Jan 9 2012
Monday Links & Deals: BN Subsidizes Nook; OLPC Tablet Coming to Market
News
BN and People are offering a subsidized Nook in exchange for a subscription to People magazine.
The Nook edition of People is $9.99 a month; with a one-year subscription, customers will receive a Nook Tablet, a color device with a 7-inch display, for $199, a discount from its regular price of $249. Customers who buy a one-year subscription for the Nook edition of The New York Times for $19.99 a month, which includes access to NYTimes.com, will receive a black-and-white Nook Simple Touch free or a Nook Color for $99.
BN announced last week that they had over promised on the Nook Simple Touch expectations.
*****
USA Today noted that there is a big change in reading habits as reflected by their bestseller list:
The latest [USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books] list, based on sales data from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, shows a remarkable burst of digital book sales after e-readers were unwrapped as gifts — for 42 of the top 50 titles, the e-book editions were the most popular format. The previous high, in July, was 25 of the top 50.
It will be interesting to see whether that is a temporary blip or one that continues to be maintained throughout the year.
*****
Solar Focus is bringing a solar powered case to the Kindle making the Kindle the camper’s choice.
Solarfocus says the SolarKindle can provide as much as three days of reading time after just one hour of solar charge. The peripheral only works for the low-end, non-touch Kindle models and also is not compatible with the Kindle Fire.
*****
The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) program has been about developing a very low cost computer to help bridge the digital divide. With its new tablet that runs on minimal power (and comes with a hand crank! and option solar panel), OLPC might be ready to deliver on its promise. I really want one of these. In previous incarnations, if you bought one, you could gift one to a child in need. This might be a new favorite charity for my family and I.
The great thing about the OLPC laptop? It looks like a high end device.
*****
Nintendo is getting into the book market. Actually, I can totally see a cross over between some magazines and comics and video gaming console owners:
It was hearing that Nintendo is planning to launch a digital e-reader type service where you can download books, magazines, newspapers, comics, and other publications to your Wii U console. These publications would stream to your Wii U controller’s touchscreen, and you could go lay in your bed or couch and read them. The touch screen would be used to flip through pages of an e-book or magazine, and there would even be a searchable index.
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Jack McKeown says that there is an increasing resistance to digital reading:
As McKeown observes, “While e-reader ownership rates have increased in a dramatic fashion since our first survey in December, 2009, so too has the level of resistance. The dynamic movement highlighted in this data suggests that over time, consumers have moved out of the ‘not sure’ category in one of two directions: a.) toward actual ownership, or a high probability of near-term ownership of a dedicated e-reader; or b.) into the ranks of resistors for whom the devices do not yet offer a compelling ‘relative advantage’ to overcome their conservatism re: printed books.”
This resistance must be on what executives like Hachette executive, Maja Thomas, pins their 50% market limit for ebooks.
*****
Cuddlebuggery recounts the first five days of 2012 on Goodreads. She forgets the total flame out of Julie Halpern here and here. (Halpern’s flame out begins with these immortal words “I awoke this morning with my usual google search of myself”) These author contretemps are primarily YA and self published authors. I’m going to write a bit more on this tomorrow.
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Deals
I’m throwing some of these coupons out here because I put a few up last week and it appears that people are using them. If you don’t like seeing them, let me know and I won’t include them. I’m only providing links to the ones with coupon codes. I could also put the coupon codes in the sidebar instead on in a post?
Coupons
- Get 10% OFF Your Entire eBook Order @ Carina Press with coupon code CARINAEXTRATEN. Expires 03/31/2012.
- 10% off Harlequin print books with SAVE10AFFO. Expires 3/31/2012.
- Spend $30 and get $10 off print book order at Harlequin: SAVE10DOLLARS . Expires 03/31/12.
- Extra 10% off all Harlequin eBooks SAVE10AFFO. Expires 3/31/2012.
- Buy 2 PRINT books from Harlequin and get a 3rd book FREE BUY2AFFO.
- 50% off Teen books at BN: Use F3Y9V4J.
- Undeniable Rogue by Annette Blair * 0 * A | BN | K | S
- The Ghost Hunter by Lori Brighton * 0 * A | BN | K | S
- In the Garden of Temptation by Cynthia Wicklund * 0 * A | BN | K | S
- Pleasure’s Foehn by Charlotte Boyett-Compo * 0 * A | BN | K | S
- Aztec Sun by Judith Arnold * 0 * A | BN | K | S
- The Lake Effect by Leigh Michaels * 0 * A | BN | K | S
- Child of the Mist by Kathleen Morgan * 0 * A | BN | K | S
- The Reiver by Jackie Barbosa * 0 * A | BN | K | S
- Spontaneous by Brenda Jackson * 0.86 * A | BN | K | S
- Girl’s Guide to Witchcraft by Mindy Klasky * 0.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Nightwalker by Jocelyn Drake * 0.99 * A | BN | K | S
- The Scent of Shadows by Vicki Pettersson * 0.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Montana, Mistletoe, Marriage by Patricia Thayer Donna Alward * 1.26 * A | BN | K | S
- Hawk’s Mountain by Elizabeth Sinclair * 1.99 * A | BN | K | S
- High Heels Mysteries Boxed Set by Gemma Halliday * 1.99 * A | BN | K | S
- Pearl Cove by Elizabeth Lowell * 2.99 * A | BN | K | S
Send to Kindle
Jan 09, 2012 @ 10:12:59
Have you posted this one? I think it popped up a couple of weeks ago.
