e-books

Second Helpings from ReadTheseLips.com is their new e-anthology available as a free PDF download. To celebrate the launch, a photo contest for most amusing/unusual picture featuring Second Helpings is on now till 31 July 2008.

Aside from flashy 3D displays, the other big draw for fans of future tech at Display 2008 in April was electronic paper in at least 57 flavor-packed varieties.

The products on show could be split, approximately, into two barely separate categories – those that are already on sale and those that are jockeying for contracts from firms big enough to make or break them.

Three Percent reviews the Zinio service, which is giving away more than 100 classics on their site. "Zinio people think providing a thrice-removed, hollowed-out shell of a familiar experience will drive people to start using their service gives you some idea of how far the Zinio people are from understanding the future of e-books."

Okay, so e-books save trees, but what about the non-biodegradable plastic and batteries? And yes, paper books degrade and damage easily, but will your e-book reader stand the test of time? Blogger Sam Houston has a rebuttal for each argument author Lisa Logan puts forth on the advantages of e-books over the real McCoy. What side of the fence are you on?

It seems the much derided Kindle is doing something right, if only by increasing e-book awareness. Publishers report a rise in the double digits for e-book sales since the launch of the Kindle. Could it be that this reader actually is the answer to the e-book’s woes? Does it mark the beginning of a continuing trend in e-book popularity?

“Are you buying a crippled license to intellectual property when you download, or are you buying an honest-to-God book?” Good question. The answer is no…and yes.

OverDrive, one of the main suppliers of audio content to libraries and other institutions, is adding DRM-free titles to its catalog, and going direct-to-consumer.

Penguin USA will launch a line of enhanced e-book classics this May, beginning with Pride and Prejudice. The new e-books, which will be compatible with all e-book devices, will feature an array of features, including a filmography, period book reviews, recipes and black-and-white illustrations. Price will be the same as the print edition, $8.

Now that audiobook publishers are backing off from DRM–Penguin appears ready to follow Random House—isn’t it time for this to happen on the e-book side?

Five points to ponder.

In this exhibit, you can read online the complete text of books that have won major literary prizes, like the Newbery Award, the Nobel Prize, and the Pulitzer Prize. The books listed below are either out of copyright (at least in the US), or are online with the permission of the copyright holder.