TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

Archive for the ‘P-books’ Category

By David Rothman

Who says a book- or author-oriented site is enough for good visibility on Google and other search engines? Suppose, at no cost, you could also get your book listed in a search engine that’s used not only by other small fry but also by some majors such as Random House.

You might check out Bookhitch, which is offering the basic service for free and charging $20 for a premium version showing your book cover.

For readers, Bookhitch might also be a place to browse for titles not easily discovered elsewhere—in areas ranging from kids’ books to military ones. I haven’t read The Splendid Five: A True Story about the Splinter Fleet during World War II, one of the listings in the latter category, but Wesley Hall’s book intrigued the editor of Kilroy Was Here, along with others.

Started in May 2006, Bookhitch includes 3,000 publishers and authors, with close to 100,000 books listed (I don’t know how many would be E).

“We get an average of 25,000 visitors to Bookhitch a month, with over 1.2 million hits to the site in 2007,” says the site’s marketing director, Emma Ward.

Bookhitch is also into other activities, including a forthcoming community-written book, the use of RFID tags and QR codes (in this case, ways for bar codes to include meta data, related URLs and other details about books). Also check out the site’s newsletter, including interviews with an iRex staffer and the also one with the founder of National Novel Writing Month.

Ahead I’ll reproduce info Emma provided.

(more…)

Popularity: 5% [?]

By David Rothman

“In the age of the iPhone it is the paperback, not the hardback, that seems most under threat. Between my passion for” books from PS Publishing “and my lovely iPhone, I have barely touched a paperback in months. The part of me that loves books—that wants to own them, or lend them to friends, or give them as gifts—is far more satisfied by a quality hardback than a cheap paperback.” - Don’t abandon hardbacks, by Damien G. Walter, in the Guardian.

The TeleRead take: Is there such a thing as a “hardback visage”? Walter, now working on a novel under a grant from Arts Council England, has it. Is his grim black-and-white photograph part of a rehearsal for a hardback dust jacket? That aside, I’d agree with him and Ficbot that different media would be appropriate for different circumstances. What a pleasing cover from PS for a reissue of Random Walk, a reissue of a Lawrence Block mystery! Click on the image for a more detailed view.

Where I might disagree with Walter: How keepable a p-book is shouldn’t just depend on “hard” or “soft.” What about the quality of the writing, the cover, typography and the rest? 

(more…)

Popularity: 5% [?]

By Prof. Peter Kerry Powers, English Dept. Chair, Messiah College

Moderator: Might the Kindle take away money for gourmet dog food? I have no idea what this four-legged guy—not mentioned in Prof. Powers’ post—is thinking. But maybe that’s one possibility. Meanwhile check out Rob Preece’s earlier thought on the topic, as well as the related discussion. - D.R.

I admit I’ve been a little hesitant to buy a Kindle, not out of lack of interest or complete antipathy to e-books. Indeed, I’m kind of intrigued if not totally convinced. But the biggest thing stopping me has been the cost.

Professors aren’t as well off as people tend to think, but on the whole full-time professors—a diminishing breed—are still solidly middle class. My salary as a full professor with about eight years of post-collegiate education and 16 years of full time teaching experience is in the low 70s. And, to be honest, most professors, especially at small schools or third-rank state schools make a lot less than I do. I’m like most professors, pleased with so little compared to their expertise and experience. Give me a book and four or five weeks clear of having to prepare for classes or other administrative work in the summer, and everything seems like gravy.

Hesitant on Kindle

Still, even though I’m better off than many people, I’ve hesitated on the Kindle. 400 bucks is at least an hour or two of my daughter’s prospective college education. Who knows, with interest I may be able to add an hour or two. And it makes me wonder just a bit about the business plan associated with dedicated e-book readers. I would be, I think, a prime candidate for an e-book reader. But on the other hand, I’m an absolutely atypical American when it comes to books purchasing. Most Americans say they buy five books a year and read four. My guess is the other sits on the shelf in order too look kind of impressive even though it’s never read. Reading as many as 12 books a year is considered being a dedicated reader by a lot of folks, and was the benchmark employed by the NEA in some of their recent pronouncements.