SPEND4E11 to Save $4 on ebooks at Harlequin.com
Valid until 1/31/12
Must spend a minimum of $4 to qualify.
(Tip: Buy the books one at a time. You get really good discounts)
Jan 09, 2012 @ 10:14:52
@Mikaela I did, but it was a while back. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 10:18:07
Cuddlebuggery covered Halpern and others in a second post that was posted two days later.
http://cuddlebuggery.blogspot.com/2012/01/wank-fest-continues.html
Jan 09, 2012 @ 10:22:13
“This resistance must be on what executives like Hachette executive, Maja Thomas, pins their 50% market limit for ebooks.”
I uderstand this resistance, because I was like that. And then I started reading digital books and actually experienced a different, but just as comfortable…if not more so, reading experience. The most resistance comes from older people (but not always) who seem to resist all technology, including online social media. These people seem to reach a level of saturation when it comes to technology and for some reason they can’t move forward. But very few people under the age of fifty give it a second thought. And digital technology is so comfortable for kids now they probably wouldn’t know how to live without it. We’ll be seeing stories like this for maybe the next five years or so. But as time passes those who refuse to even try digital books are going to wind up going silent. It’s going to be embarrassing. Being technology starved nowadays is becoming close to being illiterate. Those who are won’t be able to function properly in the mainstream. It’s already happening. I know people who can’t even carry a conversation at a party because they are computer illiterates. It’s always painful to see. And yet they seem so smug about it.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 10:30:52
I don’t believe there are still authors on Goodreads!!
And about resistance to e-readers…I was chatting with my romance group buddies at our meeting this week about how sad I am that I waited so long to make the switch to digital, because I love it so much more. We all laughed because we were all in the “I’ll never go digital” camp a year ago, and now we’re like, “I’ll NEVER go back!!!”
I think the key is going to be finding a way to induce people to just try it. I don’t know anyone who’s started reading on an e-reader and decided they liked paper books better. I mean, I’m sure there are people like that, but I don’t know any.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 10:43:30
Love wrote: I don’t believe there are still authors on Goodreads!!
I know of two of my favorites who are: Robin D Owens and Tracy Grant.
Kay
Jan 09, 2012 @ 10:47:11
I love the coupon codes! So far, 2012 has been a glom of Harlequin ebooks because of coupon codes!
Jan 09, 2012 @ 10:55:15
I laughed when I read that. And I’m still laughing. It’s begging to be a meme.
“I woke up with the usual Google search of myself… and wrote a letter of complaint to the devil to remind him some certain details of our deal. My soul for his guarantee that I’d be the Most Praised Beloved Author in the World and that my Amazon ranking would be number 1.”
Jan 09, 2012 @ 11:05:07
Re: Resistance. On my plane flight on Saturday, the flight attendant told us to turn off all electronic devices, like normal, and then she added something utterly condescending like, “And if you’re using one of those newfangled devices called an E-reader, then that needs to get turned off too. You’ll just have to pick up a real book and actually turn a page.” It could have been humorous, but it sure didn’t sound like it when she said it. Her tone was all about the primacy of the paper book. All I could think, and indeed what I said, was “Fuck you.” Reading a book means content, dammit, and my reading on my phone was just as legitimate as someone else reading a “real” book. I was so pissed.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 11:06:28
@Maili
“I awoke this morning with my usual google search of myself…and discovered that some people do not like chocolate. Now this is a bitter revelation for me and not bitter as in some chocolate can be bitter but still delicious prepared the right way, but bitter as in not tasting good no matter how it is prepared because people who don’t like chocolate even BITTER chocolate unprepared in the fashion that bitter chocolate should be prepared are like people who don’t like cats and everyone like cats witness the phenomenon that is the internet which is built on the love of CATS, well, also porn, but a lot about cats as well. Besides my three not very close friends along with my sister and mother agree that cats are beautiful and wonderful creatures and if you don’t agree with my opinion you are clearly HEARTLESS and WRONG and MEAN and CUREL probably because you ate too much bitter chocolate and based on that experience are condemning all chocolate when it is really your fault for not eating chocolate in the right way. I mean, obviously, bitter chocolate is not meant to be ate directly out of the wrapper and the fact that you ate it when my relatives, err, impartial acquaintances all warned you not to just shows how IGNORANT you really are. Sucks you.”
Jan 09, 2012 @ 11:42:08
@Maili:
“I awoke this morning with my usual google search of myself…and found nothing. Wait a minute, I know I signed that same contract with the devil and even signed it in blood. I’d suggest we’d start a flame war with him for not delivering on his promises, but he might actually like it. Sigh. Off to my familiar obscurity with my bitter, but salty chocolates.”
