Publishers want to be the only ones allowed to make digital copies of books, and what does the reading public get for it? Widgets. These self-contained online readers are meant to provide an anywhere-on-the-Web presence for books, especially on blogs and even, god forbid, on MySpace. But before we get to the merits of this initiative, lets look at what we’re working with.Earlier this week, HarperCollins unveiled its “Browse Inside” widget, and Random House followed soon after with its “Browse & Search” widget (announcing it to the world with a somewhat breathless “Breaking News” email alert). Both widgets have two components, a smaller interface that, when clicked, launches a larger digital reader. Here’s an example of HarperCollins’ widget (click it to launch the reader). And here’s Random House’s (It’s at the right. Once again, click on the widget to launch the reader.) Right now, Random House has more than 5,000 books in the program while HarperCollins has nearly 2,000, though both publishers intend to make more titles available by widget. At a glance, the Random House offering is much nicer to look at, faster to load pages, and offers additional functions like search. So, if you want to know who winds the first round of the “Widget Wars,” Random House does.But who cares. Publishers have exerted a tremendous amount of effort to wrest control of their books from third-party digitizers like Google, and the apparent goal of this effort is to spawn viral campaigns for their books and little more. While somewhat nifty to look at, these widgets offer little more in terms of functionality than the Amazon “Look Inside” feature. The only real innovation is the ability to place these readers on any Web pages. Frankly, however, I fail to see how this serves anyone but the publishers looking to “virally” spread the word about their books.As a book blogger, I am presumably an ideal candidate to place these widgets all over my Web site, but I have other, better ways to point people to info about books. A link to Amazon (or Powell’s) makes it easy for my readers to find out most anything they might want to know about a book, from its physical dimensions, to reviews from critics and readers, to, in many cases, a peek inside the book. It’s also important to note that both Amazon and Powell’s actually provide an incentive for linking to them, offering a small commission, should site owners decide to take it, for sales that result from click-throughs to their sites. These online bookstores also let the site owner control the interaction, so that appearance of the links and images add to, rather than distract from the content of the site they are on.These widgets, on the other hand, are akin to putting a big billboard on the side of your house and getting nothing in return.At the same time, from the perspective of readers, I fail to see usefulness of these widgets. Offering a dozen or so pages is fine. Readers can get a taste of a book if they want, but in this context the widgets again serve as little more than ads. we are meant to stumble across them on blogs or at MySpace and be enticed to make an impulse buy. They do not, however, harness the power of the Web to approximate any sort of useful experience. There’s a reason why you don’t see any bookstores selling only Random House books or only HarperCollins books. People want access to a bigger chunk of the universe of books when they are researching, browsing, or buying. This is why third parties (book stores) handle the selling, and, they more I think about it, this is why third parties should handle the online experience as well. And right now, Google Book Search does this the best. They have a widget, too, and as you may have realized I’m not a fan of widgets, but at least Google’s widget points to a useful service, where readers can discover (and if they want to, buy) books that interest them.Regardless of what I think, though, the age of the widget is here. Plenty of companies want a piece of our blogs and MySpace pages, and publishers are just jumping on the bandwagon.Update: I should add that Random House’s broader offering, “Insight,” is open to other publishers who want to sign on (for a fee, I’m guessing), and extends beyond the widget to potentially partnering with online retailers and making the contents of books accessible to search engines.Also, as Bookblog.net points out, I missed that Random House lets people allows you to customize the “Buy” button to point to your preferred online bookstore and supports affiliate links. Based on this new info, I think Random House has actually put together a pretty compelling tool. (Though I still won’t be likely to use it since I’d rather just point people off my site if they want to peek inside a book.)
When Amazon unveiled its new Kindle recently, I wrote about the twin paths that ebooks seemed to be taking as they gained market acceptance. On Amazon’s path, they would be tethered to the Kindle, while on the Google path, ebooks would be read on iphones and any other similar devices, whether on applications devised by Google or by independent ebook application developers.
*shudder* eBooks give me the willies. Not because I'm technologically slow or anything, but because I really, really love BOOKS. Paper books, bound books that I can touch, smell feel. Ok, sounding crazy now, but it's true. I'm just so afraid that things like Kindle are going to slowly make books obsolete.
I've tried reading ebooks on my computer before, and even downloaded one on my iPod, but it hurt my eyes. I'm thinking now of even joining a rental service like BookSwim (a Netflix-type book service) that will just send me my books via mail that I can choose online. I've joined book groups that also share, trade, or sell at realllly low prices.
I think if we share more services like these (swapping and rental, etc.) for economical and environmental purposes, we can achieve the same goal as we were trying to with these other devices. Just my two cents.
I think books as objects will never die, much as records won't, though they may become luxury items. I love books, too, the smell of them especially, and the way stacks of them form a wonderful, relaxing atmosphere. But my shoulders can't take the weight of them, and my apartment doesn't have space for them, and the public library can't stock all the ones I want. I have been dreaming since CHILDHOOD of a lightweight, portable, electronic book (though back then, I just thought of it as "magic" rather than electronic). As soon as "they" form a big enough catalogue of books to go on these devices, I will run out as fast as I can and buy one (if I can afford it).
