Sarah Weinman reported recently that the board of directors at Barnes & Noble (BKS) has denied Ron Burkle, the company's single largest shareholder, the opportunity to acquire more stock without triggering the poison pill the company enacted hastily back in November.

In a letter to Mr. Burkle filed with the SEC, the company notes that the poison pill is "intended to protect our shareholders from actions that are inconsistent with their best interests. The Board has determined by unanimous vote that acceding to your request would not be in the best interests of all Barnes & Noble's shareholders."

Retailers appear to have been rescued at the last minute, according to data from the International Council of Shopping Centers. Shoppers looking for deals the week before Christmas -- and making up for the day lost to stormy weather on the East Coast -- spent aggressively, sparing the retail sector a dismal 2008-like performance.

The healthy conclusion to the holiday season led to a positive change from November and made December one of only three months (including September and October) in which retail sales increased year-over-year.

While much of the Midwestern United States was reeling from a record winter blizzard on Saturday, web e-tailer Amazon.com (AMZN) announced that the Kindle e-book reader (and much more) had become the most-gifted product in its history over the Christmas holiday. Although specific numbers were not available, Amazon.com also indicated that more electronic books for the kindle were sold than physical books -- another first.

Is Amazon's version of the transition from physical media to electronic media happening faster than it imagined? Maybe we can't go that far yet -- and the electronic restrictions will keep many away (including this writer), but Amazon clearly has a hit product here.

It wouldn't reveal the number, but Amazon (AMZN) did announce that it realized record sales for its Kindle e-reader this month. And, there's still the rest of the month to go, including the run-up to Christmas. Just as the battle for e-reader market share began to flare up, it already seems to be over.

This year, Sony (SNE) released a new e-reader, and Barnes & Noble (BKS) entered the market with its Nook device. Both posted early successes, which quickly became problems. The two companies sold out of inventory and won't be able to ship new orders until the new year.

Five of the largest companies in the print business are testing the digital waters together. Rather than yield their content to alien formats, Time Inc. (TWX), News Corp. (NWS), Conde Nast, Hearst and Meredith Corp. have announced plans to develop a digital content format of their own. This new product would compete with the newly released Nook from Barnes & Noble (BKS), as well as one from Sony (SNE) and the industry-leading Kindle from Amazon (AMZN). The new e-reader content will come in color and in a format that would work across several devices.

The five media companies are equal partners in this joint venture, which will allow publishers to set their own prices for their content -- an obvious response to what they see as unfavorable revenue share deals offered by Amazon earlier this year. Rupert Murdoch has been particularly vocal on this issue, particularly about the fact that News Corp. only receives a little more than a third of the $14.99 a month it costs to subscribe to the Wall Street Journal on a Kindle. He says of the device that it's "a fantastic invention for reading books. It is not much of an experience for newspapers."

Black Friday's online sales were up 35% year over year, and early reports for Cyber Monday put the gain at 19.6%. Amazon (AMZN), as an online pure-play, has felt a lift from both these factors, but its execution in the e-reader category can't be ignored. While Sony (SNE) and Barnes & Noble (BKS) have already sold out of their respective devices, effectively taking them out of the game until early next year, Amazon's Kindle continues to fly off the shelves.

So, what's the prize for effective forecasting and a supply chain that can delivery on it? A new record!

Amazon had its best Kindle month yet in 2009, though it wouldn't reveal how many of the devices it has moved or the revenue it's pulled in from these sales. All it would say is that some buyers were buying more than one Kindle at a time, and businesses and organizations were picking them up in volume for employees or clients.

The next month is the one that matters most to the retail sector. It will dominate the conversation when Q4 and full-year financials are reported. A strong Black Friday brought with it concerns that momentum will fade, but opportunity is not dispensed equally. Some retailers will come through the season better than others, and industry experts have already chosen their favorites.

Michael Dart, senior partner at Kurt Salmon Associates, says, "We are seeing a paradigm shift in the way consumer interprets value and what they are looking for." The winners will do more than pitch deep discounts to convince consumers to part with their hard-earned cash.

Barnes & Noble (BKS) is in the direct path of one of the largest, highest momentum and most successful retailers in history: Amazon.com (AMZN). Whether it's price, convenience or almost any other metric, Amazon is crushing its competition and aggressively taking market share.

