E-BOOKS TURN 40!
That's right - it's been forty years since Michael S. Hart created the first "e-book". For a more in-depth look at the history of e-books please see this web page.
In a CNN interview with Cherise Fong, author Rita Y. Toews, author of several e-books and the founder of Read an E-Book Week, dismisses the false competition between e-books and paper books:
That's right - it's been forty years since Michael S. Hart created the first "e-book". For a more in-depth look at the history of e-books please see this web page.
In a CNN interview with Cherise Fong, author Rita Y. Toews, author of several e-books and the founder of Read an E-Book Week, dismisses the false competition between e-books and paper books:
"E-books are great for people who travel a lot on business, for vacationers, or for people with limited space," she says. "They are also the perfect application for material that changes on a continual basis."
"Print books, on the other hand, have their place. Nothing can replace a beautiful art book, or a book of photography. E-books are simply a different format for something we've had for hundreds of years. When penny dreadfuls were introduced in the 1800s they were scoffed at, as were paperback novels in the 1930s."
Also in the 1930s, as farmers were being signed up for rural electrification, one of the most common responses was: "Why do we need electricity? We have lanterns!"
My e-book publisher, Smashwords, is offering a wealth of free and deeply discounted e-books for Read an E-Book Week. They also have Read an E-Book Week catalogs in Stanza and Aldiko.
The two novels I have listed on the Smashwords site, The Man from Shenandoah and Ride to Raton, are on sale during Read an E-Book Week for 50% off! Yes, that means The Man from Shenandoah, which is regularly priced at $2.99, is going for only $1.50 next week only! Ride to Raton, Book 2 in The Owen Family Saga, sells any other day for $3.99, but it can be purchased during Read an E-Book Week for only $2.00! In case you miss the discount code on the site for checkout, it's RAE50.
And don't forget, my recipe book, Rapid Recipes for Writers . . . And Other Busy People, is FREE!
Even if you don't have a Kindle, nook, Sony Reader, Kobo, or other dedicated e-reader device, you can read e-books on your computer, SmartPhone, iPad or iPod touch. Don't miss out on the great savings on e-books you can discover during Read an E-Book Week!
If you're into challenges, here's an on-going one at The Ladybug Reads to participate in the 2011 E-Book Reading Challenge. What better time than Read an E-Book Week to join the challenge?
How do you read e-books now? Do you plan to purchase a dedicated e-Reader sometime? If you don't read e-books at the present time, why not?
The two novels I have listed on the Smashwords site, The Man from Shenandoah and Ride to Raton, are on sale during Read an E-Book Week for 50% off! Yes, that means The Man from Shenandoah, which is regularly priced at $2.99, is going for only $1.50 next week only! Ride to Raton, Book 2 in The Owen Family Saga, sells any other day for $3.99, but it can be purchased during Read an E-Book Week for only $2.00! In case you miss the discount code on the site for checkout, it's RAE50.
And don't forget, my recipe book, Rapid Recipes for Writers . . . And Other Busy People, is FREE!
Even if you don't have a Kindle, nook, Sony Reader, Kobo, or other dedicated e-reader device, you can read e-books on your computer, SmartPhone, iPad or iPod touch. Don't miss out on the great savings on e-books you can discover during Read an E-Book Week!
If you're into challenges, here's an on-going one at The Ladybug Reads to participate in the 2011 E-Book Reading Challenge. What better time than Read an E-Book Week to join the challenge?
How do you read e-books now? Do you plan to purchase a dedicated e-Reader sometime? If you don't read e-books at the present time, why not?
Nice information. So far I only have one book available to e-readers. It's Run Away Home and is available for Kindle readers on Amazon.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy having both formats available. E-readers will never quite replace paper books for me, but there are times they really come in handy.
Great post, Marsha. I love ebooks! But of course you already know that:-)
ReplyDeleteSince receiving my Kindle for Christmas, I've finished 8 novels and 2 short story collections. I have another 14 books in my "To Read" collection. I'm sure I'll be reading an e-book this week!
ReplyDeleteJennie, I don't think ebooks will ever displace print books entirely. I believe they will co-exist for some time to come. There are certainly book types that will never go away, like coffee-table books with multiple colored photos. However, the ease of carrying many novels on a device that can be easily carried for travel is undeniably attractive to many people.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jewel. You are an early-adopter in both serving up novels and reading them. :-)
Shelli, many e-book readers report reading more books than they ever have before. It's all good!