02%	-0.15%
$   23.99	278	0.01%	0.00%
$   24.99	513	0.03%	0.00%

—

6/1/2013
Total	1,972,277
Prime	1,828,577
Under $10	1,605,912
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$    0.99	203,653	10.33%	-0.05%
$    1.99	59,583	3.02%	0.33%
$    2.99	269,149	13.65%	0.69%
$    3.99	177,673	9.01%	1.70%
$    4.99	64,192	3.25%	0.02%
$    5.99	39,122	1.98%	0.03%
$    6.99	26,506	1.34%	0.03%
$    7.99	44,572	2.26%	0.06%
$    8.99	13,388	0.68%	0.00%
$    9.99	246,384	12.49%	0.27%
$   10.99	3,809	0.19%	0.00%
$   11.99	10,090	0.51%	0.00%
$   12.99	7,409	0.38%	0.01%
$   13.99	3,008	0.15%	0.00%
$   14.99	5,322	0.27%	0.00%
$   15.99	1,560	0.08%	0.00%
$   16.99	1,298	0.07%	0.00%
$   17.99	772	0.04%	0.00%
$   18.99	970	0.05%	0.00%
$   19.99	5,749	0.29%	0.00%
$   20.99	239	0.01%	-0.01%
$   21.99	287	0.01%	0.00%
$   22.99	307	0.02%	0.00%
$   23.99	238	0.01%	0.00%
$   24.99	513	0.03%	0.00%

—

Summary

Whew! The net added book rate is back up to normal, more than a 1,000 a day for the USA Kindle store. Prices look good, with the percentage of books priced from one penny to fifty dollars that are under ten dollars being about the same, and New York Times hardback fiction bestseller equivalents having dropped more than a dime. There are more textbooks, and more free books…a lot more free books, when you don’t count public domain titles. The percentage of books in the KOLL (Kindle Owners’ Lending Library) actually dropped a bit, but there were still close to fifteen thousand more titles available.

Data were drawn using http://www.ereaderiq.com. There are a number of possible sources of errors (eRi, Amazon, me), but these are probably pretty good.  The same people now do eReaderIQ.com, and I may switch to that eventually.  However, I’m reluctant to change my methods in order to maintain consistency.

• The free books referenced here are from the Kindle store: there are many other sources for free books
• My search for textbooks definitely has false positives (books that aren’t really textbooks). I search for -domain (to eliminate public domain titles, which would be older books, generall) textbook. That would find a bookabout textbooks, for example
• I searched for “Spanish edition” to find Spanish language books. That has some false positives as well
• I look at price percentages of books in the range of one penny to fifty dollars, to eliminate freebies and limit textbooks
• The price point analysis is for books at that specific price: it does not represent a range of prices
• I compared the percentage of price points in the Price Point Analysis when I showed the difference…not the number of books
• This information is based on what a United States customer sees

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.

Future features #1

Future features #1

Just about a year ago, I polled you about some possible future features:

Now how much would you pay? The cost of new features

Interestingly, every single feature I had in the polls did actually appear…well, if you count using a Bluetooth keyboard as “attaching an external keyboard”…I do. That’s not exactly technically correct, but I was really asking about the functionality (and one could argue that a Bluetooth keyboard is “attached” wirelessly).

That time, I approached it as a cost question…how much would you pay for the features? Well, as we know, we just keeping getting more capability for less, so I think the money isn’t key here. Also, I’ve reached the firm conclusion that Amazon would add new features that actually lost money, if it meant locking more people into Prime and as Amazon customers.

This time, then, I’m still going to poll you, but it won’t be about how much money it would add to the price…just about how much you would want it.

Let me be clear here that I’m not suggesting any of these things will actually come about. 🙂 Some of it is very pie in the sky…pure speculation.  I’m also going to do some that already exist or have existed, to gauge interest in Amazon continuing/reviving the feature.

Color RSK (Reflective Screen Kindle)

An RSK (Reflective Screen Kindle…anything but a Kindle Fire right now) has some real advantages over a backlit screen, like a tablet. The battery life is much longer, and they are easy to read in direct sunlight. If Amazon adds a frontlight, like they did with the Kindle Paperwhite, you can also read it in a dark room. People used to really want a color RSK, but I wonder if that desire may have waned since we now have color in the tablets. What do you think?

