Will Oyster, the "Netflix for books," be successful?

It's called the Netflix for books. Oyster has arrived and seems to be on track to pull off the all-you-can-read-buffet of books after so many other companies failed. The company charges $9.95 a month, in which you can read more than 100,000 books from companies such as HarperCollins and Smashwords. However, it's only an iPhone and iPod Touch app for now.

Here's a news video about Oyster:

I thought about a subscription model for books a few years ago, but I knew it would take a big publisher to come on board for it to be successful. HarperCollins, which had aquired the Eos line of science fiction books and renamed it Harper Voyager, will be the key to Oyster's success because it provides quality books. Smashwords, a distributer of indie books, on the other hand, provides the volume of books that Oyster needs to justify its subscription price and attract customers. I couldn't find information detailing the pay model for publishers and ultimately authors, so I'm not going to get into that discussion, but I assume it's by the number of views.

Here's how I think Oyster has great potential:

Imagine Reading on Flexible and Transparent Screens; It's No Longer Science Fiction

I may be a little behind in new technology updates, but I saw a report about a bendable e-reader device called Wexley Flex One. Imagine reading books on this thing (science fiction books, in my case) without worrying about dropping it and breaking the screen. Here's a video of the device:



But this is not the only thing that utilizes this technology. Samsung is making smartphones that use it, and I'm quite impressed. It seems that bendable screens from science fiction stories have finally come to reality. Here's a video of some concept phones that will use this technology and what you can do with it:



Soon, we'll get transparent screens, but it may take a bit longer for them to become widely used. I wonder how that will affect reading. Will it make text easier on the eyes or just provide distractions from what's behind the screen? I love videos, so here's one on transparent screens:



What are your thoughts about this new technology and its implication for reading books?

No Games Here. Check Out the "Ender's Game" and "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" Trailers

I've been working on a science fiction book trilogy for young adults, so it's been a long time since I posted anything, but don't worry, I'm back to blogging! First, I want to share some movie trailers.

There are two books I've enjoyed that are coming to movie theaters soon. They are Ender's Game and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

Here's a trailer for Ender's Game:

I've been waiting for the movie adaption for Ender's Game for years and am glad that it's finally coming to theaters. There is a reason that it is the highest-selling science fiction book of all time. It's a great book and hopefully will be a great movie.

And here's a trailer for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire:

 

I read the books and watched the first movie, and although I wasn't too impressed with the first movie, I'm hoping this one will be better.

What do you think? Are you looking forward to any of these movies?