The Next 10 Ebook Trends to Watch For

So, there is this article over at Online Colleges called, “The Next 10 Ebook Trends to Watch For.” I absolutely love my Kindle, so I was excited to see this. I’m going to highlight a few of the trends that I found most interesting, but you should totally go check out the article to see the rest of them!

Bundles
Whether packaging a print edition along with the ebook, blending digital versions of an author’s entire oeuvre or organizing reads thematically, many ebook enthusiasts think bundles will inspire quite the popularity surge. The added incentives might very well sway individuals and institutions unsure about whether or not they want to embrace the admittedly expensive technology.

I always thought it would be amazing if when you buy a physical copy of a book, there is a code for a digital download. Hey, they do it with DVDs! My favorite DVDs to buy are the Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital Copy combo packs. Can we do this with books as well? I love to have my favorite books in physical form, but if they had a code for a digital copy as well... heaven. Bundles in ebooks could also work for buying a whole series of a book. You should totally get a deal if you are buying a whole series at once.

Social reading sessions
Online book clubs are actually quite common these days, but ebooks have yet to really seize upon their potential. Beyond offering up discussion questions, readers themselves could include ways for members to communicate with one another via audio or video, or promote even better integration with some of the technologies and organizations already available.

I would love if there were discussion questions at the end of every book. How awesome would that be? What if there is a link at the end of the ebook that takes you to a discussion board? Ah! The possibilities. I swear... this is the greatest time to be alive!

Monetized content
Not everyone will necessarily dig embedded ads in their ebooks, even unobtrusive ones, but that doesn’t mean publishers and companies won’t try to cash in on the technology. All the same, though, monetized content doesn’t have to mean staring down "CLICK HERE!" in the middle of Cat’s Cradle. It could be anything from downloadable content — along the lines of many video games — to subscription services.

Ohhh. Monetized content. Now.. this is an interesting one. Would monetized content have any benefit to the reader? Would ebook prices be lower? Will they be like adwords throughout the book? It’s all very interesting to think about. As long as they aren’t obtrusive, I think I would be okay with monetized content. Especially if it meant lower prices for ebooks.


What do you think? Are there any trends you would like to see become popular with ebooks? Let me know!

Entertainment Weekly: First Look at Peeta and Gale

So, we have our first look at Gale and Peeta in the upcoming issue of "Entertainment Weekly." Take a look!

Photo from Entertainment Weekly

Gale looks pretty good for me. I always imagined his hair a little scruffier/longer, but I can deal with it. I have been hearing middling thoughts on him, so I agree with most of those.


Now there is Peeta. I have been hearing an overwhelmingly negative consensus. I can't believe it! I actually think Josh makes a really good Peeta. As soon as they announced him, I was like, "Yes!" To me, his facial bone structure is PERFECT for Peeta. I have also been hearing that he looks too muscular in this picture. Um. Peeta is from one of the wealthier families in District 12. He has a bit more food than Gale ever has (even with Gale's hunting--he has all those siblings to feed!). Also, he was a wrestler and for the first training he threw weights around the training center. He lifted those bags of flour all the time at home. Just because his defense in the arena was to camouflage himself, doesn't mean that was all he was capable of doing.


Anyways, this has probably turned into some sort of a rant, but I just really dislike when people are so negative all of the time. We haven't even seen a snippet of a trailer yet and people are already dismissing the movie. For me, I would much rather have their portrayal of the characters be awesome, then them look exactly right. These actors haven't even been given the chance to show us their acting yet. Can't we, as a fandom, just give them that chance? Please?


What do you think about the newest cover of "Entertainment Weekly?" I would really like to hear all of your thoughts!

Who Wants to Write a Book?

So, I was sitting here reading a book (The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Companion) and playing “Chess with Friends” with my mom when all of a sudden, an idea for a book popped into my head. I promptly stopped what I was doing and wrote said idea down. I have never taken a creative writing class nor did I major in English in college, yet I still have the grand delusion that I can someday publish a book. A book that, in fact, does not suck. Is this true for many book lovers and book bloggers? Do avid readers become the best writers? I’m not sure if either of these questions can actually be answered in the affirmative, but I tend to think so. 

My friend Becky and I even have an idea for a series of books that we would write together. We even went as far as creating Twitter accounts and Polyvore inspiration boards for the characters from these books. We talk about the days where we can head to one of my family’s vacation homes and have a writing retreat. Our lives will be consumed with the waves from the lake, writing non-stop, and the best cheese-sticks we have ever eaten. Seriously. They melt in your mouth.

The problem I seem to have is actually sitting down to write. I find that I have all of these ideas swirling in my head and it is actually hard to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). I have so many distractions (Twitter being a main one). There is also the fear of rejection and/or people actually reading my writing. There will always be people that don’t like what you write. That’s why there are so many genres and types of books. That doesn’t mean that it isn’t scary. I just think that we have to remember to not let fear hinder our potential. Like Babe Ruth said,

“Never let the fear of 

striking out get in your way.”

Or, like the adaptation of this quote from “A Cinderella Story,”

“Never let the fear of striking out

 keep you from playing the game.” 

So, I’m going to try to remember this. My semester ends soon and then I have a break until the end of August. Who is with me in giving this writing thing the old college try? Lets give each other some motivation!