Borders gone, I'm forced to get an e-reader. **arghh**

[meg_evonne]

Backed into a corner, no choice, I hate this...

[Shecky]

Was Borders the only brick-and-mortar bookstore near you?

It depends on what you're wanting to do with a reader. If you just want to read, something simple will do the trick; I have a Sony Pocket and the new Nook is not only nice-looking and compact-sized, it's a fairly reasonable price. For this kind of straight-up just-reading, an actual e-reader (i.e., a device that uses the e-ink tech) is the way to go. But if you want to do more (annotate, notes, links, etc.), you might want to go to a tablet for multifunctionality.

[meg_evonne]

Definitely need to be able to read in bright sunlight, then if I can read in bright sunlight, it would be nice to write in bright sunlight...  thoughts?

[Anna V]

I flatly refuse to buy e-books. Well, I might make exceptions for Baen and other publishers who forgo DRM, but other than that, I'm boycotting the d*** e-books! Boycotting, do y'hear? I like to buy and own my books, not buy them and then be told that, for legal benefits to the publisher, I am actually even renting them, even when the price of the e-book is no less than that of the paperback I could own outright. Which I'm pretty sure is illegal, or would be if a good enough lawyer pressed the issue. (See "right of first sale". It's what makes buying used books legal.)

If I have to order the physical books online because of a lack of physical bookstores, that's alright. In my state of health, I've had to order a lot of things online anyway. On the other hand, physical bookstores play a significant part in promoting books. Just like libraries. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm not the sort to take a chance buying a book from a completely unfamiliar author. No, before I buy a book by any particular author, I first read one of his or her books from the library. Or, I borrow one of the author's books from a friend. Or pick one up at one of those places where they give used books away for free. Or perhaps someone gives me one of the author's books. Sometimes, I only need a few chapters sample to make the decision. At a store like Borders, you can read the first few chapters, or as much is necessary for the author to either hook you or bore you. Perhaps the e-books sellers will try to simulate that experience by offering free chapters of books, but it's not quite the same. What if they only offer two chapters free, but the book doesn't start making much of an impression on a particular reader until chapter five? In a book store, failing to find the first chapter interesting, I might flip ahead to see if it gets better further on. Online, I might not have the opportunity to give the author that chance. If I'm not in the mood for tragedy, and I'm not sure whether or not I can trust the author to give me a good ending, as is often the case with unfamiliar authors, I may even go and read the last chapter before deciding whether or not to buy the book. (Yes, blasphemy, I know, but the object of the whole exercise is for me to see enough of the author's work to see whether or not I want to buy it. A bricks-and-mortar store gives me the freedom to investigate the book as I choose. E-book sellers often have other ideas.)

I would never bought any of the Dresden Files had I not had the opportunity to sample Storm Front for free. There was, in fact, one author, who when his fans sent him unsolicted mail containing a book and a request for an autograph, would instead donate the book to the library, knowing that the library donation would bring him future sales.

Besides, I find paper easier on the eyes. If the physical book and the e-book are the same price anyway, I definitely, definitely want the physical book. No sense in straining my eyes if the price is the same -- greater, in fact, if you take into account that most e-books cannot be bought used or resold to recover part of what you spent on them. (Admittedly, even to read a physical book, I may soon need a magnifying lens, if my eyesight keeps getting worse.)

Not to mention, an e-reader is a more attractive target for thieves than a physical book. Most thieves will leave you book collection alone, including your precious signed copies of books from your favorite authors, antiques, etc. An e-reader is an electronic, and thieves see electronics as things that can be sold for profit.

[Shecky]

*shrug* You make some good points, Anna. Be that as it may, some of us have different overriding concerns. I live in a place where property values are simply outrageously inflated. I can't AFFORD a place big enough to house more bookcases (which I insist on because if I'm going to have physical books, they're going to be protected and neatly organized). Now, there are a few books that I still buy in physical form, but the majority are just for reading - as such, they fit my needs better as e-books.

And I suspect DRM will have a breakthrough soon enough; the music industry struggled with that for a long time as well, and they've come to terms with it.

All else being equal, do I prefer e-books? HELL no. I LOVE the feel of a real book in my hands. I like the look of a well-populated, well-arranged bookcase. I like to be able to lend a book to someone just by handing it to them. But I've also come to terms with the overriding concern of space, and I quickly learned to enjoy e-books. Physically, reading is just as easy for me with e-books; the e-ink technology is surprisingly good and getting better, so that's not an issue for me. If I want to know if some book gets more interesting after the first few chapters, I'll note the title and then ask someone whose book-wise opinion I trust. Plus, now, I don't have to resell or give away books when my bookcase reaches full capacity - they're MINE now. One more thing: every e-reader that's around now (that I've seen, anyway) has text magnification. Can't do that with a regular book. All that being said, I can't dispute the point about attractiveness to thieves, other than to say that if that were my reigning concern, I wouldn't have a computer, a watch, a wallet or reasonably nice clothes, among other things.