(more…)

Popularity: 3% [?]

By David Rothman

House Rules, a thriller by Mike Lawson, “is the first novel to be published via DailyLit on a first serial basis, prior to the book being released by the publisher,” says Susan Danziger, founder of the service offering books by email and RSS. Cost of the 139 installments is $9.95, with four available as a free preview.

“Serialization–prior to the actual book publication date–via DailyLit will be a great promotional tool for publishers and authors. In the 19th century, many major novels, including books by Charles Dickens, were first released in serialized form in magazines and newspapers. We’re offering that again with a 21st century technological twist.”

Full text of released news release follows.

(more…)

Popularity: 3% [?]

By David Rothman

“…at their very core, e-book readers are not nearly as useful and worthwhile as some may think for one major reason — they cost too much money.” - CNET columnist Don Reisinger, following a somewhat more upbeat AP story, Kindle helps tiny e-book market.

The TeleRead take: Beyond lower-priced hardware, a little more enthusiasm for E from the book business would help, in terms of, say, boosting the number of titles available. You already know that Publishers Weekly dropped the E-Book Report blog and mysteriously deleted the archives even though the readership numbers were fine. Meanwhile AP writes of Pat Schroeder, head of the Association of American Publishers: “In a recent AP interview, Schroeder spoke favorably of e-books, but said she still had not read one.”

Related: Hyperion president goes to HarperCollins and New HarperCollins unit to try to cut writer’s advances, in the New York Times, along with a WSJ article mostly behind a paywall. I wouldn’t be surprised if E were a factor, since, if you move toward e-books and the Long Tail model for P, you can’t pay advances as high as for typical p-books.

(more…)

Popularity: 5% [?]

By David Rothman

In the most laughable of ways, Jeff Bezos and friends have tried to justify their Rockefeller-style POD power grab. Check out Amazon’s excuses and a write-up in PaidContent, then watch commenters like Glenn Fleishman and Angel Hoy tear Bezos apart. Amazon claims the new arrangements will result in quicker shipping to customers. But does it really have POD printers set up in all 24 of its distribution centers? If so, then maybe the note isn’t so laughable. But the ethical issues still abound despite Amazon’s new statement saying publishers can sell pre-printed titles for stocking, or that Amazon need be the exclusive POD outlet. Current arrangements are still discriminatory against Amazon’s POD competitors. (Updated 11:57 a.m.)

Related: Amazon: What do we do next?, in ex-Bowker president Michael Cairn’s PersonaNonData blog. Should publishers work with other retailers to develop enhanced content not found on Amazon?

Popularity: 4% [?]

By David Rothman

What will Amazon do next in the name of “enhancing the customer experience”? Right in the middle of Amazon’s POD controversy, the company has announced proprietary reading glasses—a “revolutionary technology” that currently works only with certain Kindle titles but with all BookSurge-printed books.

“Even people with 20/20 vision will benefit from this breakthrough,” Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is quoted today in Publishers Weekly. “Our AmGlasses will double the readings speeds of our customers.

“The glasses contain enhanced electronic and are finely tuned to work with E Ink displays and Kindle fonts and take advance of the Kindle’s wireless WhisperNet capabilities, so that you can absorb the books not just through your eyes but also a special magnetic field.”

eBabel angle

The blogsophere is abuzz with indignation. In the e-book realm, it seems as though AmGlasses initially will work only with Kindle books from Random House, S&S, HarperCollins and other special partners.

“We’re planning to extend this option to other publishers in the next six months,” Amazon spokesperson Heather Huntoon assures PW.

As usual, Ms. Huntoon refused to talk to the TeleBlog, but what really dismays me is AmGlasses’ use of proprietary technology that is compatible only with certain Kindle-format content and with BookSurge p-books and deliberately excludes digital titles using the .epub standard.

