Am I the only one who has no idea what this is about???

Very interesting, thanks. Couldn't find reference to Nook's library plan (though saw you can lend other Nook users books, which is always good) - had never heard of the Google project - interesting. It's not exactly a library though. Perhaps some classics available for ready reading, nothing that new (unsurprisingly). I think I'll still be going down to the hard-copy library for al ong time to come.

In trying to round up a "qualified" speaker to address the "digital publishing world" developments for a group of area writers, I quickly found out NONE of the folks had seen, let alone owned or used the end product, an electronic Reader.<br /> The 600-pound gorilla is Amazon's Kindle, but others, like Sony and the Barnes & Nobel bookstore chain's NOOK, are competative in efficiency and price - about $150+/- and up.<br /> The NOOK's "edge" is access to library books (Google's scanning plan?) and accommedating the lesser-known digital-based publishers: excluded by Amazon.<br /> Rumour - always a prime source for hard-news - has it that a $10 Reader version is being assembled in India: probably be call-center first-responders. As a bookseller for many years http://www.anoldbooklook..com, and accumulator/collector for a lifetime before, I agree there's nothing like the "Real mcCoy"; but as a writer fed up with the "Old Boy" publishers, agents, and miniscule royalty amounts for a high percentage of all traditionally published tomes - the digital breaktrough opens the options.<br /> Word of mouth will, as always, propel the "best-seller" into the spotlight, and others will fade into obscurity. But at least, those writers will not have contributed to the Amazon Desert ;^))

Just found another one to add to the list - female this time! Hilary Mantel. Not a definable speech impediment as such but she does speak as if she can't open her jaw properly What is it with writers?

Glad Jeeves seemed to be doing the trick!