Kindle books, according to Mashable, are outselling hardcovers. Over the last three months there was a 30% margin and in the last month there was a 44% margin. Granted, these numbers are skewed since Amazon doesn’t reveal all of its data (i.e. how many books were actually sold) nor does it compare to how many paperback books were sold.

The article, however, did get me thinking about why ebook sales might be on the rise. One thing that comes to mind is the intangible nature of the ebook. With a traditional hardcover, or even paperback, the customer will need to pick it up, hold it in her hands, sniff at it a little bit, figure out where she’s going to put it, and then flip it over to see the heart-stopping amount of money she’ll need to dish out for it.

On the flip side, ebooks are ephemeral. There’s no need to make room for it and it’s (usually) much cheaper than the hardcover equivalent. For the price of one hardcover, you can grab two ebooks (assuming that it’s not a bestseller or renowned author). Plus, it’s easy.

With the click of a couple buttons, sometimes only one, you have a new book waiting to be read. It’s so easy to be caught up in the whirlwind of buying that you don’t realize how many books you’ve just bought…and it all goes back to ebooks having an ephemeral quality. With physical books, you can look at the stacks and say to yourself, I think I’ve picked up too many books, but with ebooks, you don’t have that. Or am I wrong?

I’m curious, if you’re an ebook reader, why? Do you appreciate the books taking up less space? Do you appreciate the blazing speed at which you can have the book and start reading? Is it something else altogether?

Some are claiming that Stephenie Meyer (and her publisher) is merely out for more money, while her defenders are quick to point out that the book is being released for free on her website in tandem with the hardcover release and a dollar of the proceeds is being donated to the American Red Cross.

Well, I’m the voice in the middle. I believe the release of this book is geared by both financial gain and altruism. I see your eyebrows raising and mouths dropping. How is such a thing possible? Those two things are complete opposites, you say. Ah ha! But they are not. They are two sides of the same coin.

First, let’s look at the altruism:

“There was one thing I asked for: since this story had always been an extra for me, and was meant to be released with the Guide, I wanted to be able to offer it to my fans for free. […] starting at noon on June 7th until July 5th, it will also be available online at www.breetanner.com.

One other aspect of this release is the plan to give a more important gift to people who really need it. One dollar of each book purchased in the US from the first printing will be donated to the American Red Cross for their relief efforts in Haiti and Chile and other parts of the world where people are in great need.” – Stephenie Meyer (*Seth really should discover the wonderment of permalinks.)

Now, let’s take a closer look:

“…starting at noon on June 7th until July 5th…”

The book will only be available for 28 days…online. I don’t know many people who will want to read a 200 page book on their computer screen—and on a deadline—or who would want to print a 200 page book from their inkjet printer.

Best case scenario for people who haven’t discovered FinePrint or iPrint, even if they opt for duplex printing, is 100 loose sheets of paper to wrangle. But hey, it’s still free…as in beer. Chances are, most people will opt to buy the hardcover simply so they’ll have something physical they can hold.

Plus, what happens when the deadline’s up and word of mouth has spread about how supremely awesome The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner is? You guessed right, those people will likely purchase a copy. Or what if the book is so supremely awesome that the reader wants his own copy to love and cuddle with at night? Right again, that reader will purchase a copy.

But…but…the profit is going to a charity, so it’s all good right? Sort of.

“One dollar of each book purchased in the US from the first printing will be donated to the American Red Cross…”

Did you catch it? The embedded small print? OK, let’s have a look at it as taken from the Bree Tanner website:

“…donating to the American Red Cross International Response Fund $1 for every hardcover book sold from the first printing in the U.S. Donations will continue until all first printing copies have been sold or at the end of a two-year period from the initial publication date, whichever is the first to occur.”

After the first printing is done, or two years if the first printing isn’t sold off right away, no more donations. We have to look at this from two angles: 1) How many books will be printed in that first round? and 2) How much is the actual profit margin?

