Moby Dick? Insert change here
I buy Coke and Mounds candy bars from a vending machine (don't let my wife see that), so why not Moby Dick or Tom Sawyer? That day is closer than we think. A New York-based company called On Demand Books is marketing the Espresso Book Machine, which can access books from an online database, print and bind them on demand. Consider it Amazon minus FedEx.
This Boston Globe story (and video) looks at Northshire Bookstore in Manchester Center, Vt., the first independent bookstore in the United States to install the machine. Employees there have nicknamed the ungainly machine “Lurch.’’ On Demand Books has started a pilot program making 85,000 book titles from major publishers available; the machines can also access thousands of titles in the public domain and available on the Internet, the Globe reports.
The Espresso offers indies such as Northshire a chance to fight back against fierce competition from Amazon and other online retailers. The machines also are a boon to self-publishers. Of course, there's the issue of cost -- recouping thousands of dollars in investment for the machine (that's a lot of Tom Sawyers). Some libraries such as the University of Michigan's also have bought the Espresso to boost offerings to borrowers. Michigan prices books less than 150 pages at $6 and books from 151-440 pages at $10.
Comments
Wow, I'd have to buy a book from one of those machines just to see how it works!
Posted by: Kathy | June 30, 2009 11:39 AM
Charging more for longer books than shorter ones is a bad idea. I once wrote for a dime a word and couldn't be stopped.
I'm becoming angry just thinking about a book I really want to read that drops partway down the vending machine, then gets stuck.
Posted by: patrick lackey | July 1, 2009 1:57 PM
Mounds, yum! Oh, I'm sorry, off topic!
I'd love to see the Espresso machine in action. It does seem like an expensive novelty; I wonder about the long-term practical applications.
Posted by: Dawn - She is Too Fond of Books | July 1, 2009 5:46 PM
Pretty clever, and kind of ironic. It's high-tech and low-tech at once. But doesn't the Kindle make this kind of low-tech if you're looking for a book on demand? And not very price competitive with Kindle either. Just my opinion.
Posted by: Mike Gaggia Classic | August 21, 2010 6:36 PM