Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop,
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For more information, and
to find out the topic of next week's question, click HERE.
What to Do
1.) Post on your blog answering this week's
question:
Do you read ebooks?
If so, which one/ones have you
read, and why?
(submitted by Teri @ Sportochick's Musings)
2.) Enter the link to your post in the
Linky list on Billy's blog.
3.) Visit other blogs on the list and
comment on their posts.
4.) Be sure to find out next week's
question when you visit
Ramblings of a Coffee-Addicted Writer!
My Answer
I'll be VERY honest here. When the Kindle first appeared on Amazon, I wanted to fly to Seattle and have a few HEATED words with Jeff Bezos, the company's CEO, who is also the inventor of what I then looked at as a disgusting usurper of the revered, lofty place held by printed books for so many centuries. Just hearing the stupid machine mentioned made me cringe, as well as see red. I can barely tolerate ereaders, even now.
For a long time, I totally REFUSED to read, review, or even mention the Kindle, or ebooks, on this blog. I could not see ebooks as REAL books. To me, a REAL book was, and still is, a printed book, a PHYSICAL book, that I could hold in my hands, whose pages I could lovingly turn, and which I could even hug, if I truly felt that it was special. To me, it was nothing short of treason against the printed word to have books DOWNLOADED ONTO A MACHINE. Where was the delight of smelling that special book smell? Where was the sheer joy of the very physicality of the book? Could I proudly display this ridiculous machine on my bookshelves?! I felt as if my sacred bookish world had been turned upside down, sideways, and inside out.....Then, to my great distress and despair, the Nook appeared!! And then there was NetGalley, and Edelweiss, and I began to think that I was fighting a losing battle....
My greatest fear was that the printed book would someday become 'obsolete', and it looked as if that day might arrive sooner rather than later....
I remained adamantly against featuring Kindle or Nook books, or eARCS, or anything of the sort, on this blog, for the LONGEST time. As for my other blog, MindSpirit Book Journeys, digital books will definitely NEVER appear there. After all, that blog is dedicated in part to classics, as well as literary fiction. I just can't picture Great Expectations on a Kindle. No. Absolutely NOT.
Well, I have finally given in. Sort of. I still refuse to buy a Kindle. Or a Nook, for that matter. In fact, whenever I go to Barnes and Noble, which I have nicknamed "Paradise", in honor of Jorge Luis Borges (see my Favorite Quotes page, listed underneath the blog header), I make a point of totally ignoring the Nook display tables. And, I'm very happy to say, I'm not the only one. I've seen people walk right by this section of the store, as if it didn't exist. WHY look at MACHINES, when we have the real LIVE books sitting on shelves, waiting anxiously for the right people to come along, fall in love with them, and take them home? Even the bookstore staff has recently begun filling up the tables, formerly used strictly for the display of Nooks, with actual, REAL books. Oh, they still have a Nook display section. It's just much smaller than it used to be. YAY!!!!!!
I do own, and have even read and reviewed, some ebooks. They're all on my Android phone, to which I've downloaded Amazon's Kindle app. I am somewhat saddened by this..... Sometimes I feel as if I have betrayed something beautiful and sacred....
My reasons for buying these books are threefold, and, what's more, one of these reasons has even helped me to be more discerning about the books I read. Here are the three reasons: 1.) I'm running out of space for printed books, unfortunately. 2.) Reading a book first on my Kindle app will allow me to see whether or not I will really like it. If I actually LOVE it, I can order the printed edition later on. So I am by no means turning my back on printed books! (Yes, Mr. Spock, it's TOTALLY illogical, I know. I just said I'm running out of space. What can I say? It's a HUMAN thing, to be illogical at times. Lol.) 3.) On Amazon, Kindle books are usually much, much cheaper than printed books, and sometimes, they're totally FREE. This is not always true, however. If a book is much in demand, the Kindle edition usually costs as much as, and can even cost MORE, than the printed edition. For instance, the trade paperback edition of City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare, costs $8.53 plus $4.98 S/H, if purchased directly from Amazon. If purchased from one of their third-party sellers, it starts at $2.97, plus $3.99 S/H. The Kindle edition? It's priced at $9.99. You can check this out right HERE. This is totally RIDICULOUS. I am certainly NOT going to pay MORE for a simple download than I would for a tangible printed book!