I’ve heard the number 1,000,000 thrown around and that’s no number to sneeze at; people in need can definitely use the help. However, what if the first printing is only 250,000 books? Or what if the profit margin per book sold is somewhere around $3? That means for ever $1 they donate, $2 goes into someone’s pocket.

(Please note that I yanked those numbers out of thin air. I do not know what the actual profit margin for this book will be, merely illustrating a point.)

Looked upon objectively, there is financial gain in being altruistic. I’m not upset about it in the least—a girl’s gotta eat. But it’s always important to look at the situation objectively before hopping on a particular (extremist) bandwagon. What this all comes down to is more clever marketing.

Now a few parting words as an aside: If you’re an author, publicist, or publisher, you should be taking notes. The genius behind the Twilight Saga’s marketing is staggering.

According to the Vintage release, Nightlight follows a “pale and klutzy” girl named Belle Goose, who moves to Switchblade, Oregon, and meets Edwart Mullen, a “super-hot computer nerd with zero interest in girls.” The vampire-obsessed Belle becomes convinced Edwart is one of the undead after witnessing events she considers otherworldly (”Edwart leaves his Tater Tots™ untouched at lunch! Edwart saves her from a flying snowball!”). [EW]

Found via Jezebel: Sparkle-Vamp goes Geek in Twilight Spoof (hint: read the comments.)

Dork Diaries giveaway. You know I had to enter after watching the super cool book trailer. And you all know this is coming from someone who doesn’t care much for book trailers (at least, not the trailers gone wrong).

The Host giveaway. The Host by Stephenie Meyer is being released in paperback and to mark the occasion, a number of blogs are participating in The Host Tour. So, if you don’t already have a copy, but would like one, now’s a prime opportunity.

Book blog search engine, powered by Google and maintained by Fyrefly. I had no idea there was a dedicated book blog search engine out there, but then again, I’d never been looking. I stumbled across this while reading another blog and I’m glad for it.

Sookie Stackhouse reading challenge. In case you needed yet another challenge , or just need another challenge, then now’s your chance to get all caught up on Charlaine Harris’s novels.

Now, if you don’t already have the Sookie Stackhouse series, then you have a chance to get the first seven books in Mel’s HUGE Sookie Stackhouse giveaway.

The Hunger Games giveaway. In case you’ve been stalked by this book like I have been (it seems, everywhere I turn, the book is beckoning me to read it), here’s an opportunity to win it.

Thanks to Jill at Breaking the Spine, I present another edition of Waiting on Wednesday…

My current lust is Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick.

Although there has been recent buzz about Hush, Hush, I actually knew about it from late last year. As soon as I read the synopsis, I knew I had to have it. I just couldn’t wait until it came out (and I’m still having a little trouble waiting if I told the complete truth).

And now that I get to see a cover, my little fingers are burning. Isn’t that cover the complete hotness?

Anyhoo, without further ado, here’s the rundown:

For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She’s never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch came along.

With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora’s not sure who to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can’t decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen – and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.

The book is scheduled to arrive in October 2009 and can be pre-ordered from Amazon.

What’s So Wrong With Waiting?

Spencer Davis just turned sixteen. But unlike most hormonal teenagers who seem obsessed with sex — like her entire crew of friends — Spencer just doesn’t get it. She’d rather wait for the right guy and the right moment. But that moment may be arriving sooner than she’d thought.

Enter Benjamin Hopkins, a new transfer student who seems to have his eyes on our V-card-carrying heroine. He’s gorgeous, funny, suave, athletic, and capable of making Spencer’s knees wobble with a single glance. Spencer has never felt this way about anyone before, but is Ben truly V-worthy?

It tackles a subject that’s not always the easiest to deal with and one I haven’t seen too many recent YA titles dealing with, so it may wind up being an emotional read. But I’m getting ahead of myself…

From now until the end of the month, I’ll be holding a giveaway for one copy of Giving Up the V.

Entering is simple: Leave a comment on this post.

Want some extra entries? No problem. +1 if you’re subscribed to the RSS feed. +1 if you’re subscribed to the TIR newsletter (the sign up form is in the right hand column). +1 for each blog or tweet you make about the giveaway.

