2010: Year of the eBook?
eBooks (and eReaders) have been getting a ton of press over the past couple months, and I have a feeling that they will continue to do so throughout the year. The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is happening in Vegas right now, and a lot of the buzz coming out is about ebooks and readers. In case you haven’t been paying attention, though, I’d like to highlight some of my favorite articles and thoughts on ebooks to date and for the coming year.
First, and you’ve probably read parts of this, Sherman Alexie was interviewed for Mother Jones, and he has some particular remarks about a particular ebook reader that are quite risqué. I won’t reprint them here, but the entire interview is worthwhile and available at motherjones.com.
Robert Darnton gives his case for books at Publisher’s Weekly, and says the following about ebooks:
“I want to write an electronic book. Here is how my fantasy takes shape. An “e-book,” unlike a printed codex, can contain many layers arranged in the shape of a pyramid. Readers can download the text and skim the topmost layer, which will be written like an ordinary monograph. If it satisfies them, they can print it out, bind it (binding machines can now be attached to computers and printers), and study it at their convenience in the form of a custom-made paperback. If they come upon something that especially interests them, they can click down a layer to a supplementary essay or appendix. They can continue deeper through the book, through bodies of documents, bibliography, historiography, iconography, background music, everything I can provide to give the fullest possible understanding of my subject. In the end, they will make the subject theirs, because they will find their own paths through it, reading horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, wherever the electronic links may lead.”
Salon.com has a great article by Heather Michon on how ebooks change the publishing model, in particular for lesser known authors, and also mentions some of the capacity for technological innovation that ebooks bring to the reading process.
Cory Doctorow talks about DRM and copyright issues with ebooks for his Varsity.ca feature: How to Destroy the Book:
“People keep showing me ebook readers that try to recreate the book experience with cute animations showing the turning of pages. But if you want to recreate the important part of the book experience, the part that keeps people buying books for their whole lives, filling their homes with treasured friends that they would not part with for love nor money, then we need to restore and safeguard ownership of books.”
And finally, Ray Kurzweil rebuts by showing how he can recreate the book experience with cute animations showing the turning of pages. But he also shows us how eaudiobooks and ebooks can be integrated, so that where you finish reading by sight you can begin listening (and not just to a computer-generated voice, but to a real person), how ebooks can teach reading and offer enhanced content, and more.
Okay, one more, because I also really like this blog post from Joe Konrath on what ebooks might look like in 2014, and how they could help us connect with our reading (and our authors) in ways that aren’t currently possible:
“So it’s 2014, and I’m in a reading mood.
“I take out my ereader. At the push of a button, I bring up several different ebook stores, and begin to browse for something to read. Several stores are having sales. One of them gives all the books away for free–the only catch is each contains ads, much like a magazine.
“I peruse the free site, download the latest thriller from my favorite author, and jump into the pool, floating on a raft while I read. There’s no worry; the reader is waterproof.”
2014 isn’t so far off, but for now it’s 2010, and there’s plenty of ebook development to look forward to this year before we move on to the next. I can hardly wait.
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