E-Readers Are Cool

That's right, E-readers were the gift of gifts this holidays. Now the Pew Institute have crunched the numbers to look at who was buying them and how this has changed over time. Report here.

The researchers performed phone interviews with 2,986 people and asked them, "Are you cool enough to own the greatest gadget since Maxwell Smart's shoe phone?" With an error rate of 2.2%, the results were as follows:

• E-readers and tablets were owned by 10% of people in December 2011.
• This was 19% in January 2012.
• The proportion of people owning at least one of these two increased from 18% to 29%.
• Tablet owners are likely to be under 50 years old and have graduated college.
• They are also likely to make enough money to buy lots of apps and books.
• E-readers are more popular with women and the 30-49 age group.
• E-readers are still pretty popular with anyone under 65.
• College graduates and rich folks also love E-readers.
• You should own an E-reader.

I have my E-reader, the new Kindle. I still love my pile of dead tree books, but I also love my Kindle.

My Kindle and a DTB

Book Review: Sunset Express by Robert Crais

Sunset Express by Robert Crais
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is my first Robert Crais novel, after having to return a previous attempt to the library - stupid overdue fees! For Sunset Express I was well prepared, I bought a copy so that I would definitely have the chance to read an Elvis Cole and Joe Pike mystery. A very worthy investment.

While I'm indifferent about some of the characters in the novel, Elvis is a great narrator and has just the right amount of wit and humour. Robert has certainly crafted an interesting series of investigative twists, while at the same time retaining a level of reality. I really did enjoy this book and will be picking up the rest of the series soon.

On a side note, Robert's style of writing is similar to the style I am pursuing in my writing. A serious novel with wit and humour, while also avoiding some of the neatly tied up ending cliches. From what I've read in Sunset Express, I'd be very pleased to have my WIP first novel, Overturned Stones, be comparable to Robert's work.

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