August 29th, 2012
ljdigital

thedailyfeed:

Google slaps ad for its new Nexus 7 tablet on its own home page — just weeks before Apple’s rumored iPad mini launch.

With 190 million unique visitors, it’s not a bad way to advertise.

Reblogged from The Daily
44 notes
ereaders tablets ipad ebooks google
July 18th, 2012
ljdigital

eBooks are now the dominant single format of adult fiction

At the same time, net sales revenue from eBooks increased from  from $869 million in 2010 to $2.074 billion in 2011. That’s 15 percent of net revenues for publishers. AppNewser has more about how these numbers have affected the total US book market. 

Read more 

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ebook ebooks ereader books book adult fiction fiction reading read ereaders revenue money million billion
July 16th, 2012
ljdigital

Radar LARB

lareviewofbooks:

The week in reading…

Reblogged from
44 notes
reading read book ebook ereader books ebooks ereaders assimilation la review of books tom gauld
July 3rd, 2012
ljdigital
Ebook store in Japan?

Tell me more! 

japan ebook ereader ebooks ereaders digital reading read
July 2nd, 2012
ljdigital
Zoom futurejournalismproject: Nieman Lab’s New E-book The best of their June articles, and it’s free! Available on iPad/iPhone, Nook, Sony Reader, and Kindle. They’d like feedback so download here and respond if you so wish.

futurejournalismproject:

Nieman Lab’s New E-book

The best of their June articles, and it’s free! Available on iPad/iPhone, Nook, Sony Reader, and Kindle. They’d like feedback so download here and respond if you so wish.

Reblogged from The FJP
26 notes
ipad iphone nook sony reader kindle ereader ereaders ebook ebooks nieman lab news reading new digital tech technology media digital media
July 2nd, 2012
ljdigital
What are owners doing with their mobile media devices? | RJI

rwashburn:

The rapid adoption of Apple iPads and comparable large media tablets is clearly disrupting the way people engage with the digital world. Tablets also are fostering new media habits that are directly impacting news organizations worldwide. Journalists and news executives can take some encouragement from knowing that nearly all surveys, including this one, have found consuming news to be one of the most popular uses for tablets, even among owners ages 18-34.

Reblogged from Canadian Hyperlocal News Project
2 notes
social media social networking media ipads apple tablets ereaders ereader digital journalism journalists news reading
June 29th, 2012
ljdigital

Is your e-book reading you?

(photo courtesy of William Duke/ WSJ website) 

“In the past, publishers and authors had no way of knowing what happens when a reader sits down with a book. Does the reader quit after three pages, or finish it in a single sitting? Do most readers skip over the introduction, or read it closely, underlining passages and scrawling notes in the margins? Now, e-books are providing a glimpse into the story behind the sales figures, revealing not only how many people buy particular books, but how intensely they read them.” -Alexandra Alter Your E-Book is Reading You (WSJ) 

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wall street journal wsj e-book ebook ebooks e-books ereader ereaders reading read book books alexandra alter
June 12th, 2012
ljdigital

Longform.org shared this link today, and now here’s the video about Readmill, a new way to share your highlights from books and discuss your favorites, including ebooks, with other readers.

5 notes
readmill ebooks ereaders reading
April 21st, 2012
tumblingmudball

Narratives in a Digital Age

“My Life in Books”

This week, LJ Digital features essays from writers and readers, discussing stories about books that impacted their lives.

Connectivity

By Dominique Boubion


The pages of my copy of The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton are now a yucky beige, and the plastic film is peeling backwards unattractively across the bent and tattered cover. This book, which I once carried as if it were my bible —and in many ways, it was my bible—I now feel the need to examine with plastic gloves. I picked up my copy because I wanted to look over the things I highlighted and marked up to see what my twelve year old mind found interesting. Boys, mainly. I highlighted a lot of the lingo because I thought it was cool to call cigarettes “cancer sticks” and refer to people by nicknames like “Johnnycakes”, but much of it is Ponyboy’s expressions of right and wrong, which was founded on loyalty. When I smelled the book, I was transported to that period of time when I was trying to establish my own code of ethics.

