Before I used the recently released reading app and service, I described Oyster as a “Netflix of books,” which is—after using it for a week—less accurate than “a Spotify of ebooks.”
As I still commonly think of Netflix as a DVD-by-mail service with red return mailers, a “Netflix of books” would resemble a combination of a public library with a subscription fee, something Amazon could do for ebooks with an any-one-Kindle-book-at-a-time feature. In the case of Spotify, it’s more a buffet and a playlist, dipping in and out of any number of albums.
As a Spotify for ebooks, Oyster is off to a good start. So far, I’ve found a few friends using the service, looked at what they’re reading, built up a small but high-quality Reading List of interesting books, but—beyond wishlisting—started and stuck with two of the books: Just Kids by Patti Smith, and Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
The big thing about it was seeing books in someone else’s reading list and being able to start or skip the book—not the cover or blurbs or marketing prose-right away. To light one’s candle from the candle of a friend. Less list-making and more reading.
Flow has been on a someday/maybe list, but not the kind of thing I’d pick up in paperback at Book Court. I’ve probably searched out two or three articles online and the wikipedia entry for the book and the author to get a feel for the big idea, but I find most (recommended) non-fiction unreadable and with the rare exceptions—like Freakanomics or Thinking Fast And Slow—it takes starting the book in earnest to see if it’s going to stick.
A number of times, I’ve been unsure in bookstores if Just Kids was already on my shelf at home, and not bought it for that reason. I’ve pulled it from friends’ shelves and skimmed it on friends’s couches. Woolgathering was given to me as a gift, and I gave another as a gift, as well. I think it lacked an ebook when the book came out, and remember trying to make one for Readmill from some pirated text on the web. It’s fantastic. I’m hypnotized by the prose and eager (as I type this) to get back into the book.
The mark of a good song is wanting to hear it again. A good book wants you to finish. The limit of any unlimited library is time.
The caveat: Oyster cost $10 sight unseen. It took a credit card (and an invitation!) to even get a glimpse of what it would look like. It remains to be seen if books can support a system like Oyster, but it’s an elegant app and a beautiful reading experience. So far, those two are well worth the price of the ticket.
It might be the first-month-at-the-gym feeling that’s gotten me to start and stick with two books in the service. To be honest I’ve already set my membership to expire after the first 30 days, as an initial reaction to the lack of highlighting in the app and a precaution against forgetting about a recurring bill. I’ll wait to see how I feel about the service after another two weeks; it may be that I just have to record my notes in a notebook, like library readers have always done.