As of yesterday, we have the first chapter from each of our available books free to read or download as a PDF. You can find each of these on the individual web-page of each book title.
Richard Nash and I share our comments with John Mesjak at his My3Books blog: Nash and Mesjak feel that "the real world of digital download reading is far more indie and personal than it is corporate and impersonal"; I disagree.
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4 comments:
Hello,
I've read the My3Books blog and the comments and I have to agree with you; digital download reading isn't more indie and personal. I’m beginning to feel as though I’m one of very few people who believe digital technology has depersonalized everything. Granted, technology has made many cumbersome tasks easier but I also think it has sucked out some of the beauty of what makes us human. Reading, writing and printing books are human tasks. Digitalizing them isn’t. (And yes, I do feel like a hypocrite since I’m responding to a blog!)
Reading good literature in a digital form sterilizes the reading experience just as digital has sterilized music. I prefer the full sounds through analog and the texture of a real book over anything digital. Remember the old tube-type radios? Nothing can touch the richness of that sound just as I believe nothing can touch the richness of holding a hard-bound book in my hands.
I think part of the ambiance of reading is the smell and feel of a real book. The story feels tactile rather than imagined even though it may be fiction. Besides, I don't think it's possible to make notes in the margins on Kindle which I sometimes feel the need to do. (To hell with Amazon putting advertising in there! Really, Amazon? It’s a book, not television!)
The beauty of independent literature is its stark and open-eyed awareness of life around us rather than the half-awake and mendacious mainstream. I’m not ignoring that the content of what’s written is the same no matter what form it’s in but I do believe the weight and consciousness of writing are removed when digitalized.
I hope I made some sense. Thank you for posting the My3Books blog as it obviously pushed one of my red, shiny and candy-like hot buttons.
Yeah, I agree with you pretty much on all points.
It's funny, too, because most of the teenagers I mention digital books to are repulsed by the idea. And I thought the younger generations were the ones supposed to champion this segue from print to digital.
Check this out: http://publishingperspectives.com/?p=2667. This is where I think ebooks are headed, and I'm fine with that. They're going to be more like videogames than conventional books, which is good, because it'll give indie bookstores and smaller presses the opportunity to stand out by sticking with print.
What a fascinating and frightening idea. I did look at Publishing Perspectives, the video clip and The Wrap article. The only hang-up I have about the mini-videos is sometimes I don’t picture the characters the same way the next person does. Sort of like when a book turns into a movie and they pick some random actor who doesn’t even come close to what I pictured the character in the novel to look like.
I found myself smiling when I read Mr. Zuiker’s comment about the possibility of love scene type transitions. Considering how repetitive most trashy romance novels are, the digi-novel could spare us that torture. (Please note: I’m not a big fan of trashy romance novels but I occasionally do listen to the audio-books when I’m driving. It’s mindless, just like my drive into work.)
Do you think the digi-novel might take away from the reader’s imagination a little? Or could it eliminate a writer’s need to be descriptive? I worry it might simplify the talent of writing too much and dampen the reader’s visions. Then again, it could open up a new world of creative writing. Who knows?
From your perspective as a publisher, I can see where this would be an attractive alternative but would it be cost prohibitive since there would be filming costs involved? Would it be your responsibility or the writer’s responsibility to take care of it?
Even though I have my reservations, I do like the idea and I can see where there are a vast amount of possibilities which could evolve if this does take off. Hmmm.
I think it's another step toward making e-books more interactive and like videogames. I don't see it as bad; I see it as an entirely new format.
While the CSI guy's thing sounds really awful, I'd love to see what someone like Todd Solondz or David Lynch or Rudy Wurlitzer could do with the format. I imagine it could be pretty amazing...
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