Is Harry Potter not in Ebook form?

[omk3]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

and don't forget the Smell of Books®

Useful product that! How about an "Old, dusty library" one?

Joke aside, I was one of the people that thought that nothing could replace a "real" book, but had many reasons to wish for the reader technology to come to existence even before it did. And I changed my mind about "real" books as soon as I finished my first ebook. I have nothing against paper books mind, but, the paper experience (tm) adds nothing to the content or the feel while reading, especially if it is a cheap normal mass market paperback, or even a hardcover (not much more quality either, just bulkier).

So if Mrs Rowling wanted the paper exprerience so badly, why didn't she sell her books in large beautiful leather-bound volumes? That would even add a touch of magic to go with her theme.

Anyway, of course she's got the right to make any (dumb or not) decisions she wants, calvin-c. She just also has to expect that people will judge her from these decisions.

[LDBoblo]

Originally Posted by omk3

Useful product that! How about an "Old, dusty library" one?

Joke aside, I was one of the people that thought that nothing could replace a "real" book, but had many reasons to wish for the reader technology to come to existence even before it did. And I changed my mind about "real" books as soon as I finished my first ebook. I have nothing against paper books mind, but, the paper experience (tm) adds nothing to the content or the feel while reading, especially if it is a cheap normal mass market paperback, or even a hardcover (not much more quality either, just bulkier).

So if Mrs Rowling wanted the paper exprerience so badly, why didn't she sell her books in large beautiful leather-bound volumes? That would even add a touch of magic to go with her theme.

Anyway, of course she's got the right to make any (dumb or not) decisions she wants, calvin-c. She just also has to expect that people will judge her from these decisions.

I don't think her target market is adults. Her audience has gotten a little older as the books progressed, but they have been tailored mostly to a younger set. For the more collecting-minded, she did offer a more luxurious hardbound set of stories.

Ebooks are nice fun gadgets, but they are gadgets. They're content display devices, and unless I were really insecure about justifying my ebooks, I would not buy an ebook or ebook reader for a kid. People on these fora might well do that, and that's their prerogative, but I'd much rather give a kid a book than an expensive electronic toy that isn't half as cool as it should be.

I'd also probably want them to have a portable, instant-on copy that doesn't break the bank if they drop it or lose it, which I've been told kids have been known to do with lots of things, and I'd want to ensure I give them a reason to get away from the computer occasionally and read in sunlight, despite all the dangers. I'm no parent though, so my opinion is irrelevant, and I'm sure many parents here can vouch for how their children revere their Sony Pocket Editions or Kindles.

[kacir]

Originally Posted by rock

I don't understand her line about experience it on paper? how does that make a difference.

You have not read the books, have you?
J. K. Rowling is an absolute technophobic and Ludite.

In Harry-Potter-land there are basically two groups of people:
- Muggles - pathetic poor clueless sods that can not do any magic and have to resort to using technical means. There is not a single nice muggle person described in the books that I can remember.
- People gifted with the ability to do magic - Wizards. Wonderful great people (except for villains, of course, because muggles are so pathetic, they can not even be proper villains).

EVERYTHING in the Harry Potter world is done by magic. Even such things as using post, transport, making newspapers, preparing food is done by magic. There is no single electrical appliance at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There are some wizards that can use advanced technology, such as a watch or even drive a car, but those are generally frowned upon and are regarded as strongly eccentric. All students make notes on pieces of pergamen (poor lambs!) using quills and ink.


Mrs. Rowling even wrote the first manuscript on the mechanical typewriter, but that was ONLY because she had to -- nobody would have accepted hand-written manuscript today. After she became famous she did all her writing using pen and paper. She is rich enough to hire some muggles to do the typing for her.

[omk3]

LDBoblo, I partly agree with you, in that I would want my kids to get used to paper books first, at least as things are now, then later proceed to ebooks if they want to. Though the discussion here is not at all whether to give ebook readers to kids or not. No one suggested to not have Harry Potter published as a paper book, just to add the ebook option. You know and she knows and we all know that Harry Potter has a very big adult audience too.

[omk3]

Now now kacir, not much technology in the Discworld either, at least before Hex. (I know, sorry for bringing Pratchett in a discussion about Harry Potter). The content of a book has nothing to do with the way it is distributed, presented, or read. And any writer may use whatever tool he chooses, if it helps his/hers inspiration, no problems there. She could have carved Harry Potter in stone for all I care. But there is some kind of apprehension or even hate towards ebooks by some writers (and readers) which I really don't understand. It will probably change in the future, whether they want it or not, but until then, we readers have a limited choice of ebook content because of that.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

I don't think her target market is adults. Her audience has gotten a little older as the books progressed, but they have been tailored mostly to a younger set. For the more collecting-minded, she did offer a more luxurious hardbound set of stories.

Is there why there were two versions from the start? One adult and one juvenile one?