The consumer today is very price sensitive and Amazon is one of the largest discount retailers on earth, with an incredible assortment of offerings. Barnes & Noble is neither a price or category leader. And to make this already difficult situation for the retailer worse, Amazon's Kindle is continually being upgraded and becoming steadily more popular.

Take the Nook off your Christmas list. The new e-reader from Barnes & Noble (BKS) has already sold out, and more won't be available until after the holiday has passed. The next batch will be available, at best, by January 4, 2010.

In a statement, the company said, "While we increased production based on the high consumer interest, we've sold out of our initial Nook allotment available for delivery before the holidays." If you still want to give the device as a holiday gift, Barnes & Noble will give you a gift certificate to tide the recipient over until the device itself comes around.

Every day, it's becoming clearer that e-readers will be the hot holiday gifts of 2009. Amazon (AMZN) is obviously in the game with its Kindle, with which it took an early lead in the industry. Barnes & Noble (BKS) has made a play with its new Nook reader, applying some pressure to what was once a wide open space.

Even though we're still short of Black Friday, the weeding process has begun. Sony (SNE), which is also in the e-reader market, has revealed that it makes no guarantees about delivery by Christmas.

If Amazon (AMZN) was comfortable with its spot atop the e-reader market, it just got a wakeup call from Barnes & Noble (BKS). The brick-and-mortar book retailer's e-reader, the Nook, which hasn't even hit stores yet, is in pre-order nirvana right now. The first run for the Nook occurred at the end of October (the product was introduced on October 20). These buyers were told the reader would ship on November 30. High demand resulted in backorders, so the next wave of pre-orders was scheduled to ship on December 7. Now, a third group will have to wait until December 11.

This product is on fire, and it still isn't even on shelves yet.

Mary Ellen Keating, a spokeswoman for Barnes & Noble wouldn't reveal how many of these devices have been pre-ordered, but she did say, "Demand for the product in our stores and online has surpassed our expectations." She also noted, "We are working hard to meet demand for the holidays."

As expected, Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) has announced its entry into the e-reader market. The top bookseller, with green stores all over the country (and, for that matter, my neighborhood) is eager to get a taste of of the success Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) has realized with the Kindle.

The Barnes & Noble e-reader, which will be called the Nook, will be available at the company's more than 750 locations in the United States at a price of $259. Essentially, it's coming in at the same spot as the Kindle, which currently owns 60% of the U.S. market.

For retailers, the crucial season is on its way. Blow the Christmas rush, and next year starts off on a miserable foot. Success, of course, also delivers a healthy dose of momentum -- and a little bit of wiggle room, important in what will continue to be a tough economy through at least the first half of next year. For booksellers, now contending with a new variable in the form of digital readers, e-readers will play a major role in defining the winners and losers. So far, it looks like Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is off to a great start, and it will take some genuine innovation for the competition to chip away at its market share.

Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS), once the leading names in literary retail, is expected to release its own e-reader this week. It will look a bit like Amazon's Kindle, according to Reuters, but with a touch screen intended to make the reader's experience easier. The price hasn't been disclosed yet, but rumor has it that it'll be higher than the Kindle's $259. BKS is staying mum on its plans in this space. There are others in the space, as well, including IREX Technologies, which is a spinoff of Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG), Asutek (tk: tk) and a project called FirstPaper that has Hearst behind it.

Digital technologies have wreaked havoc on media like newspapers and music. Might books be next?

Well, Amazon.com's (NASDAQ: AMZN) Kindle has shown that people are willing to curl up with a device when reading a book. But how big is this market really?

It's too early to tell. But this isn't stopping the competition. On Thursday, Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) said it will launch its own digital book selling service. It's called Google Editions and is expected to hit the market in the first half of next year (in the U.S. and Europe).

Albert Gonzalez faced the music in a U.S. District Court in Boston on Friday, pleading guilty to masterminding one of the biggest cases of identity theft in history. The deal he struck with prosecutors could have him turning big rocks into little ones for up to a quarter of a century.

The Miami resident compromised the computer systems of large, high-profile retailers, including TJX (NYSE: TJX), BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE: BJ), OfficeMax (NYSE: OMX), Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) and Sports Authority. Tens of millions of credit card numbers were swiped in this scheme, leading to 19 counts of conspiracy, computer fraud, wire fraud, access device fraud and aggravated identity theft -- if there are other charges ... well, you get the point.