7 ms·

Oyster is launching an e-book store

70 points by robgibbons 12y ago

heckubadu 12y ago
Wonder how extensive is their tech book collection. Far as I can tell they don't have Real World Haskell.
kolev 12y ago
There's Kindle Unlimited and FreeTime Unlimited for kids' books by Amazon, but neither Kindle Unlimited, nor Oyster had the books I needed.
HelloMcFly 12y ago
For what it's worth to anyone interested in Oyster, I've found Scribd to be the better product. I like the UI better, it's cheaper, and the access to audiobooks and comics is nice. Maybe Oyster does those latter things since I've tried it.
M8 12y ago
Modern russian literature has an interesting phenomenon. There is a huge old-school website where authors post their books before being published chapter by chapter for free to get feedback and corrections. For example this is one of my favourites: http://samlib.ru/t/tahion http://samlib.ru/t/tahion https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ru&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fsamlib.ru%2Ft%2Ftahion https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ru&tl=en&u=h... It's like Steam early access for books. Is there something like that in english-speaking internet?
- falcolas 12y ago
  I don't know of any clearinghouse for this, but I know a few authors who do this on their own. One such example: http://demo.ilona-andrews.com http://demo.ilona-andrews.com
  - LukeShu 12y ago
    Another example is Andy Weir's "The Martian", which he originally published chapter-by-chapter on his personal site http://www.galactanet.com/ http://www.galactanet.com/ .
- walterbell 12y ago
  http://www.manning.com/about/meap.html http://www.manning.com/about/meap.html for tech books.
- bryanlarsen 12y ago
  Not really, although some authors do this in a more fragmented fashion on various niche sites. For example, https://www.literotica.com/s/dream-drive-ch-01 https://www.literotica.com/s/dream-drive-ch-01 is a really good book that will be pulled from literotica and sold via Amazon once it's done. The example I pointed to doesn't have a lot of sex in it, it's more like a fantasy/RPG based Ready Player One.
normloman 12y ago
"Netflix for Books" sounds like the perfect description of a library.
- Thrymr 12y ago
  Except for the "free to everyone for the public good" part.
- kenbellows 12y ago
  Except for the digital part. Though actually I've heard rumors of ebook sharing/trading sites similar to a digital library, though I'm unsure exactly how that would work; heavily DRM-based, I would guess
  - mkr-hn 12y ago
    Most of the books I check out from the library are ebooks.
  - alex_anglin 12y ago
    Many libraries offer digital lending, with DRM-laden content as you suggest. IEEE Spectrum ran a podcast on this back in 2013: http://spectrum.ieee.org/podcast/at-work/education/do-libraries-have-a-future http://spectrum.ieee.org/podcast/at-work/education/do-librar...
  - shaggy 12y ago
    Even the digital part. There is a thing called the Sails Library Network (http://www.sailsinc.org http://www.sailsinc.org) that offers full digital catalogs for libraries. They have mobile apps and it works with Kindles or Kindle apps. It's also not back catalog stuff only as is the case with Oyster. Libraries have been the "Netflix for Books" for centuries before there was a "Netflix". Maybe people should use them more, they are wonderful things and you're already paying for them to exist and serve you.
  - stinkytaco 12y ago
    The ebooks are DRM yes (either ePub/Digital Editions style or Kindle). Most e-audiobooks are now MP3.
jasode 12y ago
Speaking as someone who is not familiar with Oyster… The journalist (Davey Alba) has left out some critical context to drive home the significance of Oyster’s foray into "ebook retail". After doing some research, here’s the part that the Wired article doesn’t make explicit: Yes, the Oyster subscription service is has titles from "all 5 big publishers" and yes, it is "unlimited" but the catch is that the content is mostly the publishers’ back catalogs. In other words, a brand new book release would not have been available on the $9.95 subscription service on the first day. This is similar to Amazon Prime Instant Video where the old seasons of TV shows are free but the latest/last/current season costs $$$. Spotify for music also works like that for some artists; Adele has her old songs available in the subscription but her brand new song might only be available from iTunes for $1.29. It looks like a common industry pattern of segmentation whether it's books, videos, or songs: the old stuff can be packaged into cheap subscriptions but the new stuff will command a separate premium. With Oyster adding the ebook retail component, members can get access to the very latest books without waiting months (or years) for the title to show up as a subscription option. The members simply buy the ebook as a separate additional charge from the $9.95 subscription. Since Jeff Bezos’ seems to have a very antagonistic relationship with the book publishers, it gives Oyster a chance for significant ebook sales. What’s odd is that Jeff Bezos studied Walmart and he surely knows that the brick&morter stores share analytics sales data with their vendors. That way, the vendors can maximize efficiency of their supply chains and in turn, offer lower prices to Walmart. The article implies that amazon.com does not share analytics with the publishers (unlike Oyster) . I don’t know why Bezos would be so guarded about it since it can help publishers fine tune their offerings which in turn should help Jeff sell more ebooks and Kindle devices. Maybe he thinks he needs that proprietary data as a comparative advantage for his own publishing house[1]. However, it seems unrealistic to think many major authors would jump to Amazon Publishing because amazon has better analytics. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Publishing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Publishing
- mreiland 12y ago
  My hope is that it will somehow allow me to stop dealing with the walled garden aspect of ebooks.
- oskarth 12y ago
publicfig 12y ago
