Just had an interesting dinner conversation about Sony, kindles and
the like. DH would like to buy me an ebook reader, in the hopes of
having a few less cubic metres of books all over the house (not gonna
happen)
Some of you will have noticed I'm not a big ebook fan - sure I'm happy
to avail myself of free offers (to convince myself that I'm still not
an ebook fan 
) but I'm more into the hardcopy versions and I still wouldn't get rid of the print books I've got
However talking about it with the brother and DH, I was able to identify some
of the "problems" I would have with an ebook reader (irrespective of
its name)
I wouldn't be prepared to buy it - the epublisher would have to be
willing to give it to me for me to find it a reasonable and profitable
(for me) solution
The idea of shelling out money for a device that I could spend on
actual books is totally abhorrent to me (irrespective of the amount of
money involved) I've heard of a sum in
the three digits and i can tell you right now (forgetaboutit)
On an average Friday I'll spend between $25 and $27 in a certain online
bookstore not far from here and in exchange I will have anything
between 8 and 11 books with no shipping charges
The thought of spending the cost of between 120 and 175 books just to have a device
for which I will still have to spend even more money to have "books" to
read on that device is just too crazy to be credible. (and that's the
cheapest of the devices I've heard about)
Add to that the incompatibility aspect, the protectionist aspect, the limited choice
aspect, the visual comfort aspect depending on which device you pick
and I just don't want to know
Now if all the prospective manufacturers were to get together, do some real market research and listen to what I'd tell them
I might end up for a token sum (two-digit number with a first digit that
can be counted on the fingers of one hand) with a backlit handheld
lightweight ereader onto which I could download books from a variety of
sources at the best possible price for me, with a little thingamygig so
that it can stand by itself without me having to wear my wrist out,
without having to worry that if I download from Sony/amazon/eharlequin
I need to worry about compatibility or font size orpage scrolling or
whatever.
That it wouldn't matter whether I bought the device in
the US, UK or Japan or Timbuktu, I could download from any esite I
liked and even from ebay if I really wanted to
I know, I still believe in Santa Claus and it's not going to happen
And that's exactly why 98% of my blogs have and will continue to have that nice little tag "print book"
Yes I'm a dinosaur, yes I'm a mammouth, I may even be a dodo
but I'm first and foremost a readaholic, and I'm (probably) the biggest
reader on this site, so if I can't see the economic sense in it, how on
earth do these ereader manufacturers hope to convince those of you who
read LESS than I do?
Feel free to convince me of the error of my ways, but for the moment DH has slunk back into his cave, along with FF
I'm two for two - so I'll say it again - nice try 
but no cigar 
I am not in my cave!
I just stopped to have dinner oven fried sweet potatoes and salad. You sticks to your guns. I hates e-books. (And they can't be shared!
)
"Perhaps what the average member of a group is capable of doesn't limit what a given individual can accomplish." -- Boston Globe, letter to the editor
March's Member of the Month!
You forgot to mention the
You forgot to mention the cost of the batteries.
But seriously, you won't get an argument here. Between my day job as a computer programmer, writing for Blaze and critiquing for 2 CPs, I spend 90% of my waking hours staring at a computer screen. Reading print books are the one break I get from the electronic world (which will no doubt some day be attributed to several forms of cancer).
Plus, despite 45 being the new 25, my age puts me far closer to large print books than teeny little screens.
I could go on. I could mention my preference for perusing real bookshelves over scrolling past file names. I could recant the sadness I still bear over all those great album covers now shrunken to the size of CDs, and not wanting the same for my books. But I will suffice to say, I'm the pterodactyl to your wooly mammoth. The only ebooks I read are those written by friends. Aside from that, I make the space and stick to print.
Lori
PUTTING IT TO THE TEST, Harlequin Blaze, April 2008
UNLEASHED, Harlequin Blaze, November 2008
Join me on my blog at www.sizzlingpens.blogspot.com
or my web www.loriborrill.com
Agree!
Yes, rather a wonky thing to admit considering my release is ebook, but it will be print!
