Whatever happened to cheap eReaders?


A Kindle hidden in a hollowed out paper book.

Way back in 2012, The Guardian reviewed an eInk reader which cost a mere £8. The txtr beagle was designed to be a stripped-down and simplified eReader. As far as I can tell, it never shipped. There were a few review units sent out but I can't find any evidence of consumers getting their hands on one. Also, that £8 price was the subsidised price when purchased with a mobile contract. Their w…

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Get alerted when your Kobo wishlist books drop in price


Screenshot of an email showing cheap books.

The brilliant kobodl Python package allows you to interact with your Kobo account programmatically. You can list all the books you've purchased, download them, and - as of version 0.12.0 - view your wishlist. Here's a rough and ready Python script which will tell you when any the books on your wishlist have dropped below a certain amount. Table of ContentsPrerequisitesGet your wishlistSort the …

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Is it faster to read or to listen?


A reel-to-reel tape recorder.

Fourteen years ago, I blogged about the future of voice. In the post, I asked these two questions - which I'd nicked from someone else: Are you faster at speaking or typing? Are you faster at reading or listening? Lots of us now use Siri, Alexa, Bixby, and the like because it is quicker to speak than type. For long-form wordsmithing - it's still probably easier to type-and-edit than it is to…

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Weeknotes: Reading Week


A book towering above some flames.

Last month, I took myself on holiday with one aim - read as many books as possible. My wife and I tend to alternate our holidays - one relaxing break then one adventure break. Our previous trip was a 3 week road-trip through Australia, so this time I opted for an all-inclusive break in the Canaries at an adults-only hotel. I spent a week lying in the sunshine, eReader in hand, pausing only for…

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Redefining The Book


A Kindle hidden in a hollowed out paper book.

Jasper Fforde releases upgrade patches for his books. If he has made an error of fact, created a plot hole or missspelt a word - you can download an upgrade for your book.  How cool is that? He also has a "cut scenes" repository where you can see the chapters which were cruelly cut by his editor. There's even a director's commentary available. Along with behind the scenes material, …

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