Books are an addiction for me. They accumulate on my nightstand. On my coffee table. In my car. At almost any given moment there’s one tucked in my purse. And it’s a rare grocery run when I don’t at least pause beside that alluring section right next to the magazines.
Everyone in my family knows I’m an addict, which is why for years they’ve been trying to buy me a Kindle.
“Thanks,” I say (very sincerely… this is no cheap gift we’re talking about!) “But I’m really attached to my paperbacks.”
I am, too. For me, it’s about relaxation. I read books to relax, to unwind, to escape into a great story. Gazing at a computer screen and holding something digital in my hands feels like work to me. I’m in front of a computer all day. The last thing I want to do at night is curl up in an armchair with one.
Does anyone relate to this? Sometimes I feel like I’m the only book lover left who isn’t dying to make the leap to the Kindle, the Nook, the iPad, the Kobo. Which of course isn’t true. I mean, these gizmos are pricey. They range from around $200 for the Sony Reader Pocket Edition to the (gasp!) $829 iPad Wi-Fi 3G with all the bells and whistles. Now there’s something you don’t want to misplace. And it’s not possible yet to do what I do when I shop for sunglasses, which is go the cheapo route so that if you lose them (which I always do) nobody cares.
So, today I’m taking a poll. Show of hands, please, who here uses a digital reading device of some sort? And more importantly, do you like it? I’m genuinely curious. Maybe I’ve been too quick to judge.
Does it work for you at the beach? By the pool? What about in the bath tub? I read an article in the (paper version) New York Timesnot too long ago in which Amazon founder Jeff Bezos bragged about zipping his Kindle into a one-gallon Ziploc bag so he could use it in the bath tub.
He must be joking, I thought. Founder of one of the most progressive companies in the world and that’s the best he’s got? A plastic baggie?
There may come a day when I take these words back (I’m pretty sure of it, actually, but I’m dreading it all the same), but no digital book for me, thanks. I much prefer the paper kind.
So what about you? Like I said, takin’ a poll here. It’s only three questions, and anyone who responds will be eligible to win a free (paper) version of any of my books.
1) Do you own any sort of electronic reader?
2) If not, how come?
3) If you have one (or have ever used one) what do you think?
That’s it! Good luck with the giveaway and happy reading to you, however you like to do it.
Add to Google
1) No
2) Don’t wanna . . . but am seriously considering the 3G iPad . . .
That looks like a nice one. I haven’t talked to anyone who has actually used one before, but I like the iPhone, so…
I read on my iPhone and love it. (I have UNTRACEABLE on there, BTW.) I’ve read more since I’ve had it, because it’s always with me. I like being able to adjust the font and I like the backlight. I also like the instant gratification. You here about a book, you trot over to a bookstore, and boom, it’s in your hands. I haven’t tried to read with it outside or in the tub. I still have too many paperbacks to convince the dh that I should get a dedicated ereader.
Wow, you read on your phone? I like the idea of the quick downloads, too. That’s appealing.
Of course I meant “hear,” lol! The instant download can be dangerous, though, because suddenly you have more books that you thought!!
I’m a book lover too! Of course I swap with others and wouldn’t be able to if I had an e reader.
I don’t. There is something holding me back and I have no clue what that would be….
I don’t know what the restrictions are about swapping content with other devices. That’s an interesting point. I lend a lot of books out.
1) No, I don’t own any sort of electronic reader.
2) I love books, and don’t want to read anything, and like you, I spend the day on the computer. That’s enough.
But, I’m afraid I’m going to have to get one eventually. NetGalley is one of the reasons. I review books on my blog, and so many of the publishers would prefer to send NetGalleys. (sigh) I want to see the actual book cover and feel the book. This is one of the changes I don’t like.
Lesa
http://www.lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com
I can totally relate. I love my books. Thanks for proving I’m not the only one who thinks this way. I don’t have any kind of e-reader and for the reasons you provided. Especially the remark about sitting at a computer all day and not wanting to read for pleasure on one.
