It is roughly 2-2 1/2 weeks shy of my one year anniversary of getting my first e-reader, a Kindle.
Seriously, I think it is the best invention, second only to computers. In my pre-ereader days, I was able to obtain perhaps 5 books a year for my own personal bookshelves, excluding books borrowed from the library. This was mainly due to expense, as the typical trade paperback runs an average of $13-17 a pop, and a hardcover book much more than that.
And if you're a working stiff who scrapes by just to make the basic rent, car, electric and grocery bills, spending that kind of money on a book is a luxury, no matter how much you wish otherwise.
The other factor for the low purchase of physical books was space. There's only so much bookshelf space, and what little space I have is reserved for books I use in my research.
But that was then.
Fast forward to December 17, 2011. Excluding the four insanely addicting word puzzles I have on my Kindle, I have downloaded 271 books in the last eleven and a half months.
From 5 books a year to 271.
That's phenomenal. And it simply would not be possible without an e-reader. Why?
1. I can obtain books for free. Yep--the magical price of zero. Classics, some titles published a couple of years ago, some published this year. But there's always a lag time for me in reading books, so it doesn't matter to me when they were published.
2. I can buy books at vastly more affordable prices. Just this week I downloaded a hugely popular fiction title for UNDER $5. That would NEVER happen with a paper book. Ever.
3. I don't have to be uncomfortable shopping in a crowd of people. I can shop from the privacy of my own home.
4. I can shop for books far more quickly with my Kindle.
5. Just as I organize my physical bookshelves by topic, so too, can I organize my Kindle. I have folders for Arizona History, Biblical/Christian Living, Civil War, Classics, Business/Marketing, Presidents/Government, and a whole host of other folders with as much variety in content as I desire.
6. Carrying my Kindle is equivalent to being able to carry my bookcase around with me wherever I go.
7. I don't have to search for a piece of paper to bookmark. Kindle does it for me.
These are just some of the benefits to readers. The way e-readers have benefitted writers is a whole other subject and just as exciting.
Honestly, the only possible drawback to e-readers that I can see is that for some types of non-fiction, e-readers are still not ideal. By that I mean books that use charts, graphs and other visual graphics are extremely hard to read even when zoomed on an e-reader, unless of course you have eagle eyes, which I don't.
But that's the beauty of it. I buy most of my books on Kindle, and save my physical bookshelves for non-fiction that I need to buy in paper format. I have ceased to buy paper copies of fiction altogether.
My Kindle is a magnificent blessing and I'm truly thankful for how it has revolutionized my life and given me more options as a reader.
Showing posts with label e-readers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label e-readers. Show all posts
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
E-Readers Give Me More Voice As Consumer
I entered the world of e-books when my sisters gave me a Kindle for Christmas. It is going to change my life as a book buying consumer and I'm glad.
I don't buy that many books per year for two reasons.
1. Print books are very expensive and there are other costs vying for my time and attention (ie. rent, gas money, groceries, the usual). What books I typically do buy are non-fiction titles I purchase for research in association with my own writing.
2. Even in this world of tons of titles, it is hard to find historical fiction that is non-romance and male-protagonist driven in the CBA market (or even non-romance historical with female protag).
But my late arrival to the e-reader world gives me hope on both of those fronts. Here's why. I mentioned how hard it is to find non-romance historical fiction featuring male protags. As a result, I often have to look outside historical to find supsense or action/adventure books that at least have the non-romance, male protag part down.
I was able to make a book purchase this week that would not have been possible if it were not available in e-book format. I read a great review of John Robinson's book Heading Home. The reviewer and I have some similarities in book taste and I knew this was a book I had to read.
Thankfully, it was available in Kindle format and at a price I could afford. I downloaded and read this apocalytic story in two days. WOOHOO!!! Male protagonists! Action and no lace! It was a good reading experience.
This gives me hope. First, the e-reader, based on this experience, is going to EXTEND my purchasing power. I will be able to buy more books per year then I could when my only option was expensive print books. Now don't get me wrong--my purchasing power isn't going to extend drastically. Some e-books are still priced rather high. But the point is, I will have more chances to afford books through e-readers.
Second, as a reader who has long been on the losing side of the entrenched cycle of publishing that says (naturally) we will sell those books the majority of the public wants to buy; and seeing as how my tastes do not fall in the majority, I think ultimately e-books will give me more voice, as a reader AND as a writer.
As a reader, I have more chances to flex my book buying muscles on those occasions that I finally stumble across a book that gives me more of the elements I want. It's a way for me to wave at the publishing industry and say "YOOHOO!!!! Book buying female who wants male protag driven action books standing over here! Can you throw me some historicals too?"
And I think e-books are ultimately going to give writers who are frustrated by lack of niches a way to get their work out there. And yes, that also gets into the whole realm of traditional vs. non-traditional publishing etc. But since authors have to do most of the marketing work even if they traditionally publish, the gap between traditional and other forms of publishing is shrinking rapidly.
I am very excited by the possibilities opened up by e-readers, both as a reader and as a writer.
I don't buy that many books per year for two reasons.
1. Print books are very expensive and there are other costs vying for my time and attention (ie. rent, gas money, groceries, the usual). What books I typically do buy are non-fiction titles I purchase for research in association with my own writing.
2. Even in this world of tons of titles, it is hard to find historical fiction that is non-romance and male-protagonist driven in the CBA market (or even non-romance historical with female protag).
But my late arrival to the e-reader world gives me hope on both of those fronts. Here's why. I mentioned how hard it is to find non-romance historical fiction featuring male protags. As a result, I often have to look outside historical to find supsense or action/adventure books that at least have the non-romance, male protag part down.
I was able to make a book purchase this week that would not have been possible if it were not available in e-book format. I read a great review of John Robinson's book Heading Home. The reviewer and I have some similarities in book taste and I knew this was a book I had to read.
Thankfully, it was available in Kindle format and at a price I could afford. I downloaded and read this apocalytic story in two days. WOOHOO!!! Male protagonists! Action and no lace! It was a good reading experience.
This gives me hope. First, the e-reader, based on this experience, is going to EXTEND my purchasing power. I will be able to buy more books per year then I could when my only option was expensive print books. Now don't get me wrong--my purchasing power isn't going to extend drastically. Some e-books are still priced rather high. But the point is, I will have more chances to afford books through e-readers.
Second, as a reader who has long been on the losing side of the entrenched cycle of publishing that says (naturally) we will sell those books the majority of the public wants to buy; and seeing as how my tastes do not fall in the majority, I think ultimately e-books will give me more voice, as a reader AND as a writer.
As a reader, I have more chances to flex my book buying muscles on those occasions that I finally stumble across a book that gives me more of the elements I want. It's a way for me to wave at the publishing industry and say "YOOHOO!!!! Book buying female who wants male protag driven action books standing over here! Can you throw me some historicals too?"
And I think e-books are ultimately going to give writers who are frustrated by lack of niches a way to get their work out there. And yes, that also gets into the whole realm of traditional vs. non-traditional publishing etc. But since authors have to do most of the marketing work even if they traditionally publish, the gap between traditional and other forms of publishing is shrinking rapidly.
I am very excited by the possibilities opened up by e-readers, both as a reader and as a writer.
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