I have been working with books for about ten years now. When I started, people were screaming about how ebooks were going to make paper books obsolete. I remember my not-so-tech-savvy manager asking me if I could find textbooks on ipod back when the ipod only played music. We had dusty ereaders at my old library system that nobody checked out. For a long time, I felt like people were getting needlessly worked up over technology that was no match for an ink-and-paper book.
Ten years later, think we have finally reached the tipping point where ebooks will surpass paper books. Most of my friends have Kindles or Nooks, and they like them as much as their paper counterparts. My old library system, which is broke but very forward thinking, offers several titles in ebook format, most of which are checked out. As usual, the Army toddles behind (I think they switched to online catalogs in the late '90's), offering an embarrassingly small package of unpopular ebooks that are incredibly hard to find.
It's going to be hard to get me to convert before libraries start lending ebooks regularly. It's hard to beat our prices. Today, however, I was faced with an emergency situation. I have my first book club meeting in less than two weeks, and Amazon has still not delivered the book I ordered three weeks ago. Expediency demanded that I order an ebook. Being me, first I checked my old library system (I still have my card number memorized), followed by the Army's paltry selection. All copies were checked out or not there to begin with. I am partial to the Nook because you can read library downloads on it, so I downloaded a Nook app to my ipod and tried to buy the ebook. Barnes and Nobles, may they get what they deserve, does not offer ebooks to anyone with an out-of-US billing address. I finally found success with Amazon, and will begrudgingly read as much of the book as I can manage on my ipod this weekend. I don't think many people think the ipod is an ideal medium for reading.
I think I'll stick to ink and paper a little while longer.
Ten years later, think we have finally reached the tipping point where ebooks will surpass paper books. Most of my friends have Kindles or Nooks, and they like them as much as their paper counterparts. My old library system, which is broke but very forward thinking, offers several titles in ebook format, most of which are checked out. As usual, the Army toddles behind (I think they switched to online catalogs in the late '90's), offering an embarrassingly small package of unpopular ebooks that are incredibly hard to find.
It's going to be hard to get me to convert before libraries start lending ebooks regularly. It's hard to beat our prices. Today, however, I was faced with an emergency situation. I have my first book club meeting in less than two weeks, and Amazon has still not delivered the book I ordered three weeks ago. Expediency demanded that I order an ebook. Being me, first I checked my old library system (I still have my card number memorized), followed by the Army's paltry selection. All copies were checked out or not there to begin with. I am partial to the Nook because you can read library downloads on it, so I downloaded a Nook app to my ipod and tried to buy the ebook. Barnes and Nobles, may they get what they deserve, does not offer ebooks to anyone with an out-of-US billing address. I finally found success with Amazon, and will begrudgingly read as much of the book as I can manage on my ipod this weekend. I don't think many people think the ipod is an ideal medium for reading.
I think I'll stick to ink and paper a little while longer.
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