iBooks Gift Cards - Don’t be Fooled!

I have been seeing in various stores Apple iBook gift cards (see the picture below). These cards look to be specific to the Apple iBook store but it needs to be noted that they are good for anything on iTunes; apps, music, videos, tv shows, and ibooks. You can still use regular iTunes gift cards and buy iBooks, as well as iTunes gift cards that you might get discounted from places like Costco, Sam’s Club, etc... (note - Costco has stopped selling the discounted iTunes gift cards, however some locations might still have a supply on hand).

Also be on the look out on Black Friday (Nov. 26th) here in the United States for many discounted iTunes Gift card offers. There is a pretty firm rumor going around that Best Buy will be discounting $50 dollar iTunes gift cards for $40 bucks! That is a 20% savings and can easily help take some of the sting of the higher e-book prices found in the Apple iBook store. As I hear about various deals I will pass them on here. Hope all have a great Thanksgiving!

Nook Color a MiniMe iPad?

Today Barnes & Noble announced their Nook Color e-book reader. The new version is priced at $249 and will begin shipping on or around Nov. 19, and is now available for pre-order. There is no 3G network connection but there is Wi-Fi. Overall the unit looks sexy and could be a real winner at the $250 price point. I personally think Barnes & Noble just hit a huge home run with this product. The pricing and color screen could really take a  bite out of Amazon and even iPad sales. I guess we shall see. What are your thoughts?

Interesting iBookstore Tidbits From Around the Web

Over the last week or so there have been several blog and news postings concerning the Apple iBookstore. Most pretty much say the same thing but I thought I would share some of the postings with my readers.

The iBookstore still doesn’t have a complete catalog of e-books. Amazon’s Kindle store has a far better selection. Plus in looking over the pricing in the top selling e-books in the iBookstore most of the prices are all $12.99 or more. There are not a lot of e-books in the $9.99 range. I actually don’t have a problem with the iBookstore. I enjoy reading e-books in both the iBook app or the Kindle app.

Here are the links to several interesting articles on the iBook store -

TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog had a good article called - ‘The iBookstore Six Months After Launch One Big Failure’

appadvice - had a good article called - ‘Report: E-Books Use Is Growing’

9 To 5 Mac - had a article called - ‘Little action at Apple’s iBookstore’

Would George Washington Chop a Penguin?

Penguin Publishing strikes again! The diabolical high priced e-book publisher just released another high profile e-book at an outrageous price; ‘Washington: A Life’ by Ron Chernow, is currently priced at $19.99 on all major e-book retailers. Not sure what to say about this except I won’t be buying this e-book. I am not sure what Penguin Publishing is trying to prove to their customers by these outlandish e-book prices. In my case they have just driven a huge wedge between me and their product offerings including their non-e-book products.

I was also a little disheartened last week to see that the other high profile Penguin Publisher’s release “Fall of the Giant” by Ken Follett had made its way on several top ten e-book lists. However as of right now it has fallen from somewhere around the #7 top spot on Amazon’s Best Selling Kindle e-books to now #12. Over on the iBook Store Top Charts it is listed at #7. So even though I am disappointed in seeing author Follett’s e-book not reaching its true potential, I am at least glad to see that Penguin can’t crow about record sales for this miss priced tome. Overall I am shocked that people would purchase an e-book at the price of $19.99, especially if they could get the hardcover cheaper. But I guess to each their own. Anyone have any insight into Penguin Publishing’s madness?

Principals or Cross the Line - Help Me Decide

Help! I have a dilemma. Oh it isn’t anything bad but I would like your opinion and help in deciding what I should do. There is an e-book I have wanted to read for awhile now but I have been sticking to my ‘I won’t purchase an e-book over $9.99’ principle. The book in question is ‘1812: The War of 1812‘ by Walter R. Borneman. The dilemma is this e-book is priced at $10.99. A dollar over what I vowed I would never pay. It is also important to know that the paperback at Amazon is selling for $10.87 so it is cheaper then the e-book, plus the book was originally published in 2004 so it it an older book.

