Re: "The Elusive E-book"

> > The libraries are already full.
> 
> ???   Meaning what?
> 

I think this is the point Jon Jermey is making, isn't it?  I meant
that there are enough "great books" that already exist to last anyone
a lifetime.  No need to worry that the libraries won't be filled;
they're already filled.  Thanks to Google and Amazon and Chris
Anderson's tail, they're probably "fuller" now, for most people, than
they've ever been.

> > And books are going away, as far as popularity goes.
> If you mean fewer books are and will be read I think the figures 

I mean that the figures show that novels are no longer used by the
majority of people to while away idle time, or as a major source of
leisure-time pleasure.  TV and videos have driven books away.

> Well, why?   This is on what precise basis?   You mean you 
> encourage people to break copyright because you don't agree with 
> it?

You seem to have copyright on your mind -- I never said anything like
this.  I meant that the occupation, lucrative over the last few
centuries, of writing popular novels which were then bought by the
masses to pass leisure time, is going away, and that people who write
those kinds of books, for a living, shouldn't fool themselves about
that.  Other sectors of the book authoring market may do better for a
while, though.  And I'm sure that the Internet blogs and websites that
you mention will produce other authoring opportunities that will pay.

An interesting experiment along those lines is Helium, which initially
pays authors a pittance, then raises them based on reader feedback.
It's a fascinating site, and maybe it's the kind of place that
beginning writers will get their training when the newspapers finally
finish collapsing.  http://www.helium.com/whatishelium

I see that Helium is currently debating the proposition,
"Shakespeare's writing is incomprehensible", and I'm happy to report
that the "No"s have an 85-15 lead :-).

Bill



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