Jul 2, 2011 08:10 GMT  ·  By

The Nook e-reader may be making the news, but it might just be that sales aren't as high as the bookstore chain might like, considering the most recent marketing move on its part.

While tablets do seem to be grabbing much of the consumer base's attention nowadays, other things aren't exactly going by ignored.

For instance, e-readers continue to sell well, especially with how their makers make sure to release new models from time to time.

Not too long ago, Barnes and Noble unveiled the newest, simplified Nook, one whose price is of $139.

Turns out, however, that this particular electronic has not been selling as well as its maker might like, despite reports of it having supposedly surpassed the Amazon Kindle.

What the company did was issue a press release in which it announced that buyers of the new Nook would be given 30 e-books free of charge.

If they were to be bought properly, said titles supposedly amount to $315, so one might say this is quite the boon, especially seeing as how they are offered on a 2 GB microSD memory card.

Then again, users who would lunge at the chance could be put off by the fact that they have no choice in what books they get.

“We are confident that side-by-side comparisons with other eReaders will show NOOK products to be the superior choice,” said Jamie Iannone, president of Digital Products, Barnes & Noble.

“We invite reading lovers to visit their neighborhood Barnes & Noble bookstore to see, hold and touch our innovative NOOK products and encourage them to upgrade their reading experience while kicking off their collection with a limited-time bonus of 30 free NOOK Books.”

The aforementioned All New Nook and the Nook Color (which can almost qualify as a tablet) are both included in this newest project.