Still as a friend of mine pointed out the other day, I’m probably going to have to break down and get one eventually. You know, just in case I ever get published in e-book form.
I agree that we’ll probably all have one eventually. I’d love to wait until the price comes down, though.
1) No.
2) I spend too much time each day in front of a glowing device as it is. I don’t want to buy yet another gadget. I like the sensory and tactile experience of reading a physical book. I read in the bathtub a lot, and I fear that, in my hands, a reader would be a short-lived thing indeed. I’d rather not be dependent on an increasingly-shaky electrical grid for my reading pleasure. I have environmental concerns about the units’ production and disposal. I want the industry to standardize upon a file format.
I prefer the low-tech approach on this one!
I know what you mean about the “tactical” experience of reading. I like turning the pages. And I read a lot of nonfiction for research and I’m constantly scribbling ideas in the margins. Plus it’s good to be able to pluck it off the shelf and refer to something later.
Um, I meant “tactile” experience not “tactical”. Need some more coffee this morning…
I have a Sony Reader and I love it. It has allowed me a much broader range than I could ever afford before. My Reader has paid for itself several times over. And, like you, I like to lounge on the couch to read. You can’t do that with your desk top, but you can with a reader. Once you start reading you forget you are holding an electronic device and you just fall into the story, just like with a paperback =).
Well, it’s good to hear someone say that eventually you forget you’re holding it. I’m not sure what you mean about it paying for itself. Are you saying because the same books are cheaper? Or you’re finding free downloads?
Kindle has some free books, mostly classics, but also some Harlequins and some Samhain titles. A neat way to try new authors.
I love my books! However, for some folks the readers are an extra good thing. I have a dear friend who has uncorrectable vision problems that prevent her from reading books anymore. The Kindle is a godsend. She can read again!!! It can be a very useful tool!
Hi Deb,
So does the Kindle help her because she reads in bigger font? Or does she use the voice mode to have the stories read aloud?
As an author, I have concerns about the voice function. Authors used to get paid for their audiobooks, but now it seems a lot of books are being made automatically available as audiobooks. Hmm. I can think of pros and cons.
It’s the bigger font I believe!
1) yes, a Sony, and I had an ebookwise which died
2) I would’ve bought a kindle, but we don’t have the whispernet service out here yet, so I’d have to download them to the kindle from my pc, which I already do with the Sony. Can you say…when I travel, I can take 100 books with me in one device? I have iPad envy, big time, but since I’ve never worked with Apple, I’m waiting until I have time to switch all my computers over to Mac, then the learning curve won’t be so steep for me.
3) Because the publisher for the Rough Rider books keeps them moderately priced, people can try the series in ebook form and not be out a whole lot of money. (On a purely business side, the percentages paid to me as an author are higher for ebooks, than mass market paperbacks) — plus, there are lots of people who don’t want anyone to know they’re reading an erotic book called Rode Hard, Put Up Wet, and buying it at one of the ebook vendors gives them a modicum of privacy.
4) Technology marches on and I feel that its important we get as many books into the hands of as many readers as we can. Period. No matter how its done. The format you use to read the book does NOT change the meaning of the words. It’s really no different than hardback versus paperback – it’s the same book, isn’t it? Just in a different format. Not better, just…gives another options. And most people are all about options.
That people can read on their iPhone, the IPad, on several dedicated reading devices, including mobipocket reader for PC? Fantastic! I feel this is especially important for the next generation, who have the attention span of gnats, and the amount of reading they do drops significantly once they A) get a cell phone, B) reach high school. If they can zip to the book store on their cell phone, or other device, find something to read and download it instantaneously, like they can with iTunes, it’s a win-win situation for everybody.
Great point about getting books into the hands of readers. I hadn’t thought about this in terms of kids, but I think about it a lot in terms of people who live overseas. I have family overseas, for example, and it’s not as simple as running up to B&N to pick up first-run titles. There’s limited selection, especially in non-English speaking countries.
