On the E-Horizon

There are some fun things coming up in the world of ebooks and Porter Square Books.

First of all, Random House is running an ebooks sale through September. Twelve titles are specially priced including Lisa See’s Shanghai Girls, and Alice Hoffman’s The Story Sisters. They’ve also specially priced some children’s ebooks for the first time including The Magic Tree House Dinosaurs before Dark and The Penderwicks. Click here for the full list of featured ebooks.

Algonquin Books is offering an ebooks bundle in October. With the purchase of a hardcover copy of Hilary Jordon’s new novel When She Woke, (being released on October 1) you can get a postcard with a URL, promotion code and instructions for downloading the ebook edition. When She Woke is a retelling of The Scarlett Letter, except instead of wearing a big red letter “A” as Hester Prynne does, Hannah Payne is red herself, for the crime of murder. The victim, says the state of Texas, was her unborn child, and Hannah is determined to protect the identity of the father, a public figure with whom she shared a fierce and forbidden love. Inspired by The Scarlet Letter, When She Woke is a dark fable about a stigmatized woman struggling to navigate a dystopian, theocratic America of the not-too-distant future, where convicted felons are no longer imprisoned and rehabilitated, but “chromed” and released back into the population to survive as best they can. This ebooks bundle is perfect for those of you who like to keep your hardcover books in pristine condition but still want to read it. Having cake and eating it too. The promotion lasts until October 31.

The American Booksellers Association is working on a reader app for Android and Apple tablets. The app will integrate with your Google Account and, on Android platforms, will allow you to shop for ebooks from Porter Square Books within the app. It is based on the well-regarded BlueFire Reader app and will update automatically whenever BlueFire does. You can check out BlueFire to get a preview of IndieBound Reader.

Finally, in the even more distant future, Random House is teaming up with Politico to provide real-time, in-depth, insider narratives of the 2012 election, as it unfolds. The series will be written by Mike Allen, Politico's chief White House Correspondent and author of the renowned dailytip-sheet, Playbook, and Evan Thomas, award-winning writer and author. The first installment is scheduled for release on November 28, 2011 and will be a $2.99 ebook. This will be a unique resource for political junkies.

As always, you can get more info about ebooks from our Ebooks Resource Page.