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Alexandria, VA has moved up one level this year to first place in Amazon.com’s (@amazon) annual list of the Most Well-Read Cities in America. The ranking was determined by compiling sales data of all book, magazine and newspaper sales in both print and Kindle (@AmazonKindle) format since June 1, 2011, on a per capita basis in cities with more than 100,000 residents. The Top 20 Most Well-Read Cities are:

1.   Alexandria, VA               11.  Pittsburgh, PA

2.   Cambridge, MA             12.  Knoxville, TN

3.   Berkeley, CA                  13.  Seattle, WA

4.   Ann Arbor, MI                  14.  Orlando, FL

5.   Boulder, CO                    15.  Columbia, SC

6.   Miami, FL                        16.  Bellevue, WA

7.   Arlington, VA                   17.  Cincinnati, OH

8.   Gainesville, FL                18.  St. Louis, MO

9.   Washington, DC             19.  Atlanta, GA

10. Salt Lake City, UT          20.  Richmond, VA

Read the news release in full.

See last year’s listing.

The above list differs from the one compiled by Central Connecticut State University (@CCSUToday) which names Washington, DC number one. Here’s the top ten list:

1.  Washington, DC               6.   Pittsburgh, PA

2.  Seattle, WA                      7.   Cincinnati, OH

3.  Minneapolis, MN              8.   St. Louis, MO

4.  Atlanta, GA                       9.   San Francisco, CA

5.  Boston, MA                     10. Denver, CO

Read this in full.

See last year's listing.

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you reach readers.

And if you love books like we do, be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

Newsweek (@Newsweek) created this poster in 2010, but it’s still interesting.

Jeremy Greenfield (@JDGsaid), editorial director of Digital Book World (@DigiBookWorld) asks how the publishing industry should standardize the term used to describe books comprised of digital content. In his article, he presents the results of his research, including:

Using the Google Adwords keyword tool, I discovered that “ebooks” has 13.6 million global monthly searches and “e-books” has 4.1 million, meaning that roughly triple the amount of people search for “ebooks” versus “e-books.”

Furthermore, the competition for “ebooks” is low (meaning there are fewer pages that try to rank for this as a keyword) versus the competition for “e-books,” which is medium, according to Google Adwords.

Read this in full, then vote.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

The above Infographic is by Weldon Owen (@WeldonOwen).

Let Somersault (@smrsault) help you publish a book the right way. J

And be sure to bookmark, use daily, and tell others about the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

A demographic milestone has been passed that will be important to marketers and publishers. Here’s how The Wall Street Journal puts it:

For the first time in US history, whites of European ancestry account for less than half of newborn children, marking a demographic tipping point that is already changing the nation's politics, economy, and workforce.

Theologian Martin E. Marty suggests,

Insert the word “Religion” next to “Politics” and “Economy” ... and you will have the mix which excites, troubles, and provides new agendas.

According to the WSJ,

Among the roughly four million children born in the US between July 2010 and July 2011, 50.4% belonged to a racial or ethnic group that in previous generations would have classified them as minorities, up from 48.6% in the same period two years earlier, the Census Bureau says. That was the first 12-month stretch in which non-Hispanic white children accounted for less than half the country's births.

The New York Times says,

While over all, whites will remain a majority for some time, the fact that a younger generation is being born in which minorities are the majority has broad implications for the country’s economy, its political life and its identity. “This is an important tipping point,” said William H. Frey, the senior demographer at the Brookings Institution, describing the shift as a “transformation from a mostly white baby boomer culture to the more globalized multiethnic country that we are becoming.”

Read the WSJ article in full.

Read The NYT article in full.

Read Martin Marty’s commentary in full.

Read the Census Bureau news release.

Also see our previous blogposts, “Millennials Aren't Kids Anymore; Plurals Are” and “New Website for Demographic Info.”

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you reach your brand’s targeted demographic.