This also came up following the recent book drive for troops we held here on Murder She Writes. I was packing up those 100 books we collected and thinking how much easier it would be if we could just sent the soldiers digital books. Of course, the price of the readers is too high right now but maybe someday.
Digital readers are a fabulous option – for people who can afford to buy one. Not every family can. To Lori A’s point about how electronic media will undoubtedly create opportunities to engage the next generation in reading… it could also inadvertently create barriers we never anticipated.
I agree with almost everything you said Lori, but I think the younger generation is going to have a backlash against electronics for reading — my teenagers hate reading on a computer because now that their textbooks are digital, they spend a lot of time online. However, I’m probably going to get an iPad before ITW . . . I am a Mac nut. laptop, desktop, iPod, just no iPhone yet . . . which I won’t need if I get an iPad.
I don’t own a handheld electronic reader but I did download Microsoft Reader (it’s free) so I could try reading electronic books on my laptop.
To my mind this doesn’t have to be an either/or thing. My first preference for reading is words on paper, and you can rest assured I won’t be giving up my books, but I have found that reading ebooks is enjoyable and there are some significant perks. The cost is usually less than half that of the same book in paperback and lots of wonderful authors are available only through ebook companies. Additionally, all the books in a series are available at one time as opposed to the bookstore having only numbers 3 and 8 in a series. Another big perk for those of us who now live in bifocal land is that the font and type size can be enlarged and altered. LOL
No one is going to pry your paperbacks from your hands…you can have both!
You’re right, Donna. No need for it to be an either / or thing!
I have a Sony reader and I do like it, but I still buy most of my books in paperback. I still love the feel of a “real” book in my hands, but do enjoy reading on my Sony too. I would never use it near water, since it cost so much to replace.
Replacement cost is an issue. I’ve lost two cell phones in the last few years and it is a serious downer to have to trudge back to the story and get them replaced. If I lose a paperback, no biggie. Plus not much of a target for theft. Maybe they’ll come up with an On Star service for the iPad and if someone steals it, you can track them down.
I, too, love the feel of a book in my hands and having them all over the house. I’m not willing to pay the price for a reader and I am technology challanged (I don’t even have a cell phone!)
No cell phone? I just read an article about how more and more households are going completely cellular and giving up their landlines.
Maybe by the time you’re ready for this transition, it will all be wrapped up in one inexpensive (yeah, right), easy-to-use hand-held device and you get it all with one small purchase. I know some people already use their cell phones for reading, but that little screen is simply too small for most people to find this comfortable…
I have a Kindle and love it! I can adjust the font, load up SO. MANY. BOOKS! Additionally, I’m on the computer all day and usually in the evening as well. I also have a touch of arthritis in my hands and carpal tunnel in my right wrist. Kin is a pleasure to read. My hands don’t cramp as I hold a book open and I can read for long periods because of it. It also stays charged for a long time for lots of reading pleasure.
I’ve never read in the bathtub. Too steamy even for paper books. I read Kin on the cruise I took–poolside, private veranda, coffee bar, you name it!
While I prefer reading on Kin, I find that if I really love a book, I’ll buy a second copy in paper to go into the library. Double sales for the author that way. (And the instant gratification is lovely!
) I have a bunch of paper books on my TBR pile but I rather dread reading through them. If it’s a book I really want to read, I just buy the ebook version and read on Kin. I’ll get to the rest eventually.
Well, this is the most enthusiastic response I’ve heard, Silver. Interesting that you like it and you have hand problems. I get that too from all the typing I do, so I was thinking a Kindle would make it worse. Sounds like you’ve had a good experience, though.
I don’t have any of the gizmos. I do have a I-phone, and can down load books on it, but the print is so small, only a ant could actually read it. I asked for Kindle for mother’s day, but didn’t get one. My husband often complains that if my den caught on fire the flames could be seen on the moon. More recently he moved that out to Mars, since I keep adding to my TBR pile, which is now not a pile but a small hill, working towards becoming a mountain. Do I want a reading gizmo..Not sure yet, if the house burns down, maybe, and is picked up on a drifting satellite, I’ll think about it further.
