Barnes & Noble posted a way-worse-than-expected first quarter loss of $62.5 million yesterday. At this time last year, they posted a $12.3 million profit. It's a rough week for B&N; according to Daily Finance, they're also sending letters to shareholders urging them to resist a proxy takeover. (The letter is here.)

At the same time, Amazon says that their new, cheaper Kindles are the fastest-selling Kindles ever and "the best-selling products on Amazon.com." However, they continue to refuse to release sales figures for Kindles, which makes the press release less celebratory than it could be.