BookNet blogging
BookNet Canada, the agency that, among other things, tracks books sales across Canada (the data that Q&Q uses to assemble its bestseller lists), has started a blog. In the latest entry, BookNet president Michael Tamblyn makes an interesting point about the kinds of titles available for download to the Sony e-book Reader:
Have you ever rented a cottage or stayed in an inn or hostel where owners and past guests have left books on the shelves for your reading pleasure? It is usually a mixed bag of thrillers, mysteries, romance novels, maybe some history, sometimes some real wildcards and surprises. You don’t have a lot of choice, but you do get this strange snapshot of what people read when they’re on vacation.
Getting books for the Reader at the Sony Connect store had a similar feeling. As I browsed around looking for titles, I realized that I was seeing a composite picture of the consumers that publishers believe are reading digital books. At the moment, they appear to be a group of randomly selected airport travellers. Lots of thrillers, mysteries and romance novels. Some science-fiction. Plenty of business books and sports titles.
One book Tamblyn would like to have available in digital form while on vacation is Thomas Pynchon’s 1,000-page 2006 novel Against the Day. Unfortunately, it’s not available for download.
Quillblog would humbly like to suggest that part of the problem Tamblyn faces may be due to his definition of a “cottage read.” Remember: Thomas Pynchon in town, Stephen King in the country.