Lee, you can adjust the font on the phone, at least in the apps I have. I have eReader, the Kindle app, the BN reader and Stanza, with a few books on each one. You have to turn the page more often, but it’s not a biggie.
An ant! Ha!
I’m not crazy about super-small font either. Try to avoid reading stuff on my phone…
No ereader for me. I’m in the same boat you are: I’m addicted to my books — the actual books — and the ereaders are incredibly out of my budget (do you know how many books I could actually buy for the cost of the reader alone?!)
Yes, Becky! That’s a lot of books!! Waiting for the price to come down…
I do not own a digital reader! The only way I would ever get one is if I was a celebrity and traveling a lot. I read fast, so it’d be much easier downloading 10 books than packing 10 books. But since I’m not a celebrity, I’ll hoard my paperbacks, thank you very much!
I’m like you and want to unwind with my book. I love how books smell, too! I sit in front of a computer all day and so curling up with a paperback is much more comfortable than with another hot machine. Hopefully books will always be around!!!
Hi Laura,
Yes, I guess it’s great for people who travel. My editor loves hers because she doesn’t have to haul big manuscripts around as much as she used to.
I don’t have a hand held Ereader, so I downloaded Adobe Reader to my PC in order to read ebooks that aren’t available in print.
I want an Ereader, but it doesn’t fit into my budget at the moment.
Hi Leni,
It’s becoming a chorus here! These devices are too expensive. I’m going to wait. (Still waiting on the $$ of those giant flat-panel TVs to come down. My husband wants one the size of our den and I keep resisting…)
1) Yes–my laptop computer, the same nifty instrument I’m using right now, to respond to your questions.
3) I read ebooks from my local library. Generally, when the choice is the fine print of a paperback or the much larger print of an ebook, I’ll choose the ebook. Why? Because I can read faster, so, more books!
However, most books I read are paper. This is just an additional choice for me. And, at Christmas, when my husband wanted to give me a Kindle, I said No Thanks. Maybe I’ll get there eventually, but for now I enjoy having bookcases (and lots of household surfaces) to hold my favorites.
I love bookcases! I keep adding them around the house. Then every now and then I purge the junk and take it to my nearby Goodwill.
I have a Kindle and I absolutely LOVE it. Before that, I read on the computer for a long time, and, the Kindle is practical because I can carry it with me everywhere. To me, an e-reader is essential since I live in Brazil and it takes forever and a lot of money to buy books and have them shipped here. With the Kindle, I can buy books, no shipping and have them here in seconds. Great deal.
I know a lot of people who like the “smell of a book” or “the feel of a book in their hands”. I honestly don’t understand that. I love, books. Adore them. But it’s the story that really matters. To me, it makes no difference what I’m holding and what I’m smelling. In fact, the Kindle is easier to hold than a book because I don’t have to have my fingers in a way I have to keep it open
Yeah, Kindle rules!
I can see why you love ebooks if you live in Brazil! My overseas relatives the same way because they have trouble finding new releases.
Love my Kindle, always have it in my purse with more than one book on it that I haven’t read. At home, read paper books but Kindle is great for waiting in car, offices, ERs or any place with lines. I also have the Kindle PC version for reading during my lunch hour at work.
I’m going to have to check out the Kindle PC version. Thanks!
I don’t consider myself old fashioned except, maybe a little, when it comes to the arts. I waited until getting film was almost impossible before succumbing to a digital camera, and will likely resist having an e-reader of any kind (with perhaps the only exception being the iPad) until I *have* to. Which is kind of hypocritical, I suppose since I’d be fine with consumers reading *my* book on the e-reader of their choice.
Hi Dawn,
I think it’s all about choice. I want readers to be able to get my books in any form they like (except pirated downloads!). I just haven’t made the big switch yet. When it comes to non-fiction I doubt I ever will because I love to reference things later.
