The eReader

I think the trade book audience is the wrong audience for the eReader as reported in a recent New York Times article, "Turning Page, E-Books Start to Take Hold" by Brad Stone and Motoko Rich on December 24, 2008. The Kindle or similar kind of ebook reader should be designed for students of all grades in school and then it will make a major impact. Textbooks, the bread and butter for most publishers if not the sole money maker for some, are way too expensive and updated. Educational publishers are taking advantage of the audience and lots of graft money is used to secure book contracts in schools at the expense of the public. I'd like to see all the school texts made into ebooks and then provided to all students via the kindle type of machine.

I hate the weight of my son's knapsack. I hate picking it up. I hate imagining him carrying that bloody heavy sack around all day long. It is sinful and it makes me very very mad. Why does he have to carry these heavy tomes around all day long everyday? Wouldn't it be more logical to issue an eReader to all students and then let them download what they need to it? Of course it would be.

Trying to make an eReader for the trade publications is a waste of time. Trade books do not represent the volume that educational texts offer. The costs of these educational texts would be brought down if they were made electronic and that would certainly be better for the environment. Textbooks are not books we find on the collector's bookshelves and they do not grow in value over time as good trade books with first editions and other anomalies.

The NYTimes has some great letters today on this article.

One letter from a book collector, like me: "That means that for me, and I suspect for other collectors as well, the Kindle, which I own, and its cousins are perfect for today's disposable literature."

If a school district like NYC, a group of colleges like the Ivy League, CUNY, SUNY, or the University of California decided to provide texts on a eReader then we would begin to see a change to the good.

Ebooks are good for the environment, for our children carrying those weighty book bags, and costs to schools for books that take up space and end up in closets.

I believe and hope that something like the Blackberry of small device will develop the ebook technology and will eventually find its way into the commercial textbook market.

Many years ago I was given an ebook reader and loved it. It was stolen. Now I use my laptop as an ebook reader for what I can access. Another gadget is the downside, so once this ebook idea can be used effectively on existing technology or a new technology that can incorporate existing technology and add new ones then it will fly. However, if ebooks want to make an impact, go after the school textbook market and lighten up those obnoxiously heavy book sacks and high costs while helping the environment and making access more democratic.