Comments on: Disintermediation

By: Roger Jellinek

Roger Jellinek — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:15:00 +0000

Page--Thanks for the tip on the Shimodas--I've pencilled them in for HBMF10.
And no, ebooks won't replace all print books. I think we'll be buying many titles in packages of formats--print, Kindle, i-phone, computer--to read at our convenience at any time.
RJ

By: Makana Risser Chai

Makana Risser Chai — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:55:25 +0000

And Page Turner, as someone who went to the ends of the earth to create a book with excellent paper and superb photo printing, I thank you for your commitment to quality.

By: Makana Risser Chai

Makana Risser Chai — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:09:14 +0000

Koa Books sent me a link to the Huffington Post book page, where there is a blog on sustainability in publishing that suggests the answer is "all of the above" - yes beautiful small run books, yes, kindle and yes other models. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/makenna-goodman/the-future-of-publishing_b_308784.html

By: Koa Books

Koa Books — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:39:28 +0000

I saw an Espresso Machine in action at BookExpo America last May, and it's awesome. Yes, perhaps the need to browse beforehand is a shortcoming, but the book this large machine manufactured instantly was the real thing.

By: Page Turner

Page Turner — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:23:36 +0000

E-books have their place. But a true diehard book lover wanting a physical book would not think of the Expresso Machine (and various print-on-demand options) as a “solution.” Instead it is a settlement accompanied with a sigh of resignation. Just bought a book at a local independent purely on physical aesthetics, a quick decision, didn’t even read the blurbs. And it looks to be a wise choice—the author turns out to live on Kauai and the story has gotten great endorsements; wonderfully smooth creamy paper (with rustic brown front and back pages); intriguing artwork by his wife. A small press at its best. The book? OH! A Mystery of Mono No Aware, by Todd Shimoda, artwork by Linda Shimoda, published by Chin Music Press, Seattle. Can tell already it’s one to be savored.

By: Makana Risser Chai

Makana Risser Chai — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 07:10:29 +0000

This sounds like too little too late. Why would I go to a bookstore if I can't browse the book in the store? Why not just order this on amazon? And if I'm ordering from amazon, why not just get the e-book? I'll resist e-readers as long as possible but I know I'll capitulate eventually as I have to everything else (I was a late adopter for fax machines, for heaven's sake). I don't want to be like the attorney on Star Trek, refusing to use computers, proclaiming, "I've got my own system. Books, young man, books. Thousands of books!"

By: Koa Books

Koa Books — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:25:43 +0000

With bookstores and publishers both barely surviving, even before the economic collapse, what do you recommend? There's not much pie to divide.