Amid the Black Friday Deals, an Indie Bookstore Invitation

While no one is calling 2012 the year of the e-reader, there are a raft of deals out there right now as retailers and device makers expect big sales around digital reading this holiday season.

Among all the high-profile blow-out offers, such as free gift cards along with Kindle Fires, low low prices for the Nook tablet and underwhelming (but we're just so happy they threw us a bone!) Black Friday deals at Apple Stores, there is this nice little offer from Kobo: Today and tomorrow, independent bookstores belonging to the ABA are selling The Kobo Mini for $49 (check here for a list of participating stores).

The Kobo deserves more attention for its open-format, read-anywhere approach to e-books, and folks hankering for a nifty e-gift are also likely to pick up some print books. I'd say it's a pretty good all-around offer.