So I have purchased ebooks, but only if they cost $4.99 and below. I do own the digital edition (along with several printed editions) of Twilight, for which I paid $6.99. But this was a marked exception to the rule.
Sometimes, the lack of space and money have forced me to buy an ebook, because my book buying compulsion is much too strong for me....but again, if I really LOVE an ebook I've read on my Android's Kindle app, I will make an effort to buy the printed edition later on, and somehow find room for the book....lol.
I have read and reviewed a few ebooks for this blog. The titles of these books are: Withering Rose, by Kaitlyn Davis, which I'd like to own as a paperback, The Neverland Wars, by Audrey Greathouse, which I never finished, Snowed In, by Rachel Hawthorne, the paperback edition of which I bought as soon as I had finished reading the ebook, Grimm and White, by Emily Hansen, which I also left unfinished, and Eden's Creatures, by Valerie Zambito, which I did like, but not enough to buy the print edition. There was also Escapee, by Edward Hoornaert, which I greatly enjoyed. I want to buy the paperback of that one, too.
I have read one book in PDF format -- Pirate's Alley, by Suzanne Johnson. I ADORED this novel! Even before I finished reading it, I had already ordered the hardcover edition.
All of the books mentioned above were read for blog tours. Since all of the writers were new to me, I felt I should read them in digital format first. You can find the reviews of all of these books on my "Book Reviews" page, which is listed underneath the blog header.
Bottom line: although I will read and review ebooks -- mostly for blog tours -- from time to time, I still MUCH prefer printed books! I do realize that ebooks have certain advantages, especially for those who travel on a regular basis, as part of their jobs, for instance. If I were 'a frequent flyer', I would have no choice but to take an ereader with me, as they are much more convenient to pack and take along with you. But, since I'm earthbound, and have no plans to take flight, or even board a ship, in the foreseeable future, I am totally free to indulge in my love ot that most beautiful, exciting, intoxicating, creation of humanity: the printed book. Long may it live and prosper!!
For a long time, I totally REFUSED to read, review, or even mention the Kindle, or ebooks, on this blog. I could not see ebooks as REAL books. To me, a REAL book was, and still is, a printed book, a PHYSICAL book, that I could hold in my hands, whose pages I could lovingly turn, and which I could even hug, if I truly felt that it was special. To me, it was nothing short of treason against the printed word to have books DOWNLOADED ONTO A MACHINE. Where was the delight of smelling that special book smell? Where was the sheer joy of the very physicality of the book? Could I proudly display this ridiculous machine on my bookshelves?! I felt as if my sacred bookish world had been turned upside down, sideways, and inside out.....Then, to my great distress and despair, the Nook appeared!! And then there was NetGalley, and Edelweiss, and I began to think that I was fighting a losing battle....
My greatest fear was that the printed book would someday become 'obsolete', and it looked as if that day might arrive sooner rather than later....
I remained adamantly against featuring Kindle or Nook books, or eARCS, or anything of the sort, on this blog, for the LONGEST time. As for my other blog, MindSpirit Book Journeys, digital books will definitely NEVER appear there. After all, that blog is dedicated in part to classics, as well as literary fiction. I just can't picture Great Expectations on a Kindle. No. Absolutely NOT.
A partial view of my home library.
This is my own slice of "Paradise"!!
A closer view. This is the ONLY
reading 'Nook' I own!
