Electronic Books - a short commentary

Thanks to Stephen King, there has been a lot of talk lately about electronic publishing. Some of the benefits are built-in dictionaries that help define the text right then and there, interactivity, and portability (the Rocket eBook, for example, is no larger than a paperback and holds about 4000 pages of words and images.) The publishing cost is much lower and there is no concern of overruns on printings because e-books are completely on-demand products.

Disadvantages are quality, expense of the fancy reading gadgets, and portability. I didn't particularly like reading this book at my desk and my laptop was just a little better. Blame that on my equipment, but people use what they have and until portable readers are more common (and therefore less expensive) this is the way it's gonna be.

Also, books published exclusively online risk losing some readers - and not just the random Luddite (yes, they're out there). For instance, my mom is a bathtub reader (sorry Mom!). Is she going to hang out in a steamy room with her $2,000 laptop computer? Hmm, somehow I just don't think so. Finally, some people are just too unfamiliar with computers and prefer to spend their money on a tangible, paper-and-cardboard book than on an electronic version, if given a choice.

Will I read other e-books? Sure. Will I give up my weekly jaunts to the bookstore to forage for "good stuff?" No way.

After all, I read in the tub too.

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