(photo credit: http://justafewprints.com/)

In a video explaining why books have that smell they do, Acebooks.com revealed that Chemists at the University of London, who have researched and broken down the smell of an old book, described it as “a combination of grassy notes with a tang of acids and a hint of vanilla over an underlying mustiness.”

What I smelt is a combination of naivete, meshed with a need for human connection and a tang of introversion over an underlying quintessential tween experience characterized by embarrassment and awkwardness.

As if I were reading my own diary, I could remember what it was like to be twelve years old and lament over small things because I thought the worse of it was not having a date to the school dance. Ever. For the first time, I was experiencing the sensation of finding solace in the articulation by another of an emotion or thought I hadn’t realized other people experienced so similarly. Ponyboy got me, and I would wear dirty Chucks and roll the sleeves of my white T’s until I found the equivalent of this noble orphan greaser. Luckily, Holden Caulfield entered my life and my wardrobe improved, if only slightly.

(photo credit: Dominique Boubion)

Without as much as a single written word of my own, revisiting this book a decade later divulged so much about a specific time in my life. Two weeks ago the LJ Digital students were asked why they want to keep books alive, and the best reasons were simple — book shelves, the aroma of a book and the simple pleasure of holding one. With the popularity of e-books, I wonder if the experience of reading a book will change since a part of the experience is the physical attributes, and all the smells that it absorbs along the way.

I can’t help but see the e-book as a cold, austere and lifeless object that is taking over the personal and human aspects of the reading experience. But it’s not all bad, as I learned from a study by Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project which stated that those who read e-content read more than those who do not which means the e-book are contributing to higher literacy. If e-books become the means of reading a book for future generations, I would regret that they don’t experience reading a book so that it becomes a sort of personalized time capsule.

I once asked a dozen co-workers if they could count how many books they have read, and to my surprise they could: it was a between 1 and 3. Over the course of their life. If it comes down to people not reading at all or simply not knowing what an old book smells like, I choose the latter. I would be grateful to e-books if more people can experience the personal and mental growth that comes with reading, and the sense that some one else out there knows what it’s like, whatever it may be.

(photo credit: Jennifer Pio)

