The Future of the Book

January 20, 2009

Old Media is Dead, Long Live Old Media! 0

by Ben Dooley

NPR’s On the Media ran a feature recently on entrepreneur Joshua Karp’s new startup the Printed Blog (TPB), a web aggregator that takes the best online content and… puts it on paper. Karp plans to print TPB twice a day and hand it out for free in major urban outlets. Content and advertising will be [...]

January 19, 2009

Who’s Afraid of a Big, Bad Screen? 1

by Anne K. Yoder

Lately, critics have been swift to announce the death of print culture, and thus pronounce the end of literacy. Even two technology critics whose opinions usually reside on opposite ends of the spectrum – Kevin Kelly of Wired and Christine Rosen of The New Atlantis – agree that culturally, we are now “people of the [...]

November 19, 2008

Pocket Paperbacks and Digital Editions 13

by C. Max Magee

What better time than now to bring back the pocket paperback? People have no money to spend on hardcovers, and even the full-sized trade paperbacks are a pricey, given the economic times. There are also strong trends in our society that encourage less waste and the downsizing of our myriad possessions. A [...]

November 6, 2008

The New Yorker Offers Digital Access 0

by C. Max Magee

Paidcontent.com pointed out that the New Yorker has unveiled a new digital edition of the magazine. It’s basically a replica of the magazine — ads, cartoons, and everything — that you can “page through” using a special interface. This is pretty nifty and probably useful for New Yorker obsessives who want to get [...]

October 30, 2008

Google Settlement Could Change the Literary Landscape 9

by C. Max Magee

After once being a hot topic, prompting many in publishing to vocally take sides, the dispute between Google and the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers simmered quietly in lawyers’ offices for more than two years. But this week Google’s book scanning effort was back in the news with the announcement of [...]

October 29, 2008

Oprah Incurs Booksellers’ Wrath 6

by Edan Lepucki

Over at the Vroman’s Bookstore blog, Millions contributor emeritus Patrick Brownweighs in on Oprah’s endorsement of the Kindle, saying, “I never thought Oprah was anything more than she is — a corporate shill.” Vroman’s president Allison Hill (a beloved and admired figure in the bookselling industry) also shares her thoughts:
Oprah, if you’re reading this, [...]