Amazon's Kindle e-reader is heading north. The Vancouver Sun reported that "more than a month after Canada was bypassed by Kindle in its release to more than 100 countries, Canadians will be able to buy Amazon's popular digital electronic book reader."
The Sun also noted that "Santa will have to have dig deep" to buy the device because added duties and the exchange rate will drive the retail price as high as $330 (US$311).
"What I can say as an industry observer is that we view this as a beneficial announcement," said Jamie Broadhurst, v-p of marketing for Raincoast Books. "We welcome more formats and we welcome more opportunities for people to read books in whatever format they find convenient and most enjoyable.... It is very, very early days for digital books in Canada and the United States. Canadian book sales continue to increase. We don't feel threatened by this. The more opportunities Canadians have to read in whatever format they choose, the better the industry will be."
---
Walmart.com CEO Raul Vazquez fired the latest salvo in the battle over the book pricing wars. Bloomberg reported that Vazquez "said the world's largest retailer disagrees with the American Booksellers Association's view that its recent price cuts constitute 'illegal predatory' practices."
"Generally the issue is whether or not you are intending to use pricing to drive someone out of business," he observed "That's not our intent. We've been the price leader in books for months before that program was announced.”
---
Congratulations to Watermark Book Company, Anacortes, Wash., which is celebrating its 20th birthday this week with 20% discounts in different sections on different days. The event culminates tomorrow when all books in the store go on sale for the day. There will also be cake, party hats and giveaways.
---
Books-A-Million has opened its first store in the Northeast, in Cherry Hill, N.J., near Philadelphia. The new store is in the Cherry Hill Mall. BAM now has more than 200 stores in 22 states and the District of Columbia.
---
What's going on at your store this holiday season? Shelf Awareness would love to hear about events, promotions, displays, charitable initiatives and other holiday-related happenings. Contact Shannon McKenna Schmidt.
---
In its profile of the Armadillo's Pillow used and rare bookshop, Chicago, Ill., the Loyola Phoenix observed: "It is hard to say what it is about this quaint bookstore that makes it so compelling to walk into. Maybe it's the unique name, or the 'rarified atmosphere' it possesses, but whatever the reason, it is a hot spot that has been around for 15 years. Customers range from Loyola students and professors to community members of Rogers' Park, to tourists coming to visit the Chicago area.
"The armadillo is a symbol for a book; there is a hard cover, but on the inside there is something soft and comforting in the content the book possesses," said co-owner Betsey Boemmel. "A book can take you inside a new world, outside of the 'hard shelled' world you live day in and day out."
---
NPR's What We're Reading list for November 17-23.
---
Congratulations to our former colleague Steve Zeitchik, who is joining the Los Angeles Times as a reporter and blogger covering the movie industry. He has written about the film and book business in an appropriately entertaining way at the Hollywood Reporter, Variety and Publishers Weekly.