Unless you're like me and don't have an iPhone...anyway, Penguin Press has jumped into the reading + technology fray by making the first chapters of all its latest novels available to download for free.
By March 17 there will be 50 titles available online, and the publishing house plans to upload the first chapters of every fiction title each month (no word on the nonfic titles yet). You can download the chapters on Blackberries, computers. phones, etc., to see if you like the story enough to buy the actual book and read the rest. Or I suppose you could just read the first chapter of every novel that comes out; maybe that would be entertaining enough.
Click here if you want to start downloading.
man, it all comes full circle. this reminds me of the days u used to be able to listen to cds at listening stations -- or 45s in those little booths back in the old school days -- when people actually paid for their music.
not a bad idea if you have a smartphone.
Posted by: just saying | March 14, 2008 at 04:41 PM
It's definitely a good way to preview books (this from the world's biggest technophobe). Especially if you're the sort of reader who orders things online.
I remember when those CD listening stations were all the rage. It was like when amazon.com put up album clips you could listen to before buying the albums.
Posted by: Connie | March 14, 2008 at 06:02 PM