I blogged about this very thing… how I was never ever going to have a Kindle… and how that ended up changing. I felt so dirty, at first, like I had sacrificed something holy. Then… well, the rest of it’s here:
Buying Habits
Hi Toni,
Love your blog on this! I missed this recently, but sounds like we came at it with a similarly stubborn attitude. Now you’ve made the plunge! I probably would too if I got stuck in an airport like that. I HATE not having something to read.
Love Murder By the Book! You’re talking about the Houston store, right?
Right! I haven’t had the pleasure of signing there, but I’ve been a customer and thought it was a terrific place. Loved the staff.
I have an ebookwise, and I read on my iPhone.
I love it for several reasons. Fist, the ebookwise: Reading electronic files has introduced me to so many fantastic authors who weren’t pubbed in print. Many have gone on to NY houses, but I can say I knew them when
It’s also great because I can read at night, without the light on, without disturbing the hubby. You know when yuo just can’t put that book down and you read it until 3 am? I can do it in the comfort of my own bed w/o bothering anyone.
Reading on my iPhone? Love it. I always have a book with me, even if I’m just waiting in a long line at the grocery store, waiting to pick up a kid, waiting at a red light (LOL – yes, I’ve been known to pull it out at a long red).
I think, because of my generation, I’ll always prefer print, but I also love my e-readers.
Sounds like you read everywhere! I do that, too. Hate wasting time. Hadn’t even thought about getting the app for my iPhone because I always have a book around. Hmm…
Oh, should have mentioned that I never would have known about … ahem… ermmm… Lorelei James without my e-reader. So yeah, introductions to some awesome authors
No I don’t have a kindle or anything else, I love to feel that paper book in my hand! I am just not much on the e-books. Maybe some day I may have to get on the band wagon but I will read the paper books as long as I can!
I think you have plenty of company. Doubt paper books are going away. We’ll just have more options.
I’m not an ereader girl. That said, I’m going to buy the next iPad edition for other reasons, and I may even download a book or two, but for me, I like the feel of the book in my hand. I like to just pick it up off the coffee table, or the nightstand where I left it and read. I love browsing a book store. not an ibook store. not now anyway. as are most things in life, they are subject to change.
I like to browse bookstores, too. I like to pick up a book, look at it, flip through, etc. Maybe it’s habit or maybe it’s something that could be re-learned with a device. No idea. But I’m surrounded by books and I can’t imagine them being replaced by a computer chip.
hey laura –
i got a kindle from my husband for christmas and i love it – for some things. For instance i love being able to check out a book before i buy, especially if it’s an author i don’t know…downloading the first couple of chapters is great, it beats browsing in the bookstore, though i may well go and buy the book there later. I also love reading the NYTimes on it, especially at the gym. It is very hard to read a newspaper on the stepper.
I think I will lvoe the ipad when it gets super cheap in a few years, because I’ve become very dependent on touch screen, having had an iphone for a while.
BUT….i will always prefer cozying up with a REAL book. For the pure pleasure of reading, nothing beats turning physical pages.
For me, I think the different formats will coexist comfortably as they evolve and change but i will never give up books, bookstores, hardbacks, paperbacks, magazines, the whole messy lot.
Sophie, You sound like a romantic when it comes to books! I hear you. And I’m pretty sentimental about books I read long ago and re-read from time to time (my dog-eared Catcher in the Rye from college, my Robert Frost poems, my favorite thesaurus) some books are just not possible to replace.
Hey Laura, haven’t dived into the e-reader world yet. I adore books, and am totally addicted to holding them. That said, the one plus I can see is being able to download a new book in a short amount of time. I rarely get caught without a book to read, but when I do it’s not a pretty sight. One of my daughters has one, and loves hers.
LaDonna,
I’m betting our kids’ generation will become more comfortable with digital books because they’ve had them right from the start. They seem to move easily between the two worlds without even noticing.
1) Do you own any sort of electronic reader?– Nope.
2) If not, how come?– I like having actual books.
3) If you have one (or have ever used one) what do you think?– Never used one.