1 note
my life in books reading outsiders ebooks ereaders submission
April 12th, 2012
ljdigital
Zoom Narratives in a Digital Age “How I Read” There are more ways to read now than ever. From cell phone, to book, to tablet, to laptop, reading has become a multi-platform experience. This week, LJ Digital features essays from writers and readers, discussing reading habits, and how they experience the written word today. (*photo credit xkcd) Who Needs Paper? By Erick Vallejos …Screens Why should I read on paper when I can read on backlit screens? They don’t kill trees, they don’t need to be composted, and anything can come up on then at my will.  What’s the use of paper in this digital age? I wake up at around six o’clock in the morning (regardless of what time I go to bed, I always get up at six). My hand will fall over the bed and begin to search for my iPad lying on the floor, after about five minutes of lazily fumbling around for it, I pick it up and I hit the button and the light blinds me for a few seconds before I start reading.  I read online comics first: xkcd, Questionable Content, MegaCynics, ect. It’s nice to wake up to a good chuckle in the morning. While still in bed I then catch up on gaming news. Specifically gaming news, I want to be able to write about an industry that I love (should being a lawyer ultimately fail).  Many of the articles I read are from many of the smaller sites, sites that hold themselves to higher standards of journalism than many other blogs and sites. Giant Bomb’s Patrick Klepek has written brilliant articles about Kickstarter and reactions to the ending of a well-loved series.  The Penny Arcade Report’s sole senior editor and writer, Ben Kuchera has been someone I’ve been following since he started writing about gaming for Ars Technica.  Recent articles about pinball enthusiastsand the recent Smithsonian exhibit looking at the Art of Video Games are particularly stand out articles that show the style and reporting that I hope to be able to bring to the table if I ever go into games journalism. From Comics to Journalism After an hour or so of reading comics and exposing myself to actual journalism in games, I finally get up from bed and stumble into the kitchen with my iPad. I stumble into the kitchen and put some bread into the toaster (apparently all I eat in the morning is toast; bread is an infinite resource in my apartment).  As I wait for the toast to get ready I begin reading a few articles from various newspapers online.  Just like the gaming articles, I scroll through the New York Times, LA Times, NPR, and the BBC to find anything of interest in the world or the US.  To be perfectly honest I skim through the headlines until something peaks my interest, recently it has been the Republican primaries in the US (although hopefully that’s coming to an end) while I read up on the current Syria situation. Most of the time as I read the article I’ll activate the link that allows me to view video of the events, especially on the BBC’s website.  It’s rather nice to listen to a quick clip after reading through the article.  Then I smell burning toast, quickly rush over to the toaster and lament that I have to throw two black pieces of bread just because I forgot to set the dial to 3. E-Ink vs. Dead Trees Skip forward to the afternoon, in-between classes I’m inside of the Student Center getting over some Panda Express I ordered.  This time I take out my Kindle to read a chapter or two from whatever book I’m reading. This time it’s my yearly reading of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, and it’s not just the first book but the whole “trilogy in five parts.” The e-ink display is a bit easier on the eyes and feels like real paper, without the entire dead tree. Yet I can’t help but think how close Adams got to describing electronic books, a screen with a few keys and a big red button that would read the passage on the page.  According to the novel, the Guide still had all the trappings of an actual book, it looked like a book it still had an index and had a cover.  Yet you could search for anything in the universe and get an article about it.  In the end, it’s still rather amazing how close Adams got to describing books of the future, technology that is still has all the trappings as a book.  That’s why I have the cover of the Guide as my wallpaper on my iPad, because it’ll be the closest I’ll ever have to an actual Guide. Overall I rarely ever touch paper; I’m dependent upon screens for my reading.  All the way from my iPad to my Kindle, I look at screens.  Because I honestly believe that the future of books and the written word will be the screen.

Narratives in a Digital Age

“How I Read”

There are more ways to read now than ever. From cell phone, to book, to tablet, to laptop, reading has become a multi-platform experience. This week, LJ Digital features essays from writers and readers, discussing reading habits, and how they experience the written word today.

(*photo credit xkcd)

Who Needs Paper?

By Erick Vallejos

…Screens

Why should I read on paper when I can read on backlit screens? They don’t kill trees, they don’t need to be composted, and anything can come up on then at my will.  What’s the use of paper in this digital age?

I wake up at around six o’clock in the morning (regardless of what time I go to bed, I always get up at six). My hand will fall over the bed and begin to search for my iPad lying on the floor, after about five minutes of lazily fumbling around for it, I pick it up and I hit the button and the light blinds me for a few seconds before I start reading.  I read online comics first: xkcd, Questionable Content, MegaCynics, ect. It’s nice to wake up to a good chuckle in the morning.

While still in bed I then catch up on gaming news. Specifically gaming news, I want to be able to write about an industry that I love (should being a lawyer ultimately fail).  Many of the articles I read are from many of the smaller sites, sites that hold themselves to higher standards of journalism than many other blogs and sites. Giant Bomb’s Patrick Klepek has written brilliant articles about Kickstarter and reactions to the ending of a well-loved series. 

The Penny Arcade Report’s sole senior editor and writer, Ben Kuchera has been someone I’ve been following since he started writing about gaming for Ars Technica.  Recent articles about pinball enthusiastsand the recent Smithsonian exhibit looking at the Art of Video Games are particularly stand out articles that show the style and reporting that I hope to be able to bring to the table if I ever go into games journalism.

