Sunday, November 04, 2012

Ebooks Vs Traditional Books: My Thoughts

I don't have an ereader at all and have no plans on getting one. I hardly ever read ebooks since I have to read them on my computer and see no reason to buy an ebook when I can get a paper back book. I guess I'm old school and will most likely stay that way. I have won a few ebooks in contests but after trying to read so many of them and finding so many errors or just finding them lacking in substance, I don't even bother anymore. I'm sure not all ebooks are like that but I'd rather have a paperback or hard cover book that I can then put on my bookshelf. But that's just me. I wrote an article comparing ebooks vs print books and you can read it here.

Nooooo, don’t do it! Slowly back away from the computer screen and pick up a print book. Feel those pages? Smell that booky scent? Look at your bookshelves, do you really want to see Nook’s, Kindle’s and other ereaders sitting there instead of paper backs? Well, do you?

Don’t go to the dark side, they might have cookies, but they’ve already eaten all the chocolate chips…so all you're stuck with are chocolate chipless cookies!

I’m a traditionalist and I make no excuses for it. I don’t own an ereader and have no plans on buying one. While I know my position on ebooks isn’t a popular one right now, I think in the long run ebooks will go the way of Count Chocula Cereal and only be available in limited quantities after readers start getting fed up with not having the choice of sharing, trading and selling the ebooks they've paid money for like they could have with traditional books.

I like my bookshelves and the feel of real books in my hands too much to buy ebooks and I know I’m not the only one who feels this way. I've won a few ebooks and read them on my computer and in just the few that I’ve won and read I’ve seen that not all of them are written as well a traditional book would have been. I don’t know who to blame for that. The publisher, the author or the beta readers for not saying..Hey wait a minute this really isn't ready to be published.

I don’t have any plans on getting an ereader. I like my print books too much. I like to be able to share my books, trade, sell and loan them to my family and friends. See them on my book shelves.

No, I won’t be getting an ereader anytime soon.

6 comments:

  1. I LOVE print books but have gradually been seduced to the e-book side if only because so many of my review books are being offered in that format. If I really like a book, I then buy a print copy of it if I only have an e-copy. I admit that I am running out of space in my house and have been donating books to my local library but fortunately my husband stoically tolerates my addiction. I have wanted to win an e-reader only because my wrists tire when I use the iPad to read. I do enjoy the ability to increase font size but it really does irk me to bookmark or look for a particular passage in an e-book and turning pages is a nightmare sometimes! I enjoyed your article although I don't quite agree with e-readers going obsolete...unless the apocalypse hits and we have no electricity!

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  2. Thanks Elf, maybe I am more hoping that the ereaders change in away that makes it easier to share, borrow ect like you can with a print book. I wrote that article a while back and while ebooks and ereaders probably won't become obsolete or disappear at this point, I don't think they will stay the same as they are right now.

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  3. I'm a little of both. I love print books with my whole soul, but I embrace ebooks for convenience. Maybe I'm a bi-polar reader.

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  4. Two years ago and I would have said exactly the same thing! LOL.
    But when we moved to the middle-of-no-where England I changed my tune :) Now I'm addicted. I love my Nook (although, I kind of wish I would have bought a kindle, but whatever). I love being able to change font size, margins, and spacing. Being able to instantly buy the next book in a good series is frickin awesome! And I still think you might be missing out on some good self pubd authors :( There are some that totally need to be edited with a weedwacker, BUT there are so many more great stories that I never would have gotten to read because they're not available in print (or if they are they're crazy expensive!) Kristen Ashley, Jaqueline Rhoades, and Victoria Vane to name a few.

    I don't use all the apps and stuff on my Nook so I would have been just fine buying the simple model, but oh well.....*if I knew then etc..*

    Keep an open mind, though, I think in December I *might* do a giveaway on the blog for a kindle to celebrate the holidays and for reaching 2000 followers (almost there!) So keep an eye out. If you were to win I would MAKE you use it. LOL

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  5. CaroleDee, I will keep an open mind and I have read a few ebooks that I've won and some of them have been good. I love the fact that people with ereaders can find so many free books but I will not pay some of those prices for an ebook that I can't share with a friend, when for another couple of bucks I can get the paperback version.

    I've been trying to win a Kindle for my daughter. lol She really wants one, and I told her if I win one, she gets it.

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