Oyster: unlimited e-books for $9.95 a month, now live with invite (iOS)

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by roger64

I currently have no "concrete" plan to buy from Oyster

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by ericstromberg

Hi David-

Eric from Oyster here. Thanks for the thoughtful feedback on the on-boarding process for Oyster.
....

On-Boarding, is that like water-boarding?



sorry but I really really really hate corp-speak!

[GreenMonkey]

Honestly a Netflix-for-books type scenario would get my money, every month, for like, ever. Kind of like Netflix does - although I would use it more than Netflix which I feel we have mostly for the kids' tablets these days.

I would REALLY prefer overdrive/adobe compatibility for e-ink readers but even without it it's tempting.

We don't do Apple devices in my house any more, so I'll have to wait for an Android app.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by ericstromberg

Here are some answers to your other questions!

We currently have a few books by Iain M. Banks and have a really amazing Mystery & Thriller section with titles by Jo Nesbo, Carl Hiaasen, Dennis Lehane, and Michael Crichton to name a few.

How recent are these books? Do books by best-selling authors only become available once they've been out for a while, or do you have plenty of new-release bestsellers? Which of the current NYT Bestsellers are on there? This year's Hugo winners and nominees? What are the Fantasy, SF, Romance, and YA selections like?

[holymadness]

I would guess that, like Netflix, they don't offer new releases.

[Mookie]

Here's a (lightweight) review from Arstechnica today:

http://arstechnica.com/business/2013...an-10-a-month/

[jsmack65]

I'm definitely not signing up sight unseen. Unless I can see what's available, and have a clear explanation of how offline reading works, no dice.

Is someone who reads enough long-form work to make this worthwhile really doing all their reading on an iPhone? I would think the iPad would be the platform to start with.

[kennyc]

Yep I though iPhone a strange choice as well for book reading...

[kkay5]

I signed up for the service. I can understand why they did the iPhone first. I have my iPhone with me 24/7 so even though I prefer to read on a bigger screen when I can, if I could only pick one device, it would be my iPhone.

I just wish it was easier to browse books with the service. I am having a hard time figuring out what they have and I am signed up for the service!

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by kennyc

On-Boarding, is that like water-boarding?

My thoughts too

[tubemonkey]

Oyster = $10/mo ..... Public Library = free

[John F]

I pay for two libraries. One is $4 a month (Free Library of Philly). My town library I pay thru my (local) taxes (and I can't easily find how much it costs).

For those who pay local tax in the U.S., does anyone have a ballpark figure of what % goes to the library?

[xendula]

Originally Posted by John F

I pay for two libraries. One is $4 a month (Free Library of Philly). My town library I pay thru my (local) taxes (and I can't easily find how much it costs).

For those who pay local tax in the U.S., does anyone have a ballpark figure of what % goes to the library?

I think that depends on the individual towns in the US. When I was looking at various libraries in Mass, I was quoted all different prices. (I don't live in MA, so was trying to get in as an out of stater - they mostly only do non residents but who live in MA)

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by John F

For those who pay local tax in the U.S., does anyone have a ballpark figure of what % goes to the library?

No idea really on a per capita cost. Here the library system is run by the county with 41 physical locations serving a population of approx 1.1 million people (their website had 21.5 million visits last year). Their budget for this year is $70.1 million and is about 3.9% of the county's total budget.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

No idea really on a per capita cost. Here the library system is run by the county with 41 physical locations serving a population of approx 1.1 million people (their website had 21.5 million visits last year). Their budget for this year is $70.1 million and is about 3.9% of the county's total budget.

Those are more impressive numbers than I would have probably guessed (if my arm were twisted to do so). I should find out who's responsible for running/paying for my local library. I suspect it might not be the county (considering we have certain libraries that are specifically named/deemed XXX County Library--of which ours is not one), but I could be wrong.