October 15, 2008
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Paperless Paper—Reading Will Never Be the Same
For years now at publishing conferences, D and I have been told about the technologies that will lead us away from paper and bound books. Some technologies have already dampened book sales, but there have been no offerings yet that have been as satisfying as a real book. But things are changing everyday:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7670371.stm
|||||| lynard
Comments (3)
My feelings on e-readers continue to morph. I see one of these devices in my future — perhaps the second generation Kindle or a better version of the Sony e-reader. (They still have to come down in price and have better fonts than the ones I’ve seen so far.)
I think the idea of daily newspapers going paperless makes a lot of sense (in terms of waste), but there’s still something about a book itself. I am, though, for the first time, ready to be persuaded that e-readers are not a freak of nature.
On the other side, though: It all makes me want to hurry up and get published while that still means paper and a binding!
@Austruck1 -
Yeh, I think I am where you are for the most part. I don’t think traditional books are going anywhere for now. In the near future, you will be able to have an out-of-print book printed for you with the cover of your choosing at the local bookstore. E-readers are going to weasel their ways into our affections, though, slowly but adeptly.
|||||| lynard
I am not hearing as much about those POD kiosks for OOP books lately. All eyes and ears seem to be turning more toward the e-books and e-readers/e-ink now. I’m thinking those OOP books will be offered as e-books first — easier all the way around.
I am actually doing serious research on both the Kindle and the Sony PRS-700 e-reader. For things such as traveling (which I did a lot of this year), an e-reader would have been ideal instead of stuffing 4-5 books in my suitcase, as well as several magazines. The thought of also carrying around reference materials (for freelance work) would be pretty spiffy.
And students are clamoring for these devices to go color and/or able to be filled with textbooks. No more lugging around 50 pounds of textbooks. And perhaps the prices of those textbooks would come down a little.
The market is definitely out there, and I think Mr. Bezos from Amazon with his Kindle has actually broken the market open for real this time. It’ll still be slow-going (it won’t sell like iPods because people don’t read the same way or amount as they listen to music). But I’m thinking the e-paper revolution is finally here to stay.
P.S. I dislike when folks argue that they won’t give up their paper books. I don’t see one edging out the other. I see them as coexisting. I know I certainly will keep buying hard copy books forever. But there are just some titles I currently buy in hard copy that I don’t *need* to own in hard copy (current bestsellers, etc.). I just won’t have enough room on my bookshelves if I keep this up.