From Comics to Journalism

After an hour or so of reading comics and exposing myself to actual journalism in games, I finally get up from bed and stumble into the kitchen with my iPad. I stumble into the kitchen and put some bread into the toaster (apparently all I eat in the morning is toast; bread is an infinite resource in my apartment).  As I wait for the toast to get ready I begin reading a few articles from various newspapers online.  Just like the gaming articles, I scroll through the New York Times, LA Times, NPR, and the BBC to find anything of interest in the world or the US.  To be perfectly honest I skim through the headlines until something peaks my interest, recently it has been the Republican primaries in the US (although hopefully that’s coming to an end) while I read up on the current Syria situation. Most of the time as I read the article I’ll activate the link that allows me to view video of the events, especially on the BBC’s website.  It’s rather nice to listen to a quick clip after reading through the article.  Then I smell burning toast, quickly rush over to the toaster and lament that I have to throw two black pieces of bread just because I forgot to set the dial to 3.

E-Ink vs. Dead Trees

Skip forward to the afternoon, in-between classes I’m inside of the Student Center getting over some Panda Express I ordered.  This time I take out my Kindle to read a chapter or two from whatever book I’m reading. This time it’s my yearly reading of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, and it’s not just the first book but the whole “trilogy in five parts.” The e-ink display is a bit easier on the eyes and feels like real paper, without the entire dead tree.

Yet I can’t help but think how close Adams got to describing electronic books, a screen with a few keys and a big red button that would read the passage on the page.  According to the novel, the Guide still had all the trappings of an actual book, it looked like a book it still had an index and had a cover.  Yet you could search for anything in the universe and get an article about it.  In the end, it’s still rather amazing how close Adams got to describing books of the future, technology that is still has all the trappings as a book.  That’s why I have the cover of the Guide as my wallpaper on my iPad, because it’ll be the closest I’ll ever have to an actual Guide.

Overall I rarely ever touch paper; I’m dependent upon screens for my reading.  All the way from my iPad to my Kindle, I look at screens.  Because I honestly believe that the future of books and the written word will be the screen.

2 notes
ereaders how i read kickstarter lit megacynics paper penny arcade reading screens writers writing xkcd ipad kindle video games
April 9th, 2012
ljdigital
Narratives in a Digital Age How a Book is Born We’ve talked about LJ in newspapers and magazines, and the financial challenges that longform narrative journalism faces in the digital age. Now, let’s talk books. What is the future of the printed page? What is the future of the publisher? The agent? The bookstore? The writer?  To get started, we will be reading “How a Book is Born,” by Keith Gessen, originally published in Vanity Fair, and later published as an extended E-Single on Amazon.  We will also be reading: * “Publish or Perish,” by Ken Auletta, published in The New Yorker in April 2010 * “Amazon’s Hitman,” by Brad Stone, published in Business Week in January 2012. Wednesday’s class will be devoted to the evolution of books and bookstores from 1970 to today.                                   — LJ Digital

Narratives in a Digital Age

How a Book is Born

We’ve talked about LJ in newspapers and magazines, and the financial challenges that longform narrative journalism faces in the digital age. Now, let’s talk books. What is the future of the printed page? What is the future of the publisher? The agent? The bookstore? The writer? 

To get started, we will be reading “How a Book is Born,” by Keith Gessen, originally published in Vanity Fair, and later published as an extended E-Single on Amazon. 

We will also be reading:

* “Publish or Perish,” by Ken Auletta, published in The New Yorker in April 2010

* “Amazon’s Hitman,” by Brad Stone, published in Business Week in January 2012.

Wednesday’s class will be devoted to the evolution of books and bookstores from 1970 to today.

                                  — LJ Digital

7 notes
amazon books bookstores ebooks ereaders future of book lit lj vanity fair art of fielding galleycat

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A blog created by the Literary Journalism Department @ the University of California, Irvine, dedicated to discussions about non-fiction narratives in this ever-evolving era of E-books, E-readers, Blogs, Instapaper, The Atavist, Byliner, Amazon's Kindle Singles and all other new media outlets open to promoting great journalism. LJ Digital is managed by Asst. Prof. Erika Hayasaki and Cleo Tobbi, intern and UCI literary journalism student.

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