Physical keyboards on RSKs

Right now, the only RSK with a physical keyboard available new from Amazon is the 9.7″ $299 Kindle DX, which was recently revived. My guess is that we aren’t likely to see another RSK with a physical keyboard introduced…unless there is some kind of niche luxury model made.

A tablet with a rear facing camera

This one seems like a no-brainer. I really think this is the number one thing that makes people let loose with a disappointed “Oh…” when they ask me about a Fire. With a rear-facing camera, you can take pictures of other things easily, not just Skype with it. Maybe I’m just not egotistical enough. 😉 I do take pictures with my Fire, but it’s a bit of a challenge. My 8.9″ Fire would be great for scanning public domain books…if I could see them to do it (and had a good app for it, of course). When you answer the question, let’s assume that it has a front and a back, and that the rear camera is of good enough quality for pictures.

A “Kindle phone”

The rumor mill is pretty solid about this happening this year (even though that might not be the name). The basic idea is Amazon making  a SmartPhone. I love Amazon, but I’d be a bit hesitant about this myself. I like my Samsung phone, and having my phone tied into Amazon doesn’t seem as important to me as having my media device tied into it. I don’t usually watch videos or read books on my phone…I carry a Fire with me for that.

A flexible screen

Based on what could happen in the near future, let’s describe this as a super-light, super-thin, essentially indestructible screen. You would not have to worry about breaking it, and could easily slide it into a purse or briefcase without fear of damage.

Device specific archives

I’ve been talking about this for years. We’re getting closer, but the key idea here is that different devices on the account would have access to different content. We can sort of do it with Kindle FreeTime, but it’s not anywhere near as easy I would like to see it. Whispercast brings us closer. The idea here is that a kid could have access to one set of content, an adult on the same account a different set (of what has already been purchased).  I think this could also lead to Collections in the Cloud, but let’s leave that out of it for now.

Small, long-lasting text-to-speech

Even on this blog, there has been some real concern since Amazon discontinued the Kindle Keyboard (formerly the Kindle 3). For a while, there was no RSK at all that did text-to-speech (where software can read the book out loud to you). Then, they surprisingly revived the large screen Kindle DX. However, I think there is a real market for a small screen device with a lot of battery charge life for TTS. I could even see something really small…like postage stamp-sized. I’m not quite convinced about that, though…I think some people like to sight-read and listen at the same time (it can be important with some disabilities). Still, I think that an inexpensive device that did TTS could be quite popular…even if we couldn’t also sight-read. I could certainly see that as a Google Glass app…you pick the book, and it reads it out loud to you over the glasses (yes, you would need headphones, too, which might be Bluetooth). Let’s not base the question on it being that small, though…the question here really is do you want a portable (smaller than the DX) device with an RSK-type battery life (certainly days, not hours) for text-to-speech?

Access to Google Play

Barnes & Noble recently put direct access on their tablets to Google Play. That’s a complex topic, but I do think it sounds good to a lot of people.

Selling “used” e-books

Amazon has patented something that might create a “used e-book” market. When I wrote about that:

Patent suggests Amazon could create used e-book market

my take was that it could be a benefit to consumers, publishers, and authors.

Eye-tracking (or other hands-free advance)

I recently asked:

Why do we read?

My main conclusion is that anything that immerses our minds in the words on the page/screen is good…anything that takes away from that is probably not attractive to serious readers. One thing right now that disturbs my reading rhythm? Tapping the screen (or using a button…or it used to be turning a paper page) to get to the next set of words. That seems very natural to most of us now, but I would love it if my book just knew when to move on to the next thing. Yes, it would have to be smart…I might have to stare at a spot for a second to get t to change (people don’t always read a “page” in a linear fashion…they skip around). While brain-computer interfaces may happen eventually, we should see eye-tracking much sooner. This could even be done with a continuous scroll rather than a screen/screen/screen style…but it would probably still need to redraw the screen periodically (if it wasn’t a backlit device, based on current technology).

Certainly, I haven’t hit all of the possibilities (Kindle watches, anyone?). If you’d like to suggest some more, or want to flesh out your responses, feel free to do so by commenting on this post.

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.

Jack Vance reported dead

Jack Vance reported dead

While I think of Jack Vance primarily as a science fiction author (with multiple Hugo awards), Vance was also a mystery writer, winning an Edgar and publishing three books as Ellery Queen.

While not Vance’s best-known work (that would arguably be The Last Castle, a novella which won both a Hugo and a Nebula, I think The Languages of Pao is a great example of the kind of “what if” science fiction which isn’t dependent on gadgetry. In it, one society tries to affect another by introducing languages. It’s only fair to say that my kid is a linguist, but this book attracted me well before that.

