If you don’t own one already, you’ve probably seen e-book readers, or ereaders, around. Why would you want to use one of these over a traditional book you ask? That’s a good question that a lot of people have been asking lately.The first thing to note is that ereaders aren’t for everyone. If you only read a few books a year, or you really only value shop from used bookstores or yard sales, you probably won’t find the value in an ereader. And that’s ok, there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just a tool made for a different set of users.
So what does an ereader do that a regular book can’t? Many things, and it can do them well too!
- It’s portable- You can bring many books with you while only carrying one device
- New book prices- New book prices are typically cheaper than their paper counterparts
- Privacy- You don’t have to reveal to everyone around you what you’re reading (for you self-help guru’s)
- Shelf space- Since you store all of your books on your ereader and computer, you no longer have to fill shelves with books
- Instant access- You can have instant access to books without having to leave your house. This includes sold out copies as well
- Libraries- Don’t worry, many libraries also lend ebooks
As I said earlier, if you’re an occasional reader you probably won’t recoup the initial cost of the device. There’s also the issue of sharing. It’s not as easy as just handing a book to a friend, and some devices don’t allow it at all. But Amazon recently announced that they sell 105 ebooks for every 100 paper books sold. That just goes to show that ereaders are here to stay and I’m sure they’re just going to continue to grow in 2011.
So what are your options? The most popular are:
Barnes and Noble NOOK
So what is your opinion on ereaders? Love them or hate them?
