Ereaders and Snobbery 34

Have you known people who would only admit to reading “literary” books? Or who would say that they’ve read every book Oprah recommended, but would never deign to read a romance?

Frankly, in this day and age, I think anyone who reads anything should be applauded.

I’ve never made a secret of being a fan of ereaders. The Kindle has made my life easier, and the Kindle Fire is a great writing tool – I email the final manuscript to my Fire and do the last read-through on it.

A great thing about ereaders is that reading snobs can’t be reading snobs anymore. You can’t carry around the latest and greatest NYT bestseller to impress people. No one can see what you’re reading.

You want to download an erotic novel? You go right ahead. Who can see it? You want to give shapeshifters a try? Who’s to know?

That freedom might encourage some people, those who’ve never read romance, to give the genre a try.

What do you think?

Someone’s Reading, Steve 16

Figures provided by publishers to Publishers Weekly indicate that ebooks caused increased holiday sales in 2010 over 2009 figures.

Simon & Schuster  – 150% jump in ebook sales over 2009.

Random House  -  300% over 2009

Kensington  – 400% over 2009.

That’s just for the holidays. How much you bet 2011 will show the same kind of increase? Do you think more people are reading because of ereaders? Do you think they’re being led back to books? I do.

Remember what Steve Jobs said about the Kindle?

“It doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don’t read anymore,” he said. “Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don’t read anymore.”

Someone’s reading, Steve. Maybe not you, but someone is.

Design Your Own Cover 3

M-Edge Accessories is unveiling a service to allow people to design and personalize jackets for their ereaders, such as the Kindle, Nook, and IPad. The prices range from $40 – $50.

You’ll be able to insert a photo, too. Wouldn’t that be cool to have your significant other, or your child on the cover? It’s printed on cotton canvas and then sprayed with a protective coating before shipping.

I don’t think it would be a hard shell cover like the current Kindle cover with light, but it looks fun.

Here’s the website, and you can sign up to be notified when the service has begun.