Thanks for commenting, Chelsea!
I have a Sony Pocket Edition reader.
I like it for books I can’t get in paperback. It is good to take several books with you at once.
Yes, good for loading up to go on a trip. But then there’s the problem of having to keep up with it. I’ve been known to leave my book on a beach towel or something and forget about it for hours. Can’t do that with a $400 device. But then think of all the titles I could pack without weighing down the bags
I am an addict too. It’s funny I just read this to my daughter who said, “If you sold all of your books you could have an iPad, Kindle, Nook and a Sony all at one time, Mom!” She just doesn’t understand does she!
1) Do you own any sort of electronic reader?– No I don’t,
2) If not, how come?– Money, Money, or the lack of. I do like having books.
3) If you have one (or have ever used one) what do you think?– I would like it because I could get books I can’t purchase in paper form. I could take it to places I go where I can’t take a book. I would be saving a tree on ebook at a time.
Hi Lisa,
And you bring up the point about impulse buying. I buy lots of books just because I stumbled across them in a store and they looked interesting. If I had to go online and seek them out, it would be a different selection because it’s more about the Web site pushing titles it “thinks” you want. Not as much chance to it.
See, I’m actually WORSE about impulse buying now. I see a book mentioned on a blog, like Untraceable, and it sounds good, and click! There it is. I’m on the internet a lot more than I’m in a bookstore
1. I do not own an ebook reader. I do read ebooks on my laptop.
2. I’m waiting for the prices to drop.
3. Never tried an electronic reader, although I’m am curious as to how the iPad would feel in my hands.
People keep saying this about the iPad. I’d like to try it out, too. Guess that will mean a trip to the bricks-and-mortar Apple Store. I have sampled a Kindle and was surprised how lightweight it was.
Laura
yep, I have a Kindle. It was a gift-suprised me that’s for sure!!!.
I will say there are definite +/- to it.
+ Ease of access-buying (yeah, how much was my Amazon bill? how many books did I buy??? I have 30+ books in my purse, less space being taken up by books. Yes, it works great outdoors. Putting a baggie on it for the bathtub?? I’m sure Mr Bezos can easily and cheaply get a replacement if it becomes ruined, me–not so cheap and easy. I’ll skip that idea
- I like the ease of picking up any book and being easily able to go to any spot. Start anywhere I want. There are some books I have in a series, I will continue to buy the actual books. Yes, there is a difference to holding and e- reader and a real book. But, you adjust easier than you would think. I put a skin on mine, and that changes the look and I find it easier and more relaxing to use. Sometimes, an actual book will be out early at the bookstore and I don’t want to wait the extra couple days for the Kindle to release. -How bad is that? =)
Going out of town next week, I’ll be taking the Kindle and some books.
Either way, it’s nice to escape, relax and enjoy a great story
I can relate to that new-release impatience thing. There are a handful of authors on my Must Get the Book the Tuesday It Comes Out List.
I have several readers on my iPod Touch, including Kindle.
Since the screen is so small, I really don’t care for it. I have to “flip” the page every few seconds and it really drains the batteries. Basically it’s just a way to have a book on hand in case of an emergency when I don’t have an actual book available.
Hi Janel,
Emergency books. I like that.
1. No.
2. I work all day on a computer. My eyes burn from looking at the screen. I also don’t feel these electronic gizmos are as green as they say they are. Don’t some of them use batteries?
3. Never want to.
I know what you mean! Eye strain is something I deal with all the time.
1) Do you own any sort of electronic reader? NO
2) If not, how come? honestly cant afford one
3) If you have one (or have ever used one) what do you think?
guess would be real nice to have something compact and can read, with out having couple paerbacks put in car and having one in pocketbook too
BUT i like the feeling of books in hands ,of curling up in bed or some1 wheres with a book
Thanks for the feedback!
