Guardian: Penguin boss has no problem with ebooks

kjk · 07-30-2010, 05:38 PM

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2...akinson-ebooks

Quote:

"You have to give the consumer what the consumer wants – you can't tell the consumer to go away. So we didn't participate in this experiment where a number of publishers deferred publication of the ebook until a certain number of months after the hardcover publication. I thought that was a very bad idea. If the consumer wants to buy a book in an electronic format now, you should let the consumer have it."

Pretty cool, he owns a bookshop:

Quote:

"We are all terribly sentimental about books," Makinson insists. "It is terribly important to me that we sell lots of wonderful books in my little independent in Norfolk, and when I talk about digital I do sometimes worry that it looks as though I am neglecting all this," he points to the books on the shelves behind him, "which I am not."

fjtorres · 07-30-2010, 06:04 PM

eBooks only account for 1% of Penguin sales?
Golly gee!
I wonder why!

A convert? yeah. Right.

vaughnmr · 07-30-2010, 06:13 PM

He's also the person responsible for forcing high prices on ebooks.

phenomshel · 07-30-2010, 06:45 PM

If this guy truly believes in ebooks, he needs to shut up and put up. Actions speak louder than words. He does have a point though - I'm still seriously ticked off at Simon and Schuster over the four month delay thing.

J. Strnad · 07-30-2010, 06:59 PM

Somehow the owner of a bookstore doesn't seem like the most credible booster of ebooks.

sabredog · 07-30-2010, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vaughnmr

He's also the person responsible for forcing high prices on ebooks.

As well as geo restrictions

Kali Yuga · 07-30-2010, 09:28 PM

Wow, you people are bitter.

jgaiser · 07-30-2010, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kali Yuga

Wow, you people are bitter.

You think...?

fjtorres · 07-30-2010, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kali Yuga

Wow, you people are bitter.

http://www.teleread.com/2010/06/02/p...-store-prices/

Penguin backcatalog ebooks at $27.99 *might* have something to do with it.

AlexBell · 07-31-2010, 04:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sabredog

As well as geo restrictions

And the lousy formatting.

Regards, Alex

HarryT · 07-31-2010, 04:20 AM

A bit harsh. I have a number of "Penguin Classics" eBooks, and they are all very good indeed, and not unreasonably priced.

AlexBell · 07-31-2010, 04:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

A bit harsh. I have a number of "Penguin Classics" eBooks, and they are all very good indeed, and not unreasonably priced.

Quite right, Harry. I should have written 'And the lousy formatting in the two ePenguin books I have bought' It's a 100% score, but a very small sample.

Regards, Alex

charleski · 07-31-2010, 08:10 AM

I suspect Penguin may have changed the technicians they use for creating ebooks. A recent Penguin ebook I bought (The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim) is far better-produced and lacks the monstrous ~40kB css file found in older efforts.

shall1028 · 07-31-2010, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fjtorres

http://www.teleread.com/2010/06/02/p...-store-prices/

Penguin backcatalog ebooks at $27.99 *might* have something to do with it.

It would seem that either a) teleread confused a 2 and a 1 or b) the prices have dropped since the June date of the teleread story.

Currently Atlas Shrugged and Fountainhead Kindle editions are listed at $17.99.

fjtorres · 07-31-2010, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shall1028

It would seem that either a) teleread confused a 2 and a 1 or b) the prices have dropped since the June date of the teleread story.

Currently Atlas Shrugged and Fountainhead Kindle editions are listed at $17.99.

The story ran elsewhere: It *was* $27.99.
Still, even at $17.99 it is a rip-off.
Even $7.99 is pushing it; we're talking 60-70 year old stuff, this cow has been milked enough.

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07-30-2010, 06:04 PM	#2
fjtorres Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,732 Karma: 128354696 Join Date: May 2009 Location: 26 kly from Sgr A* Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000	eBooks only account for 1% of Penguin sales? Golly gee! I wonder why! A convert? yeah. Right.

07-30-2010, 06:13 PM	#3
vaughnmr Ebook Reader Posts: 605 Karma: 3205128 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Texas Device: Kindle 3, HTC Evo, HTC View	He's also the person responsible for forcing high prices on ebooks.

07-30-2010, 06:45 PM	#4
phenomshel ZCD BombShel Posts: 4,793 Karma: 8293322 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: The Frozen North (aka Illinois, USA) Device: iPad, STB Kindle Oasis	If this guy truly believes in ebooks, he needs to shut up and put up. Actions speak louder than words. He does have a point though - I'm still seriously ticked off at Simon and Schuster over the four month delay thing.

07-30-2010, 06:59 PM	#5
J. Strnad Guru Posts: 915 Karma: 3537194 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kobo, Kindle 3, Paperwhite	Somehow the owner of a bookstore doesn't seem like the most credible booster of ebooks.

07-30-2010, 09:28 PM	#7
Kali Yuga Professional Contrarian Posts: 2,045 Karma: 3289631 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kindle 4 No Touchie	Wow, you people are bitter.

07-31-2010, 04:20 AM	#11
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	A bit harsh. I have a number of "Penguin Classics" eBooks, and they are all very good indeed, and not unreasonably priced.

07-31-2010, 08:10 AM	#13
charleski Wizard Posts: 1,196 Karma: 1281258 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: PRS-505	I suspect Penguin may have changed the technicians they use for creating ebooks. A recent Penguin ebook I bought (The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim) is far better-produced and lacks the monstrous ~40kB css file found in older efforts.

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