Why do readers steer away from e-books?

I used to ride commuter trains and read a great deal. Now I drive and get my books from audible. com and listen to them on my IPOD. It works well for me and the books don't take up any space

I don't know but as the author of a science fiction novel I would love to have it published in any way possible. In fact, i make it freely available online at:

http://www.unc.edu/~mason/hand.html

and I am publishing it chapter by chapter here on Gather. The tough part is to get people to even try the first chapter. Those who have read that much say it is quite good. But how does one get folks to try what is free?

Part of the trouble may be that physical books provide a reading experience that e-books have not (yet) been able to approximate. Books are solid, easily manipulable, immediately accessible, and clearly legible. Laptops can be unwieldy, data storage is sometimes dicey, and reading a computer monitor for too long strains your eyes. E-book readers go some distance towards alleviating these problems, but they're another expensive piece of equipment and I'm not sure that they 'read' as well as a physical book. Perhaps that will change over time.

I understand the point about the expense of an ebook reader--that point is well taken. I also understand the point about unwieldy laptops with bad screens. And I understand the point about distributors insisting that you read the book in a certain way because they put restrictions on it. Now, however, laptops are pretty convenient and reliable, and screens are also pretty good. We know that a threshold has been crossed because a lot of people use them (laptops). In my own case, there is no DRM, so your reading is unrestricted. And I've had no trouble having readers sample ebooks. The the curiosity is that when it comes time to buy, they tend to buy the more expensive print book. Barriers to the print version are that they have to wait for it, and if they live in another country, shipping is slow and expensive.

It really is a mystery to me because a few years ago, I wouldn't have bought an ebook. But with light laptops with good screens, even I'm reading ebooks.

The success or failure of e-books is totaly dependent on the quality of the e-reader. The closest thing I've seen that has a good chance of succeeding is the Sony e-reader. I haven't had a chance to actually use one yet, but from what I've seen they are pretty close to having the ideal device. One thing lacking is backlighting for reading at night or in a dark space, such as an aircraft. If they fine tune this reader and then make every book published available for download (at a lower price), e-books will takeoff and never look back.

You can find info on the Sony ebook reader at: http://www.learningcenter.sony.us/assets/itpd/reader/index.html

However, I still think a modern, light-weight, laptop is not bad...

I review books for an online site. An ebook publisher asked me to review one of his books and I declined. I rather a print book. I like the feel and smell of paper. It's much easier to read a print book than an ebook no matter how clear the screens are or how light the lap top is. I like to snuggle up and read in bed and I don't want a lap top on my lap. I like to lay down and read which I couldn't do with a lap top, it's too awkward. I hope print books are never substituted with ebooks.

I don't think ebooks will ever totally replace print books. There will always be people around with an emotional attachment to paper. But as time goes on, I suspect more and more people will become more amenable to ebooks, and I think that will be easier on authors, trees, and consequently will afford readers greater choice.

This system, e-books will continue to evolve. I have heard that a true standard has not yet been set. I have heard good things about the Sony system than was mentioned.

Oh yea. would like to see you visit and join the Rising Star Author group here at gather. Join and write an article promoting both yourself and your book.

Quote: "Oh yea. would like to see you visit and join the Rising Star Author group here at gather. Join and write an article promoting both yourself and your book."


Thanks for the heads-up!

HI, I have been giving this topic a lot of thought and all in all, I like the thought of have an Ebook Reader. Not to replace real books, but to travel with and commute to work with. I love to read, but I hate the weight of books on my back. I can only carry one book at a time with me and I am stuck with that one book. With an Ereader, you have several books, magazines, blogs, etc etc at your finger tips to keep you entertained, and you can purchase all the newest material on the spot with some of these devices. I will never be able to stop buying real paper books, as that is also a passion, but having an E reader is great for traveling and just being out and about.

E-books don't work for me because I don't want to drag an electronic device around. A paperback can be tossed in my bag with little worry about it being damaged, stolen or lost. A paperback doesn't need a power source or any maintenance. And, I'd much rather curl up in the recliner with a book than my laptop.