Of late there seems to be a theme among the manufacturers that skewed towards books, e-books, reading, using devices to read... and so on.
Hmm. I wonder if the emphasis on having the means to do so is enough to propel more people to read, as opposed to having something actually worth reading.
I work in a publishing house that love to blame writers when publications are not being picked up by the masses, so I guess there's something worth pondering over the quality of writing bowl, but how about other considerations such as where the publication is being placed for purchase, whether people know (or not) that the publication is available in the first place, or as simple as how much do they have to pay?
I like the Nexus 7 and latest Kindles if enabling devices are being considered, but there's no app to show if a particular book is any good. We rely on synopses and book reviews for information, but unlike movie trailers, many of these write ups do not tell us the kind of writing that's being offered or if the story will progress into something worthwhile.
I remember reading Olivia Joules and got sorely disappointed despite the glowing reviews it came with. Yet that didn't stop me from picking another title by the same author. Only this time I got wiser and went for an open package so that I could get a healthier sample.
If I were to be given so many enablers - better devices, better e-book platform to buy books, better payment system - I bet I'd be picking more books than usual, but I'd still be reading about as many books in a week as I've done before. (Time, is not something you can have more or less of.)
But that's me. I wonder if all the shiny gadgets would convert more new readers (especially the younger generation)...
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