ebooks the wave of the future

Okay...I'll take your word for it that Sony ereaders have e-ink technology.

In regard to the sdhc card for the iPad, doesn't that require the camera attachment kit? The kids at the Apple store I visited a couple months ago couldn't tell me much other than flash technology was incompatible.

In happier news, I got the Kobo LookBook in my department today (I've been expecting the Kobo, but this new one looks verrrrryyyy nice - looks to be about the size of the iPad even and it's priced decent at $99.87).

Another tech toy I'll have to pick up - and I wonder why I can't save any money.

ebooks are the wave of now. I'm on it. ereading every day. buying ebooks all the time.[/QUOTE]

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I sure hope you're right because that's where I'm headed with my work.

And yes, I did get a Kindle for Christmas.

I LOVE IT.

Christine N. said:

And yes, I did get a Kindle for Christmas.

I LOVE IT.

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Me too...and ditto!

It's actually easier to read an ebook than a regular book in the tub. You don't turn pages, just click a switch. Pages don't get wet--no pages. Love reading my Kindle in bed because i don't have to have a light shinning directly on it to read it. Easier on my eyes too. Can't increase the font or line spacing with a book, can with Kindle. Also text to speech when your eyes get tired. There's actually enough free books at Amazon and B&N to pay for a reader. Nook gives five or six with the purchase. Readers are here to stay. Love my Kindle.

Read Newsweek on mine. New issue every week and I don't even have to go to the mailbox to get it. Every Sunday I get a new issue. Also, I have two built-in dictionaries in case there's a word I want to look up. Also, when I write I keep my Kindle by my side instead of a Webster. Easier to look up word definitions with it. Each day I learn something new that's available on Amazon that I can download. Oh and my Kindle plays music while I read too. Can you $27 hardcover do that--at the beach?

FOTSGreg said:

Okay...I'll take your word for it that Sony ereaders have e-ink technology.

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Yes, Sony ereaders have e-ink, which explains the terrible touchscreen interface. Touch the screen. Nothing happens. Tap the screen. Nothing happens. Poke the screen. Wait 10 seconds. Wow, the page turns. The real problem isn't with Sony, but with e-ink technology, which has a very slow refresh rate.

FOTSGreg said:

In regard to the sdhc card for the iPad, doesn't that require the camera attachment kit? />

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The iPad 2 will have a SD card slot. Wonder of wonders. Wait until April.

AmericaMadeMe said:

Yes, Sony ereaders have e-ink, which explains the terrible touchscreen interface. Touch the screen. Nothing happens. Tap the screen. Nothing happens. Poke the screen. Wait 10 seconds. Wow, the page turns. The real problem isn't with Sony, but with e-ink technology, which has a very slow refresh rate.

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Must be something wrong with every ereader you've ever used; that certainly doesn't describe mine.

And you do realise there's also a pageturn button, right?

AmericaMadeMe said:

The iPad 2 will have a SD card slot. Wonder of wonders. Wait until April.

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My Sony had an SD card slot when I bought it way back last February.

I've been observing a certain "head buried in sand" attitude from certain publishing bods recently when it comes to e-readers. The ones who say, "e-books are a fad. It'll go away soon."

I think those who say this are worried that e-books will eradicate the need for print books. This isn't going to happen. The publishing industry needs to accept that there is room for print books and e-books if it is to survive (with apologies to those who feel they are listening to a broken record - I harp on about this a lot).

I've had a Sony e-reader for a while and I love it (and like Scarlet Peaches I've got no technical issues with mine). Hubby decided he wanted one, too. In the end we decided to get a Kindle too, rather than another Sony, as my experience has been that some books are available in one format but not the other. So now we have two electronic e-readers, we can download different books on them both and whe we go on holiday we can both sit by the pool with an e-book.

I have found since getting my Sony I'm not buying any fewer print books. I'm actually buying more books than I was before. I still buy print books, generally those I get at signing sessions or the next book in a series I've been reading and want to keep on the shelf. But now I'm taking chances on more new authors if I find their book as an e-book because generally the e-book is cheaper than the paperback, and I don't have to worry about finding more space on my book shelves.

But I am also someone who uses bath time for relaxation time. I tend to take print books into the bath with me because I haven't yet figured out how to keep my e-reader dry. But that baggie idea sounds pretty good, so I might try that.

Shara

I haven't heard any publisher rep ever say ebook and ereaders are a fad--that sounds like a straw man argument to me. The only question is how much market share they will get, and how quickly. And I have seem both massive over and under-estimates of this in comparison to what has happened so far.

I can see someone thinking ebooks are a fad, but not an insider. They might be hoping it's a fad, but I think they all know it isn't. Ebooks are here to stay. So are paper books. Maybe one day in some Star Trek-like future books will no longer ever be printed and only available digitally. I don't think any of us will live to see that day.

I used to get pretty discouraged at the idea that if I couldn't find a traditional publisher, I may have to "settle" for e-publication. I used to watch people try and try to find a publisher, and then announce that their ebook was published by a very small press, or their work would be podcast or available on disk, and I'd think it was a shame they were settling.

