Friday, December 17, 2010

A Future of Social Reading?

Connected!
Imagine being able to connect with other readers, or to connect with the author!

This report from NPR the other day mentions the idea of "Social Reading"
Some in the publishing industry look forward to a new age of "social reading," in which devices allow readers to share their reactions with each other. And the author might be interested in seeing a graph of the page-turns of thousands of people as they read his latest novel.
"I wouldn't have a problem with looking, but I would probably ignore what I saw," says author Stephen King. "There's a thing about certain pitchers who all of a sudden can't find the strike zone and are walking a lot of hitters and giving up a lot of hits, and you'll hear the announcer say, 'He's steering the ball.' And writers can do that, too."
But King expects the data will continue to be collected, as book-lovers switch to networked devices.
"Ultimately, this sort of thing scares the hell out of me," King says. "But it is the way that things are."
Read the full report (and listen) at http://www.npr.org/2010/12/15/132058735/is-your-e-book-reading-up-on-you

Monday, December 6, 2010

Google eBooks: "Time to set your reading free"

From http://books.google.com/help/ebooks/overview.html



"Google eBooks is compatible with any dedicated ebook reader that supports the Adobe eBook platform, including the Barnes & Noble Nook™ and Reader™ from Sony. With just a few steps, you can start reading over 3 million Google eBooks on the go."...

"Google eBooks can be downloaded onto all eReader devices that run Adobe Digital Editions. (Note: Google eBooks are not currently compatible with the Kindle).

Some common supported devices include: Aluratek Libre, Astak EZ Reader, BeBook, Bookeen, COOL-ER, Elonex eBook, HanLin eBook, IREX Digital Reader, Neolux Nuut, and more."