Brazil's First E-bookstore Opens for Business
By Ricardo Costa in Publishing Perspectives

RIO DE JANIERO: On December 15, Brazil's first e-bookstore -- Gato Sabido (Smart Cat) -- opened for business, offering approximately 400 titles in Portuguese. "The Gato Sabido is going to work on every step of the e-book process, from conversion to sales," says Carlos Eduardo Ernanny, company founder and CEO. The new company plans to offer 30,000 titles in Portuguese by the end of 2010.

Titles range from A Economia em Pessoa by Gustavo H. B. Franco (Editora Zahar), which has garnered media attention for its unique take on the poet's work, to O Vinho Mais Caro da História by Benjamin Wallace [The Billionaire's Vinegar: The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine].

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Will E-books Catch on Faster in the BRIC Countries than the US or Europe?
By Edward Nawotka

Today's lead story describes the launch of Gato Sabido, Brazil's first e-bookstore. And in addition, news has been coming fast and furious in recent months about the launches or impending launches of e-bookstores across the BRIC countries (Brazil, China, India, Russia). But the question remains to just what extent readers in those countries are willing to embrace e-books.

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