e-books, breathe books, and you (from shopgirl Jenn)
The book industry is changing rapidly, as many of you have noticed, and one of the most talked-about changes is the switch from print to digital books. What you may not know is that here at breathe, we’re not only thinking about it, we’re actively taking steps to be a part of this shift!
Some of you have already confessed to having Kindles — and no, we’re not mad at you! Although we do wish you had a Sony Reader instead (see below for why). We also know that the books you read on your Kindle or other e-reader are books that you might not have bought from breathe anyway (although don’t forget, we can order just about anything!). In fact, most of the New Age, spirituality, and other esoteric titles we carry are not available in digital format, or even at most bookstores. We are proud to be able to provide books that help you continue on your practice and journey, and will continue to do so! But as more and more books are published in digital format, and as more and more of you switch to reading e-books, we want you to know that we’d love to talk to you about what you’re reading, how you’re reading it, and why.
There are a lot of things still being ironed out with digital books, not least of which is which device to pick! The Kindle is probably the most well-known, but also the most harmful to independent bookstores. Unlike other e-readers, a Kindle will only allow you to read books purchased from Amazon.com. On the other hand, devices like the Sony Reader will let you read any compatible e-book — and many bookstores can now sell you these e-books on their websites! Check out the wonderful Powell’s Books website for not only e-books, but a list of readers they work with.
Just recently, digital publishing took a major step forward with the adoption of the ePub format. What it boils down to is that publishers and manufacturers have established the ePub format as a baseline for e-books, a format that all digital readers can access, except for those, like Amazon, that choose to create their own proprietary format, and lock out any other format. Many devices can also read PDFs, but again — proprietary devices like the Kindle may not allow you to read those, either. A list of devices that work with ePub and PDF digital books is available here, on Adobe’s website.
This issue, which e-readers will let you read which e-books, is an important one for independent bookstores. As more players get into the game (Barnes & Noble just recently announced their own device, the Nook) and as the holidays approach, we hope that before you buy, you’ll add one more question to your list of considerations (Which should you buy? What does it cost?): Who will you be able to support?
Right now, breathe books is thinking about all of the ways we hope to adapt to the changes in publishing and the economy — selling books (and e-books) online is one of the things on our list. But most of all, we want to make sure that we stay in touch with you, the way we have for the past five years. What are you reading? How are you reading it? Why? And most of all, how can we help you get it?
Happy reading (e- or otherwise),
Jenn
shopgirl
