Comments: Digital books and reading patterns

Aug. 16, p. 22

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the emergence of the digital book, and how, basically, we should get over our love affair with its physical ancestor and realize that, as with newspapers, rotary dial phones and reel-to-reel tape decks, the world has moved on. Digital rules and ebooks now make more sense than papyrus.

Not everyone was happy. My bookseller friends won’t talk to me anymore, and don’t even mention my author ex-buddies. One person told me I was “brave” (I think he meant foolhardy) in saying something everyone else thought, but didn’t yet dare mention. (By Jeremy Wagstaff)

Your comments:

What ebooks do is conquer downtime. I no longer complain when I have to wait at the bank, the dentist’s, or even Costco, because, with a Kindle in my purse, I’m not waiting I’m reading.

Karen Wester Newton
Washington, DC.

I’m close to buy an eReader, probably Sony since it’s compatible with ebooks from the public library: free reading.

I just don’t want to “purchase” media that I can’t share, give away, trade or resell if I want to.
An alternate distribution method would be nice, such as 99 US cent book rentals perhaps.

Cynner
California

You’ve expressed thoughts here that been floating in the ether, but which I’ve yet to see put together coherently. What people don’t grasp is how easily they will drop their paper books and never look back, this piece explains why.

B.V. Larson
Las Vegas

Ebooks are the future. Barnes and Noble is looking to sell itself. That tells you more and more people are downloading ebooks online. I buy ebooks from http://Amazon.com and download my free ebooks from http://ebookjunkie.com. This is the future, let’s embrace it.

Frank
The US