The Results Are In! (Poll #8)

The readers of the newly redesigned The Bookshelf have voiced their opinions; the results to Poll #8 are in! Poll #8 addressed the topic of the ever-debatable and ever-changing market of eBooks and eReaders. I imagine everyone understands what eReaders and eBooks are by now, but for the theoretical few that may not, this previous post might be handy to you. 

Amazon Kindle

My views on eReaders and eBooks are mixed. On the one side, paper will always be my most favorite form of book. I enjoy holding the book in my hands, feeling the cover, turning the pages, and easily jumping from the front of the book to a page in the back. However, on the other side of my mind, the defendant side, I truly recognize that the material, the words, and the story are not at all different in the eBook format than the paper format. I also recognize that eReaders and eBooks aren’t leaving any time soon – they’re too popular to just stop existing one day. It is my hope that the paper book will share that same outcome. I do not think paper books will become obsolete because paper books have been around for thousands of years. The Amazon Kindle, the most popular eReader, was first released in 2007, just four years ago. I believe that a world with equal parts e- and paper books would be perfect.

Time for the poll results!

The question: What are your views on eReaders and eBooks?

And the results:

• They are the way of the future! Paper books are the past! 3 votes, 12%
• They're nice, but paper books are better. 12 votes, 50%
• I think both eBooks and paper books are excellent! 4 votes, 16%
• eBooks and eReaders are horrible! 2 votes, 8%
• I've never read an eBook, so I'm not sure. 3 votes, 12%

Nook Color

The clear winner is option number two, “eBooks = good, paper books = better”. Second place, and my personal opinion, is “eBooks = paper books = excellent!” Tied for third was “eBooks > paper books” and “eBooks = ?” Interestingly, there were only two votes for “eBooks are D:< ” compared to the three votes that “eBooks are :D” received. I like that option number two won because it says that both e- and paper books are good, but that eBooks and eReaders will need much improvement until they reach the level of awesome that is reserved for paper books.

Thank you so much for the total of twenty-four (twenty-four!) votes! Unfortunately, there will be no polls in August. But don’t fear! August will be filled with a great deal of reviews, recommendations, summaries, and news! A new poll, topic yet to be revealed, will be published in mid-September.

– Jacob 

(images via and via)

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)

What's Happening this Month?

Happy July! Summer has been in progress for many days, many hot days, now! I’m sure many of you have visited the pool, or have been to the movies, or, maybe a lucky few of you, have visited some foreign countries. Whatever you have on your long list of planned things for this summer, summer reading should definitely be one of them. Whether you’re going to read because the “newness” of summer has begun to wear off, or if you’re going to read to make summer even more exciting, you can always find a list of great books right here on The Bookshelf! 

Starting off July right, on Monday, Independence Day, there will be a review of a great 4th of July read: Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson! Chains is a phenomenal perspective (written by a phenomenal author, might I add) of a young female slave during the Revolutionary War, the war from which the U.S. won its independence from Great Britain (not so Great now, are ya?). (I have to stop using parenthesis now. I don’t want to look too unprofessional.)

There will also be reviews of the following books: Countdown by Deborah Wiles – everybody should read this fun and smart book immediately; Mockingbird, a touching book about a child with autism, by Kathryn Erskine; and Wish You Were Dead, a mysterious, psychological murder mystery page-turner, by Todd Strasser.   

On to polls! The results of the RECORD-BREAKING Poll #7 will be published on Thursday, the seventh. As promised, it will be like the Guinness Book of World Records, but ten times greater (As long as you can look past poor graphic design… Drat! I’m using another set of parenthesis!) Poll #8 – We’re almost at double digits! – will be arriving in mid-July. The topic? Ereaders and Ebooks. [cue scary music] duh duh duh! You’ll hear my thoughts, my preferences, my likes, my dislikes, my compliments, my complaints, and my statements on Ereaders and Ebooks later this month.

(How do you spell “ereader”? Is it all one word? Two words? Hyphenated? Spelled with a lowercase “e” and an uppercase “R”?)

And July will end on a strong note, with STRONG Characters. Yep, that’s STRONG, in all caps. I will be writing about what it means to be a STRONG character in a book, how their thought processes work, and how they succeed, or at least face and overcome adversity. There will be three, maybe two, examples of STRONG female character and three/two examples of STRONG male characters from young adult novels. 

So. A Quick Summary for July: 4th of July Day book + review, three more definite reviews, polls and poll results, Ereaders (E-readers? e-Readers? e readers? eReaders?) and Ebooks poll/discussion, STRONG (all caps!) Characters, summer reading, and summer heat! 

– Jacob

(image via)

Enter the World of eReaders

The world of reading has recently entered a new level, as eBooks and eReaders have becoming more and more popular. eReaders have been known as "the ipod for books", because it's just that: an electronic device that lets you store thousands of books, just like an ipod stores thousands of songs.

eReaders have a screen that displays the book, the words. However, unlike a computer monitor, or a phone screen, you won't get any eye strains from looking at the screen too long. This is because eReaders use E Ink. The reader's E Ink display means it uses special technology that makes the screen look just like paper. E Ink also makes the screen have no glare, so you can read in a low-light area, or in a bright, sunny area.

Most eReaders have an application that allows you to purchase eBooks, eNewspapers, and eMagagzines. It's really easy: for most readers you set up an online account (where you give credit and gift card info.), you open the app (often called the store/shop), browse through reading materials, find something you like, press the BUY button, and it will be delivered to you in under 60 seconds. That's quick!

Depending on which eReader you have, you may have special features. I own the Barnes & Noble Nook (upper left picture). Some of the extra features it has are, 2 screens-one of them a touchscreen and in color, games-chess and sudoku, a web browser, a music player-to play music while reading, and the ability to upload and read Word and .pdf files.

I personally love the Nook, but there are other eReaders out there, too. The one that started it all was the Amazon Kindle (middle right picture), there's the Sony Reader, and a new one called the Kobo (lower left picture). The Kobo will be sold through Borders Booksellers.

While these readers are certainly high-tech and convenient, they will never replace the feeling of a real book. I love my Nook, but I still read more real, paper books. eReaders have certainly changed how the public looks at books, but I don't think it will ever surpass the essence of a paper book.

Also...I have decided not to write Incarceron's review until summer. I have recently started my summer reading theme, classic books, with The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. I hope to finish and review this classic soon.