Friday ... again

Do you know what happens when you try to read three books at once?  Especially when one of them is for the book discussion you're leading next week?

You don't finish any of them by Friday. 

I"m reading Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan for our book discussion next week.  I'm loving it.  But I wonder how the group will like it's techie view of the world.  I'll find out next Thursday and let you know.

In the car I'm listening to Dead Wake by Erik Larson.  How can a book, when you already know the ending be so darned thrilling?  I'll tell you.  Erik Larson is a genius at building suspense.  Chapters are going round robin, from the Lusitania to the U20 (German U-Boat), to the Room 40 (Code room in London intercepting German messages to its submarines), and to the various politicians at the head of the governments involved (especially Winston Churchill and Woodrow Wilson).  Larson is painting a picture and with each stroke of his pen it becomes more detailed and clear.  Can you guess how I feel about this book so far?

On my eReader I've got Lawrence Block's Burglar in the Library.  I haven't actually started it.  But it's waiting for me as soon as I finish Penumbra, which might be today, depending on how energetic I'm feeling about getting the housework done.  And since I've got a wicked cold, that's not very energetic at all.
 

Ah well, stay tuned, more book reviews are on their way.

iPad course for librarians

Oh, do I wish I had an iPad.  For those of you who do check out this online course.  The Book as iPad App is taught by Nicole Hennig and helps librarians become familiar with specific book apps.  Sounds like a great course.

The War Over eBooks -- great articles at Forbes.com

David Vinjamuri at Forbes.com wrote a great article, "The Wrong War Over eBooks: Publishers Vs. Libraries." You can read it here.  In it he takes a fair look at both publishers and libraries and outlines their sides of the argument for access.  Then he posits that they are making the wrong arguments and suggests a different way to look at eBook access.  His first suggestion?  Instead of buying limited use licences for eBooks libraries could pay on a cost-per-circulation basis.  It's fair, easy to calculate, and both sides get value for the transaction ... more readers with more access.

In the second article in this two part series, "Why Public Libraries Matter: And How They Can Do More,"  ( found here) Vinjamuri points out that libraries are a gateway connecting readers and publishers.  Even in this ever changing world of eBook readers and tablets, libraries are the places where people are exposed to new authors and titles, book clubs abound, and reading is encouraged.  He warns publishers that they "limit public libraries' access to eBooks at their own peril." And warns libraries that by focusing on the best seller list they "risk missing the significant opportunity afforded by the explosion in the number of new books published each year."

Eventually libraries and publishers will come to terms that, hopefully, everyone can live with.  In the meantime it's the public that misses out.  Not everyone has access to an eReader.  Not all eReader owners can buy all the eBooks they want to read.  Libraries stand ready to fill the access gap, just as they always have. 

Some things never change

After helping a few folks with some eReader questions yesterday I was reminded of this video that imagines what tech support might have been like when the book was first released

Have you ever felt like you were being watched?

I've been following an interesting conversation at the ALA group on LinkedIn about a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, Your E-Book is Reading You.  I suppose it was only a matter of time before we all found out that eReaders can and do collect data about us.
It shouldn't be a surprise.  Advertising and merchandising has always been dependent on an understanding of the customer.   Being able to find out so much about what readers do and do not like about their books is a treasure trove to publishers.
One problem I see is that it's early days for eReaders.  Not everyone uses an eReader, not everything is available on eReaders.  So the data set publishers are using reflects the reading tastes of only a percentage of all the readers and potential readers out there. 
Meanwhile, the data they're collecting: how long it takes a reader to finish a book, where they stopped, what they highlighted, doesn't tell the whole story.  Unless you know why you don't have the whole picture.  Maybe I stopped reading on page 53 because the kids got sick, maybe it took 2 weeks to finish the book because that was when the dog buried the reader in the backyard, maybe I let my 5 year old highlight that passage just to keep him occupied at the doctor's office.
As one comment noted, we have opened Pandora's Box and it's too late to go back now.  If publishers and authors can use the data to create books that reach more people (and sell more copies) that's a good thing.  If they end up stifling creativity to reach the least common denominator of readers that would be sad.