Jan 09, 2012 @ 11:52:21
I think even the resistance will diminish. I was quite resistant but I got a Kindle for pragmatic reasons. I would never have expected to love it as much as I do. It offers such a good user experience that I think it will creep up on people who aren’t expecting to like it.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 12:00:50
Over the holidays I found a couple of short stories by Georgette Heyer (in a free online database of Australian periodicals) which haven’t, as far as I know, been posted/mentioned anywhere else online, and also some serialised versions of some of her novels. All the links are here.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 12:15:29
I just heard on the news the other day, CNN in fact but link is not to CNN, that digital sales has outstripped physical media sales. Resistance is futile.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 12:15:40
I think a bunch of the resistance in the older generation would go away if AARP would put a picture of some e-readers on their cover with an article about no more print that is too small and no more having to get to a bookstore or the library for your reading material. An emphasis on how it would make their life easier. Most advertising seems to focus on being young and hip and keeping up with technology.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 12:33:54
@Jane: What are you talking about? I hate chocolate but love cats so you’re wrong, WRONG! Take it back before I write a blog post about how evil you are!
And OMG, I just read Julie Halpern’s post… I feel guilty now, because yesterday I was thinking about how all this drama couldn’t get any crazier, but obviously it can and this is the Universe’s way of letting me know. It’s like Murphy’s Law of Crazy.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 12:38:32
Wow, that’s a lot of authors freaking out on GR. Those have to be deliberate attempts to stir up controversy for publicity.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 12:39:13
My little sister (27), who works in high tech, refuses to use an ereader or ap. She says after working with a computer all day, the last thing she wants to do is curl up with one when she’s trying to relax. She wants paper, period. I even loaned her my ereader to see if I could get her hooked. No dice. She got half way through the book she wanted and went and bought a paper copy. Currently my little brother (24), who also works in high tech, feels the same way (though I did get him to at least try the kinde ap on his phone, but he says he likes have all his books to display in his room.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 12:39:30
Nintendo has a book “game”. I bought it through scholastic for my son for Xmas. It is simply books downloaded to one of the “game” cards and you pop it into the DS(i)(XL). At a quick glance it looks like most of those that were downloaded to the original kobo. Haven’t had a chance to really look at it yet.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 12:41:47
Isobel – my Dh was that way when we worked in the city. After reading all day he didn’t want to read at all at night. TV or nothing.
Now, I keep him in books and had to make him a shelf on my goodreads pg so I remembered what I have ordered for him.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 12:51:47
@Isobel Carr: Have they tried e-ink devices? I wonder if that makes a difference for resisters. If it weren’t for e-ink I wouldn’t bother with digital books.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 12:53:33
Why are ereader adopters so offended by the notion that some people actually like paper books?
I’m 26 (not 86), I’m employed as a programmer (not tech illiterate), I own enough gadgets to open a Sharper Image (not technophobic), I’ve read at length on every ereader currently available on the market (not lack of awareness), and my preference continues to be paper books. Get over it already.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 12:59:12
@June: Maybe because paper book lovers seem so offended when other people switch to ereaders.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 13:13:20
According to the Pew Research Center’s most recent study (May 2011 data), people between the ages of 50 and 64 are more likely to use ereaders than people between the ages of 18 and 29.
Can we retire (no pun intended) the generalizations about how old people don’t use or like technology? Or are afraid of these new-fangled contraptions?
I trained on the precursor to the IBC PC in 1981 and started using one of the first consumer PCs (the Kaypro “luggable”) starting in 1983. Many of us in the pink-collar jobs of the 1980s did.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 13:13:24
Maili, awesome meme!
re: coupon codes — I’m fine with seeing them. Lack of hype about them is a plus.
re: resistance to ereaders — I think I’m definitely seeing some backlash. For example, a thread on GoodReads about ereaders blamed them for Borders going under.
I have no problem with people preferring paper books — for some purposes, I still prefer them myself — but the tone of the messages stating it tends to be condescending/snide.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 13:16:02
@June: We’re not. We used to be you. We’re all still reading the same books, aren’t we? What’s the big deal?
Jan 09, 2012 @ 13:24:05
I have an ereader, and while it has its uses for me (mainly those free books), I infinitely prefer to read on paper. I have a friend who absolutely loves hers, mainly for the adjustable type size, and rarely reads a paper book anymore.
I don’t think it has anything to do with age or with technophobia or technophilia. I think it has to do with some people like one thing and some people like the other. I do wish the sneers in both directions would cease.
And Melodie, some members of the “older generation” use the library rather than an ereader for the same reason that some members of the younger generation do. It’s free.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 13:31:18
I personally love getting the coupon heads-up, so thank you for posting them!
E-books versus printed books: does it have to be a war?