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

At the 21st Annual Minitex ILL Conference in Minnesota, the director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project (@pewinternet), Lee Rainie (@lrainie), gave the keynote presentation on "Learning in the Digital Age: Where Libraries Fit In."

He discussed the way people use ebook readers and tablet computers, and how those devices are fitting into users' digital lives. His presentation below describes how 3 revolutions in digital technology – in broadband, mobile connectivity, and social media – have created a new social operating system that he calls "networked individualism." And he used the Project's latest findings to help describe how librarians can serve the new educational needs of networked individuals.

How does this new way of learning among your consumers impact your publishing agenda? Let Somersault (@smrsault) help you sort it all out.

And be sure to bookmark, use daily, and tell others about the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

Flavorpill (@flavorpill) has compiled photos of creative bookshelves...

...and buildings constructed of books.

Also see our previous blogposts

·         “Photos: The 20 Coolest Bookstores in the World”

·         “The 20 Most Beautiful Bookstores in the World”

·         “20 More Beautiful Bookstores from Around the World”

·         “Video: What Books Do After Hours”

·         “Bookworm Bookcase”

·         “20 Insanely Creative Bookshelves” and

·         “The Book Surgeon.”

For all book lovers (print and ebook alike), we (@smrsault) invite you to make our SomersaultNOW online dashboard your personal computer homepage (see instructions).

According to an analysis by Digital Book World (@DigiBookWorld) editorial director Jeremy Greenfield (@JDGsaid) of a new study from the Book Industry Study Group (BISG), some 25% of all people who read ebooks are now reading on tablets (as opposed to dedicated e-readers), up from under 20% at the end of 2011.

An industry insider says, as tablets put pressure on sales of dedicated e-readers, prices of the e-ink devices could drop until they hit zero.

Read this in full.

The late Edward Rondthaler was a typographist, a simplified spelling champion, and chairman of the American Literacy Council. When he was 102 years old, he recorded this video showing the challenge of properly spelling English. Enjoy.

Bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.

In Publishers Weekly (@PublishersWkly), Joe Wikert (@jwikert), general manager, publisher, & chair of Tools of Change for Publishing (@ToC) (#toccon), asks bookstores, “What business are you really in?” Simply selling books, he says, is too narrow. He challenges sellers to focus on their unique benefits, such as personalized service and community-building.

Despite the sluggish economy of the last few years, some bricks-and-mortar retailers have found ways to grow their business. Apple is a terrific example. Regardless of whether you’re an Apple fan, there’s always something new and interesting to discover in an Apple store. I can’t tell you the last time I felt that way about a bookstore. I’m not talking about eye candy or glitzy merchandising; when you enter an Apple store you know you’re in for a treat.

Wouldn’t it be awesome if customers entering your bookstore had that same feeling? I realize Apple can invest a lot in its store experience because it’s selling higher-priced items, but maybe that means you need to look beyond simply selling $20 or $30 books. I’m not talking about adding stationery and toys, like some bookstores have done over the years. It’s time to think much bigger.

Take a page out of Apple’s playbook and create a genius bar service for customers interested in self-publishing. Establish your location as the place to go for help in navigating the self-publishing waters. Remember, too, that most of the income earned in self-publishing is tied to services, e.g., editing, cover design, proofreading, and not necessarily sales of the finished product. Consider partnering with an established expert in these areas or build your own network of providers. The critical point is to evolve your business into something more than just selling books.

Read this in full.

Also see the Forbes (@Forbes) article by Phil Johnson (@philjohnson), "The Man Who Took On Amazon and Saved a Bookstore," about Jeff Mayersohn and Harvard Book Store (@HarvardBooks). And "Inside Amazon's Idea Machine: How Bezos Decodes The Customer" by George Anders (@GeorgeAnders).

Contact Somersault (@smrsault) to help you “think bigger.”

And be sure to bookmark and use daily the SomersaultNOW online dashboard.