Well, as you might suspect and guess, I’m writing this on my iPad. I’m still getting the hang of the WordPress app here; I can’t find how to add a link to something for example. However, that’s not what this post is about, this post is more about how I’m becoming more and more addicted to reading ebooks on this device.
Starting off here is a cautionary bit from a WSJ article:
The iBook freezes text.
Web links can connect previously isolated ideas in many ways. That gives digital texts the power to add rich layers of meaning that printed texts cannot. But many iPad apps and Apple’s iBook software thus far limit the way words can be linked, Tweeted or shared. That suggests a step backward from the Web’s potential. Mr. Johnson contrasts the locked approach with the stance adopted by investigative nonprofit site ProPublica, which has a generous “steal our stories” policy to encourage the free dissemination of its articles for public benefit.
So will e-readers resemble glass boxes?
If digital devices lock texts under a glass screen, preventing readers from manipulating or sharing words in meaningful ways, we will miss out on some of the benefits of ideas that are mashed up and mixed together, Mr. Johnson says. If, on the other hand, companies such as Apple open up texts for linking, sharing and other Web-like usage, we’ll enjoy fruitful “textual productivity.” People once relied on books to store ideas for future inspiration. Mr. Johnson hopes the serendipitous sharing that enabled will serve as a model for more open sharing of digital texts. Are you listening, Steve Jobs?
(I’ll disclose now, that I couldn’t finish the post on my iPad because not only could I not add a link to the WSJ article, but I couldn’t paste the quote in either.)
So, ebooks.
It’s pretty common knowledge that when I’m in the right mood, I’m a voracious reader. A few novels in a week isn’t a stretch for me (I read the last Harry Potter in 36 hours). It’s also true, however, that I haven’t been taking time to read much lately either. Maybe it was geek jealousy about not having any kind of ebook reader or I just wasn’t taking time for myself, but the fact remains that I have Anathem
Yeah I’m hooked. Just like I thought I would be.
So, as the WSJ ponders, is this a good think for books, writers, publishers, and readers?
Oh Hell yes.
Right now we’re just at the beginning of this new way of creating and sharing information. I wonder how long it will be before all my books, even from Pearson, never see a paper version. Electronic from start to finish. I think that it won’t be long before we have better ways to share books and notes. Maybe if a book club all have a copy of a book, they could share notes and thoughts about it.
I don’t see anything stopping that, technically, from happening.
Sure there would be details with publishers and stores to work out, but …
And there is where I see a small issue.
Right now you could potentially buy the same book from Amazon, iBooks, Barnes & Noble, and soon even Chapters-Indigo. All of those books are locked in their own way. Even this I think will be solved. In time.
In the meantime I’m reconnecting with my love of reading, through my iPad. Of course, I won’t be enjoying new books on it until I finish a couple of dead-tree versions first.
