Former leading New Zealand publisher and bookseller, and widely experienced judge of both the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the Montana New Zealand Book Awards, talks about what he is currently reading, what impresses him and what doesn't, along with chat about the international English language book scene, and links to sites of interest to booklovers.
Bill Gates pic by Andy Rogers, also from Seattlepi.com
4 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Hi Graham Well possibly sobering I bought a Sony ebook reader in the States earlier this year and apart from not being able to download anything new because I don’t have an American bank account, it is pretty good. Clear, changeable size of font etc. Ergonomically it leaves things to be desired but basically it is OK and would be fine for a long plane trip of even for a 2 month holiday in Europe as it hold about 40 books. Certainly great for fiction. I have been teaching myself to read on line and slowly I am getting used to it. Recently there was an article about the NY Times which said they had 1.1 million print readers and 1.7 online readers, and that the chairman saw the paper being on a journey that would end when the presses were turned off, I can see it happening. The question is of course where do libraries stand in all of this. Already I can see us moving out of holding audiobooks in a physical format and simply downloading material onto people’s ipod or similar device. Exciting times All the best to you and Annie Regards Geoff Library Services Manager, North Shore Libraries, Private Bag 93 508, Takapuna, North Shore City, New Zealand.
Hi Graham Ha! Wasn't this the same Bill Gates who predicted a couple of years ago that Microsoft was going to end spam? Perhaps when the ebook readers are $50 at the Warehouse I'll buy one for long overseas flights and holidays, but in the meantime I'll savour elegant American typography on acid-free paper.
Yes - and I won't bother until they can replicate the diverse and often deeply satisfying smells of the paper pages of a new book. Ahhh! nothing beats (surreptiously mind you) burying your nose into the cool smooth pages of a new one. Have just done it with Jodi Picoult's Nineteen Minutes. Delicious! Lee Rowe
4 comments:
Hi Graham
Well possibly sobering
I bought a Sony ebook reader in the States earlier this year and apart from not being able to download anything new because I don’t have an American bank account, it is pretty good. Clear, changeable size of font etc. Ergonomically it leaves things to be desired but basically it is OK and would be fine for a long plane trip of even for a 2 month holiday in Europe as it hold about 40 books. Certainly great for fiction.
I have been teaching myself to read on line and slowly I am getting used to it. Recently there was an article about the NY Times which said they had 1.1 million print readers and 1.7 online readers, and that the chairman saw the paper being on a journey that would end when the presses were turned off, I can see it happening.
The question is of course where do libraries stand in all of this. Already I can see us moving out of holding audiobooks in a physical format and simply downloading material onto people’s ipod or similar device. Exciting times
All the best to you and Annie
Regards
Geoff
Library Services Manager,
North Shore Libraries,
Private Bag 93 508,
Takapuna,
North Shore City,
New Zealand.
Hi Graham
Ha! Wasn't this the same Bill Gates who predicted a couple of years ago that Microsoft was going to end spam?
Perhaps when the ebook readers are $50 at the Warehouse I'll buy one for long overseas flights and holidays, but in the meantime I'll savour elegant American typography on acid-free paper.
Yes - and I won't bother until they can replicate the diverse and often deeply satisfying smells of the paper pages of a new book. Ahhh! nothing beats (surreptiously mind you) burying your nose into the cool smooth pages of a new one. Have just done it with Jodi Picoult's Nineteen Minutes. Delicious!
Lee Rowe
I agree with you Lee. One of the first things I do whenever I get a new book is to bend it open and have a jolly good sniff of it.
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