Tag: Books

The Printed Word: Why Books Will Survive the Digital Age

I’ve always been a book person. No, I mean a BOOK person. Collector, curator, lover of the dust jacket, size, shape and smell of the printed word on paper. I know how books are paginated, printed, bound, packed, shipped, and how to write a publishing contract. My first career was the general manager of an 18 bookstore chain in the midwest. It was a great experience. I learned retail merchandising, finance and inventory management as well as the fine art of book buying. Publishing and book selling were a gentlemen’s sport at that time and full of mutual respect.

Of course the best part was I got lots and lots of books.

My collection grew out of hand in the late 1990’s. When I was about to move again I realized I’d need to buy 120 packing boxes for my books alone. You see, they don’t compress very well. Enough was enough, so I donated about half to the local library. They couldn’t believe it when I pulled up in my friend’s minivan. That was a nice day.

Fast forward to the digital era. I didn’t have an allergic reaction to reading on a screen, but it took me a while to buy my first book in the digital format. Much like my transition to digital music, time passed before it become a ritual activity. But there are so many benefits to digital books that I’m happy to say they have earned the right to coexist alongside my analog collection. Not replace it, mind you. Oh no, let’s not get crazy.

The biggest benefit of digital is I’m now reading about twice as many books as I did before I got my iPad, and here’s why.

  • It’s backlit, so you can sit in any chair in your home and read comfortably
  • Since you don’t need ambient light you won’t intrude on your wife’s desire to sleep while you read
  • You can carry hundreds of books with you without the weight and bulk
  • In the mood for something, or want to pick up on where you left off, no problem; just a few taps and you’re there
  • Virtual bookmarks never get misplaced which means you can find your favorite passages in a snap
  • No more driving to Barnes and Noble or waiting for Amazon to deliver
  • Trial is easy, as samples are free from the iTunes bookstore
  • iCloud allows you to push the content to all your Apple devices instantly, which means my wife can read the same book at the same time I’m reading it
  • The technology is great, allowing for a choice of font styles, sizes and backlight controls
  • If you come across an unfamiliar word, simply tap it and get the definition instantly
  • Packing for travel is a cinch; all your books come with you, automatically

The reading doesn’t stop there. Magazines, periodicals, professional journals, are all accessible digitally. I believe that magazines on the iPad far exceed the book experience. Just look at Wired or The New Yorker to see why.

Digital is great for traditional fiction and nonfiction works, but I don’t think it holds up for art books or other publications that are graphic rich. You no longer have the burden of carrying the book, but digital homogenizes all volumes. The physical shape of a book, trim size, thickness, paper stock, makes a book a book. Large books need to be large so you can rest them on your lap and enter a new world. Digital books are forced to fit onto either portrait or landscape. The fact that books come in countless physical forms makes them even more interesting.

There’s another drawback to digital. You can’t have a library in your home if you are all digital. There’s something very satisfying about entering a room that has wall lined bookshelves and stroll past the spines to see what’s there. When I visit someone’s home for the first time I immediately look for the books. You learn a lot about a person by what they read. It also becomes a catalyst for discussion. Can you imagine me grabbing their e-reader and asking for the passcode?

I think it’s critical for young children to see lots of books and be able to explore them in a tactile fashion. This is how they learn to read and how stories get told. From bath books and board books all the way up to chapter books, the book experience grows alongside the child. Try giving a 2 year old a digital book to keep them occupied in the tub.

I have some shelves filled with classics, Moby Dick, etc. I show them to my seven year old from time to time and give him a brief demonstration of why they are great works by reading a few sentences. He has something to look forward to and gets excited about it. “Dad, can we read that whale book again?”

Then there are bookstores. In the stores I ran, square footage was scarce, so we didn’t have comfy chairs and coffee bars. We wanted people to come in, browse, buy and leave. Then come back of course. The giant bookstores didn’t come along until a decade later, adopting a location platform modeled after the local library, but without all the shushing. That was a master stroke and I believe added years to the vitality of books and bookstores.

Of course the local library still stands as a hearth of knowledge in a community. My village recently passed a referendum to invest $12 million in a complete renovation and updating of our library to begin this spring. Some argue that we should abandon libraries, but for many people this is how they get their first exposure to the world of books. I’m happy to see libraries and hope we continue to invest in them for many years. I’ve thought it would be a nice concept to combine a library and a bookstore in the same space. The lending side would be much larger than the selling side, because most of the purchasing would be digital and no physical space is required. Creating commerce would provide additional financial support for the library.