I am very interested in the war of 1812. I have read several other books on the subject but understand that Mr. Borneman is considered a pretty good source on the subject. I have several other e-books to read (see my last post) so I am not desperate for something new to read. I had just saw that the e-book price had dropped for this particular e-book and for a dollar more I can either cross over the line I had drawn in the sand against the greedy e-book publishers or keep my buck and just read something already on my to read list. Perhaps I should just finish my fiction e-book ‘1812’ by David Nevin and just stick to my principals.

So help me decide. Stick to my principals or cross the line I have drawn in the virtual sand! Take my poll or leave me a comment and let me know!

E-books Waiting in the Wings for Me to Read

I am swimming in e-books to read. Now for me that isn’t a bad thing. I like to have several books waiting for me in the wings to dive into once finished with another. I also like to read several books at the time. 

Here is a list of the e-books I have purchased and are waiting for me to read over the next several months.

• 1812 by David Nevin
• Into the Unknown: Leadership Lessons from Lewis and Clark’s Daring Westward Expedition by Jack Uldrich
• Hamilton’s Curse: How Jefferson’s Arch Enemy Betrayed the American Revolution by Thomas Dilorenzo
• Liberty and Tyranny: A Conservative Manifesto by Mark R. Levin
• Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln’s Legacy by David O. Stewart
• Climategate: A Veteran Meteorologist Exposes the Global Warming Scam by Brian Sussman
• Moonrise by Ben Bova
• The Fairest Portion of the Globe by Frances Hunter

What are the books you have queued up to read?

Penguin Slaps ‘Giants’ with Horrendous E-book Price

The 'Agency Model’ pricing has hit again! Yesterday looking through the Apple iBook store I came across Ken Follett’s new release ‘Fall of Giants’ and noticed that good old Penguin Publishing / Dutton Adult has slapped a giant price of $19.99 for the e-book  release. Shocked that such a well known author’s most current book would be priced so outrageously I checked Amazon, and what do you know $19.99 too. Barnes and Noble also has the pre-release price set for $19.99. At Amazon the e-book price is actually more then the hardcover price ($19.40)! Borders is listing only the hardcover of the book with no pre-order for the e-book listed.

The Amazon forums, on the Kindle page, for the book is bursting with upset readers. Which I don’t blame them. It is such an over the top price for an e-book. The book comes in at 1008 standard print pages but still that shouldn’t warrant such a high e-book price.

The hardcover and e-book is scheduled for release on September 28th, 2010. At least we are getting a same date hardcover / e-book release date, but I for one will be skipping this book in both formats. Shame on you Penguin Publishing / Dutton Adult!

iPhone App that Helps Me ‘Read More’

I wanted to take a moment and share this iPhone app I found called ‘Read More’ by Naval Labs. In short this app allows you to time how much you have read of a book and track it. The app is simple in design and easy to use, you simply enter in the name of the book you are reading and the author and add the number of pages in the book (yes you can add Kindle pages here as well) then hit the start reading button. When you have read as much as you can for that amount of read time you hit the stop reading button and it records how long you read and how long at your current rate it will take you to finish the book. Simple. I love this app. I use it all the time when I am reading now. Below is a sample of the reading log the app generated for me, and yes not all of them all e-books I have to admit...or were they?

I am not getting paid for talking about this app at all. I am just a user who likes it and wanted to share it with my readers. Here is the link to the app on the Apple iTunes store -  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/readmore/id353047317?mt=8

5 E-books I Would Have Purchased if the Price Had Been Right

I have been pretty much sticking to my guns when it comes to purchasing any e-book  that is priced over $9.99. I almost pulled the trigger when it came to the Mary Roach e-book ‘Packing for Mars’ but luckily at the last minute Amazon priced the book properly.

