We all know by now, ebooks did not kill physical books the way all the doomsayers predicted. I'll be honest, it looked like they came a little closer to victory than I had expected, but recent reports state that ebook sales are slowly declining while physical book sales surge once again. This, I think, is due in large part to Bookstagram and Booktube. There are plenty of Youtubers and Instagrammers out there with accounts based solely around books - prettily filtered photos of the latest titles or rare covers, videos with reviews or recommendations. The bookshelf is always a key feature - there are many booktubers out there who've recorded tours of their own shelves, showing off their favourites, arranging their books in specific ways (ever seen someone arrange their novels by colour? Sheer madness). My daughter has a bookshelf that could rival any of them - it is her pride, her joy, her anxiety if you dare to mess with it.
(By the way, stick around to the end of this blog for some serious bargains.)
I think she loves books more than I do.
No kidding, this is just a tiny wee part of the collection.
I've always been a bookist. Reading has forever been a pleasure (unless it's a novel by Shaun Hutson - trash from the bottom of the bin). Books trigger pleasure centres like no other objects can - I have no interest in precious metals or shiny things or things that go faster than other things. A library, a bookstore, these are places put together with magic. I always doubted, therefore, the very notion that reading an ebook could be a pleasure. I've always loved stories, but they are meant to live on paper, gathered together for us to flick through while snug on comfy sofas.
But...
We have seen that a well-stocked bookshelf is a wonderful thing to behold. Mind you, a good ebook reader can make your virtual bookshelf look pretty great too. Here's what the Android version of eReader Prestigo looks like on my phone:
It turns out that eBooks are ridiculously handy. This is their greatest strength. I always have a bunch ready on my phone. There's loads in my kindle account that I've hoarded. It takes me quite a while to get to work (the full everyday job, not the fun writery one, that one can happen anywhere), and being able to select a book to read on my phone at the same time as listening to music (magic!) Is just so easy. I'm not always in the mood to carry a lot of stuff around with me. Ebook apps are a full library in your pocket, and with a few presses of the touchscreen you will always find something to suit your mood. An example: fancy some classic horror? Dracula, Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? You can download them, legally, for free. Why on earth would you not?
But...
We have seen that a well-stocked bookshelf is a wonderful thing to behold. Mind you, a good ebook reader can make your virtual bookshelf look pretty great too. Here's what the Android version of eReader Prestigo looks like on my phone:
There's some decent reads on here,
and a few absolutely massive ones.
It turns out that eBooks are ridiculously handy. This is their greatest strength. I always have a bunch ready on my phone. There's loads in my kindle account that I've hoarded. It takes me quite a while to get to work (the full everyday job, not the fun writery one, that one can happen anywhere), and being able to select a book to read on my phone at the same time as listening to music (magic!) Is just so easy. I'm not always in the mood to carry a lot of stuff around with me. Ebook apps are a full library in your pocket, and with a few presses of the touchscreen you will always find something to suit your mood. An example: fancy some classic horror? Dracula, Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? You can download them, legally, for free. Why on earth would you not?
I'm a bit more experimental with ebooks too. I've read novels I probably wouldn't have bought in paperback. An example: The Diviners series. I didn't think it would suit me at all, but I ended up thoroughly enjoying it.
Also, we all have that one author (or two, or three) that we follow religiously, whose releases we must buy immediately and in the best possible format. Oftentimes that means hardback. It's not so comfortable to lug that around on the train every time you want a read. You might not want to take it out anywhere. You might not want to touch it at all. Which means buying the paperback version as well. This is money, people. It all adds up.
Mind you, there's a pricing issue with ebooks as well, on occasion. New releases simply don't represent good value as an ebook. It can be a lot of money to pay for something that is basically ones and zeroes, and I don't see this perception ever fully leaving. It's the physicality of a hardback or paperback that wins. It's been said so many times that it's become a cliché, but if you're paying money then nothing beats actually holding the object you've paid for.
This is where the self-publishers/low-mid range publishers can win. If a novel you're unsure of is only three or four dollars, or it's on sale for a quid/buck/euro or even free, then you might be a lot more likely to give it a try.
(I am perfectly aware that you can buy epic amounts of physical books on the cheap too - but by and large cheap means tatty or at least seriously used - and an ebook will never get tatty (but it might be cheap in many, many ways, depending on the author)).
