The Great Gatsby was last updated in 1924. You don’t need it to be refreshed, do you? Maybe nobody will care about printed books 50 years from now, but I do. When I read a book, I’m handling a specific object in a specific time and place. The fact that when I take the book off the shelf it still says the same thing - that’s reassuring. Someone worked really hard to make the language just right, just the way they wanted it. They were so sure of it that they printed it in ink, on paper. A screen always feels like we could delete that, change that, move it around. So for a literature-crazed person like me, it’s just not permanent enough.
- Jonathan Frazen in defense of the printed book — “Jonathan Franzen: e-books are damaging society.”
Good thoughts (beyond the tactile, sensory love) by John Abell of Wired. However as he notes, “Fix these problems, and there really will be no limits to the e-book’s growth.”
- An unfinished e-book isn’t a constant reminder to finish reading it.
- You can’t keep your books all in one place.
- Notes in the margins help you think.
- E-books are positioned as disposable, but aren’t priced that way.
- E-books can’t be used for interior design.
Hit the link to read each in detail.
Dear NYT: For purposes of curiosity and theory-fueling, could you do a list of combined print versus eBooks? as opposed to lumping them together? Wouldn’t that be interesting? Isn’t this what everyone’s yapping about?
Anyone, anyone?
Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?
This saddens me a bit.
We always attempt to refrain from manipulating our son’s exposure to experiences. But I’m going to continue to hold off on an eReader for Bruno.
I want him to continue to appreciate the smell of a book to the point where he can tell the age of a print-run. To relish the tone of the friction between the texture of his fingers and the paper. To loathe but love lugging his favorite books around. To continue to build his library so he can see from where he’s come. To know that there’s always room to share a story with someone next to him.
The Authors Guild ran some numbers on the differences between royalty rates for printed books and eBooks. Read the article for the background to their findings. Below is their summary:
“The Help,” by Kathryn Stockett
Author’s Standard Royalty: $3.75 hardcover; $2.28 e-book.
Author’s E-Loss = -39%
Publisher’s Margin: $4.75 hardcover; $6.32 e-book.
Publisher’s E-Gain = +33%
“Hell’s Corner,” by David Baldacci
Author’s Standard Royalty: $4.20 hardcover; $2.63 e-book.
Author’s E-Loss = -37%
Publisher’s Margin: $5.80 hardcover; $7.37 e-book.
Publisher’s E-Gain = +27%
“Unbroken,” by Laura Hillenbrand
Author’s Standard Royalty: $4.05 hardcover; $3.38 e-book.
Author’s E-Loss = -17%
Publisher’s Margin: $5.45 hardcover; $9.62 e-book.
Publisher’s E-Gain = +77%
