(LS) — The book will soon be obsolete, as much a dinosaur as the roll of parchment, the quill and ink, the etched stone tablet, or… well, the dinosaur. People will still write and publish novels, poems and works of non-fiction, but they’ll no longer be written in paper in the very near future. Ereaders will eliminate bound books in the future, count on it. There are just too many advantages ereaders have over books.
The limited future of the bound book makes me sad. I’ve been a writer for my entire adult life, but I was a reader long before that. My parents used to encourage me to read by letting my stay up an extra 30 minutes past my bed time if I had my had a book in my hands. Then, I’d sneak out the flashlight and often fall asleep hidden beneath the covers reading covertly. I like books. I like the way they feel, I like the way the words look on the page, and I like the way they smell. The musty smell of a library is just as comforting to me as that of smores roasting on a campfire.
Still, even I must admit that ereaders such as Amazon’s Kindle, Barnes and Noble’s Nook, Border’s Kobo, Sony’s Reader, as well as, the iPad, and other tablets will make bound books go bye-bye. It’s hard to argue against the environmental advantages ereaders offer everyone on the planet. Four billion trees are cut down every year worldwide in order to make paper, and Much of that paper ends up in books that have a limited life span, and end up as trash. Only one tree is planted for every 28 that are cut down, and trees are essential to the healthy function of the planet. Thus, a book is inevitably hurting Mother Earth both when it is made and when it falls apart.
Ereaders are also advantageous to writers and publishers. At this moment, each publisher must send different digital documents to each ereader retailer before being passed along to the consumer. In the future, expect this process to be streamlined. Eventually, anyone will be able to write, print and sell an electronic book to anyone with an ereader, using an independent website. In the future, all that will be needed to get a book to consumers is creativity and publicity. Theoretically, this should lead to the dispersion of more quality literature as more writers will be able to overcome the impossibly long odds to get a book published through the costly traditional process.
The success of ereaders, however, comes in their practicality for readers. Both my fiancée and I read avidly, so our office/library looks like the domain of a world-class hoarder. Books abound on every shelf, crack, and crevice. With one ereader, you gain access to every book you’d ever want to read without all of that clutter. Think about how advantageous this can be to students. No longer will they have to lug a bag full of enormous text books to class – only one ereader. Moreover, e-books are generally half of the price of bound books at $9.99, so an avid reader can offset the price of the ereader in very little time. Also, as more people purchase ereaders, prices will likely fall on e-books as publishers increase profit margins.
Consumers shouldn’t ask the question of whether or not they should buy ereaders but which one to buy. Due to their many other capabilities, iPads or other tablets like the Motorola Xoom or Samsung Galaxy are more expensive than other ereaders, ranging in price from $499 to $829, depending on their options. Kindles on the other hand can be had for only $139, nooks and Kobos retail for $149, and the Sony Reader starts at $169.
What do you get for your money? The iPad and other tablets generally offer better features with larger screens that offer better resolution and color graphics and much more memory to save many more books. However, they’re also more expensive, so they’re only an option for some consumers.
So, which is the best of the e-readers? When you combine cost with performance, it’s hard to argue against the Kindle or the Nook, both of which offer limited Internet browsing, including access to Facebook, that the other e-readers do not. The cheapest product, the Kindle offers the same-sized screen as the Kobo and nook, the same 3G wifi as the nook and Reader, and the same free connectivity as the others; however, the Kindle offers much more memory at 4GB than the other ereaders and is both smaller at 7.5 x 4.8 x 0.33 and lighter at .54 pounds than the others. The biggest drawback from the Kindle is that it only offers e-books in Kindle, PDF and MOBI, while the nook, Reader and Kobo all permit ePub, as well, enabling users to access files from most libraries. Nook fans also argue it’s superior to the Kindle because its screen can be viewed better under intense sunlight and cuts down on eye strain. All of the products are getting sound reviews for the most part, however. The only one I’d avoid is the Kobo since the prognosis is not strong for the fate of Border’s, and many business experts predict it will go belly up in 2011.
Whichever platform you choose, if you’re a reader you should become an e-reader soon. It’s good for you, writers, and the environment. And hey, you don’t need a flashlight to read underneath the covers anymore.