I don’t have anything against e-books as a concept, nor do I think less of those who prefer them. I rather like the idea of fitting hundreds / thousands / ALL OF THE BOOKS! on a device smaller than a paperback. I have an e-reader — actually, I have three — and I use them for books I can’t get in another format.
But, if I have a choice, I’ll go for the print book. So will my daughter, a freshman in college. So will my son, in high school and an early adopter gadget enthusiast. So will my spouse, a scientist.
Why? I like print books because I’m a skipper — I read the first chapter, then go to the end, then back through the middle, skipping the sex scenes, going back to that scene where the hero / murderer / mysterious twin was introduced, jumping ahead to see if that annoying maid with the accent is going to keep popping in… Maybe they’ll come up with the technology someday that allows you to jump about in that fashion in an e-book, but we’re not there yet. It’s too frustrating for me to be forced to read in the linear fashion the e-book requires.
Similarly, daughter likes print books better because she’s very tactile and kinesthetic; she swears she absorbs books by touching the ink on the pages.
Son doesn’t like to worry about having to replace an expensive device and his entire library if he drops it while in the bath, or biking, or upside down in a tree over the creek, or all the other places he likes to read. Spouse wants to be able to read out in the field for weeks at a time where there’s constant dirt and grit and there isn’t clean water, let alone electricity to re-charge a reading device, and where when he ventures into “town” for supplies he would be robbed and killed over a cheap wristwatch, let alone an iPhone or a tablet.
All of these things are specific to us as individuals, of course. Happy reading and more power to those who don’t share our issues, and love their e-books! But none of them have to do with being old fogies, or refusing to try, or tech fatigue, or any of the other snide and condescending imputations that have been proffered in this thread.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 13:38:13
Count me as another reader who is tired of others thinking that the choice in the paper/e-reader debate is indicative of something important about any individual.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 13:46:09
“Why? I like print books because I’m a skipper — I read the first chapter, then go to the end, then back through the middle, skipping the sex scenes, going back to that scene where the hero / murderer / mysterious twin was introduced, jumping ahead to see if that annoying maid with the accent is going to keep popping in… Maybe they’ll come up with the technology someday that allows you to jump about in that fashion in an e-book, but we’re not there yet. It’s too frustrating for me to be forced to read in the linear fashion the e-book requires.”
Toss in “read the end of the book after the first chapter” and you have me.
My reader is full of OOP hqn’s that I have bought when kobo either has a decent coupon or I am trying to fill in the rest of a series.
Can’t be bothered downloading e-books from the library… then I have to read them THEN… and as mentioned in the post above, I like to flip through them, think about it, read this one or that one… so I’m happier with my stack here on the floor. Ditto with the TBR upstairs. Toss in my addiction for book stores of all kinds…. new or used… I still prefer print.
I like the e-reader for appts, travel etc. It’s convienient. But like paper I can’t afford my book habit in “e” or print so it’s print via the library.
As for the “camps”…. there’s always camps… pick a topic, any topic. Just ignore them and do your own thing.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 13:58:26
@Sarah Frantz: Maybe her tone was about the 50 people per flight that ignore the “turn off electronic devices now” statements and then argue with her when she sees them using it and has to personally tell them to turn it off?
I’m not a regular flier, but that seem to be the SOP on all my flights over the holiday season. If I was a flight attendant, I would be over ereaders, too.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 14:00:23
“This resistance must be on what executives like Hachette executive, Maja Thomas, pins their 50% market limit for ebooks.”
The problem with this supposed limit is that it assumes a stable population of readers (that is, that all the people who are currently resistant to ebooks will still be reading books 10–or even 5–years from now). The reality is that reader populations are going to continue to skew toward younger generations. Eventually, the digital resistant crowd is going to die out (yeah, sorry about that). Maybe the ceiling will be 50% for the next 15 years or so (at the most), but Hachette had better be prepared for the bottom to start falling out of that pretty darned fast.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 14:15:04
I’m 49 and I use an e-reader. My son, 26-year-old college grad, does not.
Once an e-reader was available that didn’t hurt my eyes, I bought one. I primarily use the reader for books that aren’t in print. Most of my print books are non-fiction or books hard to find in e.
My husband uses an e-reader to read newspapers while he’s working out. When he reads fiction in bed, it’s always print.
I think there’s plenty of room for both e-readers and print books in the world. I don’t see the reason for the indignation or fuss.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 14:31:52
@reader: I think there’s plenty of room for both e-readers and print books in the world.
From the point of view of publishers, though, there may not be room for both once the pendulum swings far enough in favor of ebooks as a total percentage of books sold. Bookstores are going the way of the record store (sigh, how I miss them), and the reduction in shelf space means that publishers have fewer opportunities to get their print books into readers’ hands. Since the per copy cost of printing books is scaled based on the number of copies printed, publishers need to be reasonably well convinced that they can count on print runs large enough to make printing the book profitable. We’ve been watching initial print runs fall on books for the past few years because of the adoption of ereaders. At some point, those initial print runs are going to become so low that it will no longer make financial sense for publishers to do them at all.