Here is a list of 5 books I would have purchased, or will purchase, if the prices come down to a reasonable level.

• ‘Dune - 40th Anniversary Edition’ - by Frank Herbert - this book is currently priced at $13.99. There have been many reports on the Amazon forums that this edition is still filled with spelling errors and missing sentences and paragraphs. At this price I will for sure stay away!
• ‘The Shroud Codex’ - by Jerome R. Corsi -  this book has hung at the $12.99 price since its release. Sorry publishers, I don’t buy $12.99 e-books!
• ‘Henry Clay - The Essential American’ - by David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler - I really want to read this book but I refuse to pay the Amazon set price of $16.50. This would be my next read if only the price came down.
• ‘Black Hills: A Novel’ - by Dan Simmons - I enjoy reading any of Dan Simmons books. This one I have held out on not just because of the $12.99 price but when it was first released it was held back from being e-book released for a few months to maximize hardcover sales. I vowed not to purchase the book no matter what, just on principle. Publishers should realize there are a lot of other books people can read and even a readers loyalty to an author has its limits. Sorry Dan, hopefully your next release will be more e-book friendly.
• ‘The Dark Design - Book 3 of the Riverworld Series’ - by Phillip Jose Farmer - I have read this series once and have been on my second go around but I REFUSE to pay $9.99 for a book written in the 70’s, be it a classic or not. OUTRAGEOUS!

What e-books are you not buying due to publisher greed?

Guest Blog by Ben Brown

When I started this blog I wanted to make sure I included other voices to my usual rants about e-books and give guest bloggers a chance to weigh in. My first guest blogger is Ben Brown. Ben lives in Australia and is about to have his first book published by AKW Books. The book's title is 'Enhanced' and will be be released in e-book format hopefully in the next couple of months.  Sample pages of 'Enchanced' can be found at http://bensbook.weebly.com/. Ben can be followed on Twitter @beninoz. 

Thanks Ben for doing a guest blog for me, and the best of luck with your upcoming book release!

Guest Blog - 

By Ben Brown -

A while back I started a discussion on http://bookblogs.ning.com in regard to eBooks and their place within today’s book market. I must say I was surprised by the level of response.

I have read on many websites that the eBook and the iPad will be the great champion of the publishing industry. However, looking at the responses to the eBook discussion, I would say that these sites have overestimated the impact of the iPad on the book industry.

I would agree that the eBook may find a larger place within the mainstream market because of the iPad. It may even do for books what iTunes has done for music, but I think it will take time. I still think that the good old fashioned paperback will win out for most people in the end.

Based on the responses made by the book lovers on bookblogs, most people still like the feel of a book in their hands. I think the pleasure felt by an individual as they browse through a good book store, feeling the books as they pick them up to read the cover, will be hard to beat. My wife even loves the smell of a new book. No eBook can compete with that!

I am a great lover of the eBook, don’t get me wrong. I first discovered them back in the mid-nineties. I have dyslexia and until I bought my first computer and connected to the internet, I struggled with reading. The internet offered me a place to learn, and read at my own pace. One of the consequences of my dyslexia was, I always found going into a book shop or a library very daunting. Then I discovered the Gutenberg Project.   This site opened up a whole world of literature to me, and I have not looked back. I personally love the benefit of having hundreds of eBooks on a relatively small digital device, in my case a Kobo. For this reason, I think the eBook may find a niche market for people who travel or wish to have a full library with them at all times. I love the fact that I don’t need to leave the house to buy a good book. I simply go online and choose from the millions of titles available to me.

I frequently hunt for books on the net; as a result, I have noticed many small e-publishers springing up. Most seem to be pinning their hopes on the eBook and the iPad. I wonder if these companies will still be here next year. I think most may fold. That being said, there are many great e-publishers out there who offer new authors an opportunity that ordinarily, they would not get. I have read many amazing books that simply would never have seen the light of day if it wasn’t for e-publishing. E-publishing offers a small but vital service to both readers and authors.

