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?

'Your Favorite Martian' Band Cancels Album

Have you ever heard of the band called Your Favorite Martian?

The group was going to come out with an album, but the project recently was canceled. However, the band's songs are still on YouTube, and it even had the No. 1 music channel for a while. The group uses fictional cartoon characters for its videos, which gives it a unique flavor. Although I don't like some of the songs because their content, I picked out a couple science-fiction-related music videos that are among the cleaner ones and posted them below.

My Opinion on Disney Buying Lucasfilm, Making Ep. VII-IX

When I heard that Disney bought Lucasfilm and that there will be another film trilogy, I thought it was a joke. I was wrong.

I've read many comments from people who are afraid that Disney will ruin the films, but I'm excited about the acquisition. The Disney people are masters at making stories. And remember, Disney bought Marvel, so they not only have the Lucasfilm team but Marvel employees as well (who made "The Avengers," Iron Man, Spiderman, etc.). If these great people can't make Star Wars films better, then no one can.

I expect the dialogue to be much better than the prequels and a better storyline. Star Wars creator George Lucas will still play a creative role in making the films, but remember, he wasn't the director of Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, and those films still turned out great.

The acquisition deal was for $4.05 billion, which was less than the $7.4 billion paid for Pixar and about the same paid for Marvel. The only issue I see is that Disney is becoming an empire! Maybe I should stash my limited-edition, still-in-the-box "Goofy as Darth Vader" figure in a safe place for a while (yes, I have one). I certainly don't want it stolen.

Here's a summary of the news:


Here's Lucas talking about the future of Star Wars:


And in celebration, here's something to dance to:

From the Moon to Mars: Honoring Armstrong and Looking to the Future

Retired astronaut Neil Armstrong was remembered at a public memorial service held yesterday (Sept. 13) at the Washington National Cathedral, and I wanted to share some thoughts ranging from the historic landing on the moon to future exploration on Mars.

First, here's a tribute video of Armstrong, the commander of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon (it also is can be found the NASA website here in an article about the memorial service):

Who is Ayn Rand? Plus: What You Likely Didn't Know About the GOP Nomination Process

Ayn Rand (Image from Wikipedia)

Science fiction author Ayn Rand has been in the news lately since U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan was selected by former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney as who he would want to be the vice presidential nominee if he is elected as the Republican presidential nominee. (See portion below on the nomination process to explain why I worded this sentence as such.)

Ryan has been criticized for his past affinity of Rand's work. Reports say that Rand was the reason he went into public service and that he even tried to get his interns to read her work. (www.politico.com/news/stories/0812/79597.html)

So who is Ayn Rand?