These are words frequently heard when somebody's about to get dumped. The girl talking here happens to me and the e-reader, yup, you got it, my new Nook. Now don't get me wrong. I love my Nook. It's sleek, portable, has a nice leather cover and can download a book faster than I can brew a cup of coffee. It's become as much a part of me as my iPhone. With so many fine attributes then, what could possibly trouble me?
Well, I'll tell you. I WANT MY BOOKS. PAPER BOOKS.
Yes, I know. E-books are the future. I get that like I get the benefits of electronic medical records. But why can't I have both? Why can't I have a paper book with the option to download the e-book for $0.99, or vice versa? Buy the e-book at the e-book price and pay the difference to own the tangible book if I wish to add it to my "physical" library?
I'll give you two scenarios that I've faced where I've felt penalized for owning an e-book:
Example:
A romance author I follow recently posted that she'd be doing a reading and book-signing at a local book store. As it so happens, hers was one of two books I'd recently downloaded to my Nookie. Unfortunately, the book signing was more than an hour away and during my son's bedtime, so I had to forego it. But what if I'd been able to go? What would I have had her sign? A bookmark? My arm? Is there such a thing as an e-signature or e-autograph for readers who own the e-book version of an author's book?
Example:
Another author I follow recently published a YA book that was not available at the bookstore and that I didn't want to wait to have delivered. After a lot of deliberation, I checked my Nook. Yay, the book was available for download. I read it. I loved it. I then wanted it in paper form. Why should I pay full price to own the paper version?
Which is exactly what I did with one of my books on the craft that I'd recently read and loved but didn't want to tote with me on vacation. I probably don't have to tell you what I ended up doing. Yes, I now own both versions.
Maybe I'm mental. Please me tell I'm not the only one and make me feel better.
What's been your experience with your e-reader? Do you or have you had your druthers before downloading a book, only to later wish you owned the paper version?
I'd love to know.
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| My Nook Going for a Ride |
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| Stack of Books at Hannafords, York ME (Proceeds go to Big Brothers Big Sisters) Nook was in my pocketbook and I still bought books. |
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| Vacation Book Bag (See Nook Jammed with Books?) |
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| Books on the floorboard of my truck that I purchased at the York Public Library's book sale. |
~Forsyth and Rada, Machine Learning
I love holding a physical book in my hands. While e-readers are convenient, they don't have the magic and personality of a bona fide book. I find e-readers to lack so much in formatting, plus, the typeface selected for the book by the publisher can be lost/altered.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything you said; it's a dilemma.
Great post, Ezzy!
Beth, I know what you mean. I've downloaded two PDFs that have been difficult to read due to the formatting being off. For me, messy formatting takes away from the reading experience.
ReplyDeleteMy biggest hope for the future would be to have my e-reader serve as a virtual "back-up" to my library, enabling me to take my favorites with me everywhere. If a book I want is ONLY available in e-book form, then that's a different story. I'll download it.
I'm not throwing the towel in, though. Keeping my fingers crossed that e-publishers will figure it out, addressing all types of reader preferences.
Thank you for commenting! : D
This is food for thought.
ReplyDeleteI love my Kindle. I'd buy an ebook if the physical book I owned were falling apart.
I went to a book signing recently and I was honest by telling the author I read the Kindle version of her book, but I still bought a physical copy as a giveaway on my blog. Because she's a local author and an amazing writer, signing in an indie store, I wanted to show my support to her and one of my favorite stores.
As for owning both versions, one is good enough for me.
Medeia, I think it's great you love your Kindle. Will your first book be available as an e-book, too?
ReplyDeleteMy adoption of this new technology has been pretty slow. I was so excited when I first got it, fired up with the flexibility and convenience of it, and then I hit a wall when faced with downloading my first few books. The question I kept asking myself, "Am I okay with owning electronic versions of these books?"
I'm wondering if there might be an opportunity for self-pubbed authors to offer a bundled option to their fan base, something that would be difficult for the big publishers to sort out at this stage of the process.
Thanks so much for commenting, girl! : D
Hi, Ezzy. I believe so. Searching for my publisher's books, I notice most of them are converted to ebooks.
ReplyDeleteSome self-published authors are doing innovative things with availability. I wouldn't be surprised if they offer a bundle.