To the comments that "reading e-books on computers hurts my eyes", I'd be curious to know what such people's responses to actually USING Kindle are like, given that Kindle is explicitly NOT supposed to be like reading on a computer screen (in terms of eye strain).
The whole point of the Kindle is that it does not hurt your eyes. There is no backlighting, and just like the paper version, books can be read outside in full sunlight. It does require a lamp to read a Kindle in the dark, just like the paper version.
What are the advantages?
Change the font size for your own comfort level.
Keyword search for passages in one book, or your entire library.
Bookmark pages and passages of interest.
Highlight and save passages into files transferable to your PC.
An entire library at your fingertips, anywhere you go.
Preview any book you're interested before buying by downloading the first chapter.
The list is pretty endless.
When I opened up my new Kindle, there was a piece of plastic covering the screen with instructions for "getting started." I removed the plastic and realized that these instructions were actually displayed on the screen. It isn't backlit, so it feels exactly like reading a book. And you can increase the font size as you see fit.
I was loathe to get rid of vinyl and cds, as I had nostalgic feelings for them. But I eventually made the switch to mp3. This is easier for me. I downloaded Proust and read from it one-handed on the subway. That is a revelation.
E-books just get us closer to having it all. I still have a stack of 6 esoteric books next to my kindle.
The kindle is perfect for downloading history and non-fiction texts, right as I need them, and for new fiction fixes, too. It's as comfortable to read as a book, and I can store my notes just with a few clicks, rather than using a post-it flag and typing up things later.
I've already (in a day and a half) used the iphone app to literally read 100 pages while working out and waiting for my wife.
And I'm not even what I'd consider to be a serious reader.
The only downside is that my "reading deficit" is reduced and I can't use that joke as much anymore.
I love books, and have spent a good deal of time over the years at great libraries in the United States and Europe doing research that has always required using original volumes, some published in very limited numbers centuries ago. Handling beautiful rare books is a wonderful experience, and cannot be replicated by the Kindle or any other machine.
But I still applaud the new technology. The digital revolution is bringing an almost infinite amount of printed matter within the reach of millions who lacked the time, resources, or academic connections to gain access to specialized collections. It is keeping a vast amount of literature available that cash-strapped libraries can't buy or afford to keep.
I love books (physical) and can't see them disappearing any time soon. But, I have to say, I just got a new kindle recently and love it.
It's not like reading a computer screen AT ALL. The epaper feels so much like reading an actual paper page I find myself trying to physically turn the page sometimes (instead of pushing the button).
There are some changes I'd love to see (bigger screen.. I want to read more before I have to change the page, better navigation, more books and better translation to epaper, etc), but it's working for me.
Obviously, there are a ton of advantages, one of which is getting a book delivered to your door you see within ten seconds of deciding on it.
But so far, I won't be buying Kindle. First, the device is too expensive. If I read twnety books on Kindle, I have to factor in the cost of the device on each book.
Second, the lists I've seen of available books skew towards the mainstream, and away from the kinds of off-beat or academic things I generally want.
Third, a LOT of those things they have are actually priced far above the $9.99 they mention in their public relations. Since the number of books printed has no relation to the marginal cost of the book, these prices would have to come down before I decide to retire my beautiful book shelves.
John Rogers has a funny post on Kindle haters:
http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2009/02/in-defense-of-kindle.html
Note that he loves regular books: "Listen, I'm a guy with a storage unit full of books. Let me re-iterate that — a STORAGE UNIT FULL OF BOOKS. I love reading. I devour fiction and non-fiction…."
I love collecting old first edition books. That said, Kindle is a godsend if your travel a lot. The screen is very easy on the eyes, the built-in dictionary is incredibly convenient, and you can read with one had.
By the way, you can download a TON of free books for your Kindle here: http://manybooks.net/
I've owned a Kindle since the fall and I love it. And this is coming from a person who owns thousands of books. The Kindle has allowed me to continue my book habit without spending as much money and without stacks of books continuing to pile up around my house. And for everyone who think they'll miss books … they won't. It's like any other story … you get lost in the book and you don't realize you're reading it on a device. The Kindle has revolutionized reading for me.
I am returning my kindle. The text, for me, is actually _harder_ to read than the text on my computer screen. The kindle screen is light gray with very, very dark gray letters. It is no where near close to black on white.
Also, while you can get some newspapers and magazines on Kindle, the selection is thin – no Economist, or Harpers for example.
The dictionary built into kindle is a joke. I tried to look up the word "anagogical" and it didn't have an entry.
Finally, while many books are $10, I looked at one book that I wanted and it was $16.50 whereas the hard copy price (with free shipping) was $19.99. And remember, you can't sell or give away your kindle books, you only license them. So that 19.99 book would probably actually only cost me $11 or 12 if I resold it.
So, I'll wait for Kindle III and give that one a try.