MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Give a Sony Reader to Jessica Rowling and help Médecins Sans Frontières

nekokami · 02-11-2007, 09:48 AM

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.

02-11-2007, 09:48 AM	#19
nekokami fruminous edugeek Posts: 6,745 Karma: 551260 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Northeast US Device: iPad, eBw 1150	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.