I love books and always have, and I also love technology, but I am something of a sceptic when it comes to Ebooks and E-Readers. I like the feel of real books, I like the books sitting on my bookshelves where I can see them as I walk about my house. I like borrowing books and lending my favourites to friends, I like browsing in second hand bookshops for a good book, I like spending my lunch hour in Waterstones choosing and then buying a new book. If I switched to e-books, these simple book pleasures would become redundant.
It's not all one way of course, and the announcement earlier this week that Amazon would be launching its new 'Kindle Paperwhite' E-reader in the UK before the end of the month made me truly tempted. For those that haven't heard about the Paperwhite yet, its main feature is a unique patented built in lighting system for the new Kindle, which lets you read in all lighting conditions, even the dark (and it just lights up the e-book, not the room, so won't disturb your partner in bed at night). I'm still not totally convinced, but I am now prepared to listen to - and read - arguments in favour. I'm open to being convinced. I decided to make these thoughts public, and really explore the world of E-books & E-readers. As a lover of both books and technology, it should be interesting, and if a convincing enough case can be made, at the end of it I might have myself a shiny new book!
As you may have guessed, I'm from the UK. As a nation we aren't as hooked on ebooks as over in the US, there's still a long way to go, but people are turning to them in droves. This blog, will give a UK perspective, but will also consider the wider e-book market in general, including what's happening in the US.
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