Yesterday (1-27-10) I was listening to NPR while I put some dinner together and played with the parakeet, and I heard an All Things Considered clip in which an author complained about how he saw someone reading a Kindle, and she actually had his book among her 200 loaded on the device, and he was unhappy about it– he felt she and readers like her were likely to be distracted by all the other possibilities (news, magazines, games) and how much better it would be if she had a hard copy of his book and were reading that.
My gut reaction was, What is this guy whining about?
Yes, I have an image, a vision, of the Gentle reader in a mahogany and book lined study with French doors open to a greensward, sitting in a leather chair, reading a leather bound copy of my book– it’s beautiful, it’s elitist, and– it’s over.
Actually, it was myself I pictured there reading. I’ve always preferred the idea of a dog-eared copy of a book of mine in the hands of some kid on a subway pulling at their hair as they make a private space and read.
Paperbacks were a threat. E-readers are a big threat. But is the threat to writers or to corporate profits?
i love this post, sue. i have a friend in NYC who is an obsessive reader and he has been doing that on his kindle while riding the subway and even listening to audio books on long drives in the car… it’s the story that matters…
I’ve been saying that leave a vacuum something will fill it. It’s up to us to see that the filling in is us: writers. Lamenting the past is good; now, dream forward.
If book sales are low, contracts scarce, publishing industry in techno disarray, what is the way forward for writing? I am deeply suspicious of the nature of reading on a kindle; but am trying to persuade a researcher who asked me to read her manuscript that she should publish on the web.
She has done historic research on a unknown black American and it is an interesting story, but she feels she can’t write it, can’t make it move along. I suggested putting his journal on the web with all her documentation and editing. Doesn’t want to.
Seems to me the web is the place for short, linked pieces. And for imposing your own design on the product. Print is for sustained engagement, sitting in different positions, put down briefly, but not turned off, physical control over your increasing engagement with the author.
Still thinking this through.
Hey, this looks great. I’ve been gathering some thoughts and some links for a new blog post about e-reading and my evolving thoughts on it, so I’ll be happy to point to your blog and your ideas. … One thought after a quick read of what you’ve posted so far, all of which I like a lot. I’m not so sure you’re right to criticize your dreamy image of a reader with a physical book in a big chair as elitist. The book costs at most $25 or is on loan from the library. The person reading an e-book paid $400 or more for the reading device, plus has to buy every book she wants to read (although that’s changing, with the Sony reader hooking up with libraries, which is part of what I’m planning to write about). So which is elitist?
On a sort of related topic, I’ve been seeing and mostly ignoring all the stuff about Google Books and the threats to copywright, most recently statements from Julia Wright and anger from Ursula Le Guin. My eyes seem to glaze over whenever I try to really read and understand what-all this is about. If you were to write something about your take on it I’d love to link to that too.
As a new author, I am so happy that my historical novel, The Wedding Gift, is out in paperback, hard cover, and kindle. I don’t care in what form people read my book, as long as they read it. The days of reading as an elitist activity, where only upper-class people could read new books because they were only available in hard cover, are hopefully on their way out. Yes, I get less in royalties from paperback and kindle sales than I do the hard cover, but most of my readers are buying the paperback because it’s $8 cheaper than the hard cover and because most readers don’t like or can’t afford the kindle reader. By the way, I love the kindle because I can now carry around 3,500 books at a time and I can read just about whatever I’m in the mood to read, just as I do when I listen to music.
Hi Meredith,
I am fascinated by the discussion about the Kindle. I was recently given one and am not yet totally accustomed to it. I’m used to skimming a whole page or pages, sometimes, but the technology of this is slowing my speed. Perhaps I am at fault. Two of the books I wanted to read most recently were not on Kindle and I have to say I love my local library, not just as a source of books but also as a public place at which I may meet friends, make friends or simply read a variety of printed materials.
I look forward to seeing you soon.
Janet
Nathan Bransford, an agent with Curtis Brown, does a poll on his blog every year about e-readers like the Kindle. It seems as though (similar to most eventually mainstream technology) people are becoming a less resistant each year (http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2009/12/you-tell-me-will-you-ever-buy-mostly-e.html).
Maybe e-readers are a threat to authors and/or publishers. Maybe it’s a shame, maybe it’s not. But it looks like it’s a change that’s coming, at least for a growing segment of readers.
Thank you all for your delicious food for thought. And don’t miss the survey linked from Kim’s post above!
If audio books haven’t killed the reading experience, neither will Kindle. You can still curl up in front of the fire with your cucumber sandwiches, tea, and Kindle, and taking Kindle on a lengthy plane ride makes much more sense than trying to juggle several books. By this logic, in fact, authors should rejoice that there is a greater chance that their “book” will be read if the Kindle owner can take dozens of reading choices along. The old scenario about which books you would take along if you were stranded on a desert island has been greatly simplified to Kindle…and batteries.