Just make sure you mention each of your +1’s. For instance, if you’re subscribed to the newsletter and you write a tweet about the giveaway, make sure to mention them in your entry comment or comment twice. (That way it will be easier for me to keep track of all the entries.)

The fine print: This contest is only open to people in the US and Canada. The winner will be chosen at random. The contest will run from now until 9AM EST June 30th, 2009.

Since the winner will be contacted via email, please make sure to leave a valid email address when entering.

That’s all.

Good luck!

This contest is now closed. Thank you so much to everyone who participated. The winner will be announced on Tuesday July 1.

So, why the long qualifying paragraph above, I’m certain you’re asking. It’s because My Little Red Book by Rachel Kauder Nalebuff is a collection of stories about first periods. Most men, in my experience, tend to find the subject matter rather disturbing.

According to the blurb, the stories range from light-hearted (the editor got hers while water skiing in a yellow bathing suit) to heart-stopping (a first period discovered just as one girl was about to be strip-searched by the Nazis).

(Despite health class teachings, I thought I was hemorrhaging and asked my mom whether to call 911.)

This giveaway is hosted by Belle Enchanted and is open to U.S. and Canadian (excluding Quebec) residents. Apologies to the international readers, but the books will be shipped directly from the publisher.

The giveaway will run through February 12, 2009 and to enter all you need to do is head over and leave a comment telling Belle something unique thing about yourself. For more entries, you can blog, tweet, or post a message on Facebook about the giveaway.

Welcome to another edition of Waiting on Wednesday where I tell you about the book I happen to be lusting after at the moment.

After last month’s WoW, it seems that 2009 is turning into the year of the zombie because the next book I find myself looking forward to getting my hot little hands on is You Are So Undead to Me by Stacey Jay.

I came across it by chance while browsing Amazon and the cover looked interesting. Then I read the description and decided that I definitely want to see what’s up.

As you may have guessed from the title, this is a book about zombies. But not just any book about zombies, but a Buffy the Vampire Slayer style book about zombies. And Buffy was just so campy and comical that it worked. I’m hoping the same is true of this one.

Q: How many zombies does it take to ruin a social life?
A: Not many.

Megan Berry is a Zombie Settler by birth, which means she’s part-time shrink to a whole bunch of semi-dead people with killer issues. All Megan really wants is to go to homecoming, but when you’re trailed by a bunch of slobbering corpses whenever you leave the house, it’s kinda hard to score a date. Let’s just say Megan’s love life could use some major resuscitation.

Megan’s convinced her life can’t get any worse – until someone in school starts using black magic to turn average, angsty Undead into scary, hardcore flesh-eating Zombies. Now it’s up to Megan to stop the Zombie apocalypse. Her life – and more importantly, the homecoming dance – depends on it.

Luckily I will not need to wait much longer because it’s due out next week and before then, you can read an excerpt of it online. (Tip: Since reading on a dark background is difficult for me, I just copied the text into Notepad. If it bugs you too, you may want to try that.)

I’ve seen Waiting on Wednesday making its rounds in the book blog-o-sphere and it looked like fun. On that note, I’ve decided to participate. Heaven knows there are plenty of books I lust after on a day to day basis.

It was a post by Steph that started my recent lusting for The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. I sighed when I saw that it had a trailer.

I’ll admit it. I’m not a fan of book trailers. Most of the time, they look like hackneyed attempts at introducing some upcoming D-rated movie release.

I almost didn’t watch it, but I am weak.

And it surprised me; it actually dared to be well done. Woohoo!

I was already looking forward to the book’s release before watching, but now I’m anxious. (I can’t resist a good suspense-filled horror with some zombies thrown in for good measure.)

On a more random tangent, the trailer and even the concept of being held up in some remote forest community reminded me of The Village and I’m still waiting for the theatre to refund me the time I spent watching it. Had I not learned about the zombie aspect of the book, it would have immediately made it into my burn pile without passing go and without collecting $200.

Release Date: March 2009

Description: In Mary’s world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?

