Comments on: eReaders and eBooks

By: Judy

Judy — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 23:18:12 +0000

I have always loved reading, since I was a child. I am now 71 years old.

I do love reading REAL books, but as I have gotten older it is harder on my eyes (yes I do wear glasses). However, I load digital books on my MP3 player from our local library. At the end of the day when my eyes won’t support reading, my ears work fine, HA!

Our library also has digital ebooks for the eReaders that you can download from their web site, just like the MP3 books.

I am asking for an eReader for Christmas from my family just so I can have the enlarged text for any book I choose. At the library only certain books are in large print, so this will be wonderful for me.

By: Tony

Tony — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 04:18:05 +0000

That’s a good point about the environmental impact. Of course, the book readers do use power, but it is a pretty tiny amount. I am sure the energy they use is far less than the energy it takes to harvest trees, print, ship etc. books.

By: Eric

Eric — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 19:59:37 +0000

I’m surprised nobody has mentioned the environmental impact of eReaders. The article is right in that the current implementations of eReader technologies are poor substitutes for ink and paper. However, eReaders are important in that they can be a viable solution to the environmental issues involved in printing books. Over 30 million trees are cut down each year to publish books. Is it really worth it in order to get that new-book smell or feel the paper under your fingers?

By: Tony

Tony — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 08:23:32 +0000

I bought the original Sony reader about 4 years ago and now have a Kindle. I absolutely love the ability to change font size, carry many books, not have to store books, get books online etc. and will never go back to reading on dead trees!

As for saving money, one should also consider the number of free PDF books online (both legal and not) that can easily converted to display on a book reader.

While the books on Amazon’s website are not as cheap as they should be, it is easier to pick and choose online. I made a rule to never buy anything over $10. With so much out there to read, I think people are nuts to buy the expensive hardcovers when they could just wait.

By: Jaime

Jaime — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 23:38:24 +0000

Also, maybe when you can borrow an ebook from the library, then I might invest in a reader. But who knows.

By: Allison

Allison — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 13:52:50 +0000

I love books and love to read, and would never ever consider getting a Nook or the likes. It saddens me to read that people are turning to e-readers so they can pack their books away and make more space in their house, or so they can travel with a lighter load, or because it saves them money. I frequent used book sales/stores and swap books with my friends. I can’t imagine life without being able to hold a book while I read it and feel the pages in my fingers.

By: Arthur Stururgulewski

Arthur Stururgulewski — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 20:06:21 +0000

I have always loved books and reading ever since I can remember. I love everything about books; the touch, the smell, the pictures… everything! I could never be the owner of one of those machines or appliances or whatever you want to call it! NEVER! I enjoy going to bookstores, yard sales, http://www.Craigslist.org and http://www.paperbackswap.com and finding free to inexpensive reading material. If it’s a keeper, on my bookshelf it goes and will remain until my demise. If it was just OKay or not so good, I trade it. Indeed, oftentimes I have even given books away either on Craigslist or at: http://www.bookcrossing.com and it makes me feel good knowing that someone else will have the opportunity to enjoy that book. All in all, I’m all for all books!

By: Linsey

Linsey — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 16:17:14 +0000

I have a Nook from Barnes and Noble. I love it. I’m a huge reader and it makes a lot of sense to me to have them all in one place. Ebooks are great prices that I’ve found..most are 9.99. There are always sales though, and I have most of my classics library, which I bought for under a dollar each, some even for free. My husband gladly bought me the ereader, since I was running up bills with my constant book buying, and new releases especially are not cheap. But with the ereader, ebook new releases are almost always 9.99 or maybe 12.99. Not only does it save money, but it also cuts back on shelf space in our house. I’ve been able to pack away my favorite books that I’ve bought in ebook format and it gives us a lot more space.

By: Jaime

Jaime — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 01:21:57 +0000

I love to read, love it and consume anywhere from 1 book a week when I’m busy to 4-6 when I’m not. I love the idea of the eReader for travel and to carry around tons of books virtually.

Unfortunately, a lot of my collection would not be free to replace and many aren’t even available in an electronic format. For the newer books, it would just be too cost prohibitive to rebuy them. Also, I don’t have a clue how the data is stored and whether it could be accidentally erased with battery issues, etc. And let’s not forget the Amazon snafu with 84 and other books. Once I’ve bought a tangible book, it’s mine and the publisher can’t just come to my home when I’m gone to take it back. I also think that considering the lower cost to make a book available digitally versus in paper that even new books are overpriced currently. I think ALL ebooks should be $3 or less, not just ones that have reached the end of their copyright protection.

That said, if the costs come down enough I’ll probably get one just for the travel convenience if nothing else. Plus, for those public domain books you can also download a bunch for free through Google Books as well.

By: Spokane Al

Spokane Al — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 14:22:57 +0000

I recently purchased a Kindle and like it very much. After buying books for years, reading them once, and then putting them on a book shelf to gather dust, it just seemed like good sense to me as we work to slow down the accumulation of our stuff.

I also enjoy using the library but my problem is that I have difficulty in reading the books in the time alloted by the library and must continually extend the checkout date (when possible). With a Kindle I read at my own speed.

One last point is that recently a friend recommended a book that was available for free as a pdf download. I saved the file on my hard drive, emailed to my Kindle address, and within a couple of minutes it was on my Kindle ready to read. Technology is pretty cool.