Almost every article I read about this company involves the term "Netflix for Books" in the headline. Very few involve the name of the company, Oyster. I legitimately wonder if that hurts or helps them as a brand. It does imply the depth of library that Netflix has in video, which Oyster does not have given my experience. I also assume if you search for "netflix books", they'll pretty much own the front page of results because of it. In terms of the company, I have to wonder whether or not a number of the subscriptions are paid for but never used. I could see this falling in line with gym meberships, where you're paying for something you feel like you should be doing, and canceling just admits defeat.
- jjoonathan 12y ago
  > Oyster does not have ... the depth of library that Netflix has in video ... given my experience. Given that Netflix's catalog has a reputation for providing frequently underwhelming selection, ouch.
  - publicfig 12y ago
    The difference is that Netflix selection actually does have quite a bit in my experience, it's just that as time goes on, I've already watched all of the best things. Netflix is a product that people use often and in ways rarely before seen in media consumption. It's like eating at the same restaurant every day for years. No matter how much they offer, you're going to get tired of eating the things you like all the time. Oyster, on the other hand, just doesn't have the collection to start with. It has a bunch of books that are either public domain (therefore free through many services) or not incredibly well known (which is fine, but hard to find things to read when people tend to already have so many items on their "to read" list). Once again, this was only my experience with the product.
cwyers 12y ago
Oyster looks like an interesting service, but my interested in them is severely limited until they either come out with an e-ink device of their own or partner up with someone else who has an e-ink device like B&N or Kobo. I can't read books on a phone or tablet display, and I know I'm not the only one (or Kindle sales would've died out years ago).
Frostbeard 12y ago
Another digital service that's only available in the US. Content licensing is just plain broken.
omg_ketchup 12y ago
So... it's a library, but you have to pay for it?
alberth 12y ago
Why not the Public Library? My parents are in their late 70s, they both use a Kindle Paperwhite, and they figured out on their own that US Public Libraries allow you to digitally check out books to your Kindle for FREE. I had no idea of this, yet my 70+ year old parent figured it out ... and you don't even need to go into the physical library, it's all down over the web or via an app. Which is why I suspect most companies have not tried this "Netflix for books" business because it already exist for FREE and it's called the US Public Library.
- mark_l_watson 12y ago
  I tried my local library for eBooks, but it was enough of a hassle that I went back to buying Kindle books. My wife uses the library for audio books on CDs, consuming several a month. I spend a little money at Audible and have a more convenient experience. That said, I really like my local library not only as a source of physical books, but also because of talks and other events.
  - stinkytaco 12y ago
    If your library is an Overdrive subscriber I would encourage you to try again, they have improved their service immensely. eBooks on Kindle or tablet devices are now very easy and even include syncing between devices. Audiobooks have switched entirely to the MP3 format for near universal compatibility. The only annoying holdout is if you have an e-ink epub device like a nook or a kobo. You obviously continue to deal with limited availability, but the service has come a long way. Quick disclaimer: I am a librarian.
- drzaiusapelord 12y ago
  These systems are a pain to use sometimes (everyone seems to be using the same software monopoly) and there are limited copies available at one time due to licensing. Personally, I can afford these things, so I feel bad taking resources from those who can't. I font mind paying for this kind of service and leaving the library to those who can't, the same way I don't go to the library to use the internet. I have a 50mbps connection at home.
tw04 12y ago
"The Netflix for books" - you mean the public library? I'm astounded how few young people seem to have any clue what their libraries offer. FFS, our local library lets you "borrow" e-books and audiobooks online, you never have to set foot in the building.
- HaloZero 12y ago
  Libraries (at least in the US) have an artificial cap on the # of books they have. Which means it doesn't satisfy that "I want to read this now" craving that Netflix has. A popular book can have a multi-week wait in the SF public library.
  - m3talridl3y 12y ago
    What do you mean by limit? Shelf space?
    - Thrymr 12y ago
      The libraries have a license for a particular number of copies of each title that can be checked out at one time. They pay for this license, at high rates for popular books (more than hardcovers).
- joshuapants 12y ago
  I'm a big fan of my local library, unfortunately their ebook system is very annoying. They've partnered with some service that only allows you to access books through an iOS app (so I can't read on e-ink) and it seems that each book is just a pdf delivered to the app, so you can't change font size or the way the words flow. On top of that, if they even have the book you want you often have to wait several weeks before it's available for you to actually download.
  - freehunter 12y ago
    Yup. My local library only has so many copies of ebooks, and they're almost always checked out. One book I was looking for had a four month wait list. For an ebook! Hoarding ebooks like physical properties is not a good way to behave.
mortenjorck 12y ago
I'm seeing lots of threads here making the facile "you mean the public library?" comparison, but have any of you ever actually tried using the "digital lending" features at your local library? It's nothing at all like a Netflix for books! Limited selections that make Netflix's streaming library look vast, tight restrictions on the number of "digital copies" that can be lent out at once, leading to months-long waitlists for popular titles, and lastly, the one thing Netflix abolished at the outset, due dates. Public libraries are a great treasure, but they are emphatically not a "Netflix for books."
- stinkytaco 12y ago
  To be fair, it's not like Netflix's digital library is exactly "Netflix for movies" either. That's also true with Oyster and their limited front list titles. For broad access, physical is still where it's at.