Ebooks have made self publishing easier than ever. If you can write a book, you can get it out there for people to read if they so choose. Before I go any further here, let me say this: writing a novel from start to finish, editing it, publishing it, that's a huge achievement, and anyone who has managed it should be proud. Writing requires vision and determination. It's a long lonely job and you've got to be determined if you hope to reach the end. Ebooks mean more authors than ever have a chance (however slight) of being seen, of being read, and that is the whole point of writing. Traditional publishing is so hard to break into. How many treasures have been lost over the years simply because the right agent or editor wasn't looking at the right time? The reader within me shudders... If this is the electronic publishing industry's one victory, then it is a tremendous one.
Now, there's one thing an ebook can't do. It can never look like this:
I would never have bought this.
It was a gift. A beautiful gift that only I am allowed to touch.
And only this once.
Physical books can be gorgeous things indeed. But ebooks still have those beautiful front covers to look at, and they are easy to read with adjustable fonts (but rest your eyes regularly kids, you only get one set (unless this is the future and eye transplants have become normal (and if that's a case then I need a time machine coz my eyes are screwed))):
I'm not on this one yet.
It's taken me half a life to read the first volume.
Adjustable fonts and sizes make reading a pleasant experience for anyone.
Just remember to take care of those lovely eyes, people.
In the end, there's room for both in my life as a reader. For all their flaws, eBooks have broadened my reading horizons, and that can only ever be a positive. Ebooks are here to stay, and I for one am glad about that.
And, in a very neat tie-in, here's a bunch of great titles from Lodestone Books that are all on offer for the month of March. If you're new to ebooks, then there's no excuse not to try out some of these excellent reads at a time-limited bargain price. And if you're already an eBookist... well, you know what to do.
All the books below are on offer for the entirety of March - all for around a pound/a dollar/a euro, so take advantage, be experimental, try something you normally wouldn't. And leave a review if you have a minute or two spare :)
Click on the cover image to go to that book's Amazon eBook page.
LODESTONE BOOKS
A Graveyard Visible
by Steve Conoboy
On Amazon HERE
There's a graveyard visible from Caleb's bedroom window, and it grows a little bigger each day. He sees funerals there every evening, but nobody is dying. Misha, the strange girl who lives there with her grandfather, takes an unwanted interest in Caleb, and he can't shake her off. But he's sure those peculiar mourners, the same ones at each graveside every time, are forcing her into rituals against her will... Caleb, still reeling from the death of his mother, soon finds himself deep in a world of the dead in this chilling YA horror novel; will it be too late for him to climb back out?
Hospital High
by Mimi Thebo
On Amazon HERE
My life had been saved...and boy, was I annoyed.
Humour and attitude keep Coco going when things get grim. Her relationships with her mother, hospital staff and other injured teens sustain her when her school friendships fall apart. But although everyone's working to give Coco a normal life, Coco doesn't think 'normal' is enough...
When she was fourteen, the author Mimi Thebo died in a car accident. Hospital High is a young adult novel based on the day she died and the subsequent three years spent recovering from the accident.
Humour and attitude keep Coco going when things get grim. Her relationships with her mother, hospital staff and other injured teens sustain her when her school friendships fall apart. But although everyone's working to give Coco a normal life, Coco doesn't think 'normal' is enough...
When she was fourteen, the author Mimi Thebo died in a car accident. Hospital High is a young adult novel based on the day she died and the subsequent three years spent recovering from the accident.
The Invisible Hand
by James Harley
On Amazon HERE
The Invisible Hand is about a boy, Sam, who has just started life at a boarding school and finds himself able to travel back in time to medieval Scotland. There he meets a girl, Leana, who can travel to the future, and the two of them become wrapped up in events in Macbeth, the Shakespeare play, and in the daily life of the school.
The book is the first part of a series called Shakespeare´s Moon. Each book is set in the same boarding school but focuses on a different Shakespeare play.
The book is the first part of a series called Shakespeare´s Moon. Each book is set in the same boarding school but focuses on a different Shakespeare play.
Reggie & Me
by Marie Yates
On Amazon HERE
Reggie & Me is the first book in the Dani Moore Trilogy. Dani's story is told through her diary in the wake of her rape and subsequent court case.
Having moved with her mum, Dani starts Year Eleven at a new school, facing various challenges that bring a renewed energy to face whatever is thrown at her and to carry on regardless. She realises that ‘normality’ is something that she can define herself, with the help of her dog Reggie and the people around her.