It would be interesting to have the option to buy the analog book and the digital book at the same time, packaged together at a great price. I could add what I wanted to own as books while affording me the convenience of reading it on my iPad. Digital books are fantastic and I’m so glad they’re here. But book books will survive the digital age.

Kindle Makes Electronic Books A Reality, Without the Web

A colleague of mine who is an avid reader of books (the analog paper kind) is very excited about her new Kindle from Amazon. She was kind enough to bring it in for me to play with over lunch last week; here are my observations.

The Kindle is Amazon’s first foray into launching a big time consumer electronics product. They describe it as a “Wireless Reading Device” as it gets its content from a satellite vs. over the Internet. It means there is no need to configure it with your router, or commit to a contract like you must with a cell phone package. This feature is extremely important in appealing to hardcores who love to read and aren’t necessarily technical optimists. The Kindle is only one step removed from the book vs. living at the other end of the spectrum in the computer world. Amazon has really nailed the description and positioning of this product.

kindle.jpg

You are always connected to Amazon’s server where you can purchase books, newspapers and magazines effortlessly. The Kindle will hold about 200 books before running out of memory. No need to seek out a hot spot. But the real reason the long predicted electronic book growth may have finally arrived, is the advancements in E Ink technology. The problem has always been how to make a screen as crisp and satisfying to the eye as printed type on paper. The visceral experience books provide holds tremendous appeal, particularly as publishers have evolved their materials and technology over the years. Paper books have had roughly a 500 year head start over electronic books. That momentum will make it hard for the E Book to gain a foothold.

As I clicked through, the device was quite a nice experience. The screen is of course the main event, and reading was satisfying. The font was clean and appropriately spaced. Navigating back and forth sets off a fade out/in transition that is a little jarring at first, but something I’m sure you would get used to quickly. The user interface was intuitive and relied mainly on a small roller located at the bottom right. It is equivalent to an iPod or Blackberry track wheel. Several times I accidentally hit the large click bars found on the right and left sides of the Kindle that caused the page to change before I was ready. The letter buttons at the bottom (not quite worthy of calling them a keyboard) were arched, making thumb access easier.

This device delivers on the Wireless Reading promise. Certainly more work on the design will be necessary, but this is the first generation. There are some pretty big missed opportunities; the cover is one. The Kindle nestles nicely into a black leather book binding cover. But it is plain. No opportunity to engrave your initials into the leather, no fancy stitching, and no branding whatsoever. Also, if you have the Kindle in a briefcase (and you will) the cover presses against the interface and causes unintentional clicks.

All in all, it’s a great first generation; congratulations Amazon. But will it succeed as a consumer electronics product? It’s $399, which buys a lot of analog books. Right now it is out of stock, so if you really, really want one you can’t get one. And since Amazon has no bricks and mortar locations, consumers can’t try it out before deciding to fork over the cash. Sure the iPhone was $400 to $600, but if you wanted one it was available. and you could try it in the Apple stores. This points to an overall weakness in Amazon. Their marketing and advertising needs some shoring up. I view them as a research and development stock and they have proven innovation with their web platform and recommendation engine that is best-in-class. This launch is in natural keeping to that core.

Steve Jobs, Apple’s visionary was quoted at the Macworld Expo as saying, “It doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is; the fact is that people don’t read anymore,” he said. “Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year.” I think Mr. Jobs has missed the point. Book sales definitely fluctuate, but the publishing business is in no danger of collapse. It did not stumble the way the music industry has done, and their physical destinations get better and better. Readers read. Gen X and Y will likely welcome a digital reading device.

The big question is can Amazon do it alone? Partnerships with publishers and/or bookstores may be necessary for Amazon to succeed. But why would publishing houses or the big book chains want to partner? Isn’t this cutting into their business? The answer is, not now, and not for a long time. I see the Kindle and other copycat devices that will surely be launched, as complimenting the book for many, many years. The Kindle is great for travelers, commuters, vacations and those that are heavy newspaper readers, but only occasionally read a book.

I used to run a small, regional bookstore chain in the ’80s, and as a result have a love of the book. Every time I move it takes weeks to pack up my collection. But I am also keen on technology. As such, both electronic and analog books could easily occupy a space in my life. Another example of convergence in action.

There are probably a lot of people in my category. So as the design improvements are made and the price becomes reasonable, I predict this type of device, will find a place in the market. Amazon got their first.