About a year ago, I wrote a blog about ebook readers and my decision to purchase a Sony PRS-505. I have absolutely no regrets, and I still love my reader; I can no longer say, though, that I "wouldn't trade it for anything."

First, I'm thrilled, pleased and tickled to death that after decades of owning ebook readers I'm finally using a product that's likely to become part of the mainstream. I've got at least three obsolete devices sitting around for which I can no longer purchase books. I truly believe that ebooks are here to stay this time. You can't read an industry publication these days without seeing at least one article about the evolving ebook market. Ebooks are the only segment of the book industry whose sales have seen a dramatic increase during the recession, and I know at least half a dozen people who are asking for an e-reader for the holidays this year. (Not to mention the fact that I'm frequently seeing others with these devices on the bus; mine is no longer a novelty.)

The technology is changing rapidly, however, and the decision as to which reader to get – and when to get it – has become much more complex. When I was choosing one just last year, my options were really just the Kindle and the Sony e-Reader. Well, now Amazon has two versions of the Kindle available, and Sony has two with a third one due out later this year. In addition, Barnes and Noble's first digital reader, the Nook (where DO they come up with these names!?) is now out and looks incredibly cool, with a split screen and color touchpad. (Some publications are already referring to it as "the Kindle Killer.") Apple, a company which seems to have cornered the market on sleek-looking devices that work well, is touting some sort of yet-to-be-seen tablet computer that they're planning to market as a book reader, too. I've also been using my Apple iTouch to read books via the free apps, and I think it works surprisingly well; I've currently got five different reader apps on the device, including the Kindle Reader and the B&N Reader. If you already own an iTouch or iPhone, it's a great way to see if reading books electronically is something that suits you. (I also know many people who prefer "real" books and find the idea of reading on an electronic device simply abhorrent).

So how do you settle on an ebook reader, if you're thinking about getting one? In all honesty, I don't know of anyone who has regretted their purchase, whether they went with the Sony or the Kindle. I'm sure those people are out there, but I haven't run into one yet, so there may be no "wrong" decision (it's too early to know about the Nook, and I don't know enough friends with other types of ereaders to be able to form an opinion). Whichever ereaders catches your eye, I strongly recommend you find a way to physically handle the devices you're considering, as that may swing your decision one way or the other (it was a major factor in my original decision). It's also a good idea to make a list of the features that are really important to you, and check to see where your chosen device stacks up. For example, if you are dead set that you want wireless content delivery your options are more limited. It's essential that you do your homework; I do know of one person who had planned to check out electronic books from her local library, only to find her Kindle's proprietary format kept her from being able to do that.

Most importantly, though, realize that if you get and ebook reader now, there will be a better one coming out in six months; that's just the way it's going to be for a few years. You could wait, of course, but you could end up playing the waiting game forever, since the technology is constantly evolving and will do so for some time to come (similar to the way PCs improve dramatically every few years). So my advice: Just go for it!

BookBrowse reviewer Kim Kovacs is an avid reader in the Pacific Northwest. All those rainy days give her the opportunity to enjoy a wide variety of books that span many genres. Browse Kim's reviews.

Steampunk: It's not as new, confusing, or weird as you may have heard. In fact, this sub-genre of science fiction is actually quite warm and welcoming – and it's loads of fun. So let's take a minute to talk about what it is, and where it came from.

"Steampunk" is a style (of books, video games, comic books, movies, and more) that hearkens back to the fantastic/adventure literature of the nineteenth century. Jules Verne's stories about exploration and mayhem, H.G. Wells and his tales of alien invasion and time travel, and Mary Shelley's tome about science gone awry ... in these famous works you'll find the seeds of the modern steampunk sensibility.

The above-mentioned authors and their literary brethren were writing science fiction – but they were writing it well before the microchip, the internet, or even in some cases, the internal combustion engine. Their idea of the future was colored by the technology they had at hand.

In their day, steam power was the very height of innovation.
Therefore, they assumed that steam would be the power source of the future.

In the 1950s and 1960s, pop culture rediscovered the "feel" of these old stories, and began to revisit them with a mid-century flair. Some people point to the 1954 movie 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea as the first steampunk production, and it's a good contender – with the wonderful, weird, incongruous technology and Victorian vibe; and 1965's Wild Wild West television show demonstrated nicely that strange gadgetry and adventure tech didn't have to be British to be chock full of scope and charm. Disney went back and did it again in 1968 with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, a lighthearted throwback to the iconic retro mad science oeuvre.

In the 1980s, a fresh band of writers took a look back at the first folks who looked forward. K. W. Jeter, Tim Powers, and James Blaylock in particular were having a marvelous time with these "Victorian fantasies." In fact, it is Jeter who is generally credited with coining the term "steampunk" to describe them. In 1987 he sent a letter to the magazine Locus, wherein he searched for a collective term for the fiction trend, saying it should be called by, "...something based on the appropriate technology of the era; like 'steampunks', perhaps."