I don't feel that way quite as much anymore. Yes, my goal is for traditional publication, and if I couldn't get traditional publication I doubt I'd look for another avenue. I'd assume it wasn't ready to be published and I'd try with something else. But one of the genres I'm currently writing in does a booming business in ebooks so I'm actually going to submit to an epublisher without thoughts of print publication. Five years ago that would have given me the shivers. Times change, so do we.

And while I've never purchased a novel in ebook format, I have purchased non-fiction that way. I don't even have an ereader or smartphone--I read them on my computer. I've downloaded free fiction and read those, and I've read tons of short stories online. And I'm about to purchase my first fiction this week. Though it's really for market research, it's still something I wouldn't have done even a year ago.

If someone in the industry actually said that about ebooks in so many words, that person is probably either extremely short-sighted or blowing smoke.

Shelley

To call something a fad that has more than twenty years of sales history is to suggest that the individual in question is less than knowledgeable.

To call something a fad that has more than twenty years of sales history is to suggest that the individual in question is less than knowledgeable.

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And if you consider that the Star Trek Series was using "e-reading" technology back in the 80's...

Just sayin'

veinglory said:

The only question is how much market share they will get, and how quickly. And I have seem both massive over and under-estimates of this in comparison to what has happened so far.

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Some interesting info coming out of the recent Digital Book World conference about that. PW article here.

And the day and DBW came to a close after a wide ranging conversation between Shatzkin, Random House’s Madeline McIntosh, literary agent Simon Lipskar, Sourcebook founder Dominique Raccah and Publishing Lunch’s Michael Cader. The topic was “where will we be in 12 months,” and at least one point that was unanimously agreed upon was that publishing revenues will likely be at least half digital by 2014. While MacIntosh noted that the 50/50 digital/print split has been a benchmark for planning at Random House for some time, she also emphasized that indeed some categories have already reached that mark.

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Fast times.

Kindle book sales just overtook paperback sales at Amazon.com. Also, we now expect digital to outstrip print by 2014.

You can read an ebook on most any device. I read mine on my computer or phone. I tend to buy more ebooks now than I do paperback. My daughter would prefer to have ebooks, but I haven't gotten her an ereader yet and she can't use it in school. I believe the younger generation will warm up to the idea faster. Yes, there will always be print books, but more and more people are warming up to ebooks too.

I love print books, but I find I read MUCH faster with an e-reader, and it's just more enjoyable to read on because I don't have to worry about holding both flaps of the book to keep it down. Plus, they're so much cheaper, and I like that. I'll still buy print books, but they're going to be books that I REALLY want by authors that I adore. I'm waiting for Carrie Ryan's third book and Cassandra Clare's sequel to Clockwork Angel. Otherwise, e-books are for me.

Plus, I love the opportunities e-publishing presents. I plan to take The Corner Club Press to e-publishing sometime in the near future.

Much easier to carry 5...or 50 e-books on a plane.

But if you are like me you still need a magazine to read during take off and landing when all devices must be turned off....

veinglory said:

But if you are like me you still need a magazine to read during take off and landing when all devices must be turned off....

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Yep, until you can turn airplane mode on! At least a magazine doesn't weigh a lot!

FranYoakumVeal said:

Yep, until you can turn airplane mode on! At least a magazine doesn't weigh a lot!

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The flight attendants always say you have to turn off everything with an on-off switch, airplane mode or not.

I just hide my ereader in a magazine while they're doing their cabin checks.

Have to admit, I didn't catch that request when I flew out to Amsterdam, and no one caught me, though I did turn my phone off altogether on the way back. It was only a 50minute flight anyway, so a paper book was more efficient! While I was on holiday, though, being able to read books on my phone was brilliant, especially while waiting to be served in restaurants.

bobbyray said:

Love reading my Kindle in bed because i don't have to have a light shinning directly on it to read it.

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Holy cow. Till now, I've been pretty dubious about e-readers. That's obviously because I hadn't thought about this illuminating benefit!

Medievalist said:

We've only just this last six months started approaching a standard / universal file format.

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I've only recently begun looking at ebooks and I'm curious what you mean by this. Seems there are lots of different formats. But maybe there are fewer than there used to be? Lots of reading devices out there too. Based on what you've seen, when do you think we might see a universal format?

Thanks.

Oh, and which format looks like the frontrunner? If I'm going to study formatting, I'd like for the knowledge to be useful when the dust clears.

Thanks again.

ichMael said:

I've only recently begun looking at ebooks and I'm curious what you mean by this. Seems there are lots of different formats. But maybe there are fewer than there used to be? Lots of reading devices out there too. Based on what you've seen, when do you think we might see a universal format?

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As bad as it is now--and it is pretty bad--it was worse five years ago, and much much worse ten years ago.

epub looks to be winning; it's based on the open ebook XML standard, and it's been adopted by Adobe and Apple as an official standard.

It works on lots and lots of devices--though DRM is always going to stymie proliferation.

Apple is trying to talk publishers into going DRMless, but it's not exactly a concept that most of them are excited about.