I am one of those people who vowed they would never buy a kindle or e-books. Well guess what? I only went and downloaded the app for my iPad yesterday...
Recently I've been buying books upon books upon books and I've run out room in my bookcase and overflow shelf which has resorted to me piling my books up on the floor next to my case. As much as I prefer having a physical copy of a book I decided it was time to buy some in e-book form which will be handy for holidays as this way I can carry around waaay more than I would be able to if I just used their traditional form. I took the plunge today and purchased my first e-book The Hourglass Factory by Lucy Ribchester.
I do appreciate how much cheaper e-books are than hard copies but I cant help but wonder how negatively this will be affecting bookshops. There are so many ways now to get hold of books, be that physically or not, for much cheaper than you would from your local bookseller. I myself am guilty of comparing the prices of a book in Waterstone's to what it is on Amazon. The latter sells many for as little as £3 compared to the RRP which is on average £7.99 providing the customer with the opportunity to purchase potentially 3 books for the price they would be able to buy one! Now I'm not complaining here as I have bought many of my books of Amazon but I do much prefer the satisfaction of going to the bookstore and browsing the shelves until I find something that tickles my fancy.
On a different (hypocritical) note, I do have an extensive wishlist for my new kindle app and I just keep on adding to it...
I don't have a kindle, but I have a generic eReader that you can put ePub files onto and I also used to think it was a gigantic waste of time -- after all, nothing compares to the feel of paper between your fingers, right? Especially when an electronic has a battery and a book doesn't? Let me tell you, I became converted when I went on my first overseas trip. It's easy enough to bring one book with you, but I was going for a month and knew that I'd get through it quickly, so I went through my Mum's library and loaded on maybe a hundred different titles. It was how I discovered the perfection that is Agatha Christie.
ReplyDeleteAbsolute. Perfection.
Shae xo
Diary of a Beauty Padawan
I am so sorry for such a late reply! I am literally the worst at keeping up to date with my blog hahaha!
DeleteI definitely think that the fact you can have so many books with you at anyone time is fantastic . I must confess though, since writing this post I have hardly used the app and am back to by old ways of buying at least one book every time I enter a book shop (or even just the local supermarket!) I consider it a success to leave empty handed as I just find it so hard hahaha!
Jess x