Oh my, what are you reading? - Candice Bundy

Oh my, what are you reading?

Posted on 10 Comments

I have a question out there for those of you with e-readers (or those of you who wish to purchase e-readers). Is the primary reason you purchased (or wish to own) an e-reader so you’d be able to hide what you’re reading?

Seriously?

Are you so afraid that someone will spy upon your book covers and gasp oh my! and avert their eyes, perhaps hide their children from view that you ponied up the cash and purchased an e-reader?

I ask this, because somewhere around 80% of the ebook market is in the combined romance category. And Avon Books just announced last week they are starting up their digital romance Avon Impulse brand (where print versions will be available only on demand) because then “fans can read e-editions in public without fear of embarrassment”. How kind of them. Why bother printing books fans are too overcome to read in public? Yay for e-readers! Now we romance readers are no longer consigned to closets and basements! Whoopee!

I think the publishers miss out on some other tangible benefits to the readers.

1) Price: ebook pricing is almost always lower than the print version.

2) Immediate Delivery: I don’t have to travel to a book store to pick up the next book in a series. I effectively have the store right here with me! A must for the voracious reader!

3) Genre Stigma: I don’t just read romance. Wow, now what do you do with me? 😉

4) Author Loyalty: ebooks make it easy to find other books published by the same author, and with immediate delivery to access those books.

5) Book Library: I keep all of my books in a nicely compact format. I can highlight and bookmark areas of interest to me, and those stay in my collection.

6) Environmentally Friendly: No more trees or ink are being processed for me to satisfy my voracious habit. There’s less in the way between me and the artist.

And that’s just my short list. What are some reasons you have for using an e-reader, or wanting one? Are you one of those who do prefer to hide your romance covers? Please, do share. No one will tell. 😉


10 Replies to “Oh my, what are you reading?”

  1. I am the same Candice, multiple books in one location without having to break my back. I was an early adopter of the ebook with the Rocket Ebook. Still have it and it still works but can’t buy anything for it anymore. I was really hoping that libraries would catch on to the Ebook craze, but I have not seen much in that area yet.

    I have read some racy novels on my ebook, and even with the ebook edition I was a little worried that on the packed light rail someone would look over my shoulder and wonder what the heck I was reading. Oh well.

    As an author I am curious to know what your thoughts are on ebooks. I heard a story on NPR about an author who self publishes on Amazon at $.99 per book and he states he is raking in the money now. When he had the price at $5.99 per book sales were lukewarm. At $.99 he sells many more copies.

    Long live the Ebook!

    1. I’m with you, I have a sony Ereader and I love it, but I don’t download that many because of the cost, so lo and behold! THE LIBRARY! yayayayay! I can download them free! Whoo hoo! I wish more books were on digital. I LOVE me some good romance from time to time, mostly I read anything with writing. Everything from non-fic (mostly wine books if I’m going non-fic) to all out crazy fic about time travel with faeries and vampires, so sue me? I read everything because I can 100% guarantee that whatever story my brain paints along with the story is about 1000% better than any movie they make of a book! 🙂

    2. Peter, I think readers are more willing to shell out .99 on a new author, less to lose and we see more authors offering an initial e-book at a lower cost, knowing once they’ve gotten the reader hooked then they will stay loyal. Have you tried smashwords for rocket formats?

  2. I bought a Kindle when they were first available, and I’ve been hooked ever since. I suspect that I suffer from a bit of the reverse: that people can’t see what I am reading, so then they can’t notice how smart I am, because I’m reading such a smart book. 🙂

    I bought my ereader for many of the reasons you listed above: book cost — though it seems that the cost has been going up on the books, instant availability of books–nothing worse than not having something to read! Storage space is also a huge factor for me. I’ve got shelves full of books, along with boxes full in the garage. Now, I can keep them all in a tiny little spot, and, best of all, I don’t have to dust them! Then there is the environmental aspect.

    I have gotten rid of my Kindle. Since I got a smart phone, I just use the Kindle app in the Droid, and, voila! Always a book at my fingertips! And, the phone is way easier to carry around than the Kindle. It goes right in my pocket.

    Granted, ebooks are not the same as reading an actual physical copy of a book. I miss the feel of turning pages, the smell of a new book. But, the advantages of the ebooks far outweigh the sensory aspects of a real book.

    1. I also miss the opportunity paper books offered as conversation starters. Whether it was my romance books or my ‘smarter’ wine, chem, or evolutionary psych books I tend to read (yeah I’m not a one trick pony either;) ) But with e-readers you don’t get that oh, I see you’re reading *blah*, how is it? Would you recommend it?

      And yes, STORAGE SPACE! That’s certainly earns a nomination for number 7 on the list! 🙂

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