Gene Therapy: Embracing E-books
The primary purpose of the Reader, of course, is to introduce the convenience, economies and portability of e-books to consumers. As with all re-flowable reading devices and platforms, the books that most benefit are one-color general trade and reference works that do not have complex text and graphic element structures. (Because text can flow freely into the available screen area when, for instance, font sizes are increased, tying text to graphical elements is a challenge.) However, the Reader sports eight shades of grey, and handles images and illustrations quite well, according to Daniel Albohn, Sony Reader manager of new business development, who for the past six years has been working in the publishing industry’s digital space, and is seen regularly at IDPF, BookExpo America and many other industry gatherings evangelizing for the Reader and strengthening Sony’s relationships with publishers and librarians.
Eugene G. Schwartz is editor at large for ForeWord Reviews, an industry observer and an occasional columnist for Book Business magazine. In an earlier career, he was in the printing business and held production management positions at Random House, Prentice-Hall/Goodyear and CRM Books/Psychology Today. A former PMA (IBPA) board member, he has headed his own publishing consultancy, Consortium House. He is also Co-Founder of Worthy Shorts Inc., a development stage online private press and publication service for professionals as well as an online back office publication service for publishers and associations. He is on the Publishing Business Conference and Expo Advisory Board.