70 points by robgibbons 12y ago

Wonder how extensive is their tech book collection. Far as I can tell they don't have Real World Haskell.

kolev 12y ago

There's Kindle Unlimited and FreeTime Unlimited for kids' books by Amazon, but neither Kindle Unlimited, nor Oyster had the books I needed.

HelloMcFly 12y ago

For what it's worth to anyone interested in Oyster, I've found Scribd to be the better product. I like the UI better, it's cheaper, and the access to audiobooks and comics is nice. Maybe Oyster does those latter things since I've tried it.

M8 12y ago

Modern russian literature has an interesting phenomenon. There is a huge old-school website where authors post their books before being published chapter by chapter for free to get feedback and corrections. For example this is one of my favourites: http://samlib.ru/t/tahion http://samlib.ru/t/tahion https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ru&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fsamlib.ru%2Ft%2Ftahion https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ru&tl=en&u=h... It's like Steam early access for books. Is there something like that in english-speaking internet?

falcolas 12y ago
I don't know of any clearinghouse for this, but I know a few authors who do this on their own. One such example: http://demo.ilona-andrews.com http://demo.ilona-andrews.com
- LukeShu 12y ago
  Another example is Andy Weir's "The Martian", which he originally published chapter-by-chapter on his personal site http://www.galactanet.com/ http://www.galactanet.com/ .
walterbell 12y ago
http://www.manning.com/about/meap.html http://www.manning.com/about/meap.html for tech books.
bryanlarsen 12y ago
Not really, although some authors do this in a more fragmented fashion on various niche sites. For example, https://www.literotica.com/s/dream-drive-ch-01 https://www.literotica.com/s/dream-drive-ch-01 is a really good book that will be pulled from literotica and sold via Amazon once it's done. The example I pointed to doesn't have a lot of sex in it, it's more like a fantasy/RPG based Ready Player One.

normloman 12y ago

"Netflix for Books" sounds like the perfect description of a library.