Whilst I think the iPad will have an impact on increasing eBook sales. I also believe Apple have made the epub file format too hard for the average author and small publisher to produce. My book ‘Enhanced’ has been picked up by an e-publisher, AKW Books. I discussed with them whether or not my book would be available through the iBook store. When they explained the costs involved in placing their publications on iBooks, it soon became apparent that it simply wasn’t viable for them. At least not until iBooks represent a larger share of the market. 

Another reason I think the eBook will take some time to catch on, is the price. Most books are far too expensive. Once the book has been created all that is needed is a small amount of space on a server, there are no further production costs or shipping costs what so ever. In spite of this many eBooks from mainstream authors are only a few dollars less than their paperback counterparts. This is clearly a rip-off. In my opinion, there is no reason for any eBook to cost more than ten dollars, and in most cases, much less.

In conclusion, I think the paperback and hardback is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. However, the eBook has a small but important place in today’s market. What do you think?

Pack for Mars and Head to Amazon for a Great E-book Deal

Quick! Before it is to late! For all of us $9.99 e-book screamers, Amazon has a great deal on a new e-book that is sure to be a great end of summer read. Author Mary Roach’s ‘Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void’ is currently priced at $9.99 for the Kindle at Amazon. This is a GREAT deal since the Apple iBook store currently has the book priced at $12.99 and Barnes and Noble has it at $14.27. I couldn’t kind the book available from Borders.

I have read Roach’s book ‘Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers’ and it was a fantastic read. Roach emerges herself in the worlds she is researching and does it with flare. I can’t wait to read this newest release especially at the $9.99 price!

UPDATE - 8/27/10
I just finished this e-book and I really enjoyed it. As usual Roach's writing style draws the reader in as she asks questions most would be ashamed or afraid to ask. If you are at all interested in learning about how 'we' can live in space and make a round trip to Mars then this is the book you should read.

Remember, Amazon is selling this e-book for $9.99 which is one of the best e-book prices around!!

Insane Pricing Forces Author to Gain Back Book Rights*

Several years ago browsing the aisle of Barnes and Noble I ran across a book title that caught my eye. It was classified as christian fiction, which I don’t normally read, but the title, and the overall idea of the book made me purchase it (yes this is when I use to purchased hardcover books). The book is titled ‘In His Image - (The Christ Clone Trilogy Book 1) by James BeauSeigneur. The book was an excellent read and I enjoyed it.

Flash forward a couple of years later and I realized I never finished out the trilogy but saw books 2 and 3 were available for my Kindle at $9.99 or under. I read both ‘Birth of an Age - (The Christ Clone Trilogy, Book 2)’, and ‘Acts of God - (The Christ Clone Trilogy, Book 3)’ and again enjoyed the fast paced original story of this series but this time in e-book format. Even if you don’t like christian fiction I can recommend these books as good old fashion thrillers and even disaster type books, but to each his own. I liked the books.

Now warp speed to last week when I was searching the Apple iBook store I happened to run across ‘In His Image’ in ebook format, however, I was shocked at what I found. The e-book was priced at $19.99 with the publisher being FaithWords and the Seller being Hachette Book Group. The second book was also priced at $19.99 but the third book was strangely priced at $16.99. I thought great more crazy greedy publisher pricing. I sent an email to Hachette Book Group with my dismay about their pricing and received an email back that just said ‘sorry you don’t like our pricing, thanks for writing’. Then I decided to try and write the author, James BeauSeigneur, and see if he was aware that his books were insanely priced.

After a few days I received a very nice email back from Mr. BeauSeigneur telling me he was aware of the pricing and that he is currently in the process of retaining the rights of his books back to himself and that the books would be published by him with new pricing and new cover art sometime in the near future.