Amazon’s Jack Vance page

lists 59 Kindle editions, and that spans a wide variety of stories. You can find popular series (including The Dying Earth), and stand-alones.

You don’t have to be a geek like me to enjoy Jack Vance. If you have any recommendations for my readers, feel free to comment on this post.

Thank you, Jack Vance, for all you have given us.

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.

BEA: why conventions matter

BEA: why conventions matter

BookExpo America is happening right now (I have live video on it on my Fire running* right now as I speak). It continues through Saturday.

I always like to question everything…not in a challenging way, I hope, but in a thoughtful way. It’s a game of “why” and “what if” and it has sometimes brought me really important insights that have improved things in the future.

There’s an obvious question here: why gather people, in person, from across the publishing industry, in one place?

Well, as somebody who has attended science fiction conventions (including big ones), I can see the real advantage, and I’m not sure everyone can.

You might think you could do it all remotely, but there is a key factor here…comfort.

Oh, it’s often not comfortable to travel to a convention or to actually be there. 🙂 You might be up all night long, or standing in long lines, eating food you might not choose at home, encountering technical difficulties during lectures, and so on.

What matters is that the speakers are comfortable…they often feel like they are with a “home town crowd”. That may make them relax the walls a bit, and say things they might not say otherwise.

That can produce some really newsworthy statements, as well as giving us insight into the people who impact what and how we read. We’ve already seen that this year, with John Sargent of Macmillan:

C-SPAN video

While Sargent suggests that being public is not part of the nature of this CEO, I’ve quoted John Sargent before. This, though, is an interesting talk. I haven’t had time to watch the whole hour yet, but I will.

If you take a look at it, though,  you’ll see that it’s under a hundred people in a relaxed setting. I would argue that John Sargent would feel more like this was a case of addressing like-minded individuals, rather than something like a press conference.

One great example of what this can produce is what this

Publishers Weekly article

says Sargent said about the DoJ (Department of Justice) case at about 18 minutes and 45 seconds into the recording (I’ve heard it now):

“The senior guys, Eric Holder, are just incompetent,” he added, to resounding applause.”

Sure, that got applause in the room…but that may be the sound bite that travels outside the BEA.

Somehow, I can’t see Macmillan’s PR (Public Relations) management okaying that statement ahead of time. 😉

I mean, what can go wrong with ridiculing a sitting Attorney General? 😉

Certainly, John Sargent is entitled to that opinion, and to make it publicly. However, I often address groups of people as part of my job. You have to be aware of what the impact will be of what you say. It’s very different from sitting with one person in a private booth at a restaurant.

To be clear, the person introducing the talk points out that C-SPAN is there, and that this could be recorded (and by implication, broadcast). The introduction also lauds John Sargent for supporting the Agency Model…and Macmillan has already settled (without admitting wrong doing) with the DoJ on that one.

I just don’t think there are very many venues where the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of a corporation would make a statement like that with TV cameras running.

That’s part of the importance of conventions. It’s not just what we call “hallway consults” in the medical world (where a doctor is stopped by a patient in the hallway and asked a question). It’s that they are presented as “safe havens”…speakers feel like the audience is already on their side and understands them. In this media-rich world, though, entities that rely on the public need to be aware that you are rarely speaking just to the group in front of you.

Will Sargent have gained support from some people with the statement? Absolutely…this isn’t the only negative statement about Holder in the public recently. Will some people who agree with Sargent still regret that the statement was made? Yes, I think that’s true as well.

I may add to this after I’ve been able to see the whole talk…I’m listening to it as I write, and I strongly recommend it to you if you are interested in what happens (and has happened) in the publishing industry.

I can’t wait to see what else comes out of the BEA this year!

Update: I’m still working through the recording, but I thought some of you might want to comment on this which I transcribed:

“…we’ve been frustrated, most independent booksellers, we’ve been so frustrated with the environment at the DoJ [Department of Justice]. You know, having gone there and spoken with them a few times and just understanding after all the letters that so many authors and booksellers and people within the industry sent to the DoJ, but yet their attitudes…it didn’t matter, it didn’t matter. That somehow, consumer was king, and it had nothing to do with the fair and equal marketplace. That’s what really was frustrating for us.”