And like Lori said, with the time spent on a computer, I want good old fashioned paper in my fingers when it's time to enjoy reading!
And I agree with you, Sadhbh, e-readers are currently cost prohibitive. I think if some of the bigger ebook publishers ran a promo of sorts where if you agreed to purchase x-number of books, they would come with a free reader, the ebook readers would have a much better chance of catching on!
Lainey
http://www.elaineforlife.com
I'm not against ebooks per se
and the proof is that I read them and have even bought some, but I just don't get the ereader manufacturers expecting me to shell out my hard-earned cash for a device
it would be like expecting me to buy a print book with blank pages where the print comes to stay for a while before it moves on
A lot of the books I've read in these challenges are twenty or more years old
But you can bet the price of ten Kindles that they'll be past it in twenty years' time
whereas
my print books will be a little older, a little more battered but still
readable as long as there's a pair of eyes left in the world
so i'll download the books and read them uncomfortably chained to my computer
but shell out that kind of money for a gadget
Not me
Dream Team 2008 Challenge blogs
Nothing will ever replace
Nothing will ever replace holding a print book in my hand but the Kindle is so easy to take places with several (ok more) books loaded. You can lay it down and still read without a glare. You can change the font size which really helps tired eyes. It can also help if you're embarrassed about a cover as no one really knows what you are reading. Covers never bother me if someone doesn't like mine too bad for them. I wouldn't have spent the money for it but my kids gave it to me for Christmas so cost wasn't a problem in my case. There reasoning was it would keep me from buying so many print books, NOT GONNA HAPPEN. I still have to have my favorite authors in print. The Kindle is great for books I know I won't keep but not for authors already on my keeper shelves. Have to have those. Anyway I love my Kindle but love my print books more.
The D2K Paranormal Junkies ~ 2008 Book Challenge Blog
To e-Book or not to e-Book? *G*
I have to say that I was just like you at first...swore up and down that I would never read an e-book or have anything to do with them because I love the feel of a real book in my hands. Then, a friend sent me an e-book to "try out" and it was great and it had me thinking...what other great authors am I missing out on because I won't read e-Books? So I started reading more of them. I found so many new to me authors last year because of e-Books. Then last November I bought a Sony Reader...got it and thought I'd have a blast downloading all my e-books to it until I ran into problems with it and Sony Tech weren't that helpful in helping me out. so I sent it back to them for a refund...if they couldn't take the time to help a customer, I'm not going to spend $$ on their products. A little bit later, I ended up ordering an eBookwise, #1, much cheaper than the Sony and #2, once I got it figured out, it wasn't that hard to upload books to it. I love it. That's not to say I'll completely give up on print books but now I can also have those e-books that come out that I can't wait to get my hands on.
Mad's House
The Born Readers
Dream...For on the wings of a dream, anything is possible.
Hi Mad
I'm not one to say never, my main point is that when I could be
spending money on reading material, I'm not going to spend it on the
tool/device for the reading material
If the ereader manufacturer made me an offer I couldn't refuse -
two hundred downloads plus a reader for the same price as the best
offer I could get on the two hundred print books, I would be able to see the point
Then I would HAVE the ereader and I would possibly buy the ebooks rather than
the print books, especially those books where the publisher is making
an effort to pass on the savings to the customer
I'm just not interested if I (or someone I know and love and share the budget of
) have to fork out money just for the device
Doesn't make economic sense to this readaholic
and when you read as many books as I do, it would HAVE to make EXCELLENT economic sense
Hugs
Sadhbh
Dream Team 2008 Challenge blogs
Just got one!
LOL, Sadhbh! I've been where you are mentally for a long time. That having been said, I just bought a PDA.
I'm a cheep scape at heart and truly only buy my books if I can get them on sale. My hubby has 'lovingly' started to complain about the amount of paper books I have around the house so that came into play on my deciding it was time to at least look into them more seriously. But once there I began to find other benefits to purchasing them--- I could honestly get a lot more ebooks for the same prices of a paper one. AND most authors get more in their pockets from ebooks then paper so I feel good about helping to keep them with food on their plates and writting more for me to read
. (Nice cycle wouldn't you say!? LOL)
So anyhow I started looking into buying an ereader. But I ran into a hundred obstacles! And I have not been silent about this being an issue
--as you said, I want these companies to get together and make one compatible product! Most people are NOT going to spend weeks like I did trying to buy a product. Ah, we are in the age of ease or no sell? If it isn't a one click product... only those who feel they have to have it are going to get it!
