Best Book and Technology Blogs

Registration for BookCamp 2010 opened last week and we’re getting excited for a full day of book and technology-related discussions.

BookCamp Vancouver is a chance to bring the publishing and technology community together to discuss the future of books and book-like technologies. There are a number of blogs that do an excellent job of exploring these topics and, in preparation for BookCamp, the following are blogs that we recommend putting on your reading list:

Clay Shirky
Shirky is one of our favourites. He consistently has insightful, bang-on ideas about the publishing industry and ways to move it forward. Monique wrote a post back in December on how Shirky and his ideas should play a big part in Shaping the Future of Publishing. He doesn’t post to his blog often but when he does it’s usually pretty brilliant.

O’Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing
O’Reilly has always been on the forefront of books and technology. One of the first to offer ebooks in a subscription model with their Safari Books Online program (which, as of last year, represents 20% of O’Reilly media’s entire business) their blog looks at how technology is transforming publishing. Read last week’s post Consumer Attitudes Toward E-Book Reading for current stats on the ebook market.

Book Madam & Associates
Book Madam & Associates is a collection of publishing and media professionals who share their ideas on publishing, books and readers. Read this excellent post on the real worth of social media in publishing.

MobyLives
MobyLives is Melville House Publishing’s blog that covers news and commentary about books and writers (note: it’s on hiatus until September). Last month’s post on the tyranny of the new in publishing, was particularly interesting.

Book Oven
Book Oven is a project in development that helps writers, editors, proofreaders, designers and small presses turn manuscripts into books. The Book Oven blog, mostly written by Hugh McGuire, explores publishing and our relationship with text in the digital age. You can also find Hugh McGuire’s thoughts on publishing, technology and media on his personal blog.

Seth Godin
Seth Godin is a big-wig in the marketing world but he often turns his marketing eye towards the publishing industry. Listen to a recent audio recording on his ideas around the new dynamics of book publishing.