This doesn’t mean the print books goes away entirely, but it probably means most books will be primarily digital with a POD version for those who prefer a paper copy. Hardcover and mass-market paperback are probably endangered species (with mass-market paperback the most threatened format because its margins are so low).
When I say that I don’t believe the ceiling is going to stay at 50% because of the shift in population, I don’t mean to imply that there aren’t plenty of younger folks who prefer paper. That said, in another generation or, paper books will probably be seen as something like the vinyl LP–desirable and collectible, but rare, because the economics of print vs. digital will make it so.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 14:43:42
That “resistance” sounded more like wishful thinking and/or willful ignorance on Hachette’s part than anything else.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 14:44:09
@Jackie Barbosa: Hm. Then I do hope that e-readers improve to the point where those of us who like to flip back and forth between sections of books or reread only portions of books can do so more easily. That’s one of the reasons why I still enjoy print books more, even though my reading has now become half digital, half print. I also hope that the library e-book situation gets a lot better.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 14:50:27
Personally, I like the coupon codes in the post. I don’t visit DA often. I just subscribe to the RSS feed.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 14:51:53
I like my Sony e-reader, but I am not in love with it. It’s great to have a library in my pocket, but living in Australia we do not have access to a lot of digital books that readers in NA do. I gotta tell you, it sours your love for the e-reader when you want to buy a book and some sites even let you load it to your cart and get all the way to the checkout before letting you know it’s geographically blocked for your region. Drives me NUTS!!! Any new releases, anyone even remotely off the mainstream, I have to buy in paper. So at this stage I’m being forced to buy paper still – which isn’t necessarily a downside. Another thing I’ve noticed is that the “impulse” factor on buying ebooks is higher than with a physical book. Maybe it’s because the ebook is cheaper, and maybe its because I know I won’t have to store or pass on the physical book once I’ve read it, but I have taken a lot more chances with digital books than I usually do with paper books. With a paper book, I’ll read reviews, then try to check out as many excerpts as possible. If I can check one out in a store (unlikely with romance, now that Borders is gone down here), I’ll read a few random pages to make sure the prose and I are going to get along with one another. But with an ebook I’ll just go “what the heck” and buy based on a review I read or someone mentioning the author’s name. Consequently, I have had a far higher “miss” rate with ebooks than with physical books. Quite a few books I couldn’t force myself to finish. And I also find that reading digitally and reading paper give me a different reader experience. Some people say digital is more immersive, but I find paper much more immersive. I suspect this is because I have years of conditioning that equate comfort/decadence/enjoyment with me being curled on the couch with a book in my paw, whereas the digital book just doesn’t bring the same associations. Yet. I am sure this will evolve. But having had my ereader for over a year now, I am beginning to think that I will be a 50 -50 consumer. I like digital,but I still love paper books. I’m going to slut around and play both fields. Does that make me bi-readial? (sorry for the long ramble, but this has been on my mind for a while…)
Jan 09, 2012 @ 15:12:36
Not on Goodreads, but another author embarrassing himself by responding to a not-glowing review:
http://theselfpublishingreview.wordpress.com/2011/09/07/flight-to-paradise-by-mike-coe/
Also worth mentioning: the ebook reader vs. paper book argument is very much a first-world issue. Part of the reason I personally keep buying and reading physical books is that I travel to places that don’t always have electricity and where physical books are treasured and passed from reader to reader. I think sometimes we take for granted the ability to charge, let alone add new content to, an ebook reader.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 15:15:48
@Tasha
A) I read the Mike Coe crazy pants stuff this morning and it was pretty hilarious. Note to readers, this is a scroll down. Don’t stop at the first Mike Coe comment or you will miss the best part.
B) OLPC Handcrank. That is all.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 15:17:14
Ugh, posted this comment to the wrong post. Trying again now:
I just realized that my perfect e-reader came up in a TV show. If Wolfram & Hart existed, I would want them to make me an e-reader similar to the volumes of books that popped up at one point in Angel (I think Wesley got them…?). Something that looks and behaves like a print book, but you can have what’s on the pages be whatever you’d like at the time. For me, that would be the best of both the print and digital worlds. I could have my whole library in one volume, but do all the flipping to my favorite parts that I wanted. Unfortunately, the price of that e-reader would probably be my soul…
Jan 09, 2012 @ 15:18:29
@LG Reposting (and I am not really following you around, okay I am)
I think that a touchscreen can pretty much do what you want. There is the easy of flipping between sections. Not to mention the word search features. Also the ability to bookmark and highlight passages.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 15:23:26
I am loyal to no one, reader or paper. It is what the situation warrants, whether that situation be monetary or convenience.
I will greatly miss the paper book, though. I “find” jewels in paper that I would never find in e, at thrift stores, library sales, wherever a book might be waiting for me to pick it up.
