Give a Sony Reader to Jessica Rowling and help Médecins Sans Frontières

[nekokami]

Originally Posted by NatCh

In order not to limit her getting more books, you'd have to set up a new account, buy and load the books and then send her the info so she could access the account -- all that might get a bit tricky.

I'm offering to coordinate, so I'd set up the account myself, using her name or an alias (since she's a minor) and I'd send the account information with the unit. Does that sound like it would work?

Originally Posted by CommanderROR

The Sony Reader is still not officially available in the UK is it? So using the Connect Store could be a problem.

Could be a problem -- this is why I think pre-loading the unit is a good idea.

Does anybody have the private address so that we could send the Reader there?

We would send it to Ms. Rowling's publisher, just as fan mail is usually sent there. That's the standard way of contacting an author.

Do the Rowlings own a computer capable of running the Connect software?

I don't know, but I'd be surprised if they don't. However, pre-loading the unit would again help with this.

Harry Potter 7 is the last book, so maybe it't too late?

It's never too late-- she could decide to release the books in digital editions any time.

One interesting thing would be if Sony took an interest and went ahead with the plan, they could easily donate a Reader...and maybe offer a deal for the publisher as well...:-)

Yes, that would help!

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

No sale for me. If Rowling doesn't want to sell her books as e-books, her fans will simply scan and give away the e-books. If she's not concerned about that, fine. If Scholastic's not worried about the potential lost revenue, fine. Life's too short to worry about their short-sightedness with e-books.

Again, to be clear, this isn't really specifically about getting the Harry Potter books into ebook format. We all know that anyone who really wants them can get them. It's about popularizing ebooks, to help encourage ebook reader sales (of any platform) and the publication of more ebooks. A public reversal on Ms. Rowling's stance could greatly stimulate other authors and publishers.

But obviously, no one has to participate.

[nekokami]

Originally Posted by erwin

I will gradly contribute, but not for a Sony Reader. Better a Nokia N800 or a Panasonic WordsGear.

Both units are more expensive than a Sony Reader and have shorter battery life. The screens are likely to be just what she thinks is already out there. What OS do they use and what reader software will therefore work on them? I'm afraid I've been focusing on e ink devices.

Originally Posted by erwin

Beside any consideration about the platform of choiche, my impression is that the Rowling is too much of a full-of-herself luddite to ever notice or aknowledge that she could be wrong. She should learn something (I mean, beside how to write not 7 but 30+ books being fresh and totally enjoyable from the first to the last) from Terry Pratchett, that published the last Discworld book, THUD!, in ebook format.

Could be. But she hasn't been writing for as long as Pratchett, either.

[erwin]

Originally Posted by nekokami

Both units are more expensive than a Sony Reader and have shorter battery life. The screens are likely to be just what she thinks is already out there. What OS do they use and what reader software will therefore work on them? I'm afraid I've been focusing on e ink devices.

Could be. But she hasn't been writing for as long as Pratchett, either.

Hmm, about the price, for what I can see around the net all three are about 400 $. On battery life you are absolutely right, but, on the other hand, both the N800 and the WordsGear can be used for a lot more things that reading ebooks.

On eink... obviously tastes are tastes, but, well, the fact is thay I'm not really a big fan of it. As the eink technology is today the quality of the screens (10:1 contrast ratio, ouch!) is the same of the machines on which I started reading ebook, ie the not-backlighted Newton MP100 of 1993. The main thing that I really love in the incoming Readius, and the reason for wich I will buy one as soon as it sold, is its "rollable"... better make it "foldable", form factor.

About Pratchett vs JKR, again, tastes are tastes, but IMHO Discoworld was a lot batter than HP right from the beginning. And lets not speak of the public image of Pratchett vs the one of Mrs "Oh-how-much-I-suffered-in-my-life!" JKR...

[nekokami]

The list price of the Reader is about $350, the Nokia N800 is about $400, and the Wordsgear is $479 on the sites I found. But the argument about other things it can do is a very good one. I'm guessing the N800 and the Wordsgear run some kind of Windows? I'm not a fan of Windows, but the major reader formats are all available for it (well, I'm not sure about Secure Palm), along with a lot of other software.

I liked reading (and writing) on the Newton, and I currently use an eBookwise 1150 for my fiction reading, with the backlight turned waaaayyy down. One big advantage of e ink beyond battery life is the ability to be read in sunlight. The current generation of backlit LCDs are lousy in this environment. (The eBw is ok, being b&w and reflective.) I, too, am watching the development of the Readius with much interest, but I don't want to wait another year to try this idea. I guess what I'm saying is, there are tradeoffs on the screen type. I'm assuming Ms. Rowling has seen cellphone-like displays before, but not e ink, hence the suggestion of sending an e ink based reader. So far, Sony is the only one shipping that has legally available versions of other contemporary works that I think might appeal to Jessica (and possibly might get Rowling thinking.)

