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E-books and audiobooks

Are you a fan of Derek Guy’s menswear tips? Here’s a podcast episode for you. Photo: Shutterstock

Why you should listen to: the menswear episode on Sean Carroll’s Mindscape

If you’re fan of Derek Guy’s laser-sharp fashion insights and menswear tips on X (formerly Twitter), check out his conversation with Carroll.

If you’re fan of Derek Guy’s laser-sharp fashion insights and menswear tips on X (formerly Twitter), check out his conversation with Carroll

5 family-friendly podcasts for kids that won’t bore adults

5 inspiring skincare books to add to your reading list

ChatGPT fuels AI-written books trend on Amazon

There were over 200 e-books in Amazon’s Kindle store as of mid-February listing ChatGPT as an author, but there is no requirement to disclose the use of AI.

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A response by ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by OpenAI, seen on its website in this illustration picture taken on February 9, 2023. Photo: Reuters

Amazon Kindle closes shop on Tmall as some question its future in China

The popular e-book reader is still available from third-party merchants, but some are questioning Kindle’s future in China after Amazon closed its local marketplace in 2019.

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Review | Why reading on Amazon’s 2021 Kindle Paperwhite is a delight

The 2021 edition of the Kindle Paperwhite has a bigger, brighter display than previous editions of the Amazon e-readers, and swapping reading modes is easier than ever. Reading books on it feels effortless.

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Letters | How public libraries can go digital to attract young readers

Hong Kong Public Libraries should allow digital enrolment in its Reading Programme for Children and Youth as soon as possible and consider encouraging readers to write book reports on social media.

A child reads at the Hong Kong Central Library in Causeway Bay on September 28, 2020 after it re-opened to the public again following closures over another coronavirus outbreak. Photo: Winson Wong

Letters | Give readers greater access to e-resources at Hong Kong libraries

More funding should be devoted to electronic collections to serve library patrons a balanced mix with printed materials. The digital lending practices of New York Public Libraries and the Chinese University provide a useful template to emulate.

Audio or video? Science explains the rise of podcasts and audiobooks

This is a revolutionary time for podcasts and audiobooks, and a scientist thinks he knows why: in an experiment, students responded more strongly to the audio than the video of classic scenes from Game of Thrones and Silence of the Lambs.

ByteDance wants web novels to be free, but readers aren’t so sure

TikTok owner ByteDance hopes free content on Tomato Novel will help it take on Tencent’s China Literature, its dominant competitor that continues to attract top talent.

Just a year after its launch in April 2019, ByteDance's free online literature platform Tomato Novel had more than 10 million daily active users. Picture: Screen shot of Tomato Novel

AI is helping authors imagine new sci-fi worlds

AI algorithms are helping writers fill in additional details after the first sentence, but past efforts were less than perfect.

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A new project from science fiction author Stanley Chen Qiufan and Sinovation Ventures will help other writers envision new worlds with the help of artificial intelligence. Photo: Shutterstock

Feeling alone in a crowd? Three books to read about loneliness

This One Wild and Precious Life, by Sarah Wilson, looks at ‘moral loneliness’, A Biography of Loneliness, by Fay Bound Alberti, studies the ‘modern epidemic’ of searching for a soulmate, and audiobook The Power of Ritual, by Casper ter Kuile, explains how the non-religious can create communities.

Libraries reopen, offering readers respite from pandemic blues

Cleaning, disinfection increased, fewer seats provided, and all library users must wear masks.

6 royals who have written books – from climate change to manners and morals

Educated, well travelled and impeccably connected, royals can draw on a lifetime of diverse and inspiring experiences when deciding what to write about

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Royals who have written books: Meghan Markle, Queen Rania of Jordan, Prince Charles. Photos: Reuters, @queenrania/Instagram, @charlesprinceofwales/Instagram

ByteDance takes stake in e-book operator amid content war with Tencent

TikTok owner ByteDance has acquired a stake in Beijing Dingtian Culture Entertainment, which runs multiple online reading platforms competing with Tencent-backed market leader China Literature.

A welcome screen for the QQ Reading application, operated by China Literature, in an arranged photograph taken in Hong Kong on October 25, 2017. Photo: Bloomberg

Lockdown baking mastered? Try making chocolate desserts

Experiment with the recipes of Lyon’s famed Bernachon patisserie using the American translation of its cookbook, A Passion for Chocolate.

Chinese are reading more online – regardless of the coronavirus pandemic

Chinese digital reading platforms signed up 100 million new users in February, the height of the coronavirus outbreak in China, according to a new industry whitepaper

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Review | Why Asians have a thing about pale skin, and the trouble with that

Asian-Americans question why their beauty is judged by how light their skin is in a new anthology, Whiter. Among its stories is that of a woman born to a Chinese mother and a black father who experienced rejection from Chinese-Americans.

Pale skin is valued in Asia, where cosmetics to whiten skin are widely advertised. Photo: Shutterstock

Kobe Bryant’s recommended reading list: 15 books that inspire

After Bryant died in a helicopter crash, the Los Angeles Public Library compiled a list of books the basketball legend had recommended in interviews and social media posts. It also listed four books the retired LA Lakers player wrote or co-wrote.

Whistle-blower Edward Snowden slams China censorship of his book

References to China’s military cyber intelligence, Great Firewall and the Arab spring missing from simplified Chinese edition of his memoir Permanent Record.

Reading out loud: how audiobook voice talents hone their skills

Downloads of audiobooks have tripled in the past five years, and voice-over artists are in demand. Renowned voice-over artist Johnny Heller teaches hopefuls the finer points of audiobook recording.

Voice actor and instructor Johnny Heller (left) offers tips to voice actor David McKeel during a recording session at Edge Studio in New York. Photo: The Washington Post/Bryan Anselm

Letters | Classics in the age of Twitter for kids who won’t read

Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes play the star-crossed lovers in Baz Lurhmann’s 1996 Hollywood version of ‘Romeo and Juliet’. Photo: Reuters

Almost one in three Hongkongers have not read a book for a year

Lack of time and preferring to read online among the reasons given in Hong Kong Publishing Professional Society survey.

Ditched your book for a Kindle? Here's why you're wrong

In China, the world’s biggest smartphone market, there is still healthy demand for Amazon’s Kindle e-readers.

Review | Fight Club author Palahniuk takes aim at Trump’s America

Set against a dystopian backdrop, Adjustment Day simmers with anger as it offers a less than sophisticated satirical takedown of current societal ills

Set against a dystopian backdrop, Adjustment Day simmers with anger as it offers a less than sophisticated satirical takedown of current societal ills

Review | If you like to make notes but want to go paperless, Boox Max2 is for you

At first sight an e-reader twice as big as an Amazon Kindle and with a black-and-white screen may lack appeal, but wait until you see what the Onyx device can do, and to almost any file format

At first sight an e-reader twice as big as an Amazon Kindle and with a black-and-white screen may lack appeal, but wait until you see what it can do, and all the different file formats it supports

Online publishing in China: a ticket to fantastic fortunes for very few

Quantity tops quality as millions of would-be authors churn out cliched words in quest for mass approval

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Review | Vagina 101: everything you need to know about the female sex organ

Plus, a chilling tale of cannibalism, inspired by real-life events

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E-books and audiobooks
A whole world of literature can be yours at the click of a button. Here you’ll find reviews of the best new e-books and audiobooks you can download onto your various devices.
last updated:
9 September, 2024
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