Poll #8: eReaders + eBooks

It’s reward time! After Poll #7’s absolutely smashing, record-breaking results, I thought it would be fun to have another poll, because they are a great way to for you, the readers of The Bookshelf, to participate and have your voices heard. I present to you Poll #8!

I imagine everyone has now heard of eReaders and eBooks (if not, please read this post) and the impact they have brought into both the literary and technological worlds. eReaders are devices, oft called “the iPods of books,” from which you can purchase and read eBooks. An eBook is an electronic copy of a regular book. The only difference is that you don’t get the full experience of a regular book with actual pages, designs, and (with some eReaders) color. Amazon.com introduced the first eReader, their famous Kindle, in 2007. The Kindle remains the most popular eReader on the market, surpassing the Barnes and Noble Nook, Sony Reader, and the Kobo eReader (I’m not including the iPod Touch, iPhone, and the iPad, because they’re considered more than eReaders). However, not only is Amazon’s Kindle the bestselling eReader; their eBook sales aren’t too shabby, either. On May 19th of this year, Amazon announced that, only after four years of selling eBooks, their eBooks sales surpassed the sales of their hardcover, “real,” paper books.

This news is monumental, especially with people saying that one day paper books will become obsolete, and that eBooks will take over for good. I, and many others, will be horrified if paper books become obsolete. I cannot envision a world without paper books. Imagine how different things would be: Would libraries lend eBooks instead? And bookstores? Would they all be online? Textbooks? Would every schoolchild be issued an eReader instead of an armload of textbooks? I own a Barnes and Noble Nook, and I use it fairly often (I buy probably fifteen books a year on it). However, nothing is more beautiful to me than “actual” paper books, available in a wide variety of shiny and muted colors, sitting on my bookshelf. Speaking of bookshelves, if paper books become extinct, will people even use the word “bookshelf” anymore? If not, what meaning will my blog’s title have?

the original Kindle

Please, don’t miss understand me; eBooks, in certain circumstances, can be very cool and very innovative. And, despite not being in paper, is the same book in both formats. And I suppose that should be the main concern: the writing, creativity, and thought in the book, not the format it arrives in. So, without further ado, Poll #8’s question:

What are your views on eReaders and eBooks? You can find the poll, along with its answer options above the “about me” section on the right side of the page. Please vote! The last poll was so successful, and I suspect this one will be nothing less! Make your vote and let your voice be heard, because the poll closes on July 31st at midnight!

Do you think eBooks are awesome? Or do you not want paper books to become obsolete? Now is the time to let your opinion out in a peaceful way. VOTE!

– Jacob

PS: You can find just about any book in eBook format these days. Even the Harry Potter series (final movie comes out on Friday!), which J.K. Rowling once insisted not to become eBooks, will be available in eBook format in October, through a website called Pottermore. For more eBook sale stats, please visit this website.

(images via and via)