eBook Tipping Point?

Have you heard that Oprah picked the Amazon Kindle as her new favorite gadget? I saw it promoted on Amazon.com this weekend, and it was written up in Publishers Lunch and the PW Daily email. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but this strikes me as a BIG DEAL. This could be a significant tipping point for e-books. Oprah is a kingmaker when it comes to publishing. Her book club picks set up authors and publishers for life. While Amazon has been somewhat tight-lipped about the total number of Kindles in circulation, I will be very interested to hear reports of what Oprah's endorsement does for Kindle sales.

Oprah says the Kindle changed her life. "It's absolutely my new favorite favorite thing in the world," she says. "I know it's expensive in these times, but it's not frivolous because it will pay for itself," she says. "The books are much cheaper, and you're saving paper." All that, and green too.

There's still the price hurdle to overcome. $359 is no paperback book club pick, but Amazon is giving $50 off the price of Kindle between now and November 1, 2008. Enter the code OPRAHWINFREY to get the discount.

Amazon is also offering an extra 10% off the price of the current Oprah book club pick, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle.

As of the writing of this post, Cumberland House is now up to 166 titles available on Amazon in the Kindle format.