Everyone seems to have an e-reader. The only adult I know who doesn’t have one is that resident techno-tard over here, Mr. Howler. So how popular are e-readers and with whom?
Kids don’t seem all that interested in them. Schools don’t allow them here in the county (Leave 
your electronics at home) and often the books kids are forced to read aren’t available on Kindle, Nook or Ipad. There is also the idea of a specific publisher for student books. God forbid that anyone reading The Crucible isn’t reading the ‘designated copy.’ Being on the same page takes on a new dimension in schools. Little kids love e-readers but most people aren’t going to go out and get a 6 year old their own ipad as an e-reader.
That leaves adults. Who really likes the e-reader and whose habits has it changed? Who really likes holding a real book and turning its pages so much that they will not use an e-reader? I have heard several people flat out refuse to go with an e-reader just because they love touching a real book and turning its pages. Someone even told me they would miss the smell.
Commuters and travelers seem to love e-books more. E-readers fit right in a purse, briefcase or backpack and weigh far less than most books. You can even take more than one book along for the ride without weighing yourself down. The convenience of unlimited books in something weighing less than a pound is just nirvana for a week at the beach or someone who is trying to pack light.
What are some advantages of e-books that you just can’t get from a real book? E-books have adjustable print size. This attribute is critical to someone like me who gets tired eyes and who has presbyopia. The longer the day gets, the larger the print is needed. Many folks also love the instant gratification part of e-reading. For someone like me, I get too much accumulated that hasn’t been read. I used to do that with real books also though.
E-books are cheaper, generally speaking. Most new books are available on e-books immediately. Once midnight hits on a release day, that book you have been waiting for is out. Old favorites don’t usually fare as well. I was talking with Bear about Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird in email. He and I can’t find it for Kindle. Now that is ridiculous. Why not? Mockingbird is a classic!
Is there a difference between older and younger adults using an e-reader? Is this a good gift for a senior citizen. I have talked to several who have had difficulty making theirs work. Areas of difficulty seem to center around wifi and borrowing from the library.
How about cost? Has anyone borrowed or traded with a friend? I have not. I ask myself how much I ‘wasted’ on print books. When I was in read mode, quite a bit. How about magazines? Who has switched over to getting their Nat Geo or Smithsonian on Ipad? My 2nd generation Kindle sure wouldn’t do. It is e-ink in black and white. No pictures. How about the daily newspaper? Are old habits just too hard to break?
Lastly, how about the swap over and sync-ing? Who sends their kindle to their computer or phone or work computer? How many of us take advantage of having our book everywhere we go? What are your e-reader experiences and what are your favorite features of e-reading? Are you upgrading for Christmas? Is that new Kindle Fire singing your name? How about an I-pod upgrade? (I hear Ipod 3 comes out in February) Tell! Tell!
Brief Nook vs Kindle Fire comparison
I can tell you writers are measuring their decisions on where and how to publish carefully with the dynamic changes in the industry. The recent success of Darci Chan is a case study:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204770404577082303350815824.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_read
Two established local writers, Robert Bausch and Carole Bellacera are testing the waters.
Bausch, who teaches at NOVA, has published seven novels and one collection of short stories the traditional way, but with his most recent book, In The Fall They Come Back, he published it as an e-version first.
Bellacera, who lives in Manassas, has published at least five novels traditionally, including Border Crossings and Spotlight, but her latest, Tango’s Edge was published in the fall as an e-book.
If you’re buying local this holiday, consider local writers! Posting as Pinko’s new book, Approaching Felonias Park (about payday lenders) is my current read, and I can’t put it down (paperback – I don’t have an e-reader….yet). Proceeds benefit a food pantry in Old Town Manassas. Google the title and you’ll see a book review on the new hyperlocal news site, Bristow Beat.
I have a kindle2. I love it. I also have the kindle app on my phone. Great if you are stuck somewhere with nothing to do. The 2 synch via the web, so I can switch devices and pick up right where I left off. That said, I still enjoy cracking open a real book too. I usually have one of these going, along with 2-3 e-books, at any given time.
I have a kindle 2 also. I have the kindle app on my computer and on my ipad. I don’t have one on my droid because it is just too hard for me to see it. I am impressed that you can see yours, youngster.
I have even tried text to voice. It isn’t too bad if you don’t mind common words being mispronounced like pinecone being pinnyconA. I have listened to audible book on it also. My only grip is its hard to find your place. Sync-ing isnt so great.
Thanks for your opinion, Steve. So you aren’t thinking of updating to Fire?
Moon, no update on the horizon for me, unless Amazon announces they will no longer support Kindle2. My near vision is still great. My optomitrist is amazed. Distance vision, not so much. I tried text to voice too. Made the mistake of trying to listen to the Bible. Spoke every number and the footnote indicators. Drove me nuts. For a novel perhaps….
@Steve, I am the opposite, vision-wise.
