The Harry Potter series may take place in the modern world, but it’s always been somewhat removed from it, emphasizing magic and wizarding dynasties over digital technology. The same has held true for the actual books, which have always been sold in print or boxed audiobook versions but never as ebooks, which Rowling dismissed at [...]
digital
Dear Hachette, you’re doing it wrong
Hachette disables all highlighting in Kindle books, tells authors that piracy is to blame for low royalties, and brags about it to the press. Wtf?
Dehydrated books, or how to make money off of fan fiction and unauthorized sequels
Imagine that this evening I follow a friend’s link to a new Harry Potter book, one that essentially replaces “The Sorcerer’s Stone” in the canon with a Year 1 adventure that’s darker and closer in tone to the final few books, but that wasn’t written or authorized by J. K. Rowling. The link I follow [...]
The safe bet: following a print metaphor
This is part of my overview of interactive digital books as of October 2010. Current trends in interactive book design Relying on the printed page metaphor Interactivity as content Telling stories beyond the printed page As of right now, the most common interface metaphor for digital book apps remains the printed book. As I mentioned [...]
Current trends in interactive digital books
This is the first of a multi-post overview of interactive digital books as of October 2010. Current trends in interactive book design Relying on the printed page metaphor Interactivity as content Telling stories beyond the printed page Ebooks are exciting for several reasons: readers enjoy greater access, lower prices, and more choice; while publishers get [...]
A review of Amazon’s enhanced audio/video Kindle books
I purchased one of Amazon’s enhanced Kindle books this morning–Rose’s Heavenly Cakes, because who doesn’t like video footage of cakes?–to see what it’s like to read an ebook with audio and video. Here are some cursory thoughts on the experience. If you’ve ever purchased an enhanced ebook app from the App Store, the concept of [...]
Amazon launches enhanced Kindle books with audio and video
Amazon has just announced “Kindle Editions with Audio/Video,” which include related audio or video clips embedded directly in the file. For now, these enhanced editions are only available on Apple devices running the Kindle software–that means iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch only, although one can assume that eventually the feature will make its way to [...]
Baen WebScriptions: how to get your sci-fi and fantasy fix without going broke
If you’re one of those readers who devours sci-fi or fantasy novels, you should know about WebScription Ebooks (www.webscription.net), a site run by sci-fi writer Eric Flint with the benevolent support of Baen Books. In the About Us section of the Baen site, Flint describes the overall philosophy of WebScriptions: “The key is accessibility, followed [...]
Any O'Reilly ebook, $10 today only
I don’t usually post about sales unless the discounted price is $0, but I heard about this 24-hour sale from O’Reilly Books and felt it was too good to keep to myself. Any O’Reilly ebook–well, any non-Microsoft Press ebook in the store–is only $9.99 on Friday, May 21st, if you use the coupon code FAVFA [...]
Penguin previews interactive books for Apple's iBook store
Penguin Books’ CEO John Makinson gave a presentation in London today where he demonstrated some books/applications–I’m not sure what you’d call them technically–that Penguin plans to sell on the iBook store when the iPad launches later this month. Penguin is doing some pretty inventive stuff with its content, judging by these demos, and I think [...]
Two of the best explanations of the Amazon/Macmillan book battle
The feud between Amazon and Macmillan (and now Hachette) over how to sell ebooks is a complicated mess. Two of the best analyses I’ve found come from published writers who hold an obvious interest in what Amazon and publishing houses end up doing.
Two of the best explanations of the Amazon/Macmillan book battle
The feud between Amazon and Macmillan (and now Hachette) over how to sell ebooks is a complicated mess. Two of the best analyses I’ve found come from published writers who hold an obvious interest in what Amazon and publishing houses end up doing.
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