It is nice to see that an author is willing to take back the rights to his work and try and sell them to his readers at a reasonable price. I can only imagine the lost revenue the author has had due to the publishers poor pricing of his works. Hopefully this move with stir other authors to do the same. Of course I have NO real insight into why the publisher had these books set at their current prices and exactly why the author is getting the rights back. I am sure there is more to the story then what I see on the surface. However, the bottom line is score one for the consumer. Hopefully this action will make publishers sit up and take notice that outrageous pricing doesn’t sit well with their customers and ultimately their creators (authors).

*note - my sensational headline is just a guess on my part. I needed a catchy headline :-)

Go Ahead, Blame Me for Barnes and Noble Going Up For Sale

This weeks news that Barnes and Noble has been placed up for sale is a bit disturbing, but I guess I am fully to blame. Since the release of the first Kindle I don’t think I have purchased one paper book. I still enjoy going into Barnes and Noble and other large bookstores but I usually only purchase magazines or blu-ray discs (I am starting to buy more digital videos now) when I am there. I do scan the isles for future e-book purchases but don’t purchase any of the paper books. It isn’t that I don’t like paper books. I do. I love the feel of them and the smell but I have come to the point where it is easier for me to read books on my iPad, iPhone, or Kindle.

The publishing and bookstore industry should have been ready for this day. However it doesn’t appear any lessons were learned from the music and video industries. And even if they did I am not sure they could stop, what I am sure is to come. 

I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and over the last several years we have seen Tower Records and Virgin Records both go out of business. I would really hate to see either Barnes and Noble or Borders go out of business. But, like the book stores, in both cases with Tower Records and Virgin, I would visit the stores often but would never make a purchase. I haven’t purchased a CD in many many years. So I guess I am also to blame for the demise of the music stores too.

I am not sure what can be done. Maybe the bookstores can offer the e-book version of a book along with the physical book. I wouldn’t mind actually owning the paper book along with electronic book. Or maybe they can offer a deeper discount if say you bring your digital book reader into the store and make a purchase. What won’t work is only offering the paper book or jacking up the e-book price. I have an entire list of e-books I have currently passed on due to the higher ‘agency model’ pricing. The publishing and bookstore industries really need to step outside the box in order to survive in our digital age. Any other ideas you can think of to help keep the bookstores alive? In the meantime you can blame me for the demise of the music and book stores vanishing around the world. I guess all I can say is, sorry, but only e-books for me!

Did A Naked Hamilton God Grant Me An $8.99 E-book Bargain?

Did I find an e-book bargain? I think I did. Last night I was searching around in the Apple iBooks store and ran across Peter Hamilton’s ‘The Night’s Dawn Trilogy’, which includes ‘The Reality Dysfunction’, ‘The Neutronium Alchemist’, and ‘The Naked God’. The price for all 3 books in one e-book? Are you sitting down? $8.99!!!!! The price for each book alone in e-book format is $9.99!!! OUCH!

At first I didn’t believe my good fortune but I downloaded the e-book and gave it a quick scan through and sure enough all 3 books are indeed within this one trilogy edition! A quick check of Barnes and Noble and Amazon and neither have this fantastic deal listed. However Borders e-book store does have it for the same price as the Apple iBooks store!

I know nothing about this trilogy except many of my hardcore science fiction friends were shocked that I hadn’t read the books yet! Looks like I have a lot of reading ahead of me but at least I a got a bargain! See publishers, if you price things reasonably, you can make customers happy and sell e-books!

Penguin Publishing Shrugs off Rand Customers with E-book Pricing

I think it was last summer, I was waiting and waiting for Ayn Rand’s book ‘Atlas Shrugged’ to make its way into e-book form. If I remember right, I think it showed up on the Barnes and Noble site first but their iPhone ebook app wasn’t the greatest at that time and I really wanted to have the e-book in Kindle form. My patience was reward and it did finally arrive and Amazon priced it at 9.99 so I quickly grabbed it. I wanted to find out what all this ‘Going Galt’ talk was all about. Now, this post isn’t really a review but the book is awesome and has a lot of meaning for our society today. It is well worth a read. What this post is really about is the current e-book pricing for ‘Atlas Shrugged’!

