Printing Books On Demand

It’s really annoying to go to the book store and discover that they don’t carry the book you wanted to buy.  Some retailers like B&N let you check their inventory on-line (though it’s not always accurate) but that just saves you a wasted a trip and still forces you to wait for an on-line retailer to ship you what you wanted (meaning you might have to pay extra for shipping charges). eBooks have alleviated this annoyance for me, but not when a book isn’t available in eBook form or it’s contents (such as a picture book or coffee table book) don’t translate well to the small-screen, black & white world of 1st gen eBook devices.

So I’ve been very interested in The Espresso Book Machine since I heard about it some time ago. This “print on demand” machine is capable of taking a PDF and printing and binding a book (”library quality paperbacks… identical to factory made books”) within a matter of minutes. I had to be expensive, so it’s not something just anybody would pick up for personal use.  But purchased as part of a business, think of the possibilities…

• Small bookstores could compete with the big chains and even e-tailers like Amazon
• Books would never go out of print (and out of print books would be back)
• Large print & foreign language would finally be as easy to get as their mainstream versions
• Independent authors can walk in and print affordable copies of their work

The roadblock here, as with everything else in the world of books, is the publishers. On Demand Books, the company licensing the hardware, is already working with LSI (a subsidiary of the world’s largest wholesale distributor of books) to bring copyrighted works to the device’s catalog, but I have yet to find any information on-line about was exactly is currently available. The Boston Globe does say that “85,000 book titles from major publishers like Simon & Schuster and McGraw-Hill [are currently] available to Espresso machines”, but also quotes On Demand Book’s chief executive as saying “it’s taken us longer than we expected to get publishers to share their catalog”.

I would say there should be no question about publishers wanting to make their content available via The Espresso Book Machine, but with the way so many of them are dragging their feet with eBooks, I now consider common sense in the publishing world a rarity.

I Really Like My eBook Reader, But…

I really like my Sony eBook reader, but I won’t deny that I sometimes find myself thinking “I’d like to have this book sitting on a shelf” or “this would be a fun book to thumb through randomly” or most commonly “I wish I could set this thing on the floor and not worry about the kids stepping on it or throwing it across the room”.

I have yet to buy an eBook since I received my reader. I’ve stuck to free eBooks such as public domain works (70+ years since the author died) and relatively new books released free in electronic form by publishers (also, THIS HANDSOME FRIEND OF MINE utilizes the questionable practice of downloading pirated eBooks off the Internet because “it’s barely different than checking out a physical book from the library”).

The problem with buying eBooks is that they’re rarely/barely cheaper than a paperback (they’re usually cheaper than a hardcover if you’re buying from the Kindle Store or Sony eBook Store). Why should I pay more for a digital copy that costs nothing to make and barely pennies to send? This is not a problem with the technology, this is 100% a problem with the publishers. I think eBooks should cost around $5.  That’s enough of a savings for more people to say “Ok, I’m giving up some of the convenience/aesthetic of a paper book, but the convenience of an eBook coupled with this great price makes it totally worth it”.

It addition to simply lowering eBook prices (which is undeniably a no-brainer), I really think we need to see bundle prices for buying a paper book and its eBook version together.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:

Publishers should include a DRM-free eBook version with every paper book they sell.

They won’t do this for some time I’m sure. Why do that when your most loyal, dedicated fans might pay you twice to have the book in two formats?  I think it would be smart for publishers, as it would increase the sale of paper books, which they seem to prefer selling over eBooks despite the increased profit margins and easier (ie. nonexistent) distribution models for them.

I do expect the publishers will get in line eventually and start making the improvements we’re asking for (lower prices, no DRM, bundle discounts for getting paper book and eBook together).  I’m just impatient.

My Sony PRS-505 eBook Reader Review

(Photo used with permission of Flickr user danielhermes.)

I’ve had my Sony PRS-505 Reader Digital Book for a week now, and feel like I’m qualified to share some thoughts on it.

The Brown Dandy

Last night Conan O’Brien hosted his first episode of The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien. When I was teenager, my friends and I regularly watched Late Night With Conan O’Brien. Some of his sketches and jokes became long-term parts of our vernacular.

