Home Bookshelf vs E-Bookshelf

March 19, 2010 · Filed under E-Readers and E-Books · Tagged , , , , , , , ,

I’m proud of my bookshelf. It’s a reflection of me, what I’m into, what I know, what I want to know, and what I enjoy. So, as I’m contemplating whether or not to buy an e-reader (see my last post about what may be stopping me), I’m thinking about my bookshelf. If I buy only e-books in the future, I won’t have that pride and joy taking up (so much) space in my home. Sure, it’d be nice to stop growing what looks like clutter — books of all different sizes, colors, and textures crammed onto shelves in fairly random order (I try to organize them by subject, but I find it hard to keep up) — but I enjoy it as a conversation piece whenever a friend stumbles upon it. I am proud of it. I also enjoy looking over it and pulling out a book on home decor, for example, when I’m in the mood to spruce up my dining room.

So, am I ready to give up my physical bookshelf to a virtual one? Maybe I want to reserve only the most special books for my home bookshelf and all the others go digital. Maybe I’ll buy two copies of my favorites: one for home and one for my Kindle, or maybe a Nook, possibly an iPad … I guess I should decide if I want one – and which one – before I go putting imaginary books on it.

Would you distinguish between the two bookshelves? If so and assuming you feel similarly about your bookshelf at home (or office), which books “deserve” to be on your physical bookshelf?

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Entering the E-Reader World: Is the Cost Justifiable?

March 15, 2010 · Filed under E-Readers and E-Books

I’ve been waiting a few years to watch the e-reader war play out before buying one. There’s been no war, more like a small skirmish. Enter iPad, and now maybe we’ll see some action. But I’m no Apple junkie, so I think I’ll still watch and wait for the prices to go down.

I understand there’s a cost in making the devices, and the companies are getting in on the willingness of techies and extremely avid readers to pay top dollar for new devices, but to get the mainstream to buy I think the price will have to decrease dramatically or the readers will have to be all-in-one devices.

As for the former, it’s hard for me to justify paying $200-300 or more for a device and then pay for the books on top of that when I can just buy a physical book. I understand the benefits of an e-reader, but I do not normally carry around or read several books at once.  The device would be obsolete before the average cost per e-book, once I figured in the original cost of the device, could be justified. Even if I factor in the news subscriptions, it still wouldn’t make sense for me.

As for the latter, I’m not sure an all-in-one device would work if it included a book reader. The screen needs to be much larger than a phone screen to encourage reading for any length of time — and I’m now imagining the large, cumbersome mobile phones of the 1980s (ah, the 80s) and how hip those things were.

Still, I am curious. Maybe I’d become a bigger reader…or just spend more money on books…if I had a device. Maybe publishers should take note.

Does the average book-buyer buy enough to justify the current cost of any of the e-readers out there? Do you?

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