I lost all of my books in a flood last August. Once the insurance check came in, I bought a Sony eReader. It has the ability to hold many, many books. And, I have them digitally. I can reread them as many times as I want. They are stored on my computer, on backups, on the eReader library, etc., so I can’t lose them again. I can lose / damage the reader, but not the books.
I take it in the tub (no plastic bag). I would not take it in a pool; I would need a paperback for that (cost too much money to chance it). I have sat in hotel hot tubs with it, too, but very carefully.
I have the cover with light for it, so it is great for reading at night and in weird places. It’s great for travel; I can take tons of books with me for less than one pound of weight.
I can’t get a book autographed. I miss that.
Otherwise I love it.
Sorry to hear about your flood, Stacy! I can’t imagine losing all my books. But I guess if you have to start over anyway, less reason not to go digital.
I love autographed books, too, but mostly when I got the chance to meet the author.
I don’t own a ebook reader I would love to have one but I can’t afford one right now. I read a lot of books on my computer. I would love to have a ebook reader to take to work with me because any time you take a book to work you can’t read because everyone wants to see what your reading. I still prefer my books in paper or hardback though. I have books everywhere in totes just stacked up in all kinds of places and on 5 bookshelves.
I’m no ebook reader so I’m no owner of one. I prefer reeding books in paperback because I love to held the paper in my hand and smell the book. I don’t think that I would buy me one because reading books on a ebook reader, well, I just can’t say if I’d love it that way. For me it makes so much fun to buy the book, look at the cover and like I said to smell it when its new and ME
I have a kindle. Best. Gadget. Ever. Bought mine in Feb 2009. I have read more books (and spent more $) in the last 15 months than in the last 10 years. I have discovered new authors that I never would have read in paper form. My kindle goes with me everywhere. I will not be without an ebr again.
I own a nook. The moment I picked it up at B&N I was lost. I love that you can change the font size, get a book instantly in the middle of the night, and now that it has a cover, take it anywhere.
I just have too many books and let me tell you; The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown is a lot lighter on the nook instead of 1300 pages of hardcover. LOL
I think the first time I realized how great it was I was at BN. I saw a book I wanted, but it was #2 in a series and the store didn’t have #1, but my nook did!
I still buy paperbacks at the book store because I’m there and they’re there.
1) Do you own any sort of electronic reader?
Nope.
2) If not, how come?
* I like paper books. Don’t ask me why, I just do.
* I mostly read where it’s not e-reader friendly: the bathtub, the gym, the hot tub, the pool, the sauna, the treadmill, the beach…
* If I lose a book, I’m out an $8 book. If I lose an e-reader, I’m out a $250 piece of equipment plus my entire effing library omg no.
* Amazon will not show up in the dead of night, remove a book from my library and replace it with a gift certificate. And if they do, legally I can shoot them.
3) If you have one (or have ever used one) what do you think?
I’ve toyed with a Nook at B&N and a Sony eReader at Books a Million, but I remain unimpressed. The experience of a book is in the book, and right now, reading on an e-reader would be more of a hindrance than a help.
I saw a lady with a Kindle at the gym yesterday. She was on the bike. It was a lot easier for her to place that flat e-reader than a paperback or hardcover.
I don’t want a kindle or an ipad. I do read on my iphone tho. I have a couple hundred books on there. I use the free app, Stanza, and really like it. The phone is always with me, so I always have a book in an unexpected free moment. I do still read paperbacks tho (just finished Lori Armstrong’s Shallow Grave at 7AM today! I read the damn thing all night and then went to work! Loved, loved it.) But while paperbacks feel nice and comfy and familiar, did I remember to put it in my purse? And trade paperbacks don’t always FIT in my purse. So my iphone is very handy reading.
I just got a nook for mothers day. I love the instant gradification of being able to download a book the day it comes out instead of waiting until I have time to make it to a bookstore. I also love that I have found that my range of titles and authors have expanded which is great. But I miss holding a book and turning the pages and sneaking a quick peak at the end if I want ; ) It will be good for authors though b/c I will buy a hard copy also if I find the book good enough to put in my library. I anxiously await June 22nd.