My first car, The Brown Dandy, got its name from a a short set of clips that I found to be particularly funny. I can’t find a video of it anywhere on-line, but the Krunk.org Conan-OBrien Archive has video captures, descriptions, and quotes for the episode :

I COULD Be LESS Of A Bibliophile

It’s no secret I’m a big fan of ebooks, digital publishing, and electronic paper (E Ink) technology. My friend Nathan makes it no secret that he’s not a fan of these things (at least not as a direct alternative to real, paper books). It took me a little while, but I’ve come to understand and respect his appreciation for the heft of the book, the feel of the paper, and the turn of the page (not the smell though; sorry Nathan).  But I still think that for me at least, the benefits (and overall gadgety coolness) of ereaders outweigh for whatever experience enhancers come along with physical books (although I still see how ereader price can be a valid roadblock,and this isn’t to mention DRM which deserves and angry post all of its own).

And now I’ve actually bought an electronic paper device (a Sony PRS-505 to be exact) and I’m excited about continuing my love for science fiction as well as really starting to dig in to the classics. It took me a long time to decide what device was right for me (as well as to find a deal that would allow me to lower the high purchase prices).  I did most of my researching, pining, and venting at a wonderful community site called MobileRead.

And it was at MobileReads that I encountered a few people with a much higher tolerance for reading from a computer screen for hours than I have.  I once read an entire novel on my cell phone, and I’ve been known to spend a little down time at work catching up on an ebook already in progress on my computer monitor. But I’ve always wished I could be reading from a book or epaper device at these times.  There are people out there who haven’t picked up a paper book in years AND think the idea of epaper is ridiculous. They read books on their laptops or their iPhones or their netbooks for hours at a time, and never desire something a little less buzzing, visually nosy, or easier on the eyes.  I don’t mean to mock them here, for as long as they’re happy with the medium and enjoying the story, they’re doing something better than the legions of people in today’s world who simply have no desire to read. But the next time I feel a little like I’ve abandoned the purity of literature by shunning the simple pleasure of turning some pages, I’ll remember these digital warriors who are even less picky about how their words are delivered to their eyes than I am.

Only 53% of Publishers Have Ebook Plans

I was shocked to read that of 158 pulbishers at the London Book Fair, only 84 of them had any plans for publishing their content as ebooks. It would be nice to see a list of the publishers surveyed and see how many of these were big publishers or obscure ones.  Not good news at all.

Make Your Own $300 High-Speed Book Scanner

The second biggest reason I haven’t bought an Amazon Kindle yet is that I don’t like paying for books (the first being that it’s an expensive gadget).  I don’t like paying for anything really, but books are something that’s particularly easy to get for free thanks to your local library.  That doesn’t mean libraries don’t hurt authors any more or less than pirating music reportedly hurts artists, but libraries are currently 100% legal (more, earlier thoughts on this here).  There are thriving e-book piracy communities on-line. One needs only to remove the DRM of a commercially purcahsed e-book (easier for some formats than others) or digitally scan the book manually and spend hours pouring through the OCR output for typos.  Then people like me can easily reap the rewards of their efforts.

So the third biggest reason I haven’t bought a Kindle yet is that whether you pay for e-books or pirate them for free, many titles simply aren’t available anywhere in electronic form. It would be incredibly frustrating to have just spent over $300 on a device to read books on only to have to obtain a physical copy of a book that isn’t availible electronically.

And that’s where Daniel Reetz’s $300 high-speed book scanner is a great step in the right direction.  Sure, at $300 you’d need to have a lot of non-electronic books you really wanted to read on your e-book device(s) or have a desire to serve the greater e-book community with your efforts. And you can’t just queue up a book and walk away; you have to turn the page after each 2-page snapshot it takes. But even then you’ll only be standing there a good 20 minutes for a normal length book.

I could really see myself taking the time and money required to build this if it meant I’d be releasing books from the shackles of the physical world and letting them loose in electronic form to the world. But sharing copyrighted materials like that is considered illegal.  Building this machine solely for personal use seems like too much work for too little reward.  It’s tempting to join the e-book piracy movement and become a major “content provider”, but I’m just not sure that that’s the best way to deal with publishers (and libraries) dragging their feet as demand for e-books grows.

Anyway, my hat goes off to Daniel Reetz and others like him who are making it an especially exciting time to be a bibliophile.