*sigh* but I won't get on that soap box right now. Basically this is what it came down to for me on my finally choice to get a PDA instead of any of the 'official ereaders' out there-- I can purchase ANYTHING, ANYWHERE, from ANYONE on either my PDA or the computer. (you can then transfer things to the PDA) I can use ALL the ereaders (compatiblitiy to the max here!) and it is easy to read. I don't ever think while I'm reading it that 'I wish it were bigger'. I had thought I might, but its never an issue. I wanted compatibility.. flexibility. Demanded it if I was going to be spending that kind of money. The PDA did this for me. Why the 'official eReader' companies don't get this... I don't get. Or for that matter why the PDA companies don't just make a product they have a little bit bigger and call it the PDA READER... I don't get either... it would make the consumer's search for a reader so much easier!
I've gotten a kick out of people complaining about tapping the screen or touching a button to flip pages on the ereaders... ummmm, don't you hold a book in your hands and don't you have to flip a page to read it?
This is no different and in fact easier. That makes me smile.
I still love my paper books. I don't see my never NOT buying them. But this product will allow me to buy even more! I have already about 20 plus books on a piece of plastic(memory card) that is no bigger then two inches by 1/4 inch! The amount of books I can store my memory card is phenomonial! That makes my hubby happy which makes buying more books a breeze... which makes me happy...
Have fun reading either way! And by the way... your reading pile is incredible!
Cole
Nicole Reising
www.nicolereising.com
www.nicolereising.com/blog
Imagination... the magical whispers from within.
Added Bonus
Unless hubby sees the bill he wont know how many books you really do have.
The D2K Paranormal Junkies ~ 2008 Book Challenge Blog
LOL on Added bonus!
You sooooo read my mind when I wrote that last bit on being able to get more books!
Cole
Nicole Reising
www.nicolereising.com
www.nicolereising.com/blog
Imagination... the magical whispers from within.
Book deprivation
is something DH understands, so I don't have a problem with ordering lots of books
It's genuinely a space problem in his mind (I'm lucky
)
Hugs
Sadhbh
Dream Team 2008 Challenge blogs
I've only started to delve into eBooks ......
I needed a PDA for work and actually would have preferred to get a smartphone/PDA .... like a Palm Treo or a Blackberry .... that wasn't feasible this year, so I bought a second hand Palm One LifeDrive off of eBay ... it's my PDA ... I can wifi to the web for browsing ... I can read eBooks ... I can even put some Audible books on it ......... I can get a folding keyboard for it, but haven't had to so far .....
however, I'm a bookaholic .... I prefer the feel of a real paper book ..... so eBooks are for trying new authors, or special deals .... a few of the eBundles are keepers and rereaders for me, so I like them on my PDA for moments when you're standing in line at the bank or post office or where ever ... but for my real keepers, they have to be paper books
~~ KatherineT ~~ I'm a Harlequin Addict, and I'm proud of it!
~~ Quiet Canadians ~ 2008 Book Challenge Blog
Just gave e-books on my PDA a try...
and so far I like it. Penn got me started on the idea the other day. I, too, would much rather hold the paper book in my hand. Only problem for me is that I often like to read really detailed, really long historical nonfiction, but the only time I actually have to devote to them is right before bed. Unfortunately at that time of night I'm so worn out that I read the same paragraph 4, 5, or 6 times trying to absorb the details. I convinced DH that I should try e-books for the historical stuff so that I can take them to the gym with me and listen there while I'm working out. On Saturday I was able to get a couple of chapters into a book on the American Revolution that would have taken me weeks to actually read. What's more I actually remember what I heard!
As long as I'm takin' the PDA to the gym to keep a workout record on, I might as well listen to e-books on it too.