[LDBoblo]

Originally Posted by omk3

I agree with you there, in that I would want my kids to get used to paper books first, at least as things are now, then later proceed to ebooks if they want to. But, no one suggested to not have them published as paper books, just to add the ebook option. You know and she knows and we all know that Harry Potter has a very big adult audience too.

I agree mostly, but though I don't think I'd like her very much, I appreciate her blatant and obvious lack of trust in adults and parents, and abandoning pretty much just adults on the ebook thing.

Of course there are many things I don't like about decisions she's made regarding publishing...but on principle, I like how she's encouraging the peer pressure around her books among young people to manifest as peer pressure to get real books, rather than gadgets to show off to their friends that are more important than the books in those gadgets.

One day ebooks will be ubiquitous and inexpensive and will transcend the "novel gadget" status it still enjoys today. Today is not that day, except for some deluded fools on websites like this. That's why I said I hope Rowling keeps to her principles for a few years, rather than forever.

[omk3]

Now you lost me. So it's an author's job to protect parents from certain buying decisions for their children?

[LDBoblo]

Originally Posted by omk3

Now you lost me. So it's an author's job to protect parents from certain buying decisions for their children?

I didn't say that. I said I appreciated her lack of trust.

Addendum: Let me clarify a bit. I don't really care about whether fiction authors provide ebooks or not. If they believe the quality of ebooks is too low for their work, I'd probably agree. If they just don't want to support the ebook market overtly in its early stages, fine by me. If they want to control their market because they believe that their customers are too stupid to be trusted to make certain decisions, especially when the product is intended for children? That just brings a smile to my face. I only support it as a cynic, and don't really care about the logic or lack thereof behind their decision.

Now, if these were educational materials, I'd probably have more of an objection to the discrimination of format, but this is Harry freaking Potter.

[Sweetpea]

I can understand her dislike for ebooks for some of the books she published The current technology isn't advanced enough to show that well (it's more than text and more than images. Take Quidditch Through the Ages. It's a "school" book, owned by children with now respect for books, as it contains notes and drawings and such ). But for a book that is double published, one edition for adults and one for children???

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Is there why there were two versions from the start? One adult and one juvenile one?

The books are identical - it's only the cover art that's different. The reason for the "adult editions" was simply that the books proved so amazingly popular with adults that the publisher brought out new editions with covers that didn't make it look as though it was a children's book, to encourage adult sales. If I recall correctly, the "adult editions" came out after about the 3rd or 4th book in the series. Certainly the last three books were released with "adult" and "juvenile" covers simultaneously.

[LDBoblo]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

I can understand her dislike for ebooks for some of the books she published The current technology isn't advanced enough to show that well (it's more than text and more than images. Take Quidditch Through the Ages. It's a "school" book, owned by children with now respect for books, as it contains notes and drawings and such ). But for a book that is double published, one edition for adults and one for children???

But double-published as books, no? I mean, I'm a little surprised they went ahead with audiobooks, though I imagine it's a little more justifiable than ebooks.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

But double-published as books, no? I mean, I'm a little surprised they went ahead with audiobooks, though I imagine it's a little more justifiable than ebooks.

The audio books are truly excellent. Stephen Fry, who narrates the British versions of them, is a wonderful reader, who has a different "voice" for each and every character in the book. It's very much a "performance" rather than a mere "reading". I'm not so keen on Jim Dale, who reads the American versions of the audio books, but I know that many people do like them.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

But double-published as books, no? I mean, I'm a little surprised they went ahead with audiobooks, though I imagine it's a little more justifiable than ebooks.

I'm not sure about the later books, but I know the first were also read by both Jim Dale and Stephen Fry...

And Harry, yes, that's what I meant. But the fact that the books were also published with an "adult" cover means they knew not only children read the books...

Originally Posted by LDBoblo

I don't think her target market is adults. Her audience has gotten a little older as the books progressed, but they have been tailored mostly to a younger set.

She knew after book 3 that the target market was not what she had first thought it was. So, there came a second edition, an adult edition, together with the juvenile edition.

So, knowing that, this:

but on principle, I like how she's encouraging the peer pressure around her books among young people to manifest as peer pressure to get real books, rather than gadgets to show off to their friends that are more important than the books in those gadgets.

doesn't really make sense...

Originally Posted by HarryT

The audio books are truly excellent. Stephen Fry, who narrates the British versions of them, is a wonderful reader, who has a different "voice" for each and every character in the book. It's very much a "performance" rather than a mere "reading". I'm not so keen on Jim Dale, who reads the American versions of the audio books, but I know that many people do like them.

I'd love to buy the entire Fry set... I prefer him over Jim Dale by far.

[LDBoblo]

SweetPea, you're saying that because they made different covers for teenagers and older readers, they can't exclude ebooks?

The adult covers aren't particularly scandalous, and parents can choose to buy those versions and give them to their kids with no change in consumption philosophy. It's completely different from offering a different medium.