Publishers Delay E-Book Releases
Following the decision to delay the publication of electronic editions of several high-profile books, Simon & Schuster announced plans Wednesday to postpone by four months the e-book releases of 35 titles that will come out in hardcover editions between January and April.
Titles included in the delayed schedule are “The High School Reunion Diet” by David Colbert, “Point Omega” by Don DeLillo, “Courage and Consequence” by Karl Rove and “French Women Don’t Get Fat Cookbook” by Mireille Guiliano.
Adam Rothberg, a spokesman for Simon & Schuster, said the company — which previously delayed the e-book release of Stephen King’s “Under the Dome” by several weeks — had noticed that e-book sales were cannibalizing hardcover sales.
Fears and fantasies: Books help define a troubled decade
Some representative books of the 2000s — about fear of the real world and dreams about other worlds, whether the historical past, the unreachable future or a supernatural present.
-The “Harry Potter” series, J.K. Rowling. The record-setting fantasy series defied and defined the times. It stunned cynics by unearthing millions of young readers who only needed the right book to get them started. It scorned the digital market by remaining unavailable in electronic form. And, with millions of Potter readers 21 or older, it revealed a generation that didn’t – and doesn’t – want to grow up.
-The “Twilight” series, Stephenie Meyer. After Rowling rested, in 2007, the masses turned to romance and vampires. Most of the readers were girls, but by the end of the decade women were caught up, too.
“The Da Vinci Code,” Dan Brown. A novel, and a metaphor – for escape and word of mouth, for history as conspiracy and wish fulfilment, for world travel and the monster under your bed, for success as a symbol of success.
What do you think of the e-book delay? Do you think it’s fair or is it just about money for the publishing companies?
I 100% agree that the Harry Potter series has helped define the 2000’s. Do you agree that HP, Twilight and Da Vinci Code have defined this decade? If not what books/series do you think have defined it?
