I Just Bought a Book with the Number 50 in the Title, by Jim Hart

This week my wife found a used copy of 50 Short Science Fiction Tales for me at a local thrift store.  I was pretty excited! I was like a little kid with a new toy and started reading it in the car on the way home. (No, I was not the one driving.) 

Short stories are great for us short-attention span readers. You dive right in, and then in just a couple of pages you hit the punch line and you’re left either saying "cool…..didn’t see that one coming”  or maybe just "hmmm……that’s nice.”  But doesn’t sci-fi really lend itself to this type of quick story telling?

The copyright page says this book was first printed in 1963. The edition I now have was the twentieth printing from 1979 and it’s a Perma-Bound library edition. I wonder how many students fingered through the pages while the words floated through their minds.

One of the first stories, from sci-fi great Isaac Asimov, is The Fun They Had.  This little story is set in the year 2155, and it starts out with a little girl writing in her diary “Today Tommy found a real book!” 

The story tells us that the little girl’s grandfather said that his own grandfather once told him that “there was a time when all stories were printed on paper.”  

Asimov goes on to write that young Margie and Tommy  “turned the pages, which were yellow and crinkly, and it was awfully funny to read words that stood still instead of moving the way they were supposed to – on a screen, you know. And then, when they turned back to the page before, it had the same words on it that it had when they read it the first time.”  

This short story, even though included in this collection from 1963, first appeared in 1951! Isn’t that one of the things we love about sci-fi – the often prophetic view into a possible future?

So you never know what small gem is waiting for you on the thrift store book shelves!  Isn’t it worth taking the time to scan through the titles? What’s the last treasure you uncovered in the used book section?

Oh – and the story goes on to say that as little Margie and Tommy were looking through this old paper book, Tommy declared, “What a waste. When you’re through with the book, you just throw it away, I guess. Our television screen must have had a million books on it and it’s good for plenty more. I wouldn’t throw it away.”

Ways Authors Can Sign E-Books by Jennifer Hudson Taylor

Over the last couple of years, individuals and select publishers have been exploring various ways for authors to sign e-books with minimal security risk. This year, options for digital signatures are expected to expand, including the number of authors signing e-books.

In May 2011, Autography debuted their first e-book platform at BookExpo America in New York, covered by The New York Times. The way it works is that a reader poses with the author for a photograph, which can be taken with an ipad, tablet or phone camera. The image auto appears on the author’s ipad or tablet. The author then uses a stylus to sign and write a digital message below the photo. Once this is complete, the author taps a button on the iPad or tablet and sends the fan an e-mail with a link to the image, which the reader downloads into the e-book. The setup will require the author to purchase an app from Autography, and the publisher or author will need to send a digital file of the book. 

Another option would be Authorgraph. You will be asked to create an account or login through Twitter. You will then be asked to provide the Amazon ASIN for the books you want to add on Authorgraph. You will be asked to create an additional password if you sign in with Twitter, your email, and a confirmation will be sent to your email address. You will be required to login at Amazon, click on Manage Your Kindle, then Manage Your Devices, and find your registered Kindle email address (name@kindle.com). Enter this email address on the Authorgraph site. Next, on Amazon click the Personal Document Settings link, then the link that says Add A New Approved E-Mail Address and insert the email that Authorgraph provides.

It's very quick and easy to add your books on Authorgraph. Once a person requests your autograph, you'll receive an email alert to login to your account on Authorgraph. You will have a message area notification and you will be taken to that person's request so you will know who to sign it to. Below is an image of where you can provide a message and where you would sign your name on your touch screen ipad, tablet, or phone. The only drawback to this option is that it's only available on Amazon, not Nook or other platforms.

What are your thoughts? Have you tried providing digital signatures? What was your experience?