No e-book edition for new Stephen King thriller

[Debi]

Well, I'm feeling rather discriminated against since I use e books because of a print disability. I honestly thought we were making progress but attitudes like this seem to indicate I may be wrong.

I know Mr. King will receive 0 dollars from me now or in the future.

There are too many books on my TBR list which are available in e book form for me to waste my time and money on such a rude person.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by PeterT

How different is this from JK Rowling's and the Harry Potter books? Yes she now has them available in eBook format, but only many years after they were first released (and one could say, only after milking society for all she could on the hard-copy versions).

Rowling never brought up this clearly insensitive business about "sticks" in regard to her works.

[Ripplinger]

I didn't take what he said as rude at all, more along the lines of "get out and get some fresh air while supporting your local bookstore." Nothing more than that to me.

It's his right to do as he pleases with any books, but I'll also pass until it's available in ebook format though, I don't need more books taking up space around my already cluttered life. And as someone else already said, I bet it'll be scanned and uploaded to pirate sites inside of a month.

I doubt those of us passing on the book and the pirating of it will hurt sales enough that he'll even notice though.

[elemenoP]

The quote seems to imply that he is doing this so that people will go to their local bookstore. But if he really wanted to make that point, and support local bookstores, wouldn't he make the book NOT available from Amazon?

[JeremyR]

If there is one thing Stephen King likes more than the sound of his own voice, it's publicity.

That's all this is - a look at me, look at me stunt

[pidgeon92]

However, it is coming out in Audible as a digital audiobook. The pre-order is up already. Seems a bit hypocritical to me. Furthermore, the print edition is available from Amazon, making "going to a bookstore" a non-issue.

[MattW]

Originally Posted by afv011

Link

I'll be giving the book a miss.

So what? It's a novel in the tradition of the pulp novels of the 50s and it's published by a publisher specialising in exactly this kind of nostalgia. It's not one of King's main projects (he's done one before that with the same publisher, "The Colorado Kid"), so he's just chosen to publish this a certain way.

It's like a band putting out an EP on vinyl only. Doesn't mean they don't like CDs or MP3s. Sometimes people want to release their stuff using certain means -- so what's so bad and arrogant about that?

It's not so much something against ebooks, but rather like publishing a short story only in a certain magazine or anthology or writing a novelette for a limited edition release. People need to chill out and relax; King is known to have nothing against ebooks.

It'll be out in ebook form sooner rather than later. And if you only want to buy an ebook and no real book then this release is not meant for you, at least initially. No need to get all righteous and offended.

Matt

[MattW]

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

However, it is coming out in Audible as a digital audiobook. The pre-order is up already. Seems a bit hypocritical to me. Furthermore, the print edition is available from Amazon, making "going to a bookstore" a non-issue.

It would be next to impossible (and not very sensible) to refuse to let Amazon sell a physcial book.

Look at it as some kind of "special release"; it's not meant to be the next big Stephen King novel (that'll be "Doctor Sleep" later this year) -- it's a slight little book meant to celebrate the pulp novels of the 50s by coming in exactly that guise.

A lot like a band putting out some sort of live EP on vinyl only.

It's not meant to be taken as a statement against ebooks.

Matt

[usuallee]

Originally Posted by JeremyR

If there is one thing Stephen King likes more than the sound of his own voice, it's publicity.

That's all this is - a look at me, look at me stunt

This is a totally baseless and inaccurate statement. King is actually fairly reclusive considering how famous his books are. He could be in the spotlight a lot more than he is, if he wanted. He lives in Maine - Maine! - for Pete's sake. And has spread a ton of money around the state on various local causes with very little fanfare.

He chose to release this one short book in paperback only. So what? His next book Doctor Sleep will be available as an ebook so it's clearly a one-off. The person who said they can't read regular books has a valid point. Everyone else, stop whining already. Buy paperback, wait for the ebook, boycott King altogether, pirate the damn thing - make your choice and move on. Bellyaching about lack of ebook availability is definitely a "first world problem".

[jersysman]

Being that the author has a way with words in writing his books, I am pretty sure that he knew exactly what he was saying and what the reactions would be in his statement. To me, it was just insensitive. As others have said, I will give this book a pass and, will probably think harder on his others. I'm sure that he could care less about missing out on my 8-10 dollar purchase, but it is my way of saying that I do not care for what I inferred from his statement.

[MattW]

Originally Posted by jersysman

Being that the author has a way with words in writing his books, I am pretty sure that he knew exactly what he was saying and what the reactions would be in his statement. To me, it was just insensitive. As others have said, I will give this book a pass and, will probably think harder on his others. I'm sure that he could care less about missing out on my 8-10 dollar purchase, but it is my way of saying that I do not care for what I inferred from his statement.

What you "inferred from his statement", though, is a bit paranoid. The man decides to do a tribute to a kind of pulp paperback he liked in his youth in exactly the same way, down to the low price point (even though, given the realities of publishing, not as low as in the 50s).

That's all.

Inferring that he's dissing ebooks or visually impaired people is, well, paranoid. And while someone who's visually impaired does have a point[1], I do not think that this has entered into Mr. King's reasoning. It's like complaining that your movie theater won't show the newest blockbuster with closed captioning. The world does not revolve around us; not having access to each and every entertainment option on the planet is not discrimination.

Matt

[1] And I get that point. I count myself in that group as well and will, most likely, not be able to read the paperback in question easily. So, I'll give it a pass. But it's not like I feel Mr. King has somehow "wronged" me.

[DiapDealer]

It's criminal, I tell ya! I'm un-reading the entire Dark Tower series in protest.

[mr_nihilism]

People want what they want when they want it and the internet shall provide.

Not saying torrent sites are right, but Steve-O is just asking for it. People will get it, many will not admit it. And such is reality.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by mr_nihilism

People want what they want when they want it and the internet shall provide.

Not saying torrent sites are right, but Steve-O is just asking for it. People will get it, many will not admit it. And such is reality.

I'm afraid so. The same happened to the Harry Potter books, and the same shall happen to any book the author refuses to release in electronic format. There are skilled people out there that will make this available electronically the day the book is out, if not sooner.

[din155]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

It's criminal, I tell ya! I'm un-reading the entire Dark Tower series in protest.

Does it mean that you will read it back to front? I want to unread bag of bones but for totally different reasons