Well, I have finally given in. Sort of. I still refuse to buy a Kindle. Or a Nook, for that matter. In fact, whenever I go to Barnes and Noble, which I have nicknamed "Paradise", in honor of Jorge Luis Borges (see my Favorite Quotes page, listed underneath the blog header), I make a point of totally ignoring the Nook display tables. And, I'm very happy to say, I'm not the only one. I've seen people walk right by this section of the store, as if it didn't exist. WHY look at MACHINES, when we have the real LIVE books sitting on shelves, waiting anxiously for the right people to come along, fall in love with them, and take them home? Even the bookstore staff has recently begun filling up the tables, formerly used strictly for the display of Nooks, with actual, REAL books. Oh, they still have a Nook display section. It's just much smaller than it used to be. YAY!!!!!!
I do own, and have even read and reviewed, some ebooks. They're all on my Android phone, to which I've downloaded Amazon's Kindle app. I am somewhat saddened by this..... Sometimes I feel as if I have betrayed something beautiful and sacred....
My reasons for buying these books are threefold, and, what's more, one of these reasons has even helped me to be more discerning about the books I read. Here are the three reasons: 1.) I'm running out of space for printed books, unfortunately. 2.) Reading a book first on my Kindle app will allow me to see whether or not I will really like it. If I actually LOVE it, I can order the printed edition later on. So I am by no means turning my back on printed books! (Yes, Mr. Spock, it's TOTALLY illogical, I know. I just said I'm running out of space. What can I say? It's a HUMAN thing, to be illogical at times. Lol.) 3.) On Amazon, Kindle books are usually much, much cheaper than printed books, and sometimes, they're totally FREE. This is not always true, however. If a book is much in demand, the Kindle edition usually costs as much as, and can even cost MORE, than the printed edition. For instance, the trade paperback edition of City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare, costs $8.53 plus $4.98 S/H, if purchased directly from Amazon. If purchased from one of their third-party sellers, it starts at $2.97, plus $3.99 S/H. The Kindle edition? It's priced at $9.99. You can check this out right HERE. This is totally RIDICULOUS. I am certainly NOT going to pay MORE for a simple download than I would for a tangible printed book!
So I have purchased ebooks, but only if they cost $4.99 and below. I do own the digital edition (along with several printed editions) of Twilight, for which I paid $6.99. But this was a marked exception to the rule.
Sometimes, the lack of space and money have forced me to buy an ebook, because my book buying compulsion is much too strong for me....but again, if I really LOVE an ebook I've read on my Android's Kindle app, I will make an effort to buy the printed edition later on, and somehow find room for the book....lol.
I have read and reviewed a few ebooks for this blog. The titles of these books are: Withering Rose, by Kaitlyn Davis, which I'd like to own as a paperback, The Neverland Wars, by Audrey Greathouse, which I never finished, Snowed In, by Rachel Hawthorne, the paperback edition of which I bought as soon as I had finished reading the ebook, Grimm and White, by Emily Hansen, which I also left unfinished, and Eden's Creatures, by Valerie Zambito, which I did like, but not enough to buy the print edition. There was also Escapee, by Edward Hoornaert, which I greatly enjoyed. I want to buy the paperback of that one, too.
I have read one book in PDF format -- Pirate's Alley, by Suzanne Johnson. I ADORED this novel! Even before I finished reading it, I had already ordered the hardcover edition.
All of the books mentioned above were read for blog tours. Since all of the writers were new to me, I felt I should read them in digital format first. You can find the reviews of all of these books on my "Book Reviews" page, which is listed underneath the blog header.
Bottom line: although I will read and review ebooks -- mostly for blog tours -- from time to time, I still MUCH prefer printed books! I do realize that ebooks have certain advantages, especially for those who travel on a regular basis, as part of their jobs, for instance. If I were 'a frequent flyer', I would have no choice but to take an ereader with me, as they are much more convenient to pack and take along with you. But, since I'm earthbound, and have no plans to take flight, or even board a ship, in the foreseeable future, I am totally free to indulge in my love ot that most beautiful, exciting, intoxicating, creation of humanity: the printed book. Long may it live and prosper!!
What are your thoughts on
this topic?
Please leave a comment,
and I'll go check out your post!
