Do One Thing Really Well

Michael Tamblyn

CEO, Rakuten Kobo

Michael Tamblyn is CEO of Kobo, the global ebook and e-reader platform owned by Rakuten and headquartered in Toronto. In this episode, Michael talks about his unusual journey to bookselling, how Kobo competes against Amazon, Apple, and Google in ebook markets around the world, and the surprising truth about who reads ebooks—and what it means for the future of digital publishing.

INTERVIEWED ON: April 29th, 2026

Winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, Rosewater is the start of an epic trilogy set in Nigeria, by one of science fiction's most engaging voices.

“One of the most visionary, original, and quietly influential writers currently working” returns with a sharply imagined follow-up to the New York Times-bestselling The Peripheral (The Boston Globe).

The cult Japanese bestseller about a female gourmet cook and serial killer, and the journalist intent on cracking her case, inspired by a true story.

The definitive seafood guide from the three-Michelin-starred chef of Le Bernardin, featuring gorgeous photography and step-by-step techniques alongside 85 accessible recipes that “will have you cooking fillets with pro-level precision on a Tuesday” (Epicurious)