Kindle’s version 2 of the electronic book reader is now scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2009, featuring updated software and revisions to address some of the button issues that have plagued the first generation of Kindle devices.
Initially slated for fall 2008 release, the new Kindle’s availability was delayed to accommodate last-minute software updates by Amazon, reports TechCrunch.com.
The relatively slow development of the next-generation Kindle prompted suggestions from Michael Arrington at TechCrunch that Amazon ought to farm out the platform license to manufacturers that can adapt new iterations more nimbly (such as in, say, China).
It is, after all, a long-in-the-Bluetooth 12-month-old technology. (Technically, we’re told Kindle doesn’t use Bluetooth, but let’s not quibble when fun wordplay makes itself available.)
In somewhat related news, Random House announced it is adding another 6,000 backlist titles to its stable of e-books. Though still relatively small, sales of e-books have tripled this year, Random reports.

To learn more, CLICK HERE.

By Diane Evans
If life experience tells us that the only constant is change, then the variable is how change comes about.  Right now, on the heels of the presidential election, and in the throes of a bad economy, we’re hearing a lot about change.
But what will influence the course of that change?
When you look back at history, at times you see it’s a book that sometimes effects sweeping change.
Now author Jay Parini, who wrote an award-winning biography of Robert Frost, has new volume out on books that dramatically changed America.  Titled  Promised Land: Thirteen Books That Changed America, it includes an essay on each of the 13 books on Parini’s list, which is subjective and not intended to be definitive.
Parini’s picks:  Of Plymouth Plantation by William Bradford; The Federalist Papers, essays published under a pseudonym but written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay; The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin; The Journals of Lewis and Clark; Walden by Henry David Thoreau; Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain; The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois; The Promised Land by Mary Antin; How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie; The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care by Benjamin Spock, M.D.; On the Road by Jack Kerouac, and The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan.
These aren’t necessarily literary achievements, but powerful for the way they transformed public opinion.  Parini describes them as “places where vast areas of thought and feeling gathered and dispersed.”
His 385-page books is published by Doubleday.
OK, now here’s an idea to stimulate conversation, if that becomes necessary, at one of those holiday parties you are obligated to attend.
One open-ended question over cocktails might relate to what current books might actually make a difference.
An obvious one: Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, by Doris Kearns Goodwin.  With Barack Obama now saying he will have a bipartisan cabinet, and with former Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton poised to become secretary of state, the president-elect appears ready to follow Lincoln’s example of appointing adversaries to critical positions.
Another question you might throw out:  What books would you add to Parini’s list (or subtract from it)?
One of my most rewarding work experiences was in the editorial department of the Akron Beacon Journal, where my colleagues included some of the smartest people I’ve ever known.
The chief editorial writer at the time was well studied in American history and could have written his own book to rival Parini’s.  That was many years ago, but I still remember the richness of conversations, stimulated by him offering thoughts on how various books changed history.
Another approach:  Ask which books have affected people’s lives individually, in the category of How to Win Friends and Influence People.
For the sake of finding common ground — or divergence — it’s amazing the insight you can gain about people by learning what they read.

By Diane Evans

If the presidential election gave rise to a spate of political books, the post-election season is no different.
Here are some winners, in terms of book sales and pending new deals:
Doris Kearns Goodwin:  With President-elect Barack Obama talking up her TEAM OF RIVALS: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, the thousand-page book is drawing both media attention and increased sales.  It’s in the top 20 in sales both on Amazon and the Web site of Barnes & Noble.
A blogger for the online edition of Great Britain’s Guardian writes:
“Perhaps what is most interesting is that what was published as a history book has become a manual for the next presidency, one which offers insights into Obama’s political thinking.” With Obama now saying he will have a bipartisan cabinet, and with former Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton a possible choice for secretary of state, the president-elect appears ready to follow Lincoln’s example of appointing adversaries to critical positions.
”I think it reflects a great inner strength on Obama’s part that he is seriously considering creating a team of rivals as Lincoln did,” Goodwin told The Associated Press last week.
Barack Obama:  His presidental victory boosted sales of his two memoirs,
The Audacity of Hope, his 20 06 book on politics and faith and
Dreams From My Father, written in 1995 and reissued in 2004.
Sarah Palin:  While she may not rate a cabinet job, speculation is she is headed for a mega book deal, possibly by the end of this month, for a price estimated by various sources between $6 million and $12 million.  For that kind of money, expect to see her on all the talk shows.
President Bush and Laura Bush:  Her memoir is expected first, as the Associated Press reports that she wants to write a memoir and will be meeting with several publishers.  Recall the $8 million contract that Hillary Clinton signed in 2003 for her memoir Living History.
A memoir by the president is likely to come later when his approval ratings improve.
One final note:  An Associated Press story raised the spector of how fiction might be influenced by a black president.
“Before Obama, you wouldn’t have gotten away with simply having a black president and having that on the periphery. Now you can, and what a great thing that is,” commented David Baldacci, author of such Washington thrillers as Absolute Power and Divine Justice.
Author Christopher Buckley, son of the late William F. Buckley, noted that Washington novelists, just like others in the Capitol, take cues from whoever is in power.
Buckley, who endorsed Obama, said he hopes for a “roll-up-the-sleeves kind of government” and sees greater promise for satire in vice president elect Joe Biden.
Not to mention the promise for paradox – as Biden, who was supposed to be the serious one, becomes fodder for folly, as his rival, the former beauty queen on the losing ticket, goes for the multimillion-dollar book deal.
Who needs fiction?

Diane Evans, founder and president of DelMio.com, was a writer and columnist for the former Knight Ridder Newspapers.

Mystery writer Anne Perry has a new book out in time for holiday reading, A Christmas Grace.

The author of A Christmas Journey, A Christmas Visitor, A Christmas Guest, and A Christmas Secret, Perry is regarded by the Chicago Sun-Times as  “the most adroit sleight-of-hand practitioner since Agatha Christe.”
A Christmas Grace takes the reader to a small Irish town that is haunted by a tragic legacy. Throw in a series of violent storms, fear that a killer might still be among the townsfolk, a sole survivor of shipwreck and themes of hope and forgiveness, and you have a whodunit with tinsel and lights.

For more information, CLICK HERE.

Jay Parini, whose biography of Robert Frost won him the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize, has compiled a by-no-means-definitive list of influential books in his newly published Promised Land: Thirteen Books that Changed America.
Thought not all necessarily “great” books these are books that have had lasting effects on American culture, and Parini’s accompanying essays explain how and why they count.

Writes Elizabeth Taylor of the Chicago tribune: “In the popular parlance, they might be called game-changers.”

Among the most influential titles are The Federalist Papers, written under a pseudonym by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and john Jay; Walden by Henry David Thoreau; Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe; and How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.

For the complete list, CLICK HERE.

To read LA Times review, CLICK HERE.

With the smoke still clearing from the 2008 election, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is publishing a manifesto of sorts: Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement That’s Bringing Common Sense Back to America.

Huckabee seems to be trying to re-create the kind of excitement Barack Obama generated, only this time appealing to young conservatives. In Do the Right Thing, Huckabee aims his harshest treatment at rival Mitt Romney of Massachusetts. At one point, Time magazine reports, “He mocks Romney for suggesting, during one debate, more investment in high-yield stocks as a solution to economic woes. ‘Let them eat stocks!’ Huckabee jokes.”

In the wake of his 2008 Republican presidential bid, Huckabee kept his thoughts mostly to himself, promising to answer questions in his upcoming book. Apparently, he comes through with those promises.

To read more, CLICK HERE.