The Bible is too complicated to even attempt it on text to voice, I would think. I listened to a Rita Mae Brown novel or two and some Clan of the Cave Bear series. I got used to that. Its easier to just go with audible.com. I prefer ipod for that medium.
Speaking of audible books,…I have a hard time listening to books being read and am trying to teach myself to listen better. I find I am distractible and my mind wanders. Then I have no way to backtrack. I think I must have a learning disability and never knew it. I was read to some as a kid but not a lot. My mother had undiagnosed asthma and always hated oral reading becsuse of it. I am a much stronger visual learner, I decided.
This will definitely make it expensive to burn books….. And think of the combo of lithium batteries and flames…….
And if you download the Bible to a Kindle…can you swear on it?
Some authors have gotten rich by changing the prices, cutting out the middle man, self-publishing through Amazon, and charging 99 cents for their book. Their percentage of the take was greater and their sales grew by thousands.
I love, love, love my Kindle 2. WiFi for me…I don’t really see the need to have 3G on a simple reader, when you can download a book and then read it anywhere. I love how I don’t have to store more books in my already cramped condo; I am notoriously bad about returning books on time. This really works for me.
I have been in spots where I didn’t bring the Kindle with me. At restaurants when you have a long wait, at a doctor’s office…I have pulled out my Android smartphone and retrieved my “archived” books on my Kindle app. It allows me to pick up reading where I left off on my Kindle, and has kept me a happy camper.
I actually find that I read more novels and non-fiction during the school year now that I have a Kindle.
I love my Kindle too! I didn’t get it until right after Christmas last year…I was a holdout. I do like to have a book in my hands, but I’m traveling a lot for work now and it was a pain to be lugging magazines and books all over the place when I could have this thing that fits in my purse! Now I get the NY Times and the Wash Post delivered daily, get Nation and the New Yorker every week, plus Reader’s Digest every month. (I think it’s elevated the caliber of reading material I read when I travel, too…you can’t get People or other trash mags on it!)…they are all pretty “serious” magazines that are offered. I’ve read more novels in the last year than I’d probably read in the last 3 years combined…it is a bit too easy to just click “buy now” and blow off housework etc., but hey, it is what it is…and I like it!
Call me old scool but I prefer books to the kindle. Kindles don’t smell like books, or feel like books. I also love to go to bookstores and just browse the aisles looking for something to pique my interest. I have friends and family members that love their kindles, but I just can’t seem to share their excitement.
@Cargosquid
I have a Kindle 2 I think and it only has 3g. No wi-fi. Mine is about 2.5 years old. Is it not a Kindle 2?
MH, you’ll be happy to know that I was using my iPad today to read Ayn Rand to my twins.
They don’t understand the book (Anthem) but I think they just love hearing daddy reading something to them.
I much prefer digital over analog (books). If I need to find something — I just do a quick keyword search. I see books as more of a keepsake. I keep some select books on a shelf for those days when I (like DB) that I just want to handle paper and curl up.
I am glad you are reading to them. On ipad you can get them kid books that do a lot of rhyming and alliteration. Some are free.
That will be good for them. Also Amazon and B & N also have those tyke books on the harder board so they can handle their own books.
Good for you for reading to them though. It makes a huge difference in school readiness from what I have read.
I don’t think my brothers and I were harmed from not being read to for long periods of time. Mother read short things to us but I have friends whose families sat around in the evenings and read aloud. That did not happen in my family. The one friend is very gifted in language. So is my brother.
Kindle…nook…?
All of my books are made OF kindling. And I store them in nooks.
You know…this new technology is just going to completely ruin good book burnings?
“BURN THEM! BURN THE E-READERS! DESTROY THE ELECTRONS!”
“Wait…what?”
“What do you mean they can download another copy………”
Can’t imagine reading a book that isn’t a book!
You must have younger eyes than I do, Punchak.
@Cargosquid
You don’t remember when Amazon remotely deleted copies of 1984 and Animal Farm from Kindle users devices???
That was a big PR oopsie.
why did that happen? Was it an accident?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/technology/companies/18amazon.html
If amazon remotely delets anything, it is most likely because the e-publisher didn’t properly license the book in the first place. Many older books are converted e-book format by volunteers, and there may be errors in the copy. If the publisher didn’t have the legal right to publish, or the public domain book has major errors, or some other copyright law is broken, Amazon has a legal responsibility to delete these copies
@marinm
Oh yes…I do…which is why I like REAL books.
You can have by paperbacks when you pry them…….you get the idea.
@Steve Thomas
So…does a bookstore, if they sold physical books, have the legal responsibility to come to your home and take them.
I don’t want ANY store able to delete or modify ANYTHING of mine once it is purchased, without my consent.
Then dont get electronic books. That’s the risk you take I guess. I read they weren;t properly licensed or something.
@Cargosquid
Ever see that note/warning at the beginning of a mass market paperback, about “if you purchased this book with a missing cover…” that’s sort of the same thing.