The Readings Ebookstore has arrived!
JA
January 26
It was with much excitement and twittering that the Readings ebookstore was launched on Monday of this week. It’s a fantastic collaboration between Readings, SPUNC and Inventive Labs (who, full-disclosure, are also responsible for the site of yours truly). In case you’ve been offline recently, here’s how it all came about (via SPLOG):
In early 2010 SPUNC (the Small Press Network), who saw an opportunity to allow Australia’s independent publishers to sell ebooks in the independent bookselling sector, received some funding support from the Australia Council to make this happen.
Meanwhile, local web software development company, Inventive Labs, who have been consultants to many of Melbourne’s independent publishers, had been working on an ebook platform, Booki.sh, built around their open-source web-based ereader Monocle.
Readings, equally eager to enter the digital publishing retail environment, jumped at the opportunity of bringing Australian and International authors, from Australian publishers to their customers. Together a wonderful partnership between Readings, SPUNC and Inventive Labs was formed.
The site, while new, already has a great selection of titles, including Steven Amsterdam’s Things We Didn’t See Coming, Peter Temple’s Miles Franklin winning Truth, Fiona McGregor’s Indelible Ink and Alexis Wright’s Carpentaria, as well as all of Blank Inc.’s ‘best ofs’ for 2010 and numerous titles from independents Giramondo, Sleepers Publishing, Affirm Press, Black Inc, Scribe and Text. Titles from larger publishers are also set to appear in the coming months, and texts can be read via iPhone, iPad, PC or Mac.
In light of the recent debate over ‘bricks and mortar’ bookstores versus online retailers, this is an important first-step into the digital marketplace, which promises only to get bigger. It’ll be interesting to see where the medium falls in terms of pricing, and also, as the store grows, how Readings goes about reflecting and adapting the savvy curating that already goes on in their physical stores.
But in the mean time, go have a browse yourselves.
Our Friends
- Overland
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- Andrew McDonald
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- Oslo Davis
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- Read, Think, Write
- Sleepers Publishing
- Sorrow at Sills Bend
- SPLOG
- Tom Cho
- Virgule
- Wet Ink
- Wheeler Centre
Comments
26 Jan 11 at 9:32
Thanks for adding to the already-shrill PR around this move by Readings to “curate” great Australian content – in unusable browser-only formats. This site (and the all-round collective back-slapping that has greeted its launch) is a major disappointment to readers. Further discussion in the comments, here: http://bit.ly/efwsjo
...26 Jan 11 at 11:42
I’ve bought a book from Readings for my iphone and—once I read the instructions—I found it easy to use. How is it unusable?
...26 Jan 11 at 11:54
Tom, see the link in my comment for discussion about the limitations of purchasing an ebook accessible only via a web-browser. These ebooks are literally unusable using custom-designed e-readers. In fact you’re not even downloading a file. There are many formats that Readings could have used (epub et al) to alleviate this problem. They didn’t, and they’re defensive.
...26 Jan 11 at 12:34
Speak for yourself, Philip.
I’m a reader. I’m not disappointed. I’ve read several books already in this “unusable” format, and it has been a pleasure.
...26 Jan 11 at 14:38
I agree with you Philip – much better if there could be some agreement on formats (ie ePub). I know hundreds of people that complain about the variety of programs and passwords required to maintain multiple formats. Personally I don’t buy anything but ePub and hardcopies.
...26 Jan 11 at 19:12
Sorry, I still want my books real, as in ink on pages. I do enjoy getting information on-line, and the whole interacting thing (as fraught as that can be), and no doubt at some point I’ll have some kind of e-reader, but reading really is a process of stillness and immersion. I just don’t get that from a machine; I just don’t get it from the internet. Whatever the device, whatever the e-bookstore.
...27 Jan 11 at 11:04
I agree with Philip. I would’ve liked some more critical analysis of this store and everyone just seems to be gushing how great it is without actually discussing the problem with DRM and not being able to download a file.
I agree that it has some great titles, but unfortunately I can’t read any of them because I don’t read books on backlit screens and I’m unable to use this titles on my eInk eReaders (I have a Kindle and a Sony and yet they work on neither)
Why do I feel like everyone’s closed ranks on this and that it’s a major faux pas to criticise the store, small press or indies? Everyone has been really defensive.
...27 Jan 11 at 19:17
Hi Tom Mathers
Unless you happened to pay for one of the DRM free titles Readings offers (which apparently do included an optional EPUB download), you didn’t buy anything. You leased access to a website.
If the company goes out of business you’ll lose access to everything you paid money for.
...