And I use libraries, not because they are “free,” but because I pay dearly for them with my taxes, even though they don’t stock what I want in formats I want, even though my county cut their “book” acquisition budget from $4m plus to less than $200,000, I am still paying for that library system and I will use them until they replace all the books with nothing but computer terminals, which is where the budget seems to be uncut year after year.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 15:27:08
@Tasha: Also worth mentioning: the ebook reader vs. paper book argument is very much a first-world issue. Part of the reason I personally keep buying and reading physical books is that I travel to places that don’t always have electricity and where physical books are treasured and passed from reader to reader. I think sometimes we take for granted the ability to charge, let alone add new content to, an ebook reader.
While dedicated ereaders are rare in developing parts of the world, the smart phone is taking off, not just in the first world, but everywhere. (In the developing world, if you have a phone at all, it’s more likely to be a cell phone than a land line.)
And with smart phones come ereading apps, and with ereading apps come the option for readers to consume books digitally. It is arguably the case that digital books will have an even greater reach in these parts of the world than in the first world, simply because getting your hands on physical books is much, much harder.
And, as Jane says, there’s also the OLPC Handcrank and similar other devices are probably on the horizon. Really, the potential for ebook penetration in the developing world is enormous.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 15:38:11
@Jane: That’s what I get for clicking on the wrong link in my email inbox.
I haven’t tried reading anything on a touchscreen device yet. I’ve got a Nook 1st edition and zero touchscreen devices (really – I don’t even have a smartphone), so I do at least make use of word searching and the “go to page” feature. I sort of make use of highlighting and note-taking, but I’ll be so happy when I can do that on a touchscreen – I imagine it’s much less of a pain on one of those devices. So far, though, I haven’t been willing to shell out for yet another device (or device upgrade). I’m usually several steps behind when it comes to tech adoption, simply because I prefer to spend more of my money on the things that get used on the tech than the tech itself.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 15:41:51
@Jackie Barbosa: While cell phones in the areas I’m talking about are almost universal, there are still very few smartphones the way we think of them. My point is that 25% of the world’s population still don’t have electricity, so it’s premature to declare the physical book dead or endangered as so many have tried (not necessarily here).
Jan 09, 2012 @ 15:42:53
@Tasha: O_O Wow, if you put all of Mike Coe’s comments together you might have enough for a short novel.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 15:49:39
Honestly, I think e-readers will be like computers. When I was in college, in the dark ages of the late 80′s/early 90′s, I didn’t have a computer and wasn’t required to use one and I didn’t want to use one. I liked my Smith-Corona typewriter and notebooks very much, thank you. When I heard about the Internet I scoffed and said, huh, that’s never going to take off. That would mean EVERYONE would have to own a computer and internet service and that will NEVER HAPPEN. Three or four years later pretty much everyone I knew had a computer & internet connection.
Around here, some of the private schools are already requiring that students have e-readers, for textbook purposes I assume. I wonder how the digital revolution is affecting the textbook business?
Another e-reader plus not often mentioned…those of us with severe asthma and allergies no longer have to worry about possible dust or mold every time we pick up an old book, and no longer have to store allergen-gathering books in our homes. :)
Jan 09, 2012 @ 15:53:42
@LG: Read DIAMOND AGE by Neal Stephenson.
/non sequitur
Jan 09, 2012 @ 16:52:34
@Tasha: My point is that 25% of the world’s population still don’t have electricity, so it’s premature to declare the physical book dead or endangered as so many have tried (not necessarily here).
Yeah, I don’t think the physical book is dead yet (cue Monty Python reference), but I do think its days as the primary format for books are numbered.
The thing is, the folks you’re talking about aren’t being considered in the calculations of NY publishers when it comes to determining whether it makes sense to do a mass print release for a new book. In most cases, these books are not even being released in the countries where those 25% of people live, let alone in the languages that predominate in them.
Moreover, if the ebook:print ratio shifts to 80:20, it won’t matter where the people buying and reading those books live, because unless the potential sales numbers for a book are quite large, that sort of ratio isn’t economically sustainable for the publisher. For example, if sales of a book are projected to be 40,000 and fully 8 in 10 of those books are likely to be sold in digital format, the publisher will probably think twice before issuing a mass-market paperback run for only 8,000 copies, as the per copy profit margin isn’t enough to make a profit.
In other words, while I expect the print book to be around for a good, long while, as a format I expect it to be vinyl album of books, while the digital book will be the mp3 :).
Jan 09, 2012 @ 16:59:24
@Isobel Carr: That’s interesting. All the marketing managers and engineers I knew when I worked for an F500 computer manufacturer loved digital gadgets of all kinds. Most were innovators (those willing to take purchase risks & often have greater financial resources). The risk factor differentiates them from early adopters who are a little more judicious, though they tend to be opinion leaders for other consumers who have yet to adopt new products.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 17:00:19
@Sarah Mayberry
I know what you mean. For me, it’s something to do with the physicality of print books, being able to see the whole book at once and see where I’ve been and where I’m going. I have the same issue with maps; I need to see a broad overview to orient myself. And like a few others have said, I flip around a good bit in books mostly backwards to confirm a detail or figure out who somebody is.