I see that Pratchett's Wintersmith is available on Connect (and I know I've seen it at Fictionwise, as well.) I'd be more than happy to add that to the list -- it sounds like a book Jessica might enjoy. (It's on my to-read list, anyway!) I admit the only thing I've read by Pratchett so far is his collaboration with Neil Gaiman -- Good Omens, which I loved. (Coraline is also on my to-read list.) The sheer size of the Discworld series has been somewhat intimidating, to be honest, though I've been meaning to try some for quite a while now.

Again, to be clear, Rowling isn't my favorite author, and I don't think her stuff is the best stuff out there. (I'd take Diana Wynne Jones over Rowling any day. Which reminds me, the Chronicles of Chrestomanci are available at Connect and elsewhere....) But Rowling is cited (rightly or wrongly) as the author that got kids reading again, and her public stance on eBooks is well known. If we're going to attempt a "publicity stunt" approach to kick-start use of eBooks in the younger generation, I think it makes sense to try it with Rowling's daughter. Pratchett doesn't need convincing, as you pointed out!

And my impression, from reading Rowling's own words in interviews and on her site, is that the "Oh-how-much-I-suffered-in-my-life!" myth didn't originate with her and she doesn't perpetuate it. IMHO, it seems to be a media creation.

[joblack]

There could be some other problems, too.

Perhaps her daughter hates HP (because he got more attention than she got). Or she hates the books because they are from her mother. Who knows about that ).

Also i wouldn´t spend money for one of the richest women on earth ...

Greetings

[nekokami]

Last I heard, Jessica liked the HP books, but as a friend of mine pointed out, she is about to turn 14. I'd say the biggest risk is that she'll like the reader (whatever format) and the books, and use the opportunity to tweak her mother about how she's too old-fashioned to get with the times and publish her books in eBook format. Eh, it's a risk.

I can't help the fact that Rowling is wealthy. I still think she's in a position to help the popularity and availability of ebooks, if she could just see a good example of someone enjoying them. An open gift will often succeed where other arguments fail. But there are many people who will doubtless refuse to participate in this project for the reason of Rowling's wealth alone. I understand that. I just want to keep that argument separate from other reasons why the project might fail (or backfire).

[Pitchfork]

I voted no.

Business is business, Family is family, and the one should not be used to influence the other. Using a daughter to influence a mother's business decisions is a bad idea no matter how innocent and generous the gesture may be. I have no problem with donating to the eBook cause, however I do believe that if you want to influence an author, then give the device to the author, not the author's family. There is a very fine line that should not be crossed in these matters, and I think that this would be perceived, by Rowling, as an underhanded approach.

[nekokami]

That's a fair concern. Give it to J.K. herself, with the invitation to share it with any children she chooses, so she can see how they react to it?

[erwin]

Originally Posted by nekokami

The list price of the Reader is about $350, the Nokia N800 is about $400, and the Wordsgear is $479 on the sites I found. But the argument about other things it can do is a very good one. I'm guessing the N800 and the Wordsgear run some kind of Windows? I'm not a fan of Windows, but the major reader formats are all available for it (well, I'm not sure about Secure Palm), along with a lot of other software.

The N800 run Linux: take alook at http://www.internettablettalk.com/ (me neither a big M$ fan... ;-) and you can find its previous incarnation, the N770 for about 300 $. The WordsGear dunno what OS use.

Originally Posted by nekokami

I liked reading (and writing) on the Newton, and I currently use an eBookwise 1150 for my fiction reading, with the backlight turned waaaayyy down. One big advantage of e ink beyond battery life is the ability to be read in sunlight. The current generation of backlit LCDs are lousy in this environment. (The eBw is ok, being b&w and reflective.) I, too, am watching the development of the Readius with much interest, but I don't want to wait another year to try this idea. I guess what I'm saying is, there are tradeoffs on the screen type. I'm assuming Ms. Rowling has seen cellphone-like displays before, but not e ink, hence the suggestion of sending an e ink based reader. So far, Sony is the only one shipping that has legally available versions of other contemporary works that I think might appeal to Jessica (and possibly might get Rowling thinking.)

About reading habits, again it is a question of tastes: I read mainly in bed, so the backlight is almost mandatory for me. At the moment, beside the N770 for txt books, I mainly use a Sony Clie NX70v (I love its form factor), that support both PalmReader and MobiPocket. About the Readius: next week I will try to contact someone at TIM Italy (that co-developed the technology) to have more infos about its relese date, price, etc.

