Buying an ebook

I don’t have a kindle, nook, ipad, or any other device in which to download books, unless you count my brand new used 4 iphone. Which I don’t. Reading a book on that would be like deciphering the written word from a dollhouse library. And yet, I was almost willing to try. Almost. Who is … Read more

Readers Who Love E-Readers

The number one reason I’ve found that people love kindle or nook or and ipad or iphone to read books, is how much easier a e-reader is to travel with, instead of individual titles heaped in a bag or loaded into luggage. Especially  when flying.  Instead of impulse buying a paperback at an airport terminal, … Read more

Little Davids Take On Amazon Giant

So a few independent bookstores decided to sue Amazon and the major publishers who made a devil’s deal to control e-books. From the Huffington Post: “Three independent bookstores are taking Amazon and the so-called Big Six publishers (Random House, Penguin, Hachette, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and Macmillan) to court in an attempt to level the … Read more

Choice

electronic readers comparedA philosophical president of Random House publishing, Gina Centrello, concedes that the industry is changing fast. She seems comfortable about it. It’s her contention that yes, e-readers will be a predominant way people receive their books, but that real books, with pages between covers will also remain. Her belief is that the best of both worlds will exist, and this is fantastic for the consumer because they now have choice. Up until now, the poor person who wanted to scan War and Peace– (my example)- had to lug this heavy clumsy thing whenever they needed to extract quotes for a book report, to make it look as thought they’d read it. In their back pocket folded into near oblivion is the Cliff Note. A Cliff Note on the other hand is skinny and practically featherweight-doesn’t matter–it too will be available on a e-reader, no doubt. She seems positively cheery about the prospects the future brings.

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Thanks A Lot, Justice Administration

Thank you so much for protecting us from Apple’s attempts to monopolize the e-book industry. Sure, they set e-book prices and colluded with publishers to do so. And, maybe from the short term view of the consumer and U. S. government, that is a very bad thing. As if monopolies are non existent except for … Read more

Good For Them! But Is It a Sound Business Move?

Publisher’s Weekly covered the announcement by Barnes and Noble, that they will not carry anything published by Amazon in their brick and mortar stores. The fact that I am championing B&N is not lost on me. Me, who ten years ago likened B&N to the ‘Evil Empire’, like the Soviet Union. But now, just like … Read more