Excellent article, Naomi. The thing is, you can have a relationship with a book. A sensual one, that is, rather than a virtual one. You can even sleep with it without worrying that dribbling on it will damage it.
Susiex

I do think it's a bit sinister they've called it 'Kindle'. I never made that association until I read the article. I'm not worried though - I envision this being a tremendous flop.

JB

I envision this being a tremendous flop.

I don't know, JB, people love gadgets - how many of us have bought sandwich toasters in the past, where we all know toasted cheese and tomato tastes far better when done under the grill.

People love gadgets that are useful, yes. A sandwich toaster serves a purpose, in terms of convenience. The whole reason why some people are dismissing the Kindle is because it's backwards technology.
As the article proves, it's less convenient, less durable, and less attractive than a paperback book. It isn't rocket science. It's style over substance. A triumph of marketing over common sense.

I mean, who did the market research for these clowns? Most people, given a choice, would rather buy a handy book for £7.99 than some ugly electronic device, which is only capable of downloading a limited number of titles for a tidy $400. It's absurd, it really is. And I believe it will flop. Badly.

JB

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I'm sorry Naomi, I'm not annoyed at you. I just love books and to be honest, I feel affronted that someone would think they need improving upon.

No, I quite agree with you, JB, I love books too. Unfortunately hubby is a gadget freak and it's just the sort of crap present he'd seriously consider getting me for Christmas (heaven forbid!)

And I believe it will flop. Badly.

I love books too and I believe the £400 version probably will - but not when it costs £25.

I can't help remember my first working days 20 years ago when this tiresome man kept trying to insist that everyone use 'electronic mail' to communicate - quick sprint down the corridor to fire up the modem anyone when you can just reach for a stamp?

And how many of us come online to mourn the passing of the fountain pen and Basildon Bond?

May be unwieldy now - but wait til the technology develops?

Sarah

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I should say - I'm going to check out Ned's book - I think if we really believe in our work why not give it away and see if there is an audience for the story?

Stendhal wrote for 'the happy few'.

And maybe it is an adult route to take as a writer - trusting our own judgement? I sometimes think we are like children, jostling our siblings and peers and pushing our picture for parents (agents) and teachers (publishers) attention and hoping ours is the one they pick to put on the wall...

That is the tragic truth. I'm no Luddite, but I do worry where our technology is taking us. If one looks at the melting ice caps, it doesn't seem to be anywhere good, so surely our focus should be on helping the environment, keeping things that are harmless as they are, and not creating more leaky batteries for future landfills?

It's not about advancement, it's about money and greed, and basically fuck the hindmost.

JB

If it was £25 I would be tempted to put it on my Christmas list. There are several hefty tomes sitting by the bedside which are difficult to hold up and read for any length of time. Having them on a small, palm-sized screen would help enormously.

No price would be low enough to persuade me to buy one while it’s only 170dpi. That’s twice as sharp as a standard laptop screen, but it’s still only half as sharp as printed material and hence will prove tiring on the eye in minutes.

Its plastic case will also prove less comfortable in the hand than a flexible paperback which has some give in and won’t get sweaty.

The battery life on paperbacks is also still pretty impressive.

I think it’s more likely that printed books will be replaced by audiobooks than by electronic books.


Oh, btw, thanks to the people who’ve downloaded my book. I’m going to post part two next week.

Let me know if you need it before then. (I admit that need might be too strong a word here.)

No price would be low enough to persuade me to buy one while it’s only 170dpi. That’s twice as sharp as a standard laptop screen, but it’s still only half as sharp as printed material and hence will prove tiring on the eye in minutes.

I dunno, Ned, I stare at the laptop screen for hours on end, so if it's twice as sharp then that's good enough for me.

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Just checked and my laptop's dpi is 128.

The Grumpy Old Bookman is a great believer in giving his books away. Downloadable pdfs. If people like what they read, they'll want it in book form too.

It's interesting you're making your work available through myspace, ned, which is of course famous for being used by bands to promote their music. Arctic monkeys and all that. Seems that the main difference is that it's fairly immediate for anyone listening to a track and deciding whether they like it enough to download it, or even better, forward it on to their mates. It's a little slower with a piece of writing, even a short story, let alone a novel. The same build of interest is going to take longer to achieve.

Good luck though. I don't think there's anything wrong with it in principle.

One other thought that maybe worth looking into - copyright. I'm not quite sure how it works but GOB (the grumpy old bookman) uses this thing called Creative Commons to protect his work. Basically, I think, it says that you don't mind people looking at it for free, and even passing it on, but that you are the originator, and have the copyright. I think!

Creative Commons are here. I've put one on my blog, and it's dead easy. You can choose the level of protection you want for your work...

http://creativecommons.org/license/

Emma

And what about the busker? Maybe he’s just enjoying playing his tunes, even if the record labels don’t want to sign him.

Yes, but he’s playing in the hope of making some money from passers-by, isn't he?

The Kindle looks like a has-been already, from what I've seen, but a Sony Reader… now that looks smart. I would love one – BUT, to justify the cost, the downloads need to be considerably cheaper, preferably free. See, having a smart gismo like this wouldn’t deter me from buying books. I love books – I love the feel of them, the weight, the covers, the fonts, the quality of the paper. I love looking at them all lined up on my bookshelves like treasures. So no gismo, no matter how wonderful, could totally replace books. But I want both.

What I would like to see is for publishers to embrace this new technology and offer readers both options. With every book they sell, they could give a key to download the same book onto a PC or a reader or whatever. The technology exists to prevent unauthorised copying but, in reality, isn't that just the same as lending a book to someone.

Dee

Parts two and three now uploaded.

I'm getting a decent number of downloads but, as yet, this busker hasn't been picked up off the pavement and transported to the recording studio...

Oh, and thanks Emmma.

I'm going to include the Creative Commons link on my mySpace page.