The 1990s saw fresh blood added to the field. William Gibson and Bruce Sterling's The Difference Engine in 1990 called attention to the possibilities; and Paul DiFilippo's 1995 Steampunk Trilogy brought the term to the forefront. And in 1999 Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen comics (and the subsequent movie in 2003) gave the world at large a very good look at what this whole "steampunk" thing could be.

And now its popularity is surging once more, with renewed interest from publishers, movie studios, and video game producers breathing new life into steampunk – and it's poised to become more popular than ever.

At least, I certainly hope so.

My own steampunk novel, Boneshaker, hits the shelves on September 29, and I'm so excited I can hardly see straight ... so I might not be the world's most impartial source on the matter. But I do hope you'll take a chance on the next steampunk book or movie you see. You just might enjoy it, and find it more familiar – yet more exciting and different – than you ever expected.



Cherie Priest is the author of seven novels, including Boneshaker and the Blooker-award winning Four and Twenty Blackbirds, plus Fathom, Wings to the Kingdom, and the Endeavour-nominated book Not Flesh Nor Feathers from Tor. Her short novels Dreadful Skin and Those Who Went Remain There Still are published by Subterranean Press. She lives in Seattle, Washington, with her husband and a fat black cat.
She can be found online at cheriepriest.com and theclockworkcentury.com. Her novel, Boneshaker, can be found in all good US bookstores.

Kim Kovacs, BookBrowse reviewer

The following is in response to Lynda East's question to Kim after reading her Jan 1st blog "My Secret Addiction".Lynda asks, "Can you comment on the benefits and problems of the Sony eReader versus the Amazon Kindle? Their prices are comparable and both out of my price range right now (like you, my Christmas gift hints fell on deaf ears) ..."


I've thought ebook readers were a nifty idea ever since seeing one in the first Star Trek movie way back in 1979 (the technological dark ages!).  I purchased my first digital reader in 1998, but paid the price of being an early adopter when the model I had was discontinued a few years later and I could no longer purchase books for it. I tried reading digital books on my Dell Axim for awhile, but it just wasn't the same. I eventually abandoned that, too, coming to the conclusion that the rest of the world just wasn't as ready for digital books as I was, and contented myself with old-fashioned paper for the next several years.
 
Then Amazon announced their reader, the Kindle.  As far as I was concerned, the heavens opened and the angels sang on the day I heard about that device! I was certain that with Amazon's prominence, plus their backing of digital paper technology, the ebook was about to see its renaissance. I was all set to buy one early last year ... and then I saw Sony's version and fell head-over-heels in lust.

I proceeded to debate for MONTHS as to which ebook reader to purchase. The Kindle unquestionably has better features. You can get content anywhere, without a computer. It comes with an e-mail account. You can read newspapers and magazines on it. It's got free access to Wikipedia and other web sites. You can write notes in it. It's got a built-in dictionary. The books are generally less expensive.

However ...

I'm sorry, but the Kindle is just plain ugly. Its controls look like something out of a bad 1950's sci-fi flick.

And so, I waffled. Should I go with features or design?

My husband, eventually tiring of hearing my non-stop deliberations, asked me why I wanted one, and my response was that I wanted to read books with it. The question made me realize that the features on the Kindle are nice, but unimportant if you don't use them. It was the push I needed. I went with my heart instead of my head. I just couldn't love the Kindle, and so got the Sony PRS-505 in metallic navy blue.

On the plus side, Sony was less expensive than the Kindle, and I got 100 free classics as part of the purchase, most of which I would have bought anyway, thus actually saving money (so I rationalize). The Sony Store frequently offers free books and very low-cost books; most paperbacks are priced comparably to those offered for the Kindle, with new books often being more expensive. I've purchased 12 books averaging out to $10.66 per book - a little higher than the Kindle's $9.99. When you factor in the free books, though, my cost per book drops to $1.08 (118 books in my library). I understand there are more books available for the Kindle than the Sony reader, but so far those on my list are either available in both formats or in neither.

The ideal, of course, would be to combine Sony's design with the Kindle's features. I'm hoping that someday Amazon will improve the appearance of their product. The version due out next year looks even worse than the current one in my opinion, which further influenced my decision (which I haven't regretted for a moment). I doubt the Sony device will be my last ebook, though. Rumor has it Apple is coming out with their version next year (yes, I'm fickle).


Kim adds .... There are about 10 ebook readers on the market, plus you can use Microsoft Reader or Adobe Reader to purchase books in electronic format, readable on any handheld device (like the iPhone, Palm Pilot, Windows Mobile devices, etc.). The other readers are mostly bare-bones versions that don't have enough content available for them to suit my tastes (or most other readers', I imagine).