Amazon's suggestion that the ebook and paperback revolutions are comparable has sparked scorn, satire and indigation
Amazon's letter to readers was condemned for quoting George Orwell selectively on the merits of paperback books. Photograph: Popperfoto/Getty Images
When Amazon published their rather extraordinary "Message from the Amazon Books Team" at readersunited.com last week, they got a few things right and a few things wrong. Alongside a realistic analysis of ebook pricing and a rather aggressive plea to bombard the CEO of Hachette with threatening emails, the letter noted that "Just ahead of World War II, there was a radical invention that shook the foundations of book publishing". This was the paperback, and apparently it was opposed by publishers who "dug in and circled the wagons". Which is a bit odd, as the person most widely credited with the popularisation of the paperback (but not its invention) was Allen Lane, who, as founder of Penguin Books, introduced paperback classics to the British public.
Amazon's other bizarre decision, alongside the somewhat unnecessary second world war reference, was to quote George Orwell selectively on the subject and accuse him of "collusion". In fact, Orwell was making a sarcastic dig in favour of the paperback, and Amazon has been accused of doublespeak by the Orwell estate. The parody page booksunited.org, created by online writer Dan Hon in the voice of the books themselves, smartly notes that "We are not fighting for our existence. We know that as long as you humans exist, you will write, and you will read."
That sentiment is, of course, at least as old as the paperback itself. The legend of Allen Lane's inspiration for Penguin classics is oft-told: bored on an Exeter station platform in 1934, travelling back from a visit to Agatha Christie, he conceived of quality editions, widely available, and cheap enough to be sold from a vending machine. The result was a new distribution mechanism, the Penguincubator, installed at railway stations around the country. What popularised paperbacks was publisher innovation, and a recognition that what mattered in selling books was quality as much as price point. While impetus for the former might still be lacking in many quarters, Amazon's recent financial results suggest the latter could use some attention as well.
Amazon's other bizarre decision, alongside the somewhat unnecessary second world war reference, was to quote George Orwell selectively on the subject and accuse him of "collusion". In fact, Orwell was making a sarcastic dig in favour of the paperback, and Amazon has been accused of doublespeak by the Orwell estate. The parody page booksunited.org, created by online writer Dan Hon in the voice of the books themselves, smartly notes that "We are not fighting for our existence. We know that as long as you humans exist, you will write, and you will read."
That sentiment is, of course, at least as old as the paperback itself. The legend of Allen Lane's inspiration for Penguin classics is oft-told: bored on an Exeter station platform in 1934, travelling back from a visit to Agatha Christie, he conceived of quality editions, widely available, and cheap enough to be sold from a vending machine. The result was a new distribution mechanism, the Penguincubator, installed at railway stations around the country. What popularised paperbacks was publisher innovation, and a recognition that what mattered in selling books was quality as much as price point. While impetus for the former might still be lacking in many quarters, Amazon's recent financial results suggest the latter could use some attention as well.
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