For the love of Print!
*deep, inhaling sniff * Ahhh, the smell and feel of a new book! Okay, I’ll admit it…it’s EXTRA special when you finally get to hold a book you created in your tight little hands! *g* But being able to hold ANY print book with a good story waiting to be devoured makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Considering my publishing career started off in the eBook market, that statement probably sounds kind of weird. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fast and convenient ability to download an eBook on the fly that many of the online websites offer today, but I guess my need for print books goes back to my childhood.
I was in fifth grade when the whole “love of reading” concept finally clicked with me—the kind of “totally absorbed” reading where you get lost in a story, lose track of time and place. I’d curl up on my bed or the couch with a paperback book in hand until the wee hours. As I grew up, browsing the bookstore was something I always looked forward to. Then Starbucks moved their cafes into the bookstores and I was a goner when it came to spending a couple of hours in the bookstore and more money on books. 
Now that we’ve seen eBook sales jump considerably the past couple years, and most NY publishers have moved to producing eBooks alongside their print books, even Amazon has joined the market with its own eBook reader, all this progress makes me wonder…
What would I do if the publishing world eventually phased out paperback books? I know there are definite benefits to eBooks–you can carry your whole library in your hand with an eBook reader and read in the dark (with some eBook reader models), but for me reading can be a whole sensory experience, and the first knee-jerk response that pops into my mind is…”DON’T STOP THE PRESSES!” 
Can an eBook reader produce a “new book” smell like that “new car” scent you buy for your car? And will an eBook reader ever “feel” like a paperback? Just like a song can bring back a favorite memory, so can certain smells and other tactile senses. I like the choice of both eBook and print options, but for those “keeper” books, I want to be able to hold that paper in my hand and curl up on the couch for a good old-fashioned-style read.
What about you? Do you read both eBooks and print books? Do you only prefer to buy print books? Or have you gone ALL electronic?
I don’t read ebooks on my pc nor am I interested in purchasing an ebook reader…I rarely even enter contest if the prize is a book in “e” form. I’m all for technology but I still want to see and feel my books…and be able to organize them on book shelves (or NOT ~ my TBR pile is out of control at the moment 
) Everyone will have their own preference but I just hope that there will always be a choice. Best….Nancy Bristow
How can you get a signed ebook copy? And finally, I can always pass on a print book if it’s not a keeper or me. I can’t do that with an ebook. And I like knowing that the book I didn’t keep might win that author a new auto-buy.
