Digital downloads exceed hardcover book sales. Your experience?

[Ludmilla]

[quote=""MLE""]Viadelprat, this poll is rather disingenuous. I'm afraid the greatest information I get from it is that you are seriously trying to push e-books and e-readers. [/quote]

Really? I didn't read the post that way, and I think people are overreacting to it. If you don't like the choices, you can still post an open-ended response to the subject in the thread as people already have.

I think CW made a good point about the fact that people will probably still want to buy print editions for ebooks they love. This is the direction I feel we're headed. The industry is going to find ways to market to us so that we'll want both. Think how many products there are out there that are redundant, and how willing people are to have them all.

[viadelprat]

Wow...thanks to all posters for their passion on the subject and apologies for the poor poll design. I can't change the poll -- would if I could.

It's ironic that my initial post criticizes Amazon for their questionable statistics (ebooks exceed hardcovers), and my subsequent poll offers only positive options about ebooks. Deservedly hoisted on my own petard!

Note to self and future pollsters - always include an option for people to state a "none of the above" preference or vote their disagreement with the premise. This is probably from the lecture I missed in "Polling 101."

Personally, I see a role for both ebooks and traditional books. Just as in music, the technology will improve. The economics of the book industry are ripe for the same kind of disruption as has happened in music and is now happening in film.

This is actually a good trend for indie authors who, like indie rock groups, now have access to sophisticated means of production and distribution. The traditional industry seems to be adapting quickly and working hard to keep Amazon from dominating ebooks the way Apple dominates music.

But, yes, my eyes get tired of looking at screens, too! For now, there's still nothing quite like a real book.

[robinbird79]

I have no plans to purchase an e-reader. I don't want one; I love having a book in my hands and I love seeing them all lined up so pretty on my shelves! Love it when people see them all and can't believe I've actually read them!

I do not buy hardcovers though; too heavy and too expensive!

[LoobyG]

I've considered an e-reader but I love the traditional book too much - the smell, the feel, the look of them on a shelf! I also don't think I'd be comfortable leaving an e-reader in my bag on the beach, or using it in the bath I've no plans to invest in one and I hope the traditional book will be around for a very long time to come. I do think e-books have advantages and it certainly makes for an interesting debate.

[chuck]

[quote=""robinbird79""]I have no plans to purchase an e-reader. I don't want one; I love having a book in my hands and I love seeing them all lined up so pretty on my shelves! Love it when people see them all and can't believe I've actually read them!

I do not buy hardcovers though; too heavy and too expensive![/quote]

I'm mad about HB/PBs....I too prefer PB...Will buy used HB or one on sale....not sure if publishers print HB/PB at the same time...In the past I always had to wait months before the PB issue came out....Zinger Is Sara Palin's bk gone to PB yet?...Can't wait to see her bk in the bargain bin....Only my humble opinion....

[Michy]

Almost everyone remarks that they love the smell of books. I distinctly remember, as a kid and teenager, loving the smell in B. Dalton and J.K.Gill (the only bookstores I ever had access to). However, when I go into Borders or Barnes & Noble now, I don't smell that wonderful new-book scent at all, anymore. Am I the only one?

[LoveHistory]

I prefer real books. Unless and until eReaders become affordable, I won't consider purchasing one.

Even were print books to be discontinued, book shops would still be around selling them as collectibles.

[ejays17]

I prefer real books too,the tactile feel of them, and the smell (although, I do "air out" the library ever few months as it gets a bit overpowering) plus the look of them all on my shelves.

I bought my husband an e-reader for his birthday, he's been busy reading his way through the 100 free classics that came with it. He's much more likely than i am to embrace new technology as soon as it comes out.

[Telynor]

I have a Nook, and I'll be honest, I love it. It's just the right size to tuck into my bag, I can take it anywhere, and it's wonderful if I'm reading a book that is the size of a brick or two -- much easier to hold. Not to mention the adjustable font size, search features, and being able to look up a word. Now that I've had it for nearly six months, I can say that it's terrific for reading fiction on -- photographs, maps, drawings, just can't make the shift to digital very well. So most of my nonfiction will remain in the traditional printed book fashion.

But I love the feel and handling of a traditional book. And I will probably will continue to buy them, including my very frivolous Folio Society books, which are books taken to the level of Art.

Will bound books ever go away? I don't think so, at least not for several generations yet.

[Jemidar]

[quote=""ejays17""]I bought my husband an e-reader for his birthday, he's been busy reading his way through the 100 free classics that came with it. He's much more likely than i am to embrace new technology as soon as it comes out.[/quote]

Same in our household. My partner really wants an e-reader and has being researching them. He will definitely get one before I do.

[quote=""Telynor""]I have a Nook, and I'll be honest, I love it. It's just the right size to tuck into my bag, I can take it anywhere, and it's wonderful if I'm reading a book that is the size of a brick or two -- much easier to hold. Not to mention the adjustable font size, search features, and being able to look up a word.[/quote]

I can see that, and I'm sure if I was still commuting I would find one very handy. But I'm now mostly housebound so don't need one, although I can see a time when my hands will no longer be able support large hardbacks/paperbacks so I might use one then. My partner will be very pleased if I eventually swap to one, because he says I jab him in the back with cover corners when I read the bigger books in bed .