Penguin Publishing On Board With E-Books

Penguin is jumping onto the ever more popular “ebook” craze. The publisher has announced that they will start releasing an “ebook” version alongside new paper releases starting in September. In addition to that an initiative to get around 5,000 back catalogue titles onto your e-reader is under way. Unfortunately the price will be the same, so “ebook” afficionados won’t get a price break. Which sucks when you consider how expensive something like Amazon’s Kindle costs.

The company has found that the popular titles are the same whether they are digital or paper. "We have seen in other markets that the digital bestsellers are the same books making it to the top of the bestseller lists and we know our readers expect both editions to be available at the same time," said Penguin digital director Genevieve Shore to the UK Telegraph.

I still have an issue reading a book off a screen, but the market seems to be interested in “ebooks.” They’ve been around for quite a few years, but never had the sort of appeal that would lure publishers into the game. The Kindle has helped change that, even though I’d rather listen to an audio book when I’m on a long train commute. But personal feeling aside, this is another move by the publishing arm of the book industry to move into a digital world.