For those of you who have been captured by the e-book craze, the sheer number of books available in this format is rivaled only by the books that are not available, or at least, which haven’t been available yet. Though we may enjoy Harry Potter’s adventures via audiobook, they have not yet been released to the e-reader crowd. J.K. Rowling now appears to be considering the possibility of releasing our favorite wizard to the e-book world. In this article, she is described as exhibiting some interest in the electronic market. While some of us may have loved the fact that our shared text could only be read on a printed page, others may be thrilled that we can take all seven books with us on airplane (really, if I could have any one object from the Wizarding World, it would be Hermione’s purse/self-storage unit, but I still like “real” books). What are your thoughts on the potential e-book release of the Hogwarts Adventures? Are you howling in indignation, laughing with delight, or scratching your head wondering what all the fuss is about?
Hogwarts Coming to a Kindle near you?
April 4, 2011 by 8 Comments
My Kindle is a life-saver overseas. I would love to be able to get Harry Potter! Still, when I return to the States this summer, I’ll probably balk at spending 10 – 12$ on a book I already own or can buy at a thrift store for 1$. This is the reason I haven’t bought the Narnia series on Kindle yet. I did buy the Hunger Games trilogy on Kindle. It was wonderful to get the last book on the release date while overseas.
I’m not getting my hopes up. Apparently Rowling’s agents floated this same idea last year.
http://www.teleread.com/ebooks/j-k-rowling-reportedly-considering-harry-potter-e-booksagain/
I can understand JKR’s reluctance. I think she was worried about the ability to keep the books from being pirated or leaked ahead of the release date. But they are all out there now, so that really isn’t a good reason any more.
I have all the audio books and listen to them often, especially when we travel. It’s so nice to not have to take a whole bunch of books with me.
I recently bought a Nook – not the color one, but the more basic one. I just want it for books, not magazines. And I wasn’t sure I would like it as much as a “real” book. I have found that I love it. I’ve added quite a few books to my Nook library and I like the idea that when we travel I only need to take one small book as a back up. It does have to be charged and that takes a while. I’ve read 3 or 4 books in the short time I have had it. I have also bought some for my Nook that I already owned as real books.
I would love to have all the Harry Potter books on my Nook, but like Rev George, I’m not holding my breath. It just seems like Ms. Rowling isn’t all that comfortable with some of the newer forms of reading and until she is, I doubt that she will give the OK.
I keep my hopes up – but I’ll believe it when I see it. I hope that if it does happen, that they don’t disable the search function on them. (Because my main reason for wanting a digital version is the ease of searching for passages for academic/research purposes.)
Must be old. I really prefer books. I do a lot of work on the computer, but still find that my comprehension is better when there is a piece of paper with words written down on it. I am also more likely to rifle back and forth in a book than anything on screen. I just don’t get into the same head space online
That being said, if being electronic is better for more people, than I suspect that it will eventually happen
Mixed. I love books, and I understand J.K.R’s reasoning. That said, the only reason I do not have a Kindle is because it can’t hold a HP collection. If she releases the titles, I would cave. I would love the portability.
For fun reading I have enjoyed my Sony E-reader immensely. However, when required to utilize it for a class this semester, I found it considerably lacking. Perhaps my ignorance of how to use it to search (or its incapability of search?) has something to do with it. But, more to the point, I found I had no reference to understanding how much required reading I had to plan for! I can’t go back and forth in the text by the tried-and-true fingers and post-it note tabs. I can’t write in the margins. I cannot adequately index when one is present on the e-screen.
I prefer actual codices, thank you very much. Cuneiform tablets written electronically have significant downsides IMHO.
That said, I have HP in several formats (US publications, at least 2 sets; The British publication for children; audio cassettes and CDs). So I am a perfect example of someone who would buy it in the e-version just to collect it. However, the drawback is that current e-reader proprietary editions will be out of availability to subsequent generations UNLESS you buy sufficient readers of each type to load, store, recharge, and pass on to individuals who will do the same. Else, the software will change and the “old stuff” will no longer be readable by the new machinery. (Anybody else here have Windows 98 systems and earlier which you maintain to play the “old games” on? Hmmmm?) I cannot afford that collection system.
Books! Real Books! Forever!
I’m pretty tired of this debate about “real” books versus ebooks. I think Jeff Bezos was right when he explained that when we read a good book, we don’t think about the form of the book. Instead we are lost in the story.
Right now I’m reading the works of Charles Dickens (I’m on Barnaby Rudge now). I’ve got a very nice leather bound set in my library, but I also have several versions of Dickens’ books on my Kindle. I use the Kindle every day on my 2 hour commute and the benefit of the device is that it allows me to tote a large library and, it is limited to reading books so I’m not distracted by other things electronic devices do. I find it harder to reader on a computer because there are so many other things I can do on a computer that draw my attention. (On the other hand, if I’m reading a PDF of a good book, my boss sees me sitting at the computer and thinks I’m working.)
I’m not saying Rowling is not entitled to earn as much money as she can from her work, but at some point shouldn’t she just trust the ebook retailers to protect her work from being stolen? The DRM on the Amazon Kindle seems pretty robust; of course, pirates are very smart about defeating most anti-piracy schemes. I’d definitely purchase her books again if they were available for my Kindle.