Are ebooks stupid? | Pinnacle Newsletter #4
#4 Are ebooks stupid?
Earlier this week, the media picked up on a tasty little soundbite from Arnaud Nourry, chief executive of publishing group Hachette Livre. In an interview, he said that ebooks are stupid, it's a declining market, and that there's no innovation in ebooks.
Here's why that's complete nonsense.
When a publisher goes on record saying that ebooks are stupid, ask yourself what their commercial motivations are. Historically, big publishers have been scared of the disruptive power of ebooks – and they've been especially scared of the self-publishing earthquake, made possible by practical ereading hardware and apps. In this case, though, I think we have a publishing executive who fundamentally misses the point of ebooks:
There is no creativity, no enhancement, no real digital experience… We've tried enhanced or enriched ebooks – didn't work.
The first sentence isn't true. Ebooks have included enhanced digital experiences for years: the ability to file and organise hundreds of titles on a slim, lightweight device; the always-accessible dictionary; the ability to take digital notes and quotes; instantly zoomable text for the visually impaired. The key point is that these huge innovations don't get in the way of the fact that an ebook is still fundamentally a book: linear text designed for focused, sustained immersion.
This is the essence of what a book is. Mess with that by adding 'enriched' or interactive digital nonsense and you have just another app or game, which is why your 'enhanced' books didn't work. Books – in all formats – are bastions of focus in today's distracted world, and book lovers will fight to defend those qualities tooth and nail.
The beauty of the reading landscape today is that we are rich in choice. Those who love traditional books can enjoy a renaissance in cover design and gorgeous hardbacks and paperbacks. Ereaders are fantastic for travel, convenience reading, and for those short on shelf space. Audiobooks offer an incredibly immersive experience that can really bring some titles to life. And if you really must you can even read a book on a smartphone (although this is almost certainly the worst reading experience available today).
Ebooks aren't stupid, and they aren't dying as a category – certainly not if you look at the figures for self-published titles. But it needn't be a war against traditional books either. Neither represents an existential threat against the other, and long may that remain the case.
Recently published
I'm not fully back to work after my dad's death yet, so new material is thin on the ground this week.
Read my feature on Alpine bivouacking in the latest issue of Sidetracked magazine (blog post)
Don't forget to pick up your copy of Sidetracked here. Trust me, it's well worth your while – this is a vintage issue.
Ian Roddie, 1938-2018 (blog post). My tribute to a very special man.
Links of interest
Andy Kirkpatrick: Pounds and Pence and Pages. Andy's writing is divisive but he talks sense on book pricing here.
Imagining Britain's Lost Glaciers. I love this. It isn't a strictly accurate or scientific view of what the British hills might have looked like millennia ago, but it's haunting. Some of the pictures remind me of Jotunheimen, Norway.
My client Keith Foskett has a new book available to pre-order. I've been working on this, and take it from me – this is one of the most important outdoor books to have been published for a while, and is all about how depression can affect backpackers and mountaineers. You'll want to add this to your reading list.
From my Commonplace Book
The publishing industry is often attracted to bright shiny objects that they hope will serve as a quick and easy fix for their problems.
– Simon Owens, from The iPad was supposed to save journalism. Why didn't it?
Until next time,
Alex
www.alexroddie.com