How to use this Page

By Evan Schnittman

Last week two announcements were made that support the claims made by yours truly regarding sales of Kindles and Sony Readers, and the corresponding rise in ebook sales that will occur in 2008.

TIME Magazine reported that sales of the 130,000 titles available in the Kindle Store represented 12% of the sales of the exact same 130,000 titles in other formats. This is a significant increase as Jeff Bezos reported at the end of May this figure was 6% of 125,000 titles.

The doubling of the percentage on a bigger base points to two very interesting trends – the first is the clearly growing number of Kindle owners – I cannot imagine that kind of ebook sales growth is possible on a similar number of devices. The device sales must be skyrocketing.

The other trend that may be exposed here is the sheer number of ebooks being purchased. Last month some of the bigger trade publishers announced they were increasing the number of titles available for the Kindle. This was done not because of any arm-twisting by Amazon – but clearly as a response to the demand. And just as lack of product has helped to keep ebooks unsuccessful to date, the opposite is helping drive consumer enthusiasm and buying.

More evidence that the e-ink based devices such as Kindle and Sony’s Reader have been selling well comes from further up the supply chain, from the screen manufacturer, PVI. As I reported in the last article, PVI manufactures the 6 inch EPD for Sony and Amazon (the iRex Iliad does not use a 6 inch screen) and in a report files in DIGITIMES last week, PVI reported “Small- to medium-size panel supplier Prime View International (PVI) saw its June sales rebound 23% sequentially to NT$663 million (US$21.79 million) as demand for niche products, including electrophoretic displays (EPDs), picked up, according to the company.” While this is hardly definitive, it should be enough to support the theory that e-ink reader sales are increasing.

This is good news for ebooks – and more good news happened with the opening of Apple’s App Store for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Even though I am not a big believer in LCD screen ebook readers (I find them very difficult on the eyes for immersive reading), I am thrilled that the iPhone/iPod juggernaut will now contain a variety of choices for reading ebooks. I look forward to seeing how ebook retailers, wholesalers, and publishers tap into this wonderful market and what inventive business models Mr. Jobs creates for ebooks. Oh, wait, Steve Jobs doesn’t think Americans read – maybe that dream of an iBooks store is a just pipe dream…

ShareThis

I honestly had a love/hate relationship with this book. Ok, maybe hate is too strong of a word, especially since I didn't hate anything about it, I actually rather liked it, however there were definitely parts where I was somewhat disappointed as to where the story was leading and how it's main character was acting. I suppose that is a part of a lot of books (I should know that by now, eh?), I guess just fell in love with the beginning of the story and wasn't quite as in love when the book ended. Still an enjoyable read and one I know young girls will like.

Charlotte Kandel has created a story around a timeless life lesson: be careful what you wish for. 13 year old Daphne was dropped off at an orphanage right after she was born and grew up wondering what it would be like to have a family. She also grew up being in love with ballet and dancing and wished for a day when she had the time to practice and the money to take lessons. When a mysterious package arrives anonymously in the mail for her, containing a book about ballet and a scarlet pair of stockings, Daphne is perplexed, but intrigued, especially when she discovers that the stockings are magic.

When she wears the stockings, magical things happen to her. She begins to be great at ballet and most importantly, is adopted by a wonderful family right there in London. She is able to begin taking dancing lessons and life seems to be great, until greed gets ahold of Daphne. The stockings change Daphne, making her want more and more out of life until it doesn't matter anymore who she hurts in the process. She leaves her family to study ballet far away and actually begins to make it rather big in the ballet world, landing a great role, though leaves her family in the dark the entire time. She becomes selfish, arrogant, and pompous. When Daphne realizes she no longer likes herself or the life she now has, making her wonder just where the real Daphne went. She must overcome the power of the stockings to return to who she once was and who she really wants to be.

This really is an enjoyable book and I think young girls will really enjoy Daphne's story. The jacket is absolutely beautiful with swirly pink letters and gold foil, instantly making me want to pick it up. The direction I first thought it would go is not how the story ended up, leaving me a tad bit disappointed. I didn't like how wicked Daphne became, though I know it was to show just how much a material possession, especially one with magic, could rule a young girl's life. I do recommend this book to others, especially girls between about 8 and 12 and will be purchasing it for the library. I know it won't stay on the shelves long, just as much as I know I would like to see more from Charlotte Kandel!

by Charlotte Kandel

More than anything, orphan Daphne wants to dance. When she receives (anonymously) a book on ballet, along with a pair of strange stockings, she begins practicing every chance she can. Her life takes a dramatic turn when, not only does she get adopted, but she discovers that the stockings are magical.

I have mixed feelings about The Enchanted Riddle. My main problem with it was the main character. She seemed like a really good, sweet person one moment and then the next she would (for no comprehensible reason) do awful things that I couldn't understand. Perhaps the author was trying to show that the stockings (which end up being more of a curse than a blessing) were controlling her and making her act that way? The whole magic element of the book seemed lacking, too.

So, I disliked the things I mentioned above, but still enjoyed the book quite a bit. Books about struggling, aspiring performers are right up my ally. The overall tone of the book was even a little reminiscent of Noel Streatfeild's lovely Shoe series. My favorite parts were the descriptions of the theater and performances. If you're passionate about the performing arts, I would definitely recommend this book as a light, enjoyable read.