I'm not trying to convince you; heaven knows how long it took me to convince myself just to TRY an e-reader. I'm just sharing with you a different experience, from someone who little more than a year ago felt largely as you do on the subject.

[Anna V]

*shrug* I don't have space for a bookshelf either. Most of my book collection -- except for what I'm reading -- is packed tightly into boxes in the same closet as my clothing and a variety of other personal items. It means I have to dig more when I want to find something, but on the bright side, when I move -- which has been happening way too often since the recession caught up with me -- my library is already packed and ready to go. Besides, tight-packed boxes full of books are sturdy enough to sit on, which is nice when you didn't bother to pack any chairs.

I've whittled it down some. I mean, there are books I really adore and want to keep as part of my permanent collection -- stuff by Jim Butcher, Charles Sheffield, Tolkien, David Gemmel, Brian Jacques, and other favorites -- and then there's the ones that, while hopefully they amused me enough to be worth reading, aren't really worth reading a second time. The latter can be sold, simultaneously reducing the number of boxes needed and providing more money to spend on groceries.

E-book DRM horror story:
http://www.teleread.com/drm/how-ereaders-drm-punished-me-for-buying-my-books-legally/

More e-book DRM madness:
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2007/04/killed_by_drm_e/

The latter mentions that e-book DRM is often tied to a particular device. Now, given that, about half a year ago, some violently insane meth addicts, who broke into my home when I was too ill to stop them (in part because, unbeknownst to me, a nearby meth lab had been poisoning the neighborhood for some time), stole my former laptop, other electronics, and other valuables, I'm not okay with that idea. They left my book collection alone. If I'd had e-books, rather than paperbacks and hardcovers, my loss would've been greater.

Baen's response to the issue:
http://www.baen.com/library/

The problem with the e-books is that whether or not they are actually yours is a matter of debate. On the one hand, if you fulfilled the legal conditions of buying rather than renting, then yes, it is yours, legally. On the other hand, there's often a click-wrap license forcing you to agree that you are leasing, rather than owning, before you read the book. If you took it to court with a good lawyer, there's a fairly good chance you could prove that the click-wrap license was, in fact, illegal, but most of us can't afford good lawyers. (Note: Not professional legal advice, but again, see "right of first sale".)

It's an important distinction. An owner has a right to re-sell a book, loan it to friends, etc. A leasee does not.

Even if you don't like to re-sell books, there are a lot of stories about how DRM protected e-books caused the customer all kinds of trouble when their devices failed or were lost or stolen, or their credit card numbers changed, or they were asked to update software, etc. Paper books, on the other hand, are pretty solid, and won't be affect by credit card number changes or software updates, and while they can technically be lost or stolen, most thieves don't consider them high-value items. I've even had books that survived getting submerged in water. Admittedly, the pages were all wavy afterward, but that's more than a lot of electronics could say.

If I can't get my hands and a physical copy of the book to look at, and the author doesn't manage to hook me in whatever sample chapters they put online, then yes, I suppose I could ask around to see if the book gets better, but realistically, I'll probably just forget about him or her. I could read online reviews, but given that a lot of reviewers don't have the same taste as me, I'd rather read for myself. I could ask friends, but most of my friends aren't exactly voracious readers, and those that are often have different tastes. It's not really my responsibility to make up for bad marketing decisions on the part of the publisher by jumping through all those hoops.

Libraries are great things. I very much doubt if many authors feel they are being robbed when people go there to read books for free. How many people have, when they were young and poor, obtained most or all of their reading material from libraries, charities, loans from friends, etc., only to go back and buy their favorites -- including ones they had already read for free -- after making their way up the economic ladder? And how many people who now have money to spend on books still go to the library to discover new authors before committing dollars to them?

[Starbeam]

Definitely need to be able to read in bright sunlight, then if I can read in bright sunlight, it would be nice to write in bright sunlight...  thoughts?

Forget a tablet if you want to be able to read in bright sunlight.  I'd suggest looking at the couple different threads in the Advice section, though, since this has been asked a few times.  I also rarely use my iPad for writing, mainly cause I always end up going back to a pen and notebook.

[Sir Huron Stone]

*sigh*
Another one? Really? Again?