Becky Anderson, President of the American Booksellers Association, at about 15 minutes and 45 seconds into the recording

* I should point out that I have installed Flash on my Fire, and am watching it on the Maxthon browser. I’ll test it in Silk right now…hm, didn’t work there, and that’s one reason I prefer Maxthon. 😉

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.

Round up #174: BAM vs. Kobo, Kindle accessories discount, Fire update

Round up #174: BAM vs. Kobo, Kindle accessories discount, Fire update

The ILMK Round ups are short pieces which may or may not be expanded later.

Kindle Fire 8.9″ update 8.4.1

It’s been some time since one of my Kindle’s just updated itself over wireless…I usually go to

Kindle Software Updates

and do it manually. You can do that, if you want, or you can just wait. 🙂

This one brings two main features:

• The ability to switch to Canadian English and Canadian French (Swipe down – More – Language & Keyboard – Language)
• The option to display the amount of battery charge life remaining (as a percentage) in the status bar, up next to the battery icon (Swipe down – More – Device – Show Battery Percentage in Status Bar)

At least the second one will let you know when it’s a 100% charged…when you have it turned on, anyway. A lot of people would still like a light or a sound to let them know when it is fully charged even while it is in a case, but this is a nice plus. Be aware, though, that (somewhat ironically) displaying that battery status is likely to drain the battery more quickly.

The Kindle Fire HDs and the 2nd Generation Kindle Fire got updates with these features…the first generation Kindle Fire did not.

AmazonLocal deal for 40% off select Kindle accessories

You can go to

http://local.amazon.com/national/B00CYNNJY0

in the next six days or so (there is a countdown clock on the site) and get a free 40% off voucher for select Kindle accessories. If you aren’t a member of AmazonLocal, you would need to join, I believe…that’s free, too.

They are promoting this as a Fathers’ Day deal, but you can take advantage of this regardless. Don’t wait too long: they’ve indicated this is a limited quantity thing, meaning they’ll only give out so many.

Pew Research: “In a digital age, parents value printed books for their kids”

In this well-illustrated

Pew Research article by Kathryn Zickuhr

they’ve done some polling about how people feel about e-books versus p-books (paperbooks).

Yes, parents are more likely to read e-books than non-parents, but Zickuhr correctly points out that that isn’t necessarily cause and effect. It may be that parents also have other things in common (besides kids) that may make that behavior more likely…age, income, and so on.

They also point out that 81% of parents think it is very important that their children read print books. I’m going to guess here that the question was asked in a way that it made it clear that these were print books versus books period.

I do think that’s interesting. My Significant Other and I had a couple of…I’ll say discussions when our child was quite young. I didn’t see any point in a very young child learning to tell time with an analog clock…you know, with the hands on it. I think kids had to do that when there weren’t digital clocks, but it was often a daunting task at the age at which it was taught. I think our kid was likely to see only one analog clock…in a room with several digital clocks visible.

The other one was learning to tie shoes: again, our kid had shoes with velcro. I didn’t think tying shoes was a big thing on which to focus when a kid is relatively uncoordinated…it’s quite frustrating. 🙂

I suppose what’s contradictory about that is that my SO has always credited me with helping our kid be particularly academic (never having gotten anything but an A in school, I believe…and that does include Physical Education). 😉

One reason is that I would expose our kid to concepts quite early…if it’s understood, great, if not, it makes it easier later.

I think concepts and physical skills are different. I’ve seen some young kids with amazing physical skills…dancing, playing an instrument, but generally, I think kids have an easier time tying their shoes at, say, seven than at five.

My point, I guess, is that I’m not sure I see the value in reading paperbooks over reading e-books for a child. Certainly, it can be more appealing to the parent/legal guardian. You can see when the child is reading. It looks like what you did as a kid, and that’s probably rewarding (and for some, stokes the ego).

I’m willing to listen to arguments in favor of the need for a, say, eight-year old to read p-books…I can think of a few, but I’ll leave that up to you. 😉

The article has some other points (like for which activities people prefer e-books or p-books)…I recommend it.

Publishers Weekly: “Slow Start for Books-A-Million”

This

Publishers Weekly article

says that Books-A-Million’s sales were down 7.4% for the first quarter year over year.

That’s a huge drop for the second largest USA book chain!

Sure, Fifty Shades of Grey: Book One of the Fifty Shades Trilogy was a phenomenal seller last year, and that skews the numbers a bit…but news flash, brick-and-mortar bookstore managers (from somebody who used to be one)…it’s going to be a whole lot harder for books to dominate the print market like that in the future. Just as it is tough for a network TV show to have the kind of ratings they used to have with a gazillion cable and online options, the same thing is true of books from tradpubs (traditional publishers).

