You see them almost everywhere--in TV commercials, in the mall, and now in the library (I even see them with two of my co-workers). No doubt about it, e-readers are becoming serious business in the book world. Instead of lugging around your bag o' printed books to and from the library or book store, you can buy or download numerous titles in electronic format to your compact, lightweight e-reader. These gadgets are unquestionably handy for a lot of people. On a flight from New York to Denver, I saw a flight attendant in the rear of the plane reading from an e-reader, and I thought, "Wow. If I traveled for a living flying from airport to airport, I would rather carry an e-reader than drag a stack of books around with me."
I'm all for technology and the many ways it has and continues to advance our lives. And I think e-readers are a great thing. Really. But (I'm sure you could sense there was a "but" coming) I'm not completely sold on the e-reader...yet.
Why? Well, for one thing, e-readers don't come cheap. Over a hundred bucks a pop? For a lot of people (including myself) that's a wee investment. Another thing is the compatibility issue--what can go on one e-reader may not necessarily go on another. Then there's the thing about your e-reader breaking down. If your e-reader illuminated its last page ever, what happens to all the e-books you have stored on it? Do you lose them all forever? Or can you somehow re-obtain them and put them on a different e-reader? These are just some of the issues that need to be worked out with e-readers.
So, to sum up, I'm all for e-readers and would love to have one eventually (hey, I have a small, uncluttered apartment and want to keep it uncluttered), but they need to become a little more accessible both financially and practically.
My humble opinion from the perch.
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