the word
I once heard that Tom Taylor said that “bookways” was an actual word in one of the big dictionaries. Could be. Anyway the other way mention is in the first sentence of the Mission statement of the Institute for the Future of the Book; “The printed page is giving way to the networked screen.” As we note the trends away from media based leisure, TV and movies, and toward book reading surging with e-book consumption, we also note the printed page is sharing way with the screen as both display formats grow.
sob story
Teleread has a fun sob story about book libraries in the cloud. I guess this is the first time I have noticed screen book advocates acting like old fogies. Screen display by nature is disembodied and distributors will leverage that. If you wish embodied, resident ownership on your device the easiest option is the paper codex.
There is an interesting item by Jason Epstein (of Expresso machine) in the NY Review of Books (02.10.2011). He projects the digital book in various screen and paper formats and positions indie book stores as an emerging publishing enclave.
buyback
“The algorithms are programmed, I believe, to get to know us better over time, and rather than resent the invasion of privacy I have come to feel a grudging respect for, and even a growing sense of intimacy with, my own personal algorithm.” NYT
Amazon now has a Book & Textbook Buyback store. What is eerie about that is the thumbnail picture of the library of books that you have purchased. There they are, not quite in their shelf order.
shopping device
“Like the muses of ancient lore, the device has seduced me. I can’t wait to sit in my recliner and read on my Sony 950; I simply do not want to pick up a printed book. The screen is easy on my eyes, the touch screen a pleasure, the ergonomics excellent for me, and the weight significantly less than most of my hardcovers. It oozes pleasure and an enjoyable time to be had. It also oozes money out of my wallet because I’m reading three to four times as many books as I did before I had an ereading device, and probably a third to a half more books on the 950 as I did on the 505.” Rich Adin
Rich, A great report! I have always looked at the hand-held readers as shopping devices. You describe how that functionality is fulfilled. It invites users to read more so that it induces readers to buy more. Your description of leisure reading with the Sony touch is also interesting suggesting the very behavior change that will spur increasing sales especially as e-reading cuts into TV time, movie going or other media based recreation.
This is a great time for books!