Hacking My Lamp and CFL Size Improvements (or Lack of Improvements)

Over a year ago I complained that our new torchiere lamp couldn’t hold two compact florescent lights at once, forcing us to always keep one standard incandescent light bulb in place.  Last week the latest incandescent bulb burned out after just over a month’s worth of use (as it’s our primary light source in the living room). While removing the dead bulb I noticed that the two sockets in the lamp were mounted to a long, rectangular piece of metal that was bent at an angle at each end. By bending the metal piece and less severe angles, I was able to all make enough room for two CFLs to both be screwed in at the same time. This brought the lights closer to the inside of the shade, but being CFLs they generate less heat and should be much less of a risk for damaging the shade or being a fire hazard.  Also, now neither bulb can be seen over the top of the shade from anywhere in the room.

We still can’t place a 150-watt equivalent CFL in the lamp (it was designed for two 150w incandescent bulbs), and instead have only two 100w CFLs now.  While 100w equivalent CFLs have gotten a little bit smaller in recent years, and 60w equivalent CFLs have gotten conciderably smaller (even smaller than incandescent bulbs), 150w equivalent CFLs are still HUGE.  Check out the pictures below to see what I mean.

A 60w equivalent CFL and a 60w incandescent bulb, and a A 100w equivalent CFL and a 100w incandescent bulb:

150-watt equivalent CFL and 150-watt incandescent bulb:

I wonder if there’s actually a technological limitation being hit here, or if the demand for 150w equivalent CFLs is just so low that no company is bothering to try to make them smaller.

Cedar Rapids “Bridge” Library Photos

Back in June, 2008, our city library was destoryed in a record breaking flood that damaged most of our downtown.  Since then the library has been operating out of its small, branch location at Westdale Mall.  A few months ago a second storefront was leased at the mall to house new materials, with a 3rd shortly after to provide computer and Internet access to patrons.  With the library’s long-term future unclear (for some reason it’s not nesecerilly going to return to the original building downtown, which has been gutted and stripped down to an empty shell) the board decided to obtain an economical space that could be mdoestly furnished to serve the library’s needs for up to five (I think) years.

On Monday the new “bridge” library opened in an old Osco storefront in Westdale mall.  The grand opening was today, and we were there taking some pictures.

The new library looks nice for a temporary space… except for one big draw: the floor.  I hate to mention this first, or even at all, because I understand why they didn’t refinish or carpet the entire floor. When you’re remodeling a space to only use it for a few years, and you’re on a limited budget, you don’t want to spend a lot of money on aesthetic improvements that you can’t take with you when you move.  New furniture, computers, lighting, etc. can all come to a permanent location someday; Not necessarily floor tiles.  And the library did spend some money on repairing floor tiles that really need it.

The floor is really a minor complaint… it just ruins the otherwise successful attempt to make the bridge library look new, innovative, and generally nice.

To get my other semi-complaint out of the way, the adult books section is crammed in the back of an unfinished side-room.  If we were talking about an “adult” adult book section I could maybe understand this.  But this is what a large portion of patrons are coming for.  Why don’t we get to spend our browsing time in the nicer parts of the library?  Also, this section is almost full.  Hopefully some of the vast empty spaces in the main library space are reserved to allow the adult collection to expand as well.

It’s clear there’s more work to be done elsewhere.  Sections that appear to have some function other than sitting empty… well, are sitting empty.  And lots of kids books are still sitting in boxes with no shelves in site for storing them.

The rest of the library is nice, with sitting areas, new carpet,  furniture, and light fixtures.

Overall, I’m happy with what the library has been able to create in a temporary location while we wait for a long-term solution. While far from perfect, the bridge library is a big improvement over the three separate storefronts being used since the flood, and it looks like it has enough space to re-grow the destroyed catalog until they move again. I’m looking forward to spending more time here with my family.

Movie Review – Coraline

Coraline is the second Neil Gaiman book I’ve had the pleasure of reading (the first being The Graveyard Book).  I loved the story, the atmosphere, the style, the heroine… it’s a very good little book.

So I went to the theater to see Coraline last night with great expectations.  I’d read some spoilerless reviews, and already had a general idea of some of the things certain people didn’t like about it.  Some complained that the animation and art direction was lifeless and/or cold. Others said the plot and pacing was boring and uninspired.  But for every one of these negative reviews I read nine that had generally high praise for the movie.  Having seen the movie, I definitely fall in to the praise section.

Beyond here be spoilers…