Moving House

Courtesy of The Reading Room for this.  Books have a future.

In Defence of Ebooks

Overdrive are keen to sustain the relevance of libraries into the next generation of readers.  I am not convinced; the article says that libraries were about the discovery of new/rare books, and boasts at the same time that interest in overdrive services is fuelled by Harry Potter and other best-sellers.  Ebook libraries are worth monitoring nonetheless.

In Defence of Books

Lucy Siegle teaches us nothing new when she points out that five years is a good innings for a laptop; though her comments on planned obsolescence are worth considering.  What is immediately relevant, as a book lover, is the implication for ebooks.  What physical books have is longevity, they last.  Ebooks need energy to be sustained; and the devices used to access them will surely have the same obsolescence flaw as our laptops.

Young Americans are still reading

Pew Research finds that there is still a healthy appetite for books, ebooks and libraries among young Americans.  The findings are most encouraging.

Growth for ebooks; decline for paperbacks

Digital World tells us that ebook sales continue to rise, though the rate is slowing.  Paperback sales continue to fall.  I remain optimistically luddite.  Bring me vinyl, paperbacks and a good wine; they all improve with age.  Maybe!

Print Books are best

Digital Book World consider the merits of ebooks and print books when it comes to parents and children reading together.  It would see that print books are the winners.  Go luddites.

Discoverability and Paid Reviews

Digital self-publishing has many benefits I am sure, though I am not completely certain what they are.  I like books.  Among the disadvantages of self-publishing, with the needed discoverability, is the trend of paid reviews, paying to have something written about your book.  This is an issue.  How do we discover what is good?

New Developments in e-books

The luddite in me might be forced to concede after all.  The Nook has found a distributor in the UK; and confident figures being boasted by Harper Collins and Amazon.

Erotic Scenes to Order

I find this article most encouraging.  It reminds me that the one thing a formula can't produce is an authentic, original voice.  The content, if you are interested, is a website that produces erotic scenes to order, deriving its purpose from Fifty Shades of Grey.  Have a look.