For Those Of Us Who Love Our E-Reader

I remember when I first got my Sony e-reader in November 2007--a gift from hubby for my birthday, lucky me. Being a reviewer as well as a reader, the e-reader was a godsend. The things I loved and still love about my e-reader ( I now have an Ipad too which I also use for reading) are:

1. The ability to change font size--my eyes have been eternally gratefully and I still don't need glasses for most things. How wonderful!
2. The fact I can carry around hundreds of books in one, slim tablet.
3. The fact I don't have storage issues with books anymore. Yes, I still read the occasional paperback but I prefer to get my reading matter digitally whenever possible.
4. The instant gratification I get when I hear about a book and in an instant can download it to my device with a few clicks and I'm off reading.
5. The fact that the Sony e-reader takes .pdf files so I can download from various sites and authors can send me their galleys. So convenient.
6. That with my Sony I can read in the sunlight.
7. That I can bookmark easily and thus, when using reference books, I am able to go back and find information that much easier.

Back in 2007 when I took my e-reader, at someone's request, to my chapter RWA, it created quite a stir. Most couldn't fathom giving up printed books to read on a digital tablet despite the advantages cited above. They thought it was just a fad. A few were very interested, including Eloisa James who thought there was potential in e-books for the publishing industry (not only is she a great writer but a smart lady).

So I found it interesting that just four short years later, U.S. publishers are "astonished" at how much of the book market is being served up digitally as referenced by this quote from an article on booksellers.com.

Speaking at the 40th anniversary keynote seminar, HarperCollins president and c.e.o. Brian Murray said the number of US e-readers—grown from 15m a year ago to 40m today—was having a disproportionately large effect on the market because they had reached "core" readers, those buying over 12 books a year. He said: “Some of the heaviest book buyers no longer visit bookstores.” He said some e-books had a 50% share of total sales during the first few months, a “watershed” for the trade.


The full article is short but insightful and can be accessed at:
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/heavy-book-buyers-avoiding-bookshops-says-hc-chief.html
Where this will push authors, publishers, booksellers and readers is anybody's guess but I suspect those who embrace the e-book readership, rather than resist, will fare the best. It's really just another delivery method, one that has the possibility of making the written word more accessible to more people, like the printing press did. And that can't be a bad thing can it?

IPAD and My Technological Fear

I admit it. I'm not the most technologically savvy person around. But since seriously pursuing a writing career, I've come a long way if I do say so myself. Because I have had to. There's no IT division at my address. In fact, I'm now the most technologically savvy of the three of us--and this includes my teenaged daughter. Yup, we're in trouble in our household.

For hardware issues, I do have "a guy" who makes house calls to configure and repair my computers--all the while shaking his head at my (dumb) questions. Tom's a quiet guy and at first, he was taken by surprise (his words) at how much I talked--and asked questions. But--eventually, as I asked him to put on security suites, put up firewalls, network my computers and advise about an external hard drive, he's become comfortable with my (dumb) questions and he recently told me he admired my curiosity. And I'm sure he likes the work I've given him.

For my website I also turned to an expert, the fabulous Rae Monet after first starting on my own with a Bravenet account and a few istockphoto pictures to dress it up. No way could I make a site look as good as Rae does--money well spent in my book.

So my technological fear isn't about the computer or my web site. My fear runs deeper and the iPad is just one symptom. My fear is that I'm going to be left behind as technology goes through iteration after iteration. I mean how do you keep up?

I've had to learn some basic html to navigate MySpace, this blog, posting to Yahoo groups (if I want to include a cover of my book, for instance). I've had to figure out the ins and outs of facebook which they've made much easier than MySpace (no html required) but then there are all those apps to deal with. After facebook, came Twitter and figuring out how to link them all.

I've learned about Photobucket and posting photos to the web, and that includes formatting.
I've learned how to make a movie using windows movie maker for my book trailer. I still have questions regarding using Nero for these things, but when I get time.....

I've an e-reader so I can download books.

I've figured out how to link my twitter account and e-mail with my cell phone.

I've learned a lot of things--and I'm falling behind. I don't have a smartphone yet so "apps" are a mystery to me. And now here comes the iPad--a super iTouch--with thousands of apps--how will I make sense of them all?

And streaming video from your computer to TV--I'd like to do that--but how?

And what does it mean that the iPad doesn't use "Flash" so video viewing won't be as good.

I'm falling behind--and there's so much I'd like to know. For someone who still remembers walkman radios and land line phones, it feels like the universe of new gadgets is moving way too fast. Do you agree? Or do you want to share your secret for keeping up.