E-readers! E-readers! Everywhere!

Book Blogger Appreciation Week has posted a challenge concerning e-readers, and well, I can't resist the challenge!

We've discussed e-readers before on Jen's Book Thoughts, and it amazes me how much has changed in just the short time since that happened. Most folks know that I've always been a sucker for technology. It amazes me what the inventions of late have allowed us access to: travel, communication, calculation, gaming, music, you name it. But I've been resistant to the e-book. The three biggest reasons are 1.) money - let's face it; if the e-reader was $25, I'd probably have one now despite any other arguments. I might not like it, might not use it, but I'd likely have it. 2.) Amazon has dominated the playing field. I think I've mentioned before that I'm not a big fan of Amazon. Plus, their reader is proprietary. No matter how fancy it is, I don't like the idea of being confined to one resource for my books. 3.) Finally, I have a sentimental need for books. This is probably the weakest reason of the three that I have for being resistant to the e-reader because even when I do take the plunge, I'll still own print books. I'll still surround myself with their comfort and beauty. I'll still READ print books. It's much like my mp3 player - I own one; I use it; and I still have CDs all over my house! Probably not as many, but I still have the ones that mean the most to me. The ones I love and want to keep forever.


Let's look a little closer at my mp3 player. I know, I know, this is supposed to be a post about E-readers. But my mp3 player is a GREAT parallel for my thinking on E-readers. I did not own an mp3 player as soon as the rage started. Yes, I would have liked to have grabbed one up right away, but I also wanted to get something that would last me awhile if I was going to invest the money in it - call me frugal, I'll agree. And I didn't need a bunch of fancy extras that I wouldn't ever use. I knew right off the bat that I would use my mp3 player primarily for audiobooks. So, I wanted something that would easily play my audiobooks. I didn't need bells and whistles, and I most definitely didn't want it doing any "shuffling." So, I bought a Sandisk player that has been perfect for my needs. It was comparatively inexpensive at the time I bought it. It's probably much less so now. I don't need anything special to download to it...easy drag and drop capabilities. And I can recharge it easily as well. I have absolutely no complaints whatsoever with my mp3 player.

I'm going to be the same way about purchasing an E-reader. It's an investment, not an impulse purchase. The primary factor that will get me to LOOK at an E-reader is the price. If it isn't something I can afford without putting myself in some debt, I won't consider it. It isn't a necessity. It's that simple. I can still read without an E-reader. Once the reader is within a reasonable price range THEN I can look at it. But if it's in my price range and doesn't have what I need or want, then that's an equally pointless purchase. I knew I would use my mp3 player for things like exercising, listening to while I craft, traveling, etc. An E-reader I would likely use to reduce bulk in travel, to carry around in my purse or car. So it would need to have sufficient space for books and be capable of playing my mp3 audiobooks. I'm personally not interested in reading newspapers or magazines on an E-reader, and I don't need a wi-fi connection if the only thing it allows me to do is buy new books.

But here's the biggie. I will not buy an E-reader that is proprietary. I like my freedom to buy books where I want to buy them. One of the great joys involved in reading is scouring bookstores, finding both new and old treasures. Maybe one day an online bookstore will be capable of housing all the books ever written, but I'd still always like the option to buy books where I WANT to buy them. Not where my reader dictates I have to buy them. My hope is that our bookstores now will ultimately have portals to sell e-books. While I'm shopping one day and the bookseller says, "you might like this book," (because you know booksellers are IRREPLACEABLE when it comes to that sort of thing) but I don't necessarily think I need the book in print for ever and ever, I can still purchase the book from my bookseller and not kill the tree for the bound book I won't want to keep as a treasure.

E-books aren't going anywhere. And I don't view them as a replacement to my beloved print books. I see it as another medium in which I can enjoy the stories. Those stories were once stored solely in the minds of humans. Gradually they were written down on paper. That didn't mean they had to disappear from the minds of humans. Now we're seeing another shift and it doesn't mean that the stories have to disappear from paper or from minds or from audio recordings. It simply means the stories are now being retained in yet another container. Long live the stories! (In case you can't see clearly, the passenger is, yes, reading an E-reader as they're driving!)