Reggie & Me is more than a story of survival, as the reader is taken on an inspiring journey of personal development, interweaved with tools that girls and young women can use to create the positive future they deserve.
FINALIST WINTER 2014/2015 THE PEOPLE'S BOOK PRIZE
Having moved with her mum, Dani starts Year Eleven at a new school, facing various challenges that bring a renewed energy to face whatever is thrown at her and to carry on regardless. She realises that ‘normality’ is something that she can define herself, with the help of her dog Reggie and the people around her.
Reggie & Me is more than a story of survival, as the reader is taken on an inspiring journey of personal development, interweaved with tools that girls and young women can use to create the positive future they deserve.
FINALIST WINTER 2014/2015 THE PEOPLE'S BOOK PRIZE
OUR STREET BOOKS
Emma Oliver and the Song of Creation
by Susan Elizabeth Hale
On B&N HERE
Eleven-year-old Emma doesn’t know that she comes from generations of tree singers, passed from mother to daughter. She doesn’t believe she can sing.
Her ailing grandmother has just come to live with the family. Her father is hardly ever at home. Her mother has been acting strange. To add to Emma’s troubles, her mother’s great uncle from England is coming to stay. Then, a strange old woman wearing a hat full of feathers appears mysteriously in her garden. She gives Emma a white swan feather that emits a haunting melody.
Emma’s only solace is the oak tree in her garden, which she names Annie Oakley. What she does not yet know is that Annie is part of a network of tree spirits who disguise themselves as old women. These spirits have come to Peachtree City to help Emma remember her mission to sing the Song of Creation and save the Great Mother tree.
Her ailing grandmother has just come to live with the family. Her father is hardly ever at home. Her mother has been acting strange. To add to Emma’s troubles, her mother’s great uncle from England is coming to stay. Then, a strange old woman wearing a hat full of feathers appears mysteriously in her garden. She gives Emma a white swan feather that emits a haunting melody.
Emma’s only solace is the oak tree in her garden, which she names Annie Oakley. What she does not yet know is that Annie is part of a network of tree spirits who disguise themselves as old women. These spirits have come to Peachtree City to help Emma remember her mission to sing the Song of Creation and save the Great Mother tree.
The Firebird Chronicles: Rise of the Shadow Stealers
by Daniel Ingram-Brown
On Amazon HERE
In this fantasy adventure, Fletcher and Scoop are Apprentice Adventurers from the ancient establishment of Blotting's Academy on Fullstop Island. This is the place where all story characters are trained. The trouble is, they can't remember how they got there.
It's the first day of term, but the two apprentices soon realise something is wrong. Things are going missing, including their own memories, and Scoop has the unsettling feeling that something is creeping in the shadows.
As the children search for answers, they become entangled with the life of the Storyteller, the islands creator and king. They journey to his wedding banquet and find themselves uncovering a hidden past. What is their connection to this mysterious man? And is there more to him than meets the eye?
It's the first day of term, but the two apprentices soon realise something is wrong. Things are going missing, including their own memories, and Scoop has the unsettling feeling that something is creeping in the shadows.
As the children search for answers, they become entangled with the life of the Storyteller, the islands creator and king. They journey to his wedding banquet and find themselves uncovering a hidden past. What is their connection to this mysterious man? And is there more to him than meets the eye?
May's Moon
by S. Y. Palmer
On B&N HERE
Beating thousands of others, the geeky boy they call ‘Micky Moon’ at home, is one of ten children from around the world accepted onto the ‘Children’s Moon Program’ in Florida. If he can survive the g-force of a space-shuttle launch, overcome his secret fear of water and pass the other battery of tests, he could win a place on the next mission to the moon!
The Princess Gardener
by Michael Strelow
On Amazon HERE
The Princess Gardener is the story of a young girl who is a princess by accident of birth. Her passion lies outside the castle, tending the gardens. But castle duties call more and more often, and her parents insist she learn what she calls "the princess business." Reluctantly, she curtseys and bows and smiles her way through the empty rituals of the kingdom, but every day she longs for the smell of the earth. A chance encounter causes the princess to switch lives with a young farm girl, who is her exact likeness. When people begin to fall ill, the girls learn that the source of the sickness is covered-up pollution in the water supply. Will they discover their true capabilities and save the kingdom, or are the girls' lives about to become very complicated?
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