Reading technology redux

Shortly after I made this post about emerging reading technology I checked in at John Scalzi’s Whatever and noticed a post covering similar territory (ebooks in particular). I link it here because in certain circles his opinion carries a little more weight than mine. For those contemplating clicking through, Scalzi briefly compares reading off the Nook (dedicated ebook device) with using his phone (Droid X), computer monitor, Ipod Touch and Ipad.

Scalzi also brings up a point I very much agree with and forgot to make myself. Even though I appreciate the ability to read on my phone, I do not think ebooks are going to kill paper books any time soon. For me (and Scalzi), the reason is the collector’s urge. A bunch of accessible computer files will never fulfill my desire to have stuff. I have heard authors like Brandon Sanderson and Cory Doctorow explaining their willingness to offer free content (in the form of entire novels) through their websites – they believe that people will continue to value hard copy books as souvenirs of the reading experience.

Anecdotal evidence incoming... I attended Aussiecon4 (Worldcon) in early September, meaning that I was entitled to vote in the Hugo Awards and therefore received the electronic voters packet. I now have electronic copies of The Windup Girl, The City and the City as well as every other prose work nominated for a Hugo. Yet I bought The City and The City in hardcover before going to Melbourne because I loved it. It didn’t hurt that I wanted Miéville to sign it. Author signings are not impossible with ebooks (I saw Cory Doctorow sign someone’s Ipad) but there’s only so much space to fill up.

On a similar topic, authors can’t sign your book over the internet. As I mentioned in an earlier posts, bricks and mortar book stores will always be the hub of the speculative fiction community (especially those specialist stores like Infinitas and Galaxy, for those in Sydney). Fans who want to continue to have the opportunity to meet writers outside of conventions, and people who want to participate in the speculative fiction community, need to support these book stores

No matter how easy the e-reading experience becomes, I won’t stop buying ‘real’ books any time soon.

My experiences with reading technology - Ebooks and Audiobooks

While I am hardly a luddite I wouldn’t claim to be up with the all the latest technology. Things are changing for me however, and the cause is easy to identify. I bought an Iphone at the end of last year.

I’m not going to trumpet the virtues of the phone. I’m not an Apple fanboy, I just jumped on the consumer band wagon with so many others. My actual point is that the Iphone represents the first portable ebook reader I have owned and, slightly more pathetically, the first portable audio player I have owned since the days of cassette tapes.

Podcasts – the gateway to ‘reading’ technology

Having an MP3 player opened the gateway to podcasts, many of which I enjoy regularly (and will discuss in a future post). A substantial number of my favourite casts are sponsored by Audible and I was being regularly encouraged to enjoy a free trial. Writing Excuses in particular advertises a particular audiobook each week, and hearing that I could listen to Stephen King’s On Writing narrated by King himself pushed me over the edge and I signed up (of course, it turns out that On Writing is not available to Australian subscribers).

I have listened to several audiobooks now. I started by using my Audible credits to purchase the books from Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time so that I could ‘read’ my way through the series again before the final volume arrives (up to 6 of 12 at this stage). I have since begun to diversify my listening. Some highlights include The Desert Spear by Peter V. Brett, The Alchemist and The Executioness by Paolo Bacigalupi and Tobias Buckell (review), and Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregillis.

While I am still scratching the surface I find myself a massive fan of audiobooks. I have managed to experience so many more books than ever before. Car trips, walks, shopping expeditions, doing chores – no time feels wasted when I am able to ‘read’ as I go. Driving by myself from Sydney to Melbourne for Aussiecon4 would have been incredibly painful without a good story.

Of course, I still listen to podcasts and tend to go for audiobooks when I know I have a substantial window of listening time. The length of some books can be pretty intimidating (a couple of the Wheel of Time books are over 40 hours) and make you wonder when you will ever have time to listen, but the small chunks add up. I’ve probably worked through 300 hours worth of audiobooks in the last six months.

Ebooks – the future of reading, at least for me

Aside from bringing me into contact with Audible, since many of the podcasts I enjoy are about writing and often touch on the publishing industry the issue of ebooks is frequently raised. The boys over at The Dragon Page are massive advocates of epublishing and the opportunities it offers authors and readers. At this stage I am simply engaging with ebooks as a consumer.

I have not yet purchased an ebook from an online store, or purchased a dedicated ebook reader for that matter. I’m using my Iphone. I have read Makers by Cory Doctorow (offered free on his website) and a few items from the electronic Hugo voters packet, including some short stories and novellas (ideal length for ebook format in my opinion, given the way I use ebooks) and China Mieville’s The City and the City. Paolo Bacigalupi’s The Windup Girl, which I have just started, is the longest story I have attempted on the phone screen.

The Iphone is far from an ideal platform for reading ebooks, given the relatively small size of the screen, but it is functional. It has been to my advantage that the stories/books that I have read so far have been relatively short. I couldn’t see myself sitting down on the couch with my phone at this stage, not when I have so many paper books, but it is fantastic to have available when out and about. My limited experiences with it have also convinced me that I will be a very dedicated user of ebooks when I have a better reading device (probably a year or so away, realistically).