digital books

I got a Nook for Christmas and so far I really like it. I’ve been like many people who are resistant to making the change to e-readers, despite the fact that I’m a digital person. My music is digital. My calendar and to-do’s are digital. I spend much of my life on the web, so switching to ebooks seems like a no-brainer.

On the other hand, I love going to the bookstore and holding (and smelling) new books. Plus, you can’t take a Nook into the bath tub. But my biggest worry about having an ereader is that it’s way to easy to buy books. I’ve already ordered and paid for Celebrity In Death, J.D. Robb’s next release that isn’t due until February 21, 2012. I’m not the only one. The book is ranked 827 at Amazon.

Since Christmas I’ve clicked “Order Now” way more times than I think I would have had I driven to the store and found the books on the shelf. So while the books tend to be cheaper, I may end up spending more. With the publishing world worried about how they will survive in a digital world, I wonder if they’ve considered that.

I do have a few other pet peeves….

I am able to wrap my brain around the idea of spending money for digital items, afterall it’s the content of the book not the materials that make up the value of the book. But I feel like I’d rather buy a paperback than a digital book, if the prices are the same (most of the fiction paperbacks I’ve considered buying digitally are the same price at the store). Plus you can’t return or re-sell a digital book, so if it’s a dud, you’re stuck with it. I’m also not sure I like reading magazines on the Nook. Right now I subscribe to The Writer. The content and layout is the same, but reading the articles is cumbersome. Still, the digital version is cheaper, so I guess I’ll just get used to it.

Overall I really like my Nook, and while I’m not done wanting traditional books, I know that as time goes on, I’ll probably have fewer books overfilling my shelves.