The latest news from America is that ebook sales in February totalled $90.3m or £55.2m. This makes digital books the largest single format in the US for the first time, overtaking paperbacks at $81.2m. In January, ebooks were the second-largest category, behind paperbacks. America's ebooks enjoyed a 202.3% growth in sales in February compared with the same month the previous year. Print books fared much worse. The growth in February was attributed to post-holiday ebook buying from readers given e-reader devices for Christmas. The greater selection of devices and the broader range of ebooks now available also played a part in the increase. Publishing houses cite ebooks as generating fresh interest in 'backlist' titles, books that have been in print for at least a year. E-book readers who enjoy a newly-released book will frequently buy an author's full backlist. Philip Jones, deputy editor of the Bookseller, called the US ebook sales growth a "significant milestone amongst digital milestones which are coming thick and fast", but pointed out that "the ebook figure includes children's, so overall the trade print book market is still bigger than the ebook market". "Ebooks have grown massively, but they do not yet match overall print books and nor is it predicted that they will," said Jones. "The most bullish predictions suggest that ebooks will account for 50% of the US market by 2014 or 2015, and then will probably plateau." In the UK, "we are one year behind now and catching up quite fast", said Jones. He pointed to small UK press Quercus, which publishes the Stieg Larsson trilogy and which announced earlier this month that its ebook sales increased 16-fold in 2010, representing 3% of revenues. Quercus has predicted that its digital revenues could "realistically reach 10% of our total revenues over the course of the current year". Read the full article here The pic is driving into Melmerby with the Penines rising behind the village.
Showing posts with label future of reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label future of reading. Show all posts
Monday, 18 April 2011
E-books
The latest news from America is that ebook sales in February totalled $90.3m or £55.2m. This makes digital books the largest single format in the US for the first time, overtaking paperbacks at $81.2m. In January, ebooks were the second-largest category, behind paperbacks. America's ebooks enjoyed a 202.3% growth in sales in February compared with the same month the previous year. Print books fared much worse. The growth in February was attributed to post-holiday ebook buying from readers given e-reader devices for Christmas. The greater selection of devices and the broader range of ebooks now available also played a part in the increase. Publishing houses cite ebooks as generating fresh interest in 'backlist' titles, books that have been in print for at least a year. E-book readers who enjoy a newly-released book will frequently buy an author's full backlist. Philip Jones, deputy editor of the Bookseller, called the US ebook sales growth a "significant milestone amongst digital milestones which are coming thick and fast", but pointed out that "the ebook figure includes children's, so overall the trade print book market is still bigger than the ebook market". "Ebooks have grown massively, but they do not yet match overall print books and nor is it predicted that they will," said Jones. "The most bullish predictions suggest that ebooks will account for 50% of the US market by 2014 or 2015, and then will probably plateau." In the UK, "we are one year behind now and catching up quite fast", said Jones. He pointed to small UK press Quercus, which publishes the Stieg Larsson trilogy and which announced earlier this month that its ebook sales increased 16-fold in 2010, representing 3% of revenues. Quercus has predicted that its digital revenues could "realistically reach 10% of our total revenues over the course of the current year". Read the full article here The pic is driving into Melmerby with the Penines rising behind the village.
Thursday, 3 March 2011
Interactive books
Keith Stuart imagines ‘a new breed of novels, and a coming generation of writers, to play with the ebook format and develop lots of new interactive ideas.' Many writers already contribute to games, films, comics and novels, merging narrative methods as entertainment possibilities evolve. Readers of crime fiction enjoy sorting the clues from the red herrings, so why not elaborate on that?
One drawback he mentions is that electronic books could be overtaken by adverts. A red alert might pop up every time a real location is mentioned in the text. Readers might be required to hang around in Clerkenwell to 'unlock some extra info on Bill Sykes.' (Not an engaging idea if you live three hundred miles or more from London.)
Yet I can imagine that readers of Jane Austen might actually like to have pic of Colin Firth as Darcy pop up on their screen, or be interested in an illustration of a gown described in the text; why not a picture of
Pemberley? A treasure map in adventure novels, a Google map of a city with a specific, relevant spot marked?
One drawback he mentions is that electronic books could be overtaken by adverts. A red alert might pop up every time a real location is mentioned in the text. Readers might be required to hang around in Clerkenwell to 'unlock some extra info on Bill Sykes.' (Not an engaging idea if you live three hundred miles or more from London.)
Yet I can imagine that readers of Jane Austen might actually like to have pic of Colin Firth as Darcy pop up on their screen, or be interested in an illustration of a gown described in the text; why not a picture of
Pemberley? A treasure map in adventure novels, a Google map of a city with a specific, relevant spot marked? As Stuart says, ‘It's not sacrilege, is it? It's just... new.’
Used wisely, it could enhance the reading experience. But there lies the danger. Open the door and the ads might pour in before you can get it shut again. Or maybe we want to make our imagination work and dream up our own version of what’s presented in words. Our brains get precious little exercise these days of tv, film and dvd where its all visualised for us.
Read the full article: here
Read the full article: here
I took a series of pics early on a misty, frosty morning yesterday and I think the winter colours have a beauty all their own. Look out for more over the next week or two.
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