E-Books

Announcing NYRB Classics e-books! If all goes according to plan, our first batch will go on sale (through all the standard electronic book retailers, not directly through us, as yet) later this month.

The April selections are:
Stoner by John Williams
Wish Her Safe at Home by Stephen Benatar
Everything Flows by Vasily Grossman

in May
A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes
The Siege of Krishnapur by J.G. Farrell
Hard Rain Falling by Don Carpenter

Let us know if there's any book you'd particularly like to see as an e-book (nb: we may or may not be able to produce an electronic version, but we'll try). We're also very curious as to what your e-book reading experience has been, what type of device you use, or are considering using, and where you acquire e-books.

Many thanks for your help!

I was just telling a friend that the only way I could cross over to the dark side and start reading eBooks was if you (and Persephone) start selling them. I have my eye on the Microsoft Courier.

Will the eBook editions be less expensive than the paperback editions?

It would be nice to have the Elizabeth David books available on eBook format, to consult while grocery shopping.

I would like to see the following books on the Kindle ebook:

Skylark
Wish Her Safe at Home
The Summer Book
Memoirs of Montparnasse
The Slynx
The Slaves of Solitude
Ice
The Notebooks of Joseph Joubert
The Lord Chandos and Other Writings
Hons and Rebels
Indian Summer
Walter Benjamin
The Unknown Masterpiece
Morte D'Urban
The Wedding of Zein

and all the books I would like to see published by NYRB

P.S. I do not believe ebook readers represent the dark side. I have limited space in my house. My local library does not carry any NYRB titles. My local library also charges for interlibrary loan and any additional fees charged by the lending institution. I regularly recycle books, but I usually fill the space immediately with books that have been sitting on the floor.

Oh that is interesting. I was given a Kindle this year but I do love the NYRB covers. . . I do find it convenient to have lots of reading material in one place. I had not thought about being to consult a book at the grocery store but I do love the idea.

Maren,

I expect the iPad will allow you to see the covers in color, if not in the first iteration then in the second. Apparently, an application also exists for transferring one's Kindle books to the iPad at least that was what I was told by a Mac representative today. I am not sure about the legalities of this arrangement. Supposedly, Amazon wishes to hop on board.

Oh dear. I don't know that I ready or able to afford the iPad yet. I can imagine that would be tempting. I can also imagine there will be some legal wrangling.

I fell in love with the iPad, but I am waiting for the next generation before I sign on. Amazon already has its own Mac and Windows applications that allow you to read the books you have purchased from Amazon on your computer. It is rather nice as it does allow one to see the covers in color. Presumably, Amazon will use a similar method for the iPad.

ebook update! The schedule was switched around a bit from our original post above. But all of those in the original post are out or soon will be.

New titles:
Troubles
The Jokers
Skylark
A Meaningful Life

Hi,

I posted a list of the 13 books we have available as ebooks to our blog. Have a look:

bit.ly/ar9WjI