Actually, that’s not a bad analogy. You can think of the Big Six tradpubs as being like the old three TV networks. They controlled distribution (if you weren’t on one of those channels, very few people would see your show). Then, we got cable (and some other things, but cable is one of the big ones), and people had many more (and edgier) choices. The same thing is true with e-books and independent publishing…

Meanwhile, Kobo grown 98% in revenue

As a contrast to a brick-and-mortar, take a look at this

press release from Kobo

They rightfully trumpet their successes in hardware, content, and services.

Interestingly, the $169 Kobo Aura HD is now “up to” 27% of the Kobo devices sold at retail…and it’s what half of the new to Kobo people are buying. This goes against the idea that some people have that cheaper is always more attractive. You can get EBRs (E-Book Readers) for a lot less than that…but people are making the choice to pay more for it. Kudos to Kobo 🙂 for a good year!

What do you think? Do the last two stories suggest that the end of chain bookstores is nigh? Why should kids read p-books over e-books (if you think they should)? Or is it really that kids should read both? Feel free to let me and my readers know what you think by commenting on this post.

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.

A closer look at the KOLL #1

A closer look at the KOLL #1

Amazon introduced the

Kindle Owners Lending Library

on November 2nd, 2011.

This no additional cost benefit for eligible Prime members who own a hardware Kindle has grown incredibly quickly…the first time I got a count on the titles, it was 5,156. Now, not even two years later, the count is 351,178. That’s an average of over 600 books added…per day!

Now, it’s worth noting that books go in and come out of the KOLL. When independent publishers using Kindle Direct Publishing put their books into the library (using a program called KDP Select), they have to have the books there exclusively during that period. That doesn’t mean you can’t also buy them from Amazon, but the publisher (and that’s often just the author) can’t sell them anywhere else. So, publishers might bounce books into and out of the KOLL, and I do think that happens.

I’ve been using it every month, and I do think if that was the only reason I had Prime, I would have saved more than the annual cost of Prime. However, I can’t say I would have bought all of the books I’ve read through it…in fact, I can confidently say I wouldn’t have done so.

That got me thinking: what sorts of books are in the KOLL?

I can’t tell you which books are most borrowed: what I can see is what are the most popular books that are in the KOLL. It’s possible that a book is very popular, and in the KOLL, and not being borrowed much…no good way to tell.

First, let’s look at the categories in the KOLL:

Literature & Fiction	159,805
Romance	41,646
Religion & Spirituality	40,798
Professional & Technical	32,184
Children’s Books	29,023
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense	28,502
Self-Help	27,306
Science Fiction & Fantasy	26,226
Education & Reference	23,119
Health, Fitness & Dieting	21,986
Business & Investing	20,162
Christian Books & Bibles	17,352
Humor & Entertainment	16,614
Biographies & Memoirs	13,610
Arts & Photography	12,899
Parenting & Relationships	11,210
Politics & Social Sciences	10,430
Cookbooks, Food & Wine	9,917
History	9,054
Crafts, Hobbies & Home	8,725
Travel	7,349
Computers & Technology	6,765
Science & Math	6,415
Sports & Outdoors	6,246
Medical Books	5,094
Comics & Graphic Novels	3,136
Gay & Lesbian	2,683
Law	1,960
Teens	425

For comparison, here is the general population of Kindle books:

Literature & Fiction	730,977
Professional & Technical	292,985
Education & Reference	229,451
Religion & Spirituality	221,409
Romance	215,050
Politics & Social Sciences	158,117
Business & Investing	127,741
History	124,208
Christian Books & Bibles	111,679
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense	108,509
Science Fiction & Fantasy	104,180
Arts & Photography	102,076
Health, Fitness & Dieting	99,154
Children’s Books	97,457
Biographies & Memoirs	94,779
Self-Help	93,557
Science & Math	89,710
Humor & Entertainment	66,858
Medical Books	61,474
Computers & Technology	46,199
Crafts, Hobbies & Home	41,508
Parenting & Relationships	41,503
Sports & Outdoors	33,379
Travel	32,060
Law	31,226
Cookbooks, Food & Wine	27,855
Gay & Lesbian	22,302
Teens	17,677
Comics & Graphic Novels	17,328

When you look at those two, the available titles don’t look massively different. Even though they aren’t in the same order, 17 of the top twenty categories (out of 29) are the same.