[Shecky]

Anna, yes, there are horror stories. And there are individual anecdotes of all of it going horribly wrong. And if that's what motivates your choice, well, it IS your choice and I certainly can't gainsay it. Personal reasons are personal, after all.

[Beefstew]

I like my kindle a lot.  But I'd likely like any ereader that had an e-ink display.  As far as I know, there is no way to write seriously on a ereader.  If you want to write on a portable device, then you're getting into tablet territory.  But tablets don't display well in sunlight.

As far as ereaders go, there is a couple of threads on them already. I have a Kindle, and it's awesome.  Shecky likes his Sony reader.  Others like their Nook.  I think any e-ink device will suit your needs as far as reading in sunlight.

But that's all ereaders do, let you read anywhere just like a book.  If you want to be able to write, or do other things, then you're into tablet territory.  The only problem with tablets being that they're all backlit, and much harder to read in sunlight.  If you're willing to wait a few years you might get a tablet that has e-ink technology, but for now, not so much.

So for now you have to decide if reading or writing is more important to you.  Writing will take you down the path of tablets, and other types of mini-computer devices.  Reading goes down the path of ereaders.  If you need more info on ereaders, ask us, people seem highly opinionated on the subject

[Shecky]

I like my kindle a lot.  But I'd likely like any ereader that had an e-ink display.  As far as I know, there is no way to write seriously on a ereader.  If you want to write on a portable device, then you're getting into tablet territory.  But tablets don't display well in sunlight.

As far as ereaders go, there is a couple of threads on them already. I have a Kindle, and it's awesome.  Shecky likes his Sony reader.  Others like their Nook.  I think any e-ink device will suit your needs as far as reading in sunlight.

But that's all ereaders do, let you read anywhere just like a book.  If you want to be able to write, or do other things, then you're into tablet territory.  The only problem with tablets being that they're all backlit, and much harder to read in sunlight.  If you're willing to wait a few years you might get a tablet that has e-ink technology, but for now, not so much.

So for now you have to decide if reading or writing is more important to you.  Writing will take you down the path of tablets, and other types of mini-computer devices.  Reading goes down the path of ereaders.  If you need more info on ereaders, ask us, people seem highly opinionated on the subject

Honestly, if you're doing full-blown actual writing, a netbook is even better than a tablet. Then again, I'm perfectly at home with a keyboard under my hands, so YMMV.

For the record, yeah, I like my Sony Pocket. But the new Kindle and the new Nook look really great - the e-ink tech keeps making strides forward and the text is about 99.99% like text on a page.

[Sir Huron Stone]

I've got a first generation Kindle and i love it. I got it.... two years ago i think. It still works the same now as it did back then. I still buy regular paper books, but when i can't find the book in a store, or i can't get to a store, i buy it on the Kindle.

[Jaeh]

i prefer books to e-books.

I prefer netbook to ebook readers/tablets. at least, you can read on netbooks, and tap away when you need to do something. very, very handy for students. (although, lesson learned, you cannot survive on a netbook alone. Make sure you have backups for everything and have a relly nice desktop to work on huge things. Since I don't (well, not yet, anyway), I'm currently living on my netbook. These things are so handy though, especially mine - i mean, i can use Photoshop on this small thing, can you believe it? O.o)

anyway, netbooks are awesome because it's easier to write in them, and you can still read e-books great. especially if your netbook is just the right size for you.

[parthagenon]

I like my kindle.  I can tease all my schoolmates, because they're carrying a 1000 page hardcover physics textbook, a Shakespeare anthology, and War and Peace, while I'm just carrying my kindle and a much lighter backpack.  Pretty much the same story on the airplane, when everyone else in the family is lugging at least three novels each, and generally end up with nothing to do once they finish.

[KevinEvans]

Something to remember is that E readers are still in the same place, that cell phones were in the early seventies, big, clunky, and power hogs.

The technology is advancing fast, my first reader has already become orphaned technologically. The best option is to get something cheap and wait for the next generation.

For me the ideal reader would be independent of the power plug, (self charging from solar cells or wireless broadcast power) a multitasker that acts as a computer, phone, GPS tracker/locater, in addition to a reader. Also the device should be able to fold / shrink / or otherwise become small enough to fit comfortably in a pocket.

None of this is very far away from our current capabilities.

The biggest advantage for an e reader is the amount of stuff you can keep on it. The biggest disadvantage id the fussy fragile nature of the device, in a strenuous environment they need to be kept in a plastic bag, stored in a shock proofed case. Friends and relatives in the "sand box" say readers are great, if often short lived.

Regards,
Kevin