Fictionwise sent me a promo for 'The Lovely Bones' and some other movie books. I had already read 'The Lovely Bones' and thought I might enjoy a re-read. But it's hard to swallow a $14.44 price ($16.99 if you aren't a club member) when the mass-market paperback retails on Amazon for $7.99! The non-club price is MORE THAN double! And it's locked down by DRM of course, making it less usable than its print counterpart. I think what has gotten lost in the whole 'authors vs readers' dialogue coming out of the whole Macmillan mess is that BOTH...

The New York Times has an article covering the implications of the impending agency pricing model for book sales. It mentions the one-star ratings that have shown up when e-book editions have been delayed or perceived as too expensive, and warns that publishers may be in for more than they bargain for with the increase in price. Many of the arguments that we have covered in detail over the last couple of weeks make their appearance here: the cost of printing and shipping a paper book versus price of e-book, the sense of “entitlement” displayed by consumers, and the...

I am blown away by the responses to the articles Chris Meadows and I posted over the past week. I am dismayed that in some reader's minds, I came off as anti-author---if that were so, I would be downloading off the darknet right now instead of blogging to you---but I am delighted that the issues which have left me, and many other loyal e-book buyers, so frustrated are finally getting notice. Readers like me want to buy books and support authors. But we want to be treated like more than a nuisance or afterthought too. We deserve...

Notice anything missing in the publisher press releases about their 'victory' in the Amazon/Macmillan battle? John Scalzi writes to other authors. John Sargent is writing to 'authors, illustrators and literary agents.' Rupert Murdoch is speaking directly about his own bottom line. What all of these seeming insiders are forgetting though is that without the paying customer, there would not be a bottom line! Authors, absent a paying audience, would be sticking it in a drawer like Emily Dickinson did, writing for their own personal satisfaction. Where is the voice of the customer in all...

As mentioned in her article below, TeleRead contributor Ficbot has opened a website for free and cheap ebooks. Here is what she has to say: I am not aiming for this website to be simply a giant compilation of every link out there. This will be a more personal site about books I have personally and and vouched for. I realize that my personal taste may be just that, personal, but I am hoping this more intimate approach will help people winnow their way through the vast Slush Pile of the Internet with books that are tried and true (by...

So, who lost the weekend's ebook war, Amazon or Macmillan? Neither, actually. Amazon gets to raise its prices, make more money and come off looking like the good guy. Macmillan proves yet again that Big Publishing doesn't get it (did you see even a single mention of book-buying customers in their open letter) and who loses most? The customers---the ones who buy books and upon whose money the whole house of cards actually operates! I have been delighted to find that some readers are starting to fight back. There are alternatives to Big Publishing, if you know where to look and...

In previous articles, I have speculated on the future of ebook hardware and on the future of the bookstore . But how about the publishers and content providers? What will their role be? I think the role of the publishing house, certainly when viewed from the standpoint of being a content gatekeeper authors must pass through to reach the market, will diminish substantially. What we will see instead is the rise of the educated critic---in other words, some blogger or reviewer of influence (or several) will become the Oprah(s) of the internet book world and people will increasingly rely on...

With all the new 'convergence' devices coming out these days---cell phone/media/gaming all in one---is there still going to be a demand for dedicated ebook readers? Would anyone buy a Kindle or a Sony or a Whatever when they could just read a book on their cell phone or magical tablet? Yes. There IS still a demand and will continue to be, but in a different fashion. The days of jumping on the bandwagon with a generic 'reader' device just to get in the game may be gone, but I think what we will see in the 'dedicated device' market will be...

I picked up my Amazon Kindle from a local Craigslist seller. Luckily for me, this gift to her hadn’t worked out. The price was $300, or $65 less than the original buyer had paid with a case and shipping and customs fees added in. Selling my Sony PRS-505 should bring me $250. Hooray! I’ll be out a mere $50. No flowers but comfortable to hold The Kindle is very comfortable to hold in the black leather case. I can fold back the case while reading. The Sony case, the one you see with the flowers,...

It's been about a year since I got my Sony 505, and although it's a great device, I have been itching for an upgrade. The Kindle has finally hit Canada, and it has features the Sony lacks---on-board dictionary (which I would not use when I read in English but would use often when I read in French), on-board Wikipedia and free book samples, a search feature and other goodies. I have been taking advantage of the facilities at a local community centre, and not being a huge music person, was getting bored with the same 100 or so...

Over the holidays, I had my first inkling that either the apocalypse is nigh, or e-books are finally entering the mainstream---my devoutly non-techie mother turned to me in the car one day and said, “Guess what I heard? I heard that over Christmas, Amazon sold more books for the thingies than they did for regular ones!” No, it's not perfect intelligence. It wasn’t so much “over Christmas” as “on actual Christmas day,” and she didn't know what to call it beyond “Thingie.” But for someone whose net non-work computer experience is sending e-mails to my sister and...

I have posted before about the bargain that e-books are for me. It's been a year of heavy buying for me (promo codes galore, 100% rebate books, stores selling ePub now, me being a sucker for bargains). So how are my costs per book stacking up these days? Is my promo-happy one-click buying affecting my bottom line here? Taking into account both e-book spending and device expenditures, what is my current cost per book, and how would that compare to a paper books habit? Part 1: Calculating device costs Many people (hi, Mom!)...