Thrymr 12y ago
Except for the "free to everyone for the public good" part.
kenbellows 12y ago
Except for the digital part. Though actually I've heard rumors of ebook sharing/trading sites similar to a digital library, though I'm unsure exactly how that would work; heavily DRM-based, I would guess
- mkr-hn 12y ago
  Most of the books I check out from the library are ebooks.
- alex_anglin 12y ago
  Many libraries offer digital lending, with DRM-laden content as you suggest. IEEE Spectrum ran a podcast on this back in 2013: http://spectrum.ieee.org/podcast/at-work/education/do-libraries-have-a-future http://spectrum.ieee.org/podcast/at-work/education/do-librar...
- shaggy 12y ago
  Even the digital part. There is a thing called the Sails Library Network (http://www.sailsinc.org http://www.sailsinc.org) that offers full digital catalogs for libraries. They have mobile apps and it works with Kindles or Kindle apps. It's also not back catalog stuff only as is the case with Oyster. Libraries have been the "Netflix for Books" for centuries before there was a "Netflix". Maybe people should use them more, they are wonderful things and you're already paying for them to exist and serve you.
- stinkytaco 12y ago
  The ebooks are DRM yes (either ePub/Digital Editions style or Kindle). Most e-audiobooks are now MP3.

jasode 12y ago

Speaking as someone who is not familiar with Oyster… The journalist (Davey Alba) has left out some critical context to drive home the significance of Oyster’s foray into "ebook retail". After doing some research, here’s the part that the Wired article doesn’t make explicit: Yes, the Oyster subscription service is has titles from "all 5 big publishers" and yes, it is "unlimited" but the catch is that the content is mostly the publishers’ back catalogs. In other words, a brand new book release would not have been available on the $9.95 subscription service on the first day. This is similar to Amazon Prime Instant Video where the old seasons of TV shows are free but the latest/last/current season costs $$$. Spotify for music also works like that for some artists; Adele has her old songs available in the subscription but her brand new song might only be available from iTunes for $1.29. It looks like a common industry pattern of segmentation whether it's books, videos, or songs: the old stuff can be packaged into cheap subscriptions but the new stuff will command a separate premium. With Oyster adding the ebook retail component, members can get access to the very latest books without waiting months (or years) for the title to show up as a subscription option. The members simply buy the ebook as a separate additional charge from the $9.95 subscription. Since Jeff Bezos’ seems to have a very antagonistic relationship with the book publishers, it gives Oyster a chance for significant ebook sales. What’s odd is that Jeff Bezos studied Walmart and he surely knows that the brick&morter stores share analytics sales data with their vendors. That way, the vendors can maximize efficiency of their supply chains and in turn, offer lower prices to Walmart. The article implies that amazon.com does not share analytics with the publishers (unlike Oyster) . I don’t know why Bezos would be so guarded about it since it can help publishers fine tune their offerings which in turn should help Jeff sell more ebooks and Kindle devices. Maybe he thinks he needs that proprietary data as a comparative advantage for his own publishing house[1]. However, it seems unrealistic to think many major authors would jump to Amazon Publishing because amazon has better analytics. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Publishing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Publishing

mreiland 12y ago
My hope is that it will somehow allow me to stop dealing with the walled garden aspect of ebooks.
oskarth 12y ago

publicfig 12y ago

Almost every article I read about this company involves the term "Netflix for Books" in the headline. Very few involve the name of the company, Oyster. I legitimately wonder if that hurts or helps them as a brand. It does imply the depth of library that Netflix has in video, which Oyster does not have given my experience. I also assume if you search for "netflix books", they'll pretty much own the front page of results because of it. In terms of the company, I have to wonder whether or not a number of the subscriptions are paid for but never used. I could see this falling in line with gym meberships, where you're paying for something you feel like you should be doing, and canceling just admits defeat.

jjoonathan 12y ago
> Oyster does not have ... the depth of library that Netflix has in video ... given my experience. Given that Netflix's catalog has a reputation for providing frequently underwhelming selection, ouch.
- publicfig 12y ago
  The difference is that Netflix selection actually does have quite a bit in my experience, it's just that as time goes on, I've already watched all of the best things. Netflix is a product that people use often and in ways rarely before seen in media consumption. It's like eating at the same restaurant every day for years. No matter how much they offer, you're going to get tired of eating the things you like all the time. Oyster, on the other hand, just doesn't have the collection to start with. It has a bunch of books that are either public domain (therefore free through many services) or not incredibly well known (which is fine, but hard to find things to read when people tend to already have so many items on their "to read" list). Once again, this was only my experience with the product.

cwyers 12y ago

Oyster looks like an interesting service, but my interested in them is severely limited until they either come out with an e-ink device of their own or partner up with someone else who has an e-ink device like B&N or Kobo. I can't read books on a phone or tablet display, and I know I'm not the only one (or Kindle sales would've died out years ago).