On the BookSurge side…

Meanwhile Amazon is assuring customers that it retains a respect for the Long Tail. “In fact,” says Huntoon, “our enhanced electronics will work even now with all paper books printed by our BookSurge division—opening up new opportunities for us among those who are not yet ready for e-books. Reading speeds are not as fast as with Kindle books but should still increase a good 75 percent, and in time we expect them to be double the usual rate.”

Amazon stock was up 2.1 percent (1.54) at close yesterday on the NASDAQ, following the AmGlasses announcement, Oprah Winfrey’s videotaped endorsement of the new product, and talk of a forthcoming cover story in Newsweek.

In a related development, a Kindle competitor has surfaced in the U.K., the e-reads iWash, and you can get the details from our friends at if:book.

Update, 10.a.m.: April Fool’s Day alert.

Technorati Tags: BookSurge,reading,book publishing,publishing,Amazon.com,Holly Huntoon

Popularity: 5% [?]

By David Rothman

Could your GPS gizmo not only display e-books on a nice LCD someday, but also let you shop for them, via a wireless connection?

And how about geo-tied pointers that would automatically come up to show local books of interest or highlight literary landmarks? What’s more, suppose you could even search for p-book stores in the area and, in some cases, even peruse their stocks from your car if the inventories were online?

Check out TeleBlog regular Paul Biba’s GPS Passion review of Dash Express (larger photo here), and tell us what you think. Hey, Paul, you gave me a softball question in challenging me to come up with an e-book angle. Thanks for the heads-up.

Another angle: The Kindle itself as a possible GPS gizmo.

Popularity: 5% [?]

By Paul Biba

In the last couple of years I have become more and more interested in ancient Rome and I recently came across this little gem of a book published by Walker & Company.

Vicki Leon is the author of the Uppity Women series of books and has changed pace for this one. According to the bibliography she has been collecting information about jobs in the Greek and Roman workplace for years. The book consists of a series of small articles, each covering a different profession. We see such things as: beekeeper, scribe, wine maker, slinger, tour guide, litter carrier, seller of purple, armpit plucker, gladiatrix, tattooer, tax farmer, funeral clown, orgy planner and many others. For the TeleRead crowd here is a little excerpt on Publisher-Bookseller:

“Publishing in those days meant copying by hand. The system was more like “print on demand,” with a roomful of scribes copying the same manuscript onto rolls of papyrus as it was read aloud. … By the time Augustus became Rome’s first emperor, the city had a community of publisher-booksellers, mostly freedmen …. Most of them published by category - poetry, history, salacious memoirs and so forth. Or concentrated on a few brand-name authors they were pushing. (more…)

Popularity: 7% [?]

By David Rothman

Hello, Seattle area? You’re gaining influence in the book world—and that could be good, in the sense of spreading around the tree-hugging values of local environmentalists. Now, how about a big push for E at the consumer level, as a way for the book industry to help fight pollution and global warming?

“In all, it is estimated that the industry produced a carbon dioxide equivalent net emission of about 12.4 million tons in 2006 and a net emission of 8.85 pounds per book sold to consumers,” Publishers Weekly says in Toward a Greener Future, part of its Green Issue. Carbon dioxide is no small contributor to global warming.

Yes, I know: computer gizmos themselves are hardly without sin: it takes energy and some release of evil gasses to make even a green OLPC XO. Still, I’d love to see the book business go far beyond just recycling paper or using e-galleys or relying on e-manuscripts or using wind-created electricity in bookstores. How about more efforts to go E? Bafflingly, in an item called Steps to Reduce Publishing’s Environmental Impact, PW fails to mention e-books, which cut back on solid waste, not merely air pollution, especially if you read off XO-style machines, which are so thrifty with electricity. A concept such as TeleRead could promote not just e-reading but also use of appropriate hardware.

Tree cutting the biggest villain

So what’s the biggest contributor to the books industry’s’ carbon footprint?

“Environmental Trends and Climate Impacts: Findings from the U.S. Book Industry,” as paraphrased by PW, says that “the cutting of trees accounts for nearly 63 percent of the industry’s carbon footprint, while paper production and printing accounts for 26.6 percent. The major impact of harvesting forests is largely due to the loss of carbon dioxide storage that comes when trees are cut.” The counter-argument is that the study doesn’t sufficiently consider the benefits of replacement trees.

