A Momentary Taste of Being

Confessions of an E-Book Convert I've been a long-term unashamed e-book reader.  I read them on PDAs. So I'm ecstatic with the huge and lovely screen offered by my iPad.

"The Way We Read Now." I think I find myself on this blogger's side.  I carry with me books from the library--hefty volumes that I want the pleasure of marking up and conversing with.  And then, I have on my iPad thousands of other books.  Books to dip into during a moment of leisure time--books to look at, savor, and enjoy for their contents but not for their sheer reality as books--a hefty chunk of artificial reality. Books are wonderful, but what is more wonderful is the ability to read--anywhere, anytime, almost anything.

Apps for reading on the web

An App for iPad detailing human rights stories

Wikipedia told

e-Books and Libraries

Those of you who have been exposed to my iPad typing will know that in addition to conjoined words, we often end up with the phenomenon described in this article.   Ah, the pleasures and the perils of typing in the autocorrect world.

National Digital Library behind the pacers

"Cyberspace When You're Dead"

For a short time 130 free e-books from Kaplan Publishers

Thousands of Broadways --Robert Pinsky Note also intriguing books by Ha Jin and Stephen Greenblatt--a follow-up, it seems, to his last magnificent book on Shakespeare.

Magazines less digital?  I don't think so, but here's one who does.

Amazon's best-selling item EVER?  The Kindle

Summarized Five E-Book Trends the full monty

Dappled Things new number is out Online Free Sample of Gilbert Magazine --Appreciate

Hilary Mantel on illness-- "Ink in the Blood." Available only as an e-book at this point.

How The Atlantic turned the tides and made a tidy profit (pun intended) via Books Inq.

I found a reference to what sounded like an interesting novel-- Looking for the King and googling the reference, I found this complete online version. Perhaps this is a mistake, perhaps it is a marketing ploy.  What it certainly is, for the time being, is a way to preview and see if you would find the book worth buying.  It looks like it might be most interesting.

Books after Amazon I must confess that I am uncertain about Amazon's business practices.  I have to say that from a consumer point of view--speaking strictly cash, it does appear that they are trying to do their best for me--but in doing that are they crushing the book market?  I can't say. But then I go on to the other part of this--to say something I've long wanted to say but couldn't devote a post by itself to.  I love books.  I love the physicality of books.  I have more than 20,000 of them.  And so, I've reached a limit--because what I really love about books is not the paper, binding, and feel, but the words--the real essence of the book--what is written on it.  And I've discovered that with various e-readers on my iPad, so long as I still have the ability to make marginal notes, to highlight, and to fool with and interact with the text, I am sanguine about its electronic format.  The last thing I really need to do is accumulate more sha...

Dance to the Music of Time --Anthony Powell's 12 volume epic will begin to be available again, starting with a free e-book edition of the first book: A Question of Upbringing Click the link and read an enthusiast's initial assessment!