The three that are in the top for the KOLL and not for the general population?

Parenting & Relationships
Cookbooks, Food & Wine
Crafts, Hobbies & Home

How about when we look at popularity?

KOLL	GP	Same?
Romance	Romance	Yes
Cookbook	Cookbook	Yes
Crafts, Hobbies & Home	Crafts, Hobbies & Home	Yes
Crafts, Hobbies & Home	Crafts, Hobbies & Home	Yes
Health, Fitness & Dieting	Health, Fitness & Dieting	Yes
Cookbook	Cookbook	Yes
Cookbook	Cookbook	Yes
Business & Investing	Business & Investing	Yes
Professional & Technical	Comics & Graphic Novels	No
Computers & Technology	Professional & Technical	No

Nine out of the top ten are the same, with the first eight in the exact same order!

Hm…this suggests that being popular in the KOLL might have a massive impact on being popular in the general population, although it’s possible that a popular book is a popular book in either case.

Let me try taking a look at books that are not in the KOLL.

That changes things!

We have to get to #9 in the general population before we find a book that isn’t also in the KOLL.

Here are the top ten ranked books not in the KOLL (with their ranks in the general population):

Rank	Pre-order	Free
9	No	No
12	Yes	No
20	No	No
21	No	No
24	Yes	Yes
25	Yes	Yes
26	No	No
28	Yes	No
29	Yes	No
30	No	Yes

In other words, two thirds of the top thirty books in the Kindle store are in the KOLL! We used to have people thinking that the most popular books aren’t part of the deal…and if you were looking at tradpubs (traditional publishers), that would likely be true.

The tradpubs don’t rule the Kindle store any more, though.

You can see from the two other columns above that half of the ones not in the KOLL are only available through pre-order. I’m sure they can’t be in the KOLL while that’s the case, so they might be in there after release.  Three of them are also free…you can have a free book in the KOLL, but I”m not sure if a search will find it as Prime eligible. Oh, I just checked: yes, a book will be found by the search I used as both free and in the KOLL.

I find this quite interesting. First, that a book in the KOLL appears to be much more popular as a part of the general population than one that isn’t. Why is that? Does being in the KOLL drive sales? Maybe…especially for less-well known authors. Maybe it’s that borrows in the KOLL drive the book up the bestseller list… a lot.

Second, my intuition was that people might tend to borrow non-fiction, including things like cookbooks, relatively more than fiction. I don’t think people tend to re-read non-fiction as much. That’s not obvious from the figures.

I may do this again later on…I always like to see what happens over time. 🙂

Anything stand out to you in this research? Feel free to let me and my readers know by commenting on this post.

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.

Round up #173: E Ink Mobius, NOOK to vanish in 2014?

Round up #173: E Ink Mobius, NOOK to vanish in 2014?

The ILMK Round ups are short pieces which may or may not be expanded later.

NYT: “One-Day Deals Making E-Books Brief Best Sellers”

This

New York Times article by Julie Bosman

talks about the impact of the Kindle Daily Deal and other “flash” sales of e-books on the bestseller list.

It has some surprisingly precise numbers, and I”m not sure how they would have obtained them. Amazon doesn’t release those numbers, and the publishers (which may just be the author) aren’t really supposed to do that if the sales are through Amazon, I believe. At least, that’s true for independents: maybe tradpubs (traditional publishers) can do it.

Regardless, I think you’ll find it interesting. Not all books are affected equally, of course, and as you might imagine, sometimes the prices are higher after a book has been a KDD than before.

Sure, why not? If demand has been demonstrated, and good reviews added, they may reasonably assume that people are willing to pay more for it.

E-book prices can fluctuate much more rapidly than p-book (paperbook) prices. That’s good if you catch them at the low point.

If you want to track particular books, you can do that for free by using

eReaderIQ

I’ve found that useful, because that is going to tell me about the books I want. However, I do check the KDD (Kindle Daily Deal) every day, and sometimes buy books from there and/or alert you to them.

If you want to be surprised by what’s on sale, there are services you can use. Some time back, I signed up for

BookGorilla.com

That’s from Kindle blogger Stephen Windwalker (we have some correspondence, but have never met). It sends you an e-mail every day, with bargain books in categories you specify. It’s worth getting, although I haven’t actually bought anything through it yet. I think I need to play around with my preferences.

