It's too soon to write off the paperback -
iPads, apps, e-publishing...When did settling down with a good book become such hard work?
By Anna Goodall in The Independent
Monday, 17 May 2010

There has been a buzz surrounding Ether Books since it launched at the London Book Fair last month.

Ether has created an iPhone app that lets customers download short stories and other short works onto their phone. Hilary Mantel, whose work appears on the site, is all in favour, suggesting that Ether's publishing model can "reach new readers" and give short fiction a "new and different life".

Short-story collections are notoriously hard for publishers to sell. This way you can just pick out what you want like a music download. Saki's "Down Pens" and Penelope Lively's "The First Wife" would be my first choices from Ether's eclectic and easy-to-search catalogue, which is organised by search categories like "Award Winners", "New Authors", and "Pocket Poems", and allows you to sample the first page of each work. So, as the Ether homepage instructs: "Sit back, sip your coffee and read your favourite author whenever you want and wherever you are."
More at The Independent.