It’s safe to say that I’m not the world’s best Twilight saga fan because I didn’t even realize there was a scandal about leaked chapters of an upcoming book until recently. In fact, I didn’t even know there was going to be another book.

What I did know was there was a movie due out in December 2008. While waiting to see The Dark Knight, the trailer for Twilight came on and it looked interesting…

What looked even more interesting was that on the way out, while reading the poster, I noticed that it was based on a novel. That, folks, is how I was introduced to the Twilight saga. I read all four books in the series and I admit that I enjoyed it for exactly what it is: a fluffy angst-laden teenage romance story.

Every so often I come across the stray vexed letter to Meyer for not delivering the goods in Breaking Dawn (or Big Disappointment as some have dubbed it) and I can’t help but laugh. These people are planning mass bonfire parties to burn the books or calling for a tidal wave of book returns and I just want to say, “It’s a book, people! And sometimes books suck. That’s life. Get over it.” (Now, I’m not saying whether Breaking Dawn is here or there in my opinion, just pointing out a fact in general.)

Well, anyway, moving right along. Apparently there was some mass exodus after the Breaking Dawn incident and then all of a sudden they get a lucky break and the movie release date is bumped up to Thanksgiving and then leaked chapters of Midnight Sun–the Twilight book penned from Edward’s perspective–appeared out of thin air.

August 2, 2008 the final book in the series, Breaking Dawn (herein referred to as BD), was released and within days there was a massive uproar from disgruntled fans and readers.

August 15, 2008 it was announced that the release date of the Twilight movie moved up to November 21, 2008 instead of December 12, 2008.

August 28, 2008 (or thereabouts) the unfinished manuscript for Midnight Sun was leaked and, as a result, Meyer has postponed its completion and release indefinitely.

Frankly, the timing is too convenient which leads me to believe the attention is being deliberately funneled. Now, I’m not saying it was right for whomever leaked those unpolished chapters without Meyer’s permission if it did happen that way (it’s deplorable), but the whole scandal surrounding the real life Twilight saga reeks of a clever marketing ploy.

Let’s speculate for a moment (and this is just random conjecture, mind you). Things weren’t looking so hot for the Twilight franchise after BD. Some sources speculated that about 40% of the BD buyers hated it and forum threads, blog entries, and discussions about the downward spiral of the Twilight series were blossoming all over the ‘net.

While I’m sure many of the diehard Twilight fans would still see the movie, that backlash from BD’s release couldn’t have boded well for the movie or any future book sales for the series.

Then, through some miracle, the release of Harry Potter was shifted to a later date leaving the Thanksgiving slot wide open and Twilight just happened to snap it up. Hooray! It took a lot of people by surprise and it was enough to get everyone talking about Twilight again as opposed to the debacle that was BD. (Oh, how fickle people can be.)

Finally, the Midnight Sun manuscript was leaked, which provided Meyer and her publishers with a legitimate excuse to postpone (read: kill) the novel. Some sources had been predicting that the sales, due to the BD incident, would have been dismal and the bottom line simply wasn’t there. (And despite some folks’ idealistic views of writing and publishing, it really does come down to the bottom line.) So, rather than just killing the novel and letting it fade into the ether quietly, why not make a scandal out of it?

The scandal meant good things for two reasons: 1) the conversation keeps Twilight at the front of peoples’ minds; and 2) people will become sympathetic to Meyer and want to show their support however they can. With the Twilight movie right around the corner…. Let’s just say the bottom line for the movie just started looking a little better.

And the beauty of this plan is that the door is still wide open for a future book (or movie) release. Yep, you read that right. If Twilight the movie does well and Twilight fans are once again appeased, they’ll be salivating for another book (or movie) to prolong their euphoria.

This is just speculation, of course. I’m not entirely certain any marketing firm would be clever enough to come up with such a plan, though I’m not entirely certain one couldn’t.

The Twilight Saga at Amazon.com:

• Twilight (Book 1)
• New Moon (Book 2)
• Eclipse (Book 3)
• Breaking Dawn (Book 4)
• Midnight Sun (Chapters 1-12)