Distribution and retail shares smaller than expected

Interestingly, according to the study, distribution and retail activities add up to just 12.7 percent of emissions. Hmm. I wonder if that fully considers customers’ driving.

The e-book standards angle: Seattle-headquartered Amazon is just one company, but it could help accelerate the move toward E by fretting less over short-term profits and more about the long term for both itself and the industry. The Kindle’s eBabel is a step backwards, given all the compatibility issues consumers have, especially when they want to read the same books on their PDAs and cellphones as on their K machines. Stay tuned for the next item.

Related: P-Books: Earth-menacing polluters—compared to e-books? and Bug-Eyed stat: ‘College students could save a tree per year using e-textbooks.’ While controversies rage over the details—a whole tree?—I think it’s safe to say that E is friendlier toward the environment.

Popularity: 4% [?]

By David Rothman

Ouch! Publishers Weekly—along Variety and dozens of other magazines, including Library Journal and School Library Journal—is up for sale.

Is the planned PW sale due to lack of exposive growth within the book business? That’s apparently just a detail in the grand scheme of things. Reed Business Information says it’s backing off from “advertising-dependent businesses.” RBI is the B2B magazine division of Reed Elsevier. A corporate memo claims that the sale “says nothing about the quality and attractiveness of our business and the markets we serve,” but Reed’s plans can’t help but raise questions, at least over long-term prospects.

Oh, and guess where revenue from the sale will apparently go, at least indirectly? To pay $4.1 billion for ChoicePoint, a controversial database company which, as described in Wikipedia, serves as a “private intelligence service to government and industry,” providing credit-bureau-style services among others. In general Reed Elsevier, owner of Lexis Nexis, sees itself as being more oriented toward databases paid for by subscription. That said, I find this an interesting reallocation of resources—from valuable publications to a business that makes at least some of its money from snooping against U.S. citizens. Washington is said to be using ChoicePoint to aggregate information in ways that might violate privacy laws if done by the feds directly.

A heartfelt ‘Ouch!’

Yes, that “Ouch!” is heartfelt. Via the E-Book Report blog, I regularly contribute to the PW Web site, and I hope that this venerable institution and the other publications can find a wise and appreciative buyer. Meanwhile, here’s an interesting question. How much of Reed’s move away from ad-supported B2B publications might result from all the money that publishers and other businesses are spending on their own Web sites, as opposed to advertising in PW and elsewhere? I’ll also be curious if PW increases its subscription fees, which, last I knew, were already over $200 a year. Might PW eventually be Web-only? And if that happens, what kind of a message will that send the book business about E vs. P? 

Related: New York Times coverage of the sale and  Nikki Finke’s thoughts on the sale of Variety and other Reed publications. Also, ahead, see copies of Reed memos—by RBI CEO Tad Smith and Reed Business CEO Gerard van de Aast—that I picked up from Finke’s site.

(more…)

Popularity: 5% [?]

By Paul Biba

The Victorians were remarkable people in many ways, and the women most of all.  Isabella L. Bird was one of those lone female travelers who were spawned during this era. She traveled, alone, to Japan in 1878, Tibet, India, Persia, the American West, Hawaii, China, Morocco and more. All the while she wrote journals of her travels, which were widely published. In 1892 she became the first woman inducted into the Royal Geographical Society.

I recently bought the Dover edition of her “Unbeaten Tracks in Japan” (ebooks aside, isn’t Dover one the publishing industry’s great treasures!) and decided to see if any of her works were available in ebook form. Well, Manybooks has five of them, including Japan, in many different reading formats. Since they are Gutenberg editions they don’t have the wonderful illustrations that are in the Dover edition, at least in the Japan book, but otherwise they are now accessible to the ereading public. I’m about half way through the Japan one and I strongly recommend her work to all our ebook readers.

Popularity: 4% [?]