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Oyster, a Start-Up for E-Reading, Raises $14 Million

dealbook.nytimes.com

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Re: Oyster, a Start-Up for E-Reading, Raises $14 Million

#21

Post by msutherl »

netrus wrote: post #10

When i was a nerdy little boy, had someone asked me what I'd do with 1 million dollar, I might have answered I would build a huge library, because nothing is as awesome as a great library. Today, I have the biggest encyclopedia humankind ever made with me all the time, my university gives me access to the most recent research in my field from anywhere in the world, and for a tiny fraction of my income I get all the g…

What makes a great library great is the selection of which books to include and which to exclude. Amazon reviews aside, access to everything is only the first and a less significant step toward achieving your dream.

Re: Oyster, a Start-Up for E-Reading, Raises $14 Million

#22

Post by desireco42 »

blparker wrote: post #17
desireco42 wrote: post #7

I am Oyster subscriber. Their app is pleasant to use. I do miss a little more organization, but I am fine with it overall. It is heavily curated ie. you get a lot of suggestions. And since they have rather limited selection, this is great. I managed to read through 3 books already and have a queue of several. I noticed that some were from Gutenberg project, so I guess they will not have to pay for those. Overall I li…

Do you find an incentive to read more as to ensure that you are getting your monthly money's worth?

More, I like to read and once I start to read a good story, it is hard to stop, so them curating helps a great deal.

It is not that great with SF, it is more my heroic efforts that found some SF to be read. I hope they will use money to get more.

Also, I would say, some social aspects where you can discuss books you want to read or just read, would be nice. I am member of goodreads and frankly, I am tempted by promise of them being integrated into newer kindles. I have rather old one (like a year or two :) )

Re: Oyster, a Start-Up for E-Reading, Raises $14 Million

#23

Post by desireco42 »

manishsharan wrote: post #6

I am paying something similar per month for safari service from Oreilly ( mostly tech books). I would gladly switch to a service that offers a wider range of books .

I thought this didn't sound right...

42.99 per month after trial ... as per Safari site

or limited to 10 titles ($27.99/mo after first 6 Months)

Re: Oyster, a Start-Up for E-Reading, Raises $14 Million

#24

Post by ryanSrich »

I'm really having a hard time with this product. It's basically taking something that exists for free...a library...and repackaging it as an app.

Now don't get me wrong I admire a nicely designed product just as much as the next person but how is this worth $10 alone?

I can literally subscribe to an RSS feed that gives me free ebooks daily[1]. Granted they aren't always the best reads but they are free. Aside from that I can go to the local library and checkout any physical book I want for free.

I think a much better product would be monthly unlimited audio books. Like spotify combined with audible. Now that I would pay for.

1.) http://www.freebooksifter.com/

Re: Oyster, a Start-Up for E-Reading, Raises $14 Million

#25

Post by jonknee »

ilamont wrote: post #12

I am concerned about a Spotify-style situation arising with these subscription reading services, in which platform operators and powerful middlemen reap the profits while content creators get the scraps (1). GigaOm found that both Scribd and Oyster have been vague about the payouts for authors (2), and this new article by the NY Times doesn't clear up the uncertainty. 1. http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2012/09/26/…

Considering there is a per-read fee paid it has to be better than libraries are for authors.

Re: Oyster, a Start-Up for E-Reading, Raises $14 Million

#26

Post by thrill »

ryanSrich wrote: post #24

I'm really having a hard time with this product. It's basically taking something that exists for free...a library...and repackaging it as an app. Now don't get me wrong I admire a nicely designed product just as much as the next person but how is this worth $10 alone? I can literally subscribe to an RSS feed that gives me free ebooks daily[1]. Granted they aren't always the best reads but they are free. Aside from th…

Libraries are not free - you pay for them whether you use them or not.

Re: Oyster, a Start-Up for E-Reading, Raises $14 Million

#27

Post by dajohnson89 »

thrill wrote: post #26
ryanSrich wrote: post #24

I'm really having a hard time with this product. It's basically taking something that exists for free...a library...and repackaging it as an app. Now don't get me wrong I admire a nicely designed product just as much as the next person but how is this worth $10 alone? I can literally subscribe to an RSS feed that gives me free ebooks daily[1]. Granted they aren't always the best reads but they are free. Aside from th…

Libraries are not free - you pay for them whether you use them or not.

Moreover, a library doesn't offer an app that's this easy to use. Assuming it offers a decent selection of ebooks in the first place.

I used to defend paper books, until I started reading a 10 lb textbook and having to lug it all over the city in my backpack.

Re: Oyster, a Start-Up for E-Reading, Raises $14 Million

#28

Post by dajohnson89 »

Seems like a great service, it would be a no-brainer for me to sign up if they had a bigger non-fiction selection. Not just business, but foreign language, tech, science, etc. Maybe they have this already, but I didn't even see a non-fiction category. Am I missing something, and if not are there any good reasons why non-fiction doesn't feature more prominently in the selection?
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