Once the ‘Agency Model’ hit it seems like Penguin Publishing decided it wanted to punish it customers and make the price of e-books ridiculous! The price for ‘Atlas Shrugged’ at one time was REALLY outrageous, I can’t remember exactly what it was, but the current price is still way out of line at 18.99 on Amazon. What is really strange is that Amazon is selling the paperback at 14.87 and even has a mass market paperback for 9.99! I even think Amazon pulled it at one point for awhile.

There has to be a reason for pricing this insane. I just can’t believe that Penguin is that unreasonable in pricing on their e-books. If anyone has any knowledge or insight into this issue please leave a comment.

A quick check on the Apple iBooks, Barnes and Noble, and Borders e-books stores show the same set pricing at 18.99. Come on Penguin don’t shrug off your customers e-book dollars!

One last note, the other night I received an email from Amazon that there was an updated version of the e-book that would be pushed to my Kindle. Supposedly with corrections. I am still glad I didn’t have to pay 18.99 for it!

A Trip to 'Mars' on my iPad E-Book Style

One of the first e-books I read on my iPad (using the Kindle app) was Ben Bova's excellent book detailing the first man mission to Mars, titled simply, 'Mars'. One of the things I loved most about this read was all the technology details that Bova has injected into the story. Everything made scientific sense (to a point) and the overall plot kept me interested.

'Mars' is one of a trilogy of books - 'Mars', 'Return to Mars' and 'Mars Life'. Over the next several weeks I will focus a bit on each of the sequels. 'Mars' is also one of several planet books that Bova has written in 'The Grand Tour' books series. I will also focus a bit on the overall maddening part of the 'Grand Tour' books is that you can't get them all in e-book format, yet. There seems to be NO reasoning to why certain books haven't been released and others have. In fact on Ben Bova's site he has a chronological order in which he suggests the books should be read. You don't have to read them in the order he suggests, he states so himself, but it sure would be nice to have access to all them.

The book is currently priced at 7.99 on Amazon. which for this book is probably just a little bit high since it is available in paperback at 7.13. What is really strange is that Amazon has set the price for this book and the paperback price has been set by the publisher Rosetta Books. This might have something to do with the lack of various others books from the series. If anyone has any insights please leave a comment. The e-book isn't available on the Apple iBook, Barnes and Noble, or Border e-books stores.

Overall I highly recommend 'Mars' if you enjoy having real science interjected into your science fiction. The characters are pretty well fleshed out and the overall plot keeps the pages turning.

Publishers Need to Think Different

When thinking on how the book publishing industry seems to be marching down the same path that the music and video industry has in regards to digital media, it reminded me of an interview I had heard with author Seth Godin. Len Edgerly of the great podcasts and blogs The Kindle Chronicles and The Reading Edge interviewed Mr. Godin and got him to briefly discuss an entire new take on how the publishing industry should be responding to the new digital age. The interview was done in February of 2010 right after the iPad was announced. It is an excellent interview. The views on the publishing industry come later in the conversation so hang in there and listen to the entire podcast.

The podcast can be downloaded directly from The Reading Edge site here or by doing a search in iTunes.

All of Len Edgerly's podcasts are excellent and a must listen if your a kindle or e-book fan in general.

Must Read e-book - To the Ends of the Earth: The Last Journey of Lewis & Clark

I wanted to share a great e-book I read several months ago.

I am a huge Lewis and Clark fan and had enjoyed reading about their grand adventure in Stephen Ambrose's 'Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West'. I was looking for other books on Lewis and Clark when I stumbled upon Frances Hunter's 'To the Ends of the Earth: The Last Journey of Lewis & Clark'. The book merges history and fiction to help fill in the blanks of what happen to Lewis and Clark once they returned home from their 2 year adventure across the uncharted United States. The book is a great read and moves along at a quick pace. The characters are fully fleshed out and we get a new insight into what happened to Lewis and Clark in their later years. If you enjoy reading historical fiction this is a must read.