The NYT article also mentions

BookBub.com

It seems to be a somewhat similar idea. I haven’t gotten an e-mail yet with books, so I’ll have to see how it goes.

NOOK one of ten brands to disappear in 2014?

24/7 Wall St makes an annual prediction about which ten (relatively) well-known brands will fail in the following year.

According to this

Yahoo! Finance article by Douglas A. McIntyre

they expect the NOOK brand to be one that goes bye-bye in 2014. While you might not exactly agree with their definitions (if Microsoft renamed the tablet the MS-NOOK, I think that might count for the brand having vanished), their reasoning on this one is not out of line.

If I had to bet, I would guess that the NOOK brand will outlast 2014…but not that the hardware under that name necessarily will. We’ll see, though…

Thanks to someone who alerted me to this story in a private e-mail.

E Ink Mobius: flexible E Ink screen

I expect we may see some big tech breakthroughs in EBRs (E-Book Readers) in 2014, and this may be one of them: E Ink Mobius.

Publishers Weekly article

It’s a super-thin, flexible screen from the folks who make the reflective (not backlit) technology screens used in the Kindle, the NOOK, and the Sony readers.

What, you forgot that Sony had readers? 😉

They were the first big name in the US market with them, but the EBR didn’t really take off here until Amazon introduced the Kindle in 2007.

In recent years, they’ve kind of fallen out of the spotlight. We hear about the Kindle, the NOOK, the Kobo reader…even the iPad before the Sony readers.

However, this new flexible screen will be exclusively available on Sony EBRs for the first year (since, apparently, Sony helped develop it). We may see it in other devices, but I wouldn’t expect it in a Kindle until 2015 (and they might have an alternative by then).

The buzz on this has been around a big screen EBR intended for academic use, but I can see some other market sectors.

One would be for SmartWatches…the advantage of E Ink over a backlit device isn’t just the appearance, but that the battery charge lasts for so long. An E Ink device could do a lot of what you would want a SmartWatch to do (e-mail, text messages, news and sports highlights, contacting Chief Patton back at Police Headquarters…no, wait, that last one is just Dick Tracy). 😉 Wouldn’t it be great if the SmartWatch could flex around your wrist, not have a torquing problem…and stay charged for weeks? That would make it work well for camping, even if you didn’t use it for video.

The lightweight nature of it and the flat morphology presents other possibilities, including clothing. You could have a t-shirt that could display a whole book, rather than just one quotation. 🙂

Flexible screen eventually will lead to morphing screens, where it is small some times and large other times…I whimsically imagine something like a screen you can stretch like Silly Putty to make it big enough to stick on a wall, or small enough to hide in your palm when reading private messages. Something like that will happen, I’m sure, although this screen isn’t it.

Amazon’s net income versus revenue

I’m always amused when somebody on the Kindle forums talks about how Amazon is all about making a profit. Apparently, those people don’t know Amazon very well…since the e-tailer is not making a lot of profit.

This chart is a great illustration of it:

Business Insider chart by Ben Evans

It shows Amazon’s net income versus their revenue (sales) over time.

It’s interesting how the two start radically diverging in 2007 (although you can see the trend before that)…the year the first Kindle was released (although, since it was released towards the end of the year, it wasn’t the only impact on that).

If you aren’t seeing the chart easily, I can explain it to you.

Net income just looks pretty much like a line across the bottom. The revenue goes up at about the same angle you would expect a firetruck to use to get the ladder to the top of an eight-story building. 😉 Not quite, but it’s easy…Amazon is making more and more sales without increasing net income. They are spending a ton of money on things like video licensing, but the EBR and tablet business simply don’t seem to produce income in the same category as revenue. That’s why it’s easier to be an Amazon customer than an Amazon investor… 😉

Kudos to switch11!

I just want to take a moment to give kudos to switch11 of

iReaderReview.com

Under that byline recently, the blog (also known as Kindle Review) has recently been doing a lot of thoughtful, informative, content-filled articles. There is some fascinating speculation there of an informed nature, and it’s really nice to see that. I recommend the site.

What do you think? Will the NOOK brand vanish? Will Amazon eventually start having to charge more to turn a profit, or can they keep people investing in future profits? Would you consider a Sony EBR, or would you wait for the technology to spread out more? Feel free to tell me and my readers what you think by commenting on this post.

Thanks to Dave Sparks, one of my regular readers, for helping make this a better post.

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.