Easy Chair Bookshop

When the world of reading books on a device opened up to the general public, the controversies began at once. Fear was expressed that the electronically available books were trying to destroy paper books. I've heard all the arguments from 'I prefer the feel and smell of paper,' to 'the system will fail and then where are you?' Some are determined one has to succeed and the other fail. One must be better than the other. It seems to be the way of humans to put everything into competition. Why not one for one thing and the other for another? Why does it have to be either or?

One complication regarding the reading devices has been finding the right book. The way we used to do it was head for a bookstore, read a review, hear a recommendation from a friend, or get hold of a list of what should be read from newest to classics. You could still do all that, but there are other options.

The problem with going to Amazon for the right book is how they rank their books-- i.ie. easy to find big authors and hard to find something different or new to you. Their algorithm is made up of many elements, kept secret, and most of which the reader has no idea from where they came. If you ever counted on their rankings to tell you what is selling, you might be warned the list does not mean what you think. It is weighted all right but to what? Besides with so many books, how to separate out what you wanted?

One of the huge pluses to the eReader is your ability to be in the mood for a certain type of book, or maybe the latest by your favorite author, and instead of having to run to a store, it is available at the click a button. But you still have to find it!

There are sites that have developed around the need of indie writer and reader to hook up. These enable the reader to find books by new authors, the undiscovered authors.

EasyChair Bookshop 

is fairly new and already offers a wide variety of genres by many authors. It simplifies finding a book you will find perfect for an evening read. Check it out and scan down the list of genres. The developer of this site, Australian author Susan Horsnell, keeps it free for writers and readers. Sue, who is a retired nurse, also keeps fresh work coming in; so if you checked your favorite genre last week, something new might be there this week with a blurb, cover and a link to find out more about it. 

For both the owner of an eReader and the indie writer, sites like Easy Chair Bookshop are a big asset. Incidentally, click on the link for Easy Chair, as I am author of this week :). Sue features an author and a book each week; so always something fresh to read as well as all the potential books to browse through.