Frostbeard 12y ago

Another digital service that's only available in the US. Content licensing is just plain broken.

omg_ketchup 12y ago

So... it's a library, but you have to pay for it?

alberth 12y ago

Why not the Public Library? My parents are in their late 70s, they both use a Kindle Paperwhite, and they figured out on their own that US Public Libraries allow you to digitally check out books to your Kindle for FREE. I had no idea of this, yet my 70+ year old parent figured it out ... and you don't even need to go into the physical library, it's all down over the web or via an app. Which is why I suspect most companies have not tried this "Netflix for books" business because it already exist for FREE and it's called the US Public Library.

mark_l_watson 12y ago
I tried my local library for eBooks, but it was enough of a hassle that I went back to buying Kindle books. My wife uses the library for audio books on CDs, consuming several a month. I spend a little money at Audible and have a more convenient experience. That said, I really like my local library not only as a source of physical books, but also because of talks and other events.
- stinkytaco 12y ago
  If your library is an Overdrive subscriber I would encourage you to try again, they have improved their service immensely. eBooks on Kindle or tablet devices are now very easy and even include syncing between devices. Audiobooks have switched entirely to the MP3 format for near universal compatibility. The only annoying holdout is if you have an e-ink epub device like a nook or a kobo. You obviously continue to deal with limited availability, but the service has come a long way. Quick disclaimer: I am a librarian.
drzaiusapelord 12y ago
These systems are a pain to use sometimes (everyone seems to be using the same software monopoly) and there are limited copies available at one time due to licensing. Personally, I can afford these things, so I feel bad taking resources from those who can't. I font mind paying for this kind of service and leaving the library to those who can't, the same way I don't go to the library to use the internet. I have a 50mbps connection at home.

tw04 12y ago

"The Netflix for books" - you mean the public library? I'm astounded how few young people seem to have any clue what their libraries offer. FFS, our local library lets you "borrow" e-books and audiobooks online, you never have to set foot in the building.

HaloZero 12y ago
Libraries (at least in the US) have an artificial cap on the # of books they have. Which means it doesn't satisfy that "I want to read this now" craving that Netflix has. A popular book can have a multi-week wait in the SF public library.
- m3talridl3y 12y ago
  What do you mean by limit? Shelf space?
  - Thrymr 12y ago
    The libraries have a license for a particular number of copies of each title that can be checked out at one time. They pay for this license, at high rates for popular books (more than hardcovers).
joshuapants 12y ago
I'm a big fan of my local library, unfortunately their ebook system is very annoying. They've partnered with some service that only allows you to access books through an iOS app (so I can't read on e-ink) and it seems that each book is just a pdf delivered to the app, so you can't change font size or the way the words flow. On top of that, if they even have the book you want you often have to wait several weeks before it's available for you to actually download.
- freehunter 12y ago
  Yup. My local library only has so many copies of ebooks, and they're almost always checked out. One book I was looking for had a four month wait list. For an ebook! Hoarding ebooks like physical properties is not a good way to behave.

mortenjorck 12y ago

I'm seeing lots of threads here making the facile "you mean the public library?" comparison, but have any of you ever actually tried using the "digital lending" features at your local library? It's nothing at all like a Netflix for books! Limited selections that make Netflix's streaming library look vast, tight restrictions on the number of "digital copies" that can be lent out at once, leading to months-long waitlists for popular titles, and lastly, the one thing Netflix abolished at the outset, due dates. Public libraries are a great treasure, but they are emphatically not a "Netflix for books."

stinkytaco 12y ago
To be fair, it's not like Netflix's digital library is exactly "Netflix for movies" either. That's also true with Oyster and their limited front list titles. For broad access, physical is still where it's at.