Wednesday, March 17, 2010

IHCP # 83: Paper to Pixels or (e-ink)

Aesthetically, I prefer paper materials. I like the smell of new books, and holding a book in my hand. I get my news by television or headlines online but getting a book faster is not usually important to me. If I were in school and needed a textbook I would probably download it if I could.

I work in a library and therefore all books are free (paper, pixels and audio). Due to the fact that I do not have an i-phone, or i-pod it is not convenient for me to use pixels. I do have an old model mp3 player and a PDA. I could download to them but have not found that I use either for reading enough to make it worth my while. Most of the material I read is not time sensitive so I can wait for the title I want.

Price definitely influences me when purchasing a book. When purchasing, I buy used books or the ones on sale rather than pay full price whenever I can. If had a digital reader and wanted to take the material with me I would pay more for the convenience of having it in my purse or pocket. Knowing that the cost of producing and sharing a digital book is much less than a printed copy I would resent paying the same price for digital as I would for paper.

I-Fiction is a good site for Science Fiction, fantasy and horror buffs. I like the fact that it is free to any author. There were some interesting titles as well. The idea of previewing a book before buying is very reasonable. That is what we do when we read magazine reviews and excerpts online about new materials before we purchase them.

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