🎉Cyber Week Sale: Get 30% Off Everything!
AU
United Kingdom United States Australia New Zealand India

Ebooks and tree books

 
Carl Laferton | 29 Jan 2011

For the first time, Amazon sold more e-books than paperback books in the US in the last three months of 2010, it has announced.

This is probably something of a milestone in the reading world’s journey from looking at pages to looking at Kindles, iPads and so on. And while the US is ahead of the UK in this trend, it’s likely that (as with everything else) Britain will follow their lead.

We’ve just started to produce ebook versions of some of our products (you can get the Christianity Explored paperback as an ebook) — but we’d love to know a couple of things from you:

  • Roughly what proportion of your church have devices that can read ebooks?
  • What would you most like to see released as ebooks: daily Bible reading notes (like Explore and Engage), small group notes (like Good Book Guides), or books (like If you could ask God one question)?

Do stick answers, and any comments/opinions/advice on the whole brave new world of ebookism below!

12 Comments

Pete

11:01 PM AEDT on January 8th
Percentage in my church that can read eBooks: 0%, as far as I'm aware! So don't give up on the print media!!

Jeremy Writebol

11:01 PM AEDT on January 8th
Honestly, I'd like to see everything in an ebook or PDF format. I take my iPad with me everywhere and always to the small groups I lead. I use it with my morning devotions, Sunday at worship services, during small groups - all the time! With distribution being immediate as well it makes it easy for me to buy and use material instantaneously. Please! Please! Make this a reality.

Timmy

11:01 PM AEDT on January 8th
As my job depends on print media I say no to Ebooks!

Though: If you were going to produce daily notes as ebooks i'd buy em!

Carl Laferton

11:01 PM AEDT on January 8th
Thanks, that's helpful to know! Can I just ask which side of the Atlantic people are from? At a guess - Pete in UK, Jeremy in US? Though that's all based on a generalisation, and of course you can never trust those (generally speaking!)

Ruth

11:01 PM AEDT on January 8th
Probably about 5% of us would be comfortable with e-books. The remainder would range from unsure to definitely opposed. I would be more than happy for all of your publications to be available electronically. Easier and quicker to buy, better to store and easy to access anywhere. However for those who are still to be converted, or who never will be, then please provide an option! I am in the UK!

Jeremy

11:01 PM AEDT on January 8th
@Carl - you're right... I'm in the US... As for my church I'd say about 25% use eReaders of some flavor or another with the percentage growing annually.

Tim

11:01 PM AEDT on January 8th
In this age of ipad/kindle ebooks are a no brainer, get them on all formats. Increasing number getting kindles etc to commute, at our church. ALso, Christianity Explored needs to be a lot cheaper and other titles to entice people over.
N
HOw about explore, briefing and know and tell gospel?

John Mowat

11:01 PM AEDT on January 8th
In my church (Scotland), around 15-20% use smartphones for Bible readings and (potentially at any rate) ebooks; though iPads/ebook readers are much scarcer at the moment. However for both these categories, numbers will definitely increase - possibly sharply over the next 18 months.

Daily Reading Notes and books in ebook/pdf format would be a welcome addition!

Anne

11:01 PM AEDT on January 8th
I'm well-known as a technophobe, but having just acquired a Kindle even I can see the advantages of this sort of technology. At the moment I reckon it's going to be most useful for stuff I want to dip into—Bible notes, Bible-studies and other Bible-study prep resources. With the right downloads I could use time like a train journey for my personal Bible reading and then a prep a Bible study, without having to carry round and juggle with a stash of stuff. Doesn't replace books yet, as far as I'm concerned, but I can see others going over to e-readers completely, so essential for publishers to get involved with.

Carl Laferton

11:01 PM AEDT on January 8th
Don't worry Ruth (and others)! - we're definitely NOT considering not producing paper books - I just wanted to get a bit of a feel for the demand for e-book versions of our resources, and which resources in particular would be most appreciated in that format. Thanks to all of you who've commented - and if you haven't and have a view, please keep this conversation going!

John Jones UK

11:01 PM AEDT on January 8th
ebooks or pdf files have certainly helped me this year to keep up with my bible reading. The ESV iphone app and pdf version of "for the love of God" by Don Carson have benefitted me hugely.

I think the availability of electronic readers will increase all around the world and the demand for electronic resources will increase.

Jon Lockley

11:01 PM AEDT on January 8th
What I really want is e-book daily reading notes so I can use my kindle for daily reading on the bus to work

Carl Laferton

Carl is Editorial Director at The Good Book Company and is a member of Grace Church Worcester Park, London. He is the best-selling author of The Garden, the Curtain and the Cross and God's Big Promises Bible Storybook, and also serves as series editor of the God's Word for You series. Before joining TGBC, he worked as a journalist and then as a teacher, and pastored a congregation in Hull. Carl is married to Lizzie, and they have two children. He studied history at Oxford University.