Does anybody know how many books are being published in a year? And how many trees we need to kill to print them on paper? And most importantly how many are pulped, binned or are sitting in some attic never to be seen again? I bet the answer to every question is tens of millions. This is insane … there has got to be a better way. It’s called ePublishing and eReading.
A while ago Amazon launched their first big push into e-Reading by selling not only ebooks but also the worlds first (?) eReader called Kindle. Apparently they have now run out of stock … so it goes to show that the time is right. There are plenty of sites selling mainstream books available as ebooks and now there is bookhabit.com for the long tail of books from unpublished authors. Audio books on iTunes are also gaining a lot of momentum and what a great idea to listen to a book on your iPod while commuting or visiting relatives you don’t like.
It’s all good and it all helps the planet. So save the tress and buy ebooks (or if you are a writer – publish online).
-The Book Idol
Filed under: General rants
