Every day, I get e-mails about deals on e-readers. I see tweets from people who love their e-readers. And I hear from fellow readers who’ve made the leap.
So, the question is: to e-read or not to e-read?
I love to browse for books. Walking into a bookstore or a library and being surrounded by all of the wonderful treasures just waiting for me to read them…there’s nothing like it. I can spend hours in a bookstore or library. First, I notice the title. Then, the cover art. If I’m still interested, I read the back cover. (Note to publishing companies: nine times out of ten, I’d rather see a well-written description of the book than glowing quotes from reviewers or other authors.) At this point, I’ve usually decided yay or nay, but sometimes I peek at the first page too. I also check for staff recommendations.
How does one browse for books if you can’t hold them in your hands?
On the other hand, e-books are generally less expensive than “real” books. That would mean I could buy more!
I’ve done some research into e-readers and I’m almost ready to make the leap. I don’t foresee that I will stop buying “real” books, but I believe the e-reader will make a good supplement. The problem is, there is not yet an e-reader on the market that has all of the features I want, which are:
- E-ink: I spend plenty of time looking at a computer screen. I want something different.
- Text-to-speech: I listen to books on CD in the car. This means I’m often listening to something in the car and reading something different in the house. What a joy it would be to be able to switch back and forth!
- Ability to borrow books from the library: Currently, only the Kindle offers e-ink and text-to-speech, but does not permit you to borrow books from the library.
These three features are must-haves for me. First company to make an e-reader meeting my needs gets my money. Until then, I’ll have to read the old-fashioned way!
