The poll question is inspired by a remark made by Australian crime fiction writer PD Martin who is a keynote speaker at Salisbury Writers' Festival in late August.
- She is speaking about e-books and their potential impact on writers and readers.
- "One in six Americans is an e-reader and
about 20% in Australia have reported buying an e-book in the last 6
months."
When I was overseas recently I read books only from my Kindle. I had 40 books pre-loaded in readiness and read about half of them. (In actual fact I have over 500 books on my Kindle organised into 22 "Collections".)
In the last 2 weeks I've reverted to library books and, would you believe it, I'm having withdrawal symptoms?
A recent poll resulted in the post e-books holding steady led me to believe that in general the hype has gone out of the e-reader market, although a couple of commenters told me they have only just acquired an e-reader.
Some people however are now reading most of their books in e-format.
Indeed this year I have read 41 books on my Kindle out of a total of 80 books altogether. That is about half of all my reading.
So for people like me to say that I have bought more than 5 e-books this year is an under-statement.
In fact my Amazon account shows 90 purchases and that is without those I have acquired through Smashwords and NetGalley. (Some have been very cheap: either free or 99 cents, and in general I baulk at paying much more than $10)
So comment if you like about your e-book spending and reading.
Are you using your e-reader regularly now or are you having difficulty in finding a use for it?
Do you feel like confessing how many e-books you've actually bought this year, or how many you've actually read? Go ahead.
12 comments:
I filled out the survey. I haven't bought any e-books. I forget about them when I don't see them.
I am totally hooked to my Kindle. While it was a slow conversion (about 4 years) I just recently have read solely off my Kindle. I recently started to re-read the Fever series (in paperback) and am going through withdrawals. I never would have expected.
I have purchased and read precisely ZERO e-books this year. I don't even own an e-book reader, and I probably never will. I spend all day working in front of a computer. The LAST thing I want to do during my leisure hours is sit down before another electronic device. I'll stick with "real" print books, edited by real editors.
Cheers,
Jeff
I probably purchased more than five each month. I am an e-book-aholic. In fact, I don't buy any paper books anymore.
I may have already told you that I read my ebooks only at bedtime for ease of holding. I had hurt my shoulder holding books. :<)
Never, ever will they replace my paper books. I don't have a ratio but I buy a lot more 'real' books than ebooks.
I have both a Kindle and Nook. I bought the latter because I wanted to spread my money between amazon and a 'bricks and mortar' seller.
There's a part of me that wishes they had never been invented. I fear homes without shelves full of beautiful books in the future. Books are pretty much the only thing I buy. No trips. No fancy life. But lotsa books!
None, zero, zip. I don't read ebooks and don't own an ebook reader.
I love paper books and everything about them.
Since I don't travel and am home when I am reading, I don't need to read ebooks.
However, a relative tells me that her Kindle can be adjusted for font and column spacing, which makes reading easier on her eyes.
My books on my enormous bookshelf, add to the overall artistry, amidst pottery.
I was surprised that your survey only went up to five. I would say I have read 30-50 ebooks in the last six months. For me they offer several things--(1) Availability. I can download them in two minutes or so; (2) The opportunity to enlarge the type. I have regular old people's eyes with growing cataracts which don't yet need surgery. Easily making the type larger is a real blessing; and (3) Affordability. I buy few ebooks that cost more than $9.99. I find many truly excellent older ebooks at bargain prices. New books at more than $9.99 can wait. Eventually most of them will go down. It is like the cycle that used to exist with hardback books and, about a year later, paperbacks of the same book.
I thought of another advantage of ebooks. They make books available which might not otherwise be available. One example: I.J. Parker's earlier books. The first books in her series are available as ebooks.
In this day and age when it may become harder and harder to get published unless you are JD Robb or James Patterson, the ebook outlet gives now-out-of-print books and excellent new books by less popular authors a chance.
I read both book-books and ebooks, and I like them both. Long live both kinds of books.
I downloaded about 52 books so far in my Kindle since I received it as a birthday present early in January and have read 12. I try not to buy any paper book if it's available in electronic format.
What Jeff & Kathy D said. Don't have an e-reader. Don't want one. I can see advantages for those who need adjustable print OR who have difficulty holding hard copy books for one reason or another OR who travel a lot.
But as long as I can read hard copy books, I will. I love them. I say it repeatedly: There is nothing like holding a real book in your hands and turning the pages and the old book (or if you prefer new book) smell. And I really don't need the temptation of easy to download books....I've figured it out and if I didn't buy a single book more (which is never going to happen, but let's pretend), I currently have enough books on my TBR list that at my current rate of reading and my anticipated life span I will NOT be able to read them all. Won't stop me from buying more (I'll just keep rearranging the most current TBR stack)--but actually going out and hunting down hard copies slows me down a bit.
And that's another thing...browsing online (or for e-copies) is NOTHING like wandering into brick & mortar store (whether new or used...I prefer used) and roaming the aisles. It's a lot more difficult to have a serendipitous find or become entranced because of a cover.
Sorry...got a bit carried away there. I'll get off my soap box. :-)
I generally alternate, a print book then an ebook, its just the way my schedule works. I read on a Kindle and my iPod (for DRM titles). In the last 6 months I have probably boughty about a dozen ebooks but I have read 4 times that many from review sources (NetGalley/Edelwiess, publishers/authors)
I don't really mind which format the book is in, and will read whatever is available
Shelleyrae @ Book'd Out
My problem is resisting the assault on my credit card when I see books I want available at The Book Depository or another online bookseller.
I am often aghast at the prices, but if I wait and then check for used copies at Abe Books or Better World Books, then I can often find reasonable prices. BWB offers free shipping and often Abe Books has good deals.
But it is so easy -- with a flick of the wrist -- to now purchase paper books online. I often have to hide my credit card from myself or use all of my will power.
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