The e-book is available on Amazon (see link below),  and Apple's iBook store for 4.99. I found the e-book for 3.89 on the Borders e-book store. Also discovered it on the Barnes and Noble site for .99 cents! As much as I am price sensitive in regards to e-books and love a deal the .99 cent price is just to inexpensive for this book. The book is well worth the 4.99 on Amazon or the iBook store.

Macmillan Price Gouge on Old Classic Sci-fi series

Author Philip Jose Farmer is probably best known for his famous Riverworld series of books. The series consists of - ‘To Your Scattered Bodies Go’ (1971), ‘The Fabulous Riverboat’ (1971), ‘The Dark Design’ (1977), ‘The Magic Labyrinth’ (1980), and ‘Gods of Riverworld’ (1983). ‘Riverworld and Other Stories’ (1979) was not part of the original Riverworld series but a free standing collection of short stories set in Riverworld. The basis of the books are that all of humanity, give or take a few, have been resurrected in an alien world along a seemingly endless river.

I have enjoyed the books and am now on my second reading of the series. However I have found that it is a bit difficult to get the books in e-book format. Since the ‘Agency Model’ has taken over, Macmillan Publishing has decided to slowly release this series of books in the e-book format but price them outrageously for books that were published in the early 70’s and 80’s. Macmillan has taken the first two books and combined them into one e-book called Riverworld and has priced it at 9.99. Which to be fair isn’t to bad of a price since you are getting two books for one. However the third book, ‘The Dark Design,' has been priced as a stand alone e-book at 9.99 which is outrageous for a book that was published in 1977! The remainder of the books are not currently available in e-book format but ‘The Magic Labyrinth’ is set to be released on November 9, 2010, again for 9.99. I have not seen anything mentioned on release dates for the last book in the series.

Pricing and releasing e-books in this manner is in my opinion a slap to the consumer. I am not sure what the real reasoning is behind the price gouging for this long time science fiction classic but I refuse to pay these prices for books originally published that long ago! I guess there are several questions to ask. Why would Macmillan take this tack with this series of books? Is it a test to see how much a customer will pay for an old classic science fiction series like this? Are they trying to build a hype around the e-book? Are we going to see more classic science fiction books priced like this? Hopefully the customers will stand strong against this type of tactic and as much as I hate to say but refuse to buy this series of e-books and any others priced like it.

The combination ‘To Your Scattered Bodies Go’ and ‘The Fabulous Riverboat’ e-book called ‘Riverworld’ and ‘The Dark Design’ can be found on Amazon, the Apple iBook store, and Barnes and Noble. For some reason only ‘The Dark Design’ is for sale on the Borders site. The price is 9.99 on all sites per the standard new ‘Agency Model’ the publishers have slapped on us consumers.

Welcome to My New Blog

I know. Why another blog about e-books? Well first off I wanted a place where I could expose some of the current shocking publishers ebook pricing (thank you ‘Agency Model’). Second I wanted a place to share my love of e-books, or rather the experience of reading and having e-books with me wherever I go.

It has been about 2 years since I got my first Kindle and since then I haven’t purchased one ‘real’ book. Now I need to say that I am a HUGE book lover. HUGE! But after using the Kindle, my iPhone, and iPad to read e-books I have discovered what I really love is READING. The book has a long tradition, but really, when you think about it, the book is just a method of giving a reader the experience of reading words an author has given to a reader to read. So, no matter how a reader gets the authors words should be an acceptable medium. Well acceptable as long as the authors words haven’t been changed.

I urge the readers of this blog to help me rat out the current schizophrenic marketing practices many of major publishers are forcing upon us consumers of e-books. So...lets get started!