Lisa
I think you mean
audio books, AFW, since you have to read e-books. :confuzzled:
"Perhaps what the average member of a group is capable of doesn't limit what a given individual can accomplish." -- Boston Globe, letter to the editor
March's Member of the Month!
Working Out
I have a friend who is borrowing my audios and listening only when she is working out. She has now lost 65 lbs. I usually listen in the car or sit and read whether it's from a print book or my Kindle.
The D2K Paranormal Junkies ~ 2008 Book Challenge Blog
I read a lot on the treadmill back when I was losing weight
I have a treadmill beside me, now if I could only get the pile of
LOL 
books off it, I might actually use it and get some of them read
Hugs
Sadhbh
Dream Team 2008 Challenge blogs
LOL!
I loved the idea of using the pda to listen to books while working out! And the comment on books covering the treadmill... totally made me laugh!
Cole
Nicole Reising
www.nicolereising.com
www.nicolereising.com/blog
Imagination... the magical whispers from within.
LOL Cole
if you could visualise me seated on a red computer chair with the
tail end of the treadmill pushing against my right shin, with an
aquarium parallel to the treadmill against the wall and my computer on
a desk adjacent to the aquarium
The shelf underneath the aquarium
)
is half full of books and the treadmill is a handy area to put down the
book when I want to type and to temporarily shelve books I need to
blog, and also a good "space" for the boys toys or the travel bag that
hasn't been put away since we got back from the inlaws three weeks ago
or (use your imagination, it could hardly be worse than my reality
I
occasionally clear it off with the intention of actually using the
thing, but you know that treadmill is clearly the road to hell, with
the slight exception that it isn't paved
Still I've been "thinking" about using it, and I can feel the difference in my muscles
and
that's where I'm not joking, the mental preparation for the exercise
means I've been tensing and relaxing muscles in anticipation, pulling
in the stomach muscles and gearing myself up, and with a bit of luck
this weekend it'll be a go
I'll let you know how I get on
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mental preparation for exercise
When you come up with an exercise method that involves ONLY thinking about exercising, get back to me, will ya?
"Perhaps what the average member of a group is capable of doesn't limit what a given individual can accomplish." -- Boston Globe, letter to the editor
March's Member of the Month!
Tears...!
LOL... I still have tears in my eyes making it hard to see to write from that one Sadhbh! My oldest couldn't figure out what I thought was so funny so I had to share with him.
That was great! I've been doing a lot of that 'thinking' about exercising too. LOL we'll get in shape together!
Fake Frenchie.. I'm so there with you!
Cole
Nicole Reising
www.nicolereising.com
www.nicolereising.com/blog
Imagination... the magical whispers from within.
The "bring you in to the new posts" is not working in this threa
in this thread at least at this time.
"Perhaps what the average member of a group is capable of doesn't limit what a given individual can accomplish." -- Boston Globe, letter to the editor
March's Member of the Month!
'tis for me FF
so either they've fixed it or you're doing something weird
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I'm NOT doing anything WEIRD!
They have fixed it since I noted that.
"Perhaps what the average member of a group is capable of doesn't limit what a given individual can accomplish." -- Boston Globe, letter to the editor
March's Member of the Month!
"I'm NOT doing anything WEIRD!"
We only have YOUR word for that!
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PDA fan
I too am a fan of the PDA for my ebooks. Got my first ebook when I couldn't find a book in print and if I wanted to read it bad enough, well, you get the picture. I now have 3 different ebook systems on my palm and I have lots of books in there (again mostly books I couldn't easily find in paper form). I like them as I can make the font bigger if I need to and that now happens more and more often. Also, I always have my PDA with me, so a quick trip to the post office is a couple of quick pages read while my "real" book is sitting in the car.
My only real complaint about ebooks is that I can't easily skim to the end, but have to read the whole book to get to the end....
Bonsal
Now, it's not
working again. *sigh*
"Perhaps what the average member of a group is capable of doesn't limit what a given individual can accomplish." -- Boston Globe, letter to the editor
March's Member of the Month!
Oh yes it is
just not for YOU
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