Thursday, November 13, 2008

Would YOU read an E-book Because of Oprah?

I love e-books for all the usual reasons: they are cheap, I can put them on my PDA and bump up the font so I can read in bed without my contacts, I can get them at any time day or night whether or not the library or the bookstore is open, and oh yes, they are cheap. Did I mention cheap?
I've been reading e-books for years and it was a big priority to me that my own mysteries come out in electronic format as well as paper. I really believe it is an option whose time has come.
Notice I said option. E-books are no reason for me to stop listening to audio books on my MP3 player as I run in the mornings (Why else get up at 5:45 in the cold and DARK, if not because I can't wait to hear what is going to happen next in that Mariah Stewart book?) E-books are no reason for me to stop getting paper books at the bookstore or at the library to read on the loveseat at night. But I do love having an e-book on that backlit PDA waiting for me to climb into bed at night. I have hard contacts which are only suppposed to be in for 11 or 12 hours a day. (Yes, Dr. Brooks, I do listen! I seriously do NOT sleep in the darn things.) And I can't read with glasses--they just don't correct my vision enough. So that is some serious reading time I'm missing without that e-book.
Not to mention the fact that the backlight on the PDA makes it possible for me to read far into the night without disturbing my husband. So I've been an e-book fan for years. I even bought my husband a Sony e-reader for his birthday and converted him. But now Oprah is jumping on the bandwagon. She is recommending the Kindle. And I'm wondering--would you read an e-book because she does?
Frankly, it always surprises me that many people have a PDA stashed somewhere and haven't gotten the free software at Mobipocket that they can use to give e-books a try. No need to get a new and expensive gadget. Are you curious? Did Oprah make you wonder? Am I the only one who loves to read in bed at night?

12 comments:

Mark Troy said...

I read e-books on my pda. Currently, it has four novels and eleven short story collections. Imagine if those were books. I'd need a large backpack to carry them. The pda fits in my shirt pocket. The books are right there whenever I have down time, such as waiting for a meeting to start or on a long trip. I do think the e-book is the wave of the future. It won't replace paper books right away, but it will make more stories available to a wider audience just as all advances in bookmaking--moveable type, pocket books, etc.--have expanded readership. I should mention also that of the books on my pda are hard to find in print, e.g. a collection of Grace Culver stories. E-books offer a possibility that some books will remain accessible longer and lon out-of-print books may be reintroduced.

As for Oprah, I'm happy to see her pushing the Kindle. I hope Kindle readers will jump over to Amazon and download Pilikia Is My Business.

Jean Henry Mead said...

I couldn't agree with you more, Christine. Although my two latest print books also come in ebook form, I haven't found a backlighted reader, so haven't bought any ebooks yet. Which reader are you using? My print books are crowding me out of my house so ebooks would cure the problem.

Marilyn Meredith a.k.a. F. M. Meredith said...

I've been e-published since people first started thinking about it. I'm just glad that there are so many ways to read e-books now.

Marilyn
http://fictionforyou.com

Helen Ginger said...

I wouldn't buy a book just because Oprah said to. Having said that, I'd like to try the Kindle, I think. I've actually not read an ebook yet. I do have a PDA, but it is so old (one of the first Palms) it has no internet connection. I keep adding so many addresses to it, I fear it'll die on me soon. And the screen is so tiny! How do y'all read on a PDA - or maybe your screen is bigger than mine.

Morgan Mandel said...

I'm saving my Amazon points for a kindle. I use my Amazon charge card and get credits. Still have a long way to go.

Morgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Still a dinosaur her, I guess. I just can't get into ebooks. I want to feel, smell, and turn the pages of a book manually. I do have my books out as ebook and kindle book version options, though. No sense fighting the trends. HUGE growing market for them. but me? If it gets too dark for my old eyes to keep reading late at night, I turn out the lights and get my much needed sleep. Come sunrise, I'm right back reading.

Lillie Ammann said...

I read e-books almost exclusively. Vision problems make print very difficult for me to read.

I've tried reading on a Palm but the screen is too small for me. I loved the original Rocket eBook. When that died, I went to the eBookwise. I especially like the backlighting, but the largest font is just barely readable for me. Now I have a Kindle, and I love the font and the e-ink technology—much easier to read than any other e-book and, for me at least, much better than print. The downside to the Kindle is that it's not backlit, but the great reading experience in bright light and glare makes up for that. When I want to read in dark or low light, I use the eBookWise reader; otherwise I use the Kindle.

Although I certainly wouldn't try the Kindle because Oprah recommended it, I'm glad she's spreading the word about e-books.

Unknown said...

I read books on Kindle, but not ebooks otherwise. Regardless, I don't think an Oprah endorsement would mean much to me. I don't think I've read one book yet that's been recommended on her show. Sorry, just not into Oprah. Not sure I've ever seen her show.

Dana Fredsti said...

I've always been a big NO E BOOKS person because I have such a love of the actual hard cover or paperback book, but since I've started writing for an e-publisher, I'm having to rethink my stance and change my 'tude. Oprah wouldn't make me buy an e-book or a Kindle, though.

Libby McKinmer said...

I like having my books available in both, and do like an ereader. My iPaq's battery won't take a charge any more, so I've been looking at another PDA...

I have trouble sometimes with my hands cramping when I hold a traditional book, so really like the option of the ebook.

Libby
www.libbymckinmer.com
www.twitter.com/libbymckinmer

Libby McKinmer said...

I like having my books available in both, and do like an ereader. My iPaq's battery won't take a charge any more, so I've been looking at another PDA...

I have trouble sometimes with my hands cramping when I hold a traditional book, so really like the option of the ebook.

Libby
www.libbymckinmer.com
www.twitter.com/libbymckinmer

Anonymous said...

My HarperCollins titles have just been green-lighted for e=book publication, so I couldn't be happier for my Inspector Alastair Ransom series. I have had some 13 titles on FictionWise.com for years, and I am offering a free e-book giveaway on my website, Dead On, and I have an Amazon.com/short, a serialized novel in 11 installments up on Amazon called FleshWar. So the whole excitment caused by the Kindle has, in my estimation, been a real shot in the arm for e-books. Anyone who has held a Kindle in hand is amazed by the techology and capability of Bezo's marvel even before Oprah said anything. An honestly, I got new respect for OpraR NOW FOR TWO reasons, her choice of John Steinbeck sometime back as a book pick, one of my heroes, and now her thumbs up on the Kindle which will do so much for e-book publication, and I do not fool myself. I am certain HarperCollins and other huge NYC publishers are finally jumping onto the e-book bandwagon due precsely to the media attention being given to the Kindle, Bezos, Amazon etc. and not my literary histocial novels begun with City for Ransom. Still I will gladly ride on these coat tails for as long as I can.
Robert W. Walker
for ebook giveaway go to
www.robertwalkerbooks.com