I stayed up way too late last night reading a book after randomly flipping through it while organizing. That happens more often with paper because I have to plan ahead and intentionally pick up my ereader.
My mom died recently and we’ve been slowly cleaning out her stuff. It’s made me think about my own possessions. I have boxes of books that someone will have the pleasure/trouble of sorting through, but my ebooks might be lost unless someone who knows how digs them out of my harddrive.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 17:12:58
Maybe her tone was about the 50 people per flight that ignore the “turn off electronic devices now” statements and then argue with her when she sees them using it and has to personally tell them to turn it off?
Yes, THIS!!! The last three flights I’ve been on, I’ve seen people using their e-readers during takeoff and it scares the hell out of me! I actually told one of them (who turned her e-reader BACK ON after the flight attendant had passed and sat down to get buckled up) to STOP READING until we were at 10,000 feet, since for all she and I know, there might be a damned good reason that electronic devices are supposed to be off until then! I get so mad at these people. Obviously not all e-reader owners are such douchebags, but it’s only ereaders i’ve seen people keeping on during takeoff, maybe because they don’t realize these devices count as electronic. Anyway, I can definitely understand why the flight attendant might have gotten a little snarky about them!!!
Jan 09, 2012 @ 17:50:38
My mom, 67, has a Kindle. Me, 40, am not planning to switch to e-readers unless some fundamental things change like: oh, ownership, the ability to give it away, the ability to borrow from the library (without a major hassle). I buy a lot of books, but don’t want to spend my entire entertainment budget that way so unless I can e-read my way through books from paperbackswap.com, just don’t see it happening . . . . .
Jan 09, 2012 @ 17:52:20
@Cara: If you turned to me to tell me what to do, I’d have told you to mind your own damned business. When half the plane probably forgot to turn off the cell phones in their carry-on bags, an ereader is not going to crash the damned plane.
People probably keep reading because they know how silly the rule is.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 18:04:05
@Laura Vivanco: Thank you ever so much!
RE: GoodReads – I haven found that if I don’t make it into a Facebook or Twitter clone and use it to keep track of my reading and what I thought of books – only have a few friends whom I discuss my and their reads with (so no big contribution to any book groups or discussions), follow only my favourite authors and don’t friend them (the few that are my friends I knew before on LJ) … THEN all of this drama totally passes me by.
It may just be because none of my bad reviews have been read by the right author yet, though… Although I don’t bother writing reviews for bad books usually. I have the DNF tag for that.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 18:07:04
@Ridley: That’s a lot more polite than I’d have been.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 18:07:27
@MaryK: There’s something very wonderful about a full bookcase, that’s for sure. Scrolling through a virtual depiction on the screen doesn’t even come close to the experience. Sometimes I like to just run my fingers along the spines or pull a book out to read the back cover and remember the book. And I re-read a lot. I’ve yet to adapt the same behavior to ebooks. The thing you said about being able to see the whole book in your hand resonates for me.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 18:11:44
@Moriah Jovan: I edited it.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 18:16:50
@Cara: Salon had an “Ask the Pilot” column that addressed the use of electronics (and may somewhat ease your concerns): http://www.salon.com/2011/12/13/what_alec_baldwin_doesnt_know_about_air_travel/
I tend to follow the rules in such situations, even though my husband is a professional pilot and frequently talks about which rules are ridiculous/outdated. Hint: my husband uses an ipad for a paperless cockpit. I know airline employees are not paid buckets of money, constantly deal with challenging situations, and so on, but I think air travel is unpleasant enough without the flight attendants resorting to prophylactic snark. Bust out the snark when faced with actual rule-breaking. Just my 2 cents!
Jan 09, 2012 @ 18:19:50
If use of electronic devices during takeoff and landing were remotely likely to bring down passenger airliners, terrorists would not have ever felt the need to smuggle explosives in their underwear.
Just sayin’…
Jan 09, 2012 @ 18:38:17
I don’t know where that prediction of 50% came from, but if it is 50% of readers, then I’ve read statistics that say 50% of Americans buy only one book a year. How long they can support the bookstore if everyone else moves to E, I don’t know. They can probably support books in other stores, like Walmart — not a selection that’s going to thrill anyone who reads more often.
Older readers will include many who move to e-reading because of eyesight issues, providing models for the rest. I know many older people who are moving to smaller, managed apartments and don’t have space for their books.
Smartphones in the 3rd world are incredibly valuable. They get charged in various ways, they can have book apps. They might increase reading because when I lived in the 3rd world, there were practically no bookstores. Sure, in the big cities, a few business supply stores sold books, too. Without electricity, you aren’t doing that much reading anyway. You work when it is light and can’t read when it is dark.
I suspect E is going to be the format of well over 50% of the books bought. College textbooks are an obvious choice for moving to E and once all students have a reader, they will buy their leisure books that way, too.
