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How many of you have already joined the revolution? Do you have a Kindle or an iPad? How about a Nook or Sony Reader? These are the top four right now, with Amazon's Kindle and Apple's iPad leading the way—in a big way. Apple recently announced they had topped the 3 million mark for iPad sales while Amazon has lowered the price of the Kindle several times to stay competitive with the other e-readers.
Maybe you think, as I once did, that this was a passing trend. Who would want to read from a screen when they had the option of holding a real book in their hands, feel the weight and texture of the pages? Certainly, there will always be "real" books we can hold and pages to turn, but the publishing industry is learning some hard lessons the music industry learned several years back when the iPod and iTunes turned that industry on its head. Remember all those music stores? Coconuts, FlipSide, Tower Records, Musicland, Sam Goody? All gone.
The Association of American Publishers announced recently that sales of adult hardcover books for June were down almost 14 percent, while ebook sales were up an incredible 119 percent. Amazon recently reported that for every 100 hardcover books sold in June they sold 180 Kindle books. Authors Charlaine Harris, Stephanie Meyer, James Patters and Nora Roberts have each sold more than half-a-million books, and Stieg Larsson, author of the Millennium series that started with The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, has become the first author to sell over one million Kindle books. Unfortunately, he's dead and can't enjoy the fruits of his labors.
Which brings me back to my original question—did you know there was a revolution going on, and are you part of it? Each of my Windrusher books are available as Kindle downloads, but I have no idea how many people are taking advantage of this. Let me know if you own one of these devices and if you've downloaded any of the Windrusher books. As for me, I don't own a dedicated e-reader, though I do have several books loaded onto my iPod Touch. I am considering either the Kindle or iPad. What are your recommendations?
2 comments:
Vic!!
What rock have you been hiding under?
The only reason I don't currently have an e-reader, is I still have about five years of hardbacks on my shelf to read, and (2) the price of the devices haven't come down enough. I'm REALLY cheap, really, all caps. I'm waiting for them to fall below $65...which won't take long. The off-brands are already below $100. They have all the functionality. That's why I own a Creative, and not an IPod.
I'm gonna suggest the real revolution will be in audio books. I love listening to books on my Garmin while I drive. How many hours do Americans spend in their cars every year?
How many non-writers do you know that read? But how many own a GPS or MP3?
I'm just thinking out loud, here.
:O) Mac
Mac,
Hiding under a rock? I think not. Maybe in a cave. I'm also expecting prices to drop to $100 or less and will snatch one up at that point. We also share an interest in audio books. I always have two going at once. One on my iPod and another in the car. And I own a GPS, but it doesn't play books, only scolds me for not following directions. Recalculating.
Thanks for the comments.
Vic
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