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Book Nook provides readers with insights into the world of books. Vick Mickunas takes you into the center of the publishing world with the latest book buzz, book reviews, and exclusive chats with authors..Home > Blogs > Book Nook > Archives > 2007 > February > 28 > Entry
is it all download from here?
Book publishers are responding to the pressure that they must be feeling from Amazon.com and Google’s Book Search feature. Amazon and Google have made it possible for readers to obtain content from many books in digitized form.
Two major publishers just made it possible to access content from some of the books that they publish. This week Random House, the largest publisher in the country joined the downloadable fray.
Last week, Harper Collins, another sizable publishing house made some of their content available on-line. Their websites trumpet this new ability.
What do you think? Is that a feature that you might use in the future? Have you ever downloaded portions of books? For publishers that is the 64 million dollar question.
Permalink | Comments (3) | Categories: in the Amazone
Comments
By Chris
March 1, 2007 12:33 PM | Link to this
I think that it’s a safe bet to say that paper books will never go away. There is nothing like the cozy anticipation of a great escape as you crack open a fresh, stiff spined book and smell the ink and the paper on which it is printed. With longer novels, I enjoy the sensation of weight being transferred from right side to the left side as the story progresses. You can’t get those feelings with a laptop or PDA. The only situation where I have downloaded large amounts of text was during college when some textbooks offered digital supplements in .pdf form. But even then, I frequently printed them later as a convenience. Having said that, I applaud Amazon and Google for making some portions of books available (and free) on the internet – it is a great tool for helping me select books for my toddler – there is no longer a need to “judge a book by it’s cover” when purchasing books online!By Dave
March 1, 2007 12:15 PM | Link to this
I agree with Jafabrit’s view, as a reader you need at times to touch a story. Though, the internet allows publishers an added feature than ranking sales — an attempt to remove of the middleman, namely literary agents. Simon & Schuster is trying just this with their American Idol-like new authors contest hosted by gather.com called First Chapters. The Carrot - if you can spare a moment to go and have a look, is a $200 Borders Gift Card. Simon & Schuster will publish the writer voted the most highly by members of the public, and everyone else hopefully gets some valuable feedback on their writing endeavors. Thank you and good luck in the draw. Dave PS- Literary agents like paperback books have nothing to fear… though the internet allows thought interaction from all walks of life. Here’s mine called Champagne Haze. http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474976919622By jafabrit
March 1, 2007 8:52 AM | Link to this
No, I prefer to read a book. Computer screen reading can be hard on the eyes, and not as easy to snuggle up with.