Ryne Douglas Pearson's Blog, page 20

Even as a pure eReader, how much longer can Kindle maintain its monochrome self?

 

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The new Nook Color will be offering the following:

Stunning 7-inch color touchscreen
Magazines & newspapers in rich color
Kids' books come alive
Over 2 million titles at your fingertips
Get social, surf the web, play games, even listen to music

Check out all the features of the new Nook Color.

The eBook version of my serial killer thriller, Top Ten, originally published by Putnam, is now available from Amazon and Barnes & Noble for just $2.99.








 

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What is Top Ten about?

A killer who believes himself an artist of unmatched talent is incensed when he is placed last on the FBI's most wanted list, and begins killing off those fugitives above him, each in a twisted manner that serves his creative vision.

But his horrific climb to the top, which leaves both guilty and innocent dead in its wake, must be stopped by a young, driven FBI agent who is given an almost impossible and equally inexplicable task— save number five on the list.

At all costs.

This eBook version of Top Ten is what I call the 'Author's Cut'. When it was originally published in hardcover, the publisher insisted on deleting several scenes that they considered 'too intense'. I disagreed, but had to make the cuts for the book to move forward. I always felt that they 'neutered' the backstory of the antagonist. Now, with rights reverted to me, and being in control, those forced edits are back in. I hope you give it a shot and enjoy it!

Thank you.

Last week I gave my impressions on reading apps for the iPhone, with a head to head comparison between the Kindle and Nook apps.



Oops. Uh, iBooks...my bad.



Honestly, though, I never use the iBooks app to read on my iPhone. Don't know why, but I just don't. I do, however, use iBooks on my iPad, right alongside the Kindle and Nook apps. Why so many reading apps (sorry, Kobo, you just don't do it for me)? Simple reason--I'm an app slut.
So, which reading app do I prefer on the iPad? For the iPhone the clear winner was the Nook app, which surprised me since I had just happily tooled along mostly using my Kindle app. For the iPad the winner is...



The Nook app.



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What the...



I know, I know. The same. There are reasons for this choice, but it was a closer decision than between just the Kindle and Nook apps on the iPhone.



First, iBooks is very nice to read on. And the 'pages left in chapter' information at the bottom of the screen is very useful--as in, 'Hey, can I finish this chapter before falling asleep? Oh, only thirty pages? Cool.' In a way I prefer this to Nook's attempt to keep the physical book concept of 'pages' (where multiple screens might constitute a physical page), which itself is better than the absurd 'locations' nonsense. 'Locations' seems like something a programmer thought would be cool, but is little more than confusing.



But both iBooks and Kindle on the iPad still are missing those wonderful personalization features that the Nook app integrates so seamlessly. The ability to change margins, line spacing, in addition to the ubiquitous font size manipulation, again put the Nook app out in front of the pack, with iBooks a few lengths behind.



The Kindle app, not surprisingly I suppose, feels the most basic, which is in line with its hardware namesake. Still, would it be impossible to bring the additional customization features to the app?



The Nook gets so much right with such minor enhancements I expect its competitors to catch up quickly. If they're smart.

From the History Channel, a critical look at the fact and fiction surrounding the events at 112 Ocean Avenue. Be sure to check out Part 2 as well.

My old, old Royal.

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A terrific historical drama, with surprisingly realistic period battle scenes. A favorite that gives a fresh look at George Washington.




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You think I'm making that up?

I never thought I would, but I do occasionally read on my iPhone. So I decided to fire up both the apps and take a gander at my novel, Top Ten, on each in a sort of 'Battle Of The Apps'.

These are my opinions on features, and not an exhaustive review of every tiny detail, because that's how I judge things. They work, work well, work really well, or blow chunks of dead donkey butt.

Good news first--neither app blows. But there are some reasons that I say this--on the iPhone, the Nook app comes out clearly ahead. I'll list my reasons.

First, the cover image looks better. I don't know why, but it does. That matters not a damn to what the book is, but, hey, I like covers.

Next, the Nook app handles the table of contents much, much better than the Kindle app. It looks nicer, functions more intuitively, and just plain works well. Maybe even really well. I only wish it wasn't almost lost under the 'Go To' button.

I also like the choices the Nook app gives you to manage your screen real estate. To most people, this might not matter, but beyond changing the font size, the Kindle app offers very little in this area. The Nook app allows you to change line spacing, font, margins, and to save all these choices as a theme. If the Kindle app allows anywhere near this level of customization, I couldn't find how. Granted, straight up you can read pretty darned good on both apps, but if you need those tweaks the nook seems way out front at this point to make the book look the way you want it on screen.

Finally, the little 'i' button brings up a wealth of information about the book, and other books by the author, right in the reading pane with one touch. The Kindle app handles something similar with more steps.

I was surprised that the Nook app came out ahead when I looked at them head to head. The Kindle and its apps are so pervasive, and work well enough that few people complain. But they have a competitor, if not in deliverable content, then surely in the way to purchase and enjoy that content.

Bob Guccione died yesterday. Most will remember him for his creation, Penthouse. You know, the magazine with all the true letters.

But Bob was also publisher of one of the best Science Fact/Fiction magazines ever: Omni.

 

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Like the works of Ray Bradbury, I tended to think it was more 'speculative fiction' than plain science-fiction which Omni offered, from greats such as Orson Scott Card, Theodore Sturgeon, Isaac Asimov, and many others. But, sadly, the magazine flourished for too short a time, faded in the late 80's, and died fully in 1995. I still have Issue #1 with that fence line stretching out toward a blue horizon on the cover.

Omni cemented my growing love for short form speculative fiction. For me, it was the literary equivalent of the Twilight Zone. I miss it.

If you were a fan, or want at least a glimpse of what Omni was, check out Omni Magazine Online. A sort of tribute site to what once was.