Sunday, October 5, 2014

Paper or Plastic?


After a recent flight from New Orleans to Boston that involved five hours of flight time plus a three-hour layover, I became intrigued with the idea of purchasing an e-reader, such as a Kindle or Nook. How cool would it be to bring one little device with me and load it up with two or three dozen books at once? Plus, I could download a book at any time, anywhere there’s Wi-Fi. I spied dozens of my fellow travelers happily engaged in their light weight, portable e-readers, while I trudged from Terminal A to Terminal Z, dragging my over weighted carry-on bag which contained four novels and two magazines, in addition to the prerequisite bag of M&Ms and bottle of water.

Inspired, I called my own resident Kindle expert, my 12-year old nephew Josh. Josh got a Kindle for the holidays last December, in an attempt by his Mom to make him more interested in reading for pleasure. Apparently, it’s worked. So far, in addition to his normal school reading, he has found time to read four or five books. Josh said that he enjoys reading books on his Kindle more than a traditional book because the Kindle is smaller, light weight and easier to hold. He also enjoys checking his Google email and is planning on buying some music on iTunes. Shopping for books online with his Kindle is very easy and there are millions of choices.

In late January 2011, Amazon announced that digital books were outselling their traditional print counterparts for the first time ever, with an average of 115 Kindle editions being sold for every 100 paperback editions. According to Amazon, Kindle is their #1 bestseller and has the most 5-star reviews of any product on their website.

How could 16,430 people be wrong?

But I’m still not convinced. I’ve been an avid reader since I was a child and I like the feel of a book in my hands. Also, I read rather quickly and it’s not unusual for me to finish a novel in less than three hours. So, for me, constantly purchasing books can get expensive. Instead, I prefer to browse in the library, borrow a good book from a friend or pick a couple up from the book swap in our cafeteria. Just this morning, I rescued six books from my neighbor’s recycling pile!

Do you like to read? Read anything good lately? Do you own an e-reader, such as a Kindle or Nook? What has your experience been? Do you think that e-readers will eventually replace printed books?

Originally published in May 2011, this is still one of my favorite blog posts that I have written. Since the original publication of this post, I have since purchased a Nook, but I still prefer a real book.

4 comments:

  1. I love to read, but I don't read as fast as you. But my Kindle has a text to speech feature so I listen to books while I sew. I am really expanding my reading horizons though. I am listening/reading Zombie book with historical references which has been kind of fun.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love the feel of real books! Do you get free E-books from the library? My favorite series are Murder she baked, it includes recipes, by Joann Fluke and Janet Evanovich number series books, they are murder mysteries, but no hard thinking involved. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have a kindle but don't enjoy it. I like to check out library books and since I'm a slower reader than you, they are due not renewable, too quickly for me. I don't like the light on the kindle, and like to hold a book on the spine while reading in bed, can't hold the kindle as easily. I don't like to scroll, or fuss with looking back for a page when I want to check something. I don't know. Books are so good.
    LeeAnna

    ReplyDelete
  4. You need a tutorial from a friend of mine. She loads up her wish list from the library, reads at night in bed with the light off, and swaps from Kindle to smartphone without losing her place. I don't think she reads as fast as you do, but she might come close. --Linda

    ReplyDelete