Publishing Evolution #83: Paper to Pixels (or e-ink)

As the proud owner of a Kindle I can tell you I love the flexibility of knowing if I needed or wanted to read something immediately I could do so, however that being said when I purchase a book or even music, I want a tangible item I can touch, put on my bookshelf, etc. I want to know that if something happens to my electronic device; theft, loss, damage, overall failure, I still have the books or CDs. Though reading pixels can be very convenient, overall I prefer the experience of reading paper. Determining which is more important, speed or reading in paper form, all depends on what I am reading for and when? If I were going on a long visit or vacation somewhere I'd rather take my Kindle because I could take several books with me without any extra luggage space required. If I need to read something very quickly for work or school I'd use the Kindle because of the convenience of speed. If I am just looking to read my next bookclub selection or a book for enjoyment I almost always borrow it from the library or if I do purchase it I would buy it in print format. Price is an important factor when it comes to the decision to purchase a digital book. Something I think Amazon is missing is the sale of a book with a digital copy, like a DVD when you purchase it, sometimes comes with a digital copy. I would be much more likely to purchase a book that gave me the ability to receive a print copy as well as a digital copy for my Kindle.

iFiction was an interesting site to visit but since anyone can list anything there would be alot of sifting to do and who has time for that? Not me. So unless someone told me there was something there worthwhile I probably wouldn't go looking for something to read there. As it is my reading list is just about a mile long. My problem isn't finding something to read it's finding the time to read it. I do think it's nice to to able to preview something before you buy it so that's a nice feature but still not as good as the "library feature" where I can read the entire book and then decide if it's something to purchase or not.