I would like to preface this post by saying I am not a Luddite. Of course, I’m generally not someone who rushes out to purchase the hottest new thing on the tech market (I don’t even own an iPhone), but when I do finally adopt something, I all of a sudden can’t live without it. The thought of leaving the house without my iPod or cell phone actually makes me nervous, and now that I have a flat-screen TV–please–how did I ever do with anything less?
So a few years ago, when Amazon launched the Kindle, I didn’t rush out to buy one. I figured I had plenty of printed books to read and could get by just fine with those for a while. When Steve Jobs announced the iPad in January, I thought I wanted one. But they’ve now been on the market for five months and I haven’t even held one. And yet, when Penguin recently decided to give me my very on e-reader, I thought, “Awesome! I can join all the cool kids now.”
At first it was great. I could read manuscripts and proposals without having to lug around hundreds of sheets of paper, and the e-reader was so handy on my rush hour commutes! But then, one night, as I was reading a manuscript, I found myself straining. “I can’t read on this thing,” I announced to myself. “I want paper.”
Today, the New York Times, ran an article discussing the various reading preferences of book buyers and the various ways publishers have been trying to accommodate the dual desires for print and e-books. Which brings me to my question…which do you prefer and why?
{ 0 comments }
