Newer, shorter books

We all know how many students come into the library with a request for "a short book". A book report assignment often calls out this response. Now the makers of ebook reading devices are answering this call, for adults as well as young people. A few weeks ago Kindle announced plans to publish short books--somewhere between a novella and a novel--that will be sold for Kindle. Now more publishers are jumping into the game, often to provide materials to read on i-phones, i-pads and other small mobile devices. According to a N.Y. Times story, this trend may lead to some big changes in publishing as writers and editors learn to tailor their wares to the needs of today's readers. With magazines fading from prominence for many readers, there is a need for a detailed account of events or a complex story, but one that does not require a full book to recount. Another advantage of the short form is that the time from the conception of the idea to the availability of the text is much shorter than for conventional books. It will be interesting to see whether the revolution in Egypt and turmoil in other Arab countries will be detailed in some of these new, short, immediate ebooks.

For those who mourn the decline of the printed book, there is a cheerful sight in San Francisco this weekend as the lavish booths of the World's Largest Antiquarian Book Fair were on display. There were plenty of lovers of print books around to browse, enjoy, and even purchase the books, which range in price from under $100 to over a million.