Originally Posted by nekokami

I see that Pratchett's Wintersmith is available on Connect (and I know I've seen it at Fictionwise, as well.) I'd be more than happy to add that to the list -- it sounds like a book Jessica might enjoy. (It's on my to-read list, anyway!) I admit the only thing I've read by Pratchett so far is his collaboration with Neil Gaiman -- Good Omens, which I loved. (Coraline is also on my to-read list.) The sheer size of the Discworld series has been somewhat intimidating, to be honest, though I've been meaning to try some for quite a while now.

Please do read the Discworld saga as soon as you are able, you will love it!

Originally Posted by nekokami

Again, to be clear, Rowling isn't my favorite author, and I don't think her stuff is the best stuff out there. (I'd take Diana Wynne Jones over Rowling any day. Which reminds me, the Chronicles of Chrestomanci are available at Connect and elsewhere....) But Rowling is cited (rightly or wrongly) as the author that got kids reading again, and her public stance on eBooks is well known. If we're going to attempt a "publicity stunt" approach to kick-start use of eBooks in the younger generation, I think it makes sense to try it with Rowling's daughter. Pratchett doesn't need convincing, as you pointed out!

I agree on the "publicity stunt" idea for ebook in general, and, as I said, I will gladly donate my 10 bucks if the project concretize, and commend you for the idea in itself. My impression is simply that JKR is not the kind of person that will accept to partecipate in this for the sake of a technology, that based on her public declarations, she despise or at least don't care for.

Originally Posted by nekokami

And my impression, from reading Rowling's own words in interviews and on her site, is that the "Oh-how-much-I-suffered-in-my-life!" myth didn't originate with her and she doesn't perpetuate it. IMHO, it seems to be a media creation.

Maybe, but she amply accepted the benefits this gave her during the launch of the HP phenomenon.

[nekokami]

Originally Posted by erwin

The N800 run Linux: take alook at http://www.internettablettalk.com/ (me neither a big M$ fan... ;-) and you can find its previous incarnation, the N770 for about 300 $.

That's right, I remember it now. No ability to read DRM books, which wouldn't stop me from using it, but defeats the purpose of sending them a reader loaded with books by her competitors. (I don't think this is the time to make the anti-DRM push.)

Re Rowling taking advantage of publicity, she's given quite a bit of money to charities and has donated two small books to Comic Relief. I'm not sure what else she might reasonably do to compensate for the publicity, but I guess we just differ on this.

We have very little to go on re: Rowling's full opinion about eBook technology. I myself doubt she's ever seen a device designed specificially as a reader-- few people have. I think that makes it rather hard to predict how she'd react to one. Perhaps this effort to change her opinion would be completely wasted, in which case at least it would probably raise some money for a good cause (MSF). I'm more optimistic.

[branko]

I don't want to scare you out of doing what sounds like a cool plan, but if I were a rich, important person, and people tried to get my attention by bribing my impressionable teenage daughter, I'd ... well, I don't know what I would do, but it would likely involve me getting angry, and it might even involve me calling the cops.

As for books for young Mistress Jessica, I read a Baen book once that seemed aimed squarely at the YA demographic. Perhaps they have more.

[nekokami]

@branko, I think you and Pitchfork are right, and we should drop the idea of giving it directly to Jessica. I still think we should emphasize YA titles, though.

Regarding Baen books, when I was that age, I really enjoyed the works of James H. Schmitz. The Telzey stories are available through the Baen Free Library; The Witches of Karres is available as an eBook for $5. I'm open to other suggestions. I do try to be careful of what I suggest for kids not my own -- I'd let my kids read Niven, for example, despite occasional "mature" content, but I wouldn't assume someone else would. Baen offers this list of suggested YA titles. I am not, myself, much of a "military sf" fan, but I see Lord Darcy in the list, and a few books by Andre Norton. Any other suggestions?

[Mike Kostousov]

Originally Posted by Alexander Turcic

This is a great idea... I bet Mrs Rowling has never seen E Ink in real life and maybe she'd changes her mind if she gets a hands-on. So count me in.

She doesn't need to see to E-INK. She is not reader, she is writer

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Here's another alternative: Send this thread to Sony, and maybe they will give Rowling the reader. They have something to gain, after all: Mo Money.

[Hadrien]

Originally Posted by Mike Kostousov

She doesn't need to see to E-INK. She is not reader, she is writer

Well I do expect most writer to be reader too (yeah I know a couple of counter example though, for example Bukowski hated reading other writers, and he hated other writers too. Maybe that's why he hated himself ?).

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

Here's another alternative: Send this thread to Sony, and maybe they will give Rowling the reader. They have something to gain, after all: Mo Money.

Good Point. But Sony doesn't care a lot about users traditionally...