Hachette is pinning its hopes on faulty statistics. When cell phone came out, plenty of pundits viewed them as toys of the rich. Now it’s increasingly common to have a mobile rather than a landline.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 18:39:52
@Jackie Barbosa: At one pt they wouldn’t let you use cellphones at the hospital… although when we were at the emerg (youngest has nasty laryngitis) on Sat I noticed the signs were gone and all the gadgets/phones were out… YET, they let me use my e-reader during pre-surgery wait (where I was IV’d and waiting to actually go into surgery.. the original kobo FWIW can be completely manipulated one handed) and a couple of years ago with my MIL in the chemo room.
I think the electronics rule has been relaxed considerably.
I have an original kobo – no wireless/cellphone links – but how were they to know that.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 18:45:26
@farmwifetwo: Even the “no cellphones in hospitals” thing is a bit silly, since if there was any real threat of things going haywire as a result of their use, they’d make you check them in at the door. I rarely remember to turn off my cell in the dr’s office/hospital despite the signs (I’m not TRYING to bust the rules, I just forget), and you’d think if there was really any interference from them, someone would notice and come tell you to turn the damn thing off.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 18:49:51
@SAO: What you said.
Any publisher expecting 50% of books to be sold in print in perpetuity is going the way of Kodak.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 21:05:54
Thinking about what will happen when I’m gone is a big plus for ebooks, for me. I’ve known too many people who’s suffered too much having to deal with all their parents crap. No one in my family is likely to want my romances, so I don’t much care if the ebooks disappear when I’m gone.
Not having to worry about not having room for my books if I wind up in a home is a big plus too.
Jan 09, 2012 @ 22:16:47
@MaryK: Which is not to say that I dislike ebooks, BTW, just that I have a foot in both camps. Aside from e-only books, I buy HQN categories only in e now because of space issues (except for out-of-print ones of course).
Jan 09, 2012 @ 23:13:50
siiiiigh. Just siiiiiigh.
I’m really hoping that this isn’t our 2012. Drama up the whazoo. It’s fun now and again to read about the shenanigans but these last few days have made my eyes and head hurt. I’m not completely convinced it’s all sincere crazy, though. Maybe a wee bit publicity calculated IMO. I love reviewer blogs and I also love goodreads. But then again, I’m a reader and these sites are specifically designed for me. I’m getting real tired of authors and others flaming these sites and mudding up the interwebs with all this nonsense.
@ Jane – Thanks for all the coupons and deal postings. I’m a Kindle convert (especially after getting the Fire) and I love all the deals which you make so easily available.
I’m 50/50 split between my Kindle and actual paper books. I love them both and I do admit that for the longest time I resisted the e-reader mainly b/c I wanted something tangible. I still buy my favorite authors in paperback and probably will do so forever. However, I’ve found myself branching out more, trying new authors and genres on the Kindle b/c 1) they’re cheaper and 2) if I don’t like it, I delete and don’t have to bemoan wasted space or money. I also don’t have to get rid of the book too. So… as a very dedicated and prolific reader, I use all medias available. I still spend waaay too much money on books, and have a massive physical and electronic TBR pile. So, I’m turning a deaf ear and blind eye and not taking sides on the e-reader vs. print .
And now I”m going to go hug my puppy b/c reading all the dramas has made me want a hug :)
Jan 09, 2012 @ 23:29:23
It’s my understanding that the no electronics on take off/landing rule has more to do with the GPS in your device screwing up the planes’ GPS. Apparently during take off and landing they want to know exactly where the plane is LOL. But it’s a moot point with some ereaders since they don’t come equipped with GPS.
Jan 10, 2012 @ 09:58:20
@Moriah Jovan: I’ve been meaning to try Stephenson for a while now. I’ll give this one a go, it sounds interesting.
Jan 10, 2012 @ 12:44:33
Thanks for all the coupons and deal alerts. I do buy books quite often, thanks to your links.
EReaders and the elderly – I work in the hospice business, and every extended care facility I visit has many elderly using eReaders. They love being able to adjust the font. Many tell me they quit reading years ago because of the price of large print books and magazines. EReaders have opened up a whole new reading world for them.
I just have to ask – has anyone done the math on the BN deals? Talk about a crock of….whatever. One year subscription toPeople@9.99= 119.88. Plus the discounted Nook tablet at 199, you are forking out $318.88. The NY Times “deal” costs even more. So what kind of a bargain is that?? If that’s the best BN marketing execs can do, it’s no wonder they are in financial trouble.
Jan 10, 2012 @ 22:45:09
Out of my family, my elderly grandmother is actually the only person who reads ebooks – because she can’t read the type in most books anymore.
Personally, I don’t ever see myself giving up print books. I’ve tried out e-readers in stores and I just hate the way it feels when I hold one and I missed turning the pages too much. I also like seeing my progress throughout the book, keeping my books on shelves, etc. No matter what happens I have enough new books to read for years (I waaaaay overbuy) so I figure I’ll be ok no matter what but I would be extremely sad if I can’t take my future children to a bookstore. It was my favorite place to go as a child.
Jan 11, 2012 @ 08:31:19
I like the coupons and I always look at your “deals” articles.
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