Comments on Nathan Bransford - Literary Agent: You Tell Me: How Much Would You Pay for a Dedicate...

I like paper and pages. When e-books can give me t...

2009-11-19T06:16:14.565-08:00

I like paper and pages. When e-books can give me that, maybe I'll jump on board. I still don't own an i-pod (and I'm only in my 20's). I just like the real thing.

Wow after 147 posts, it seems that I'll just be an...

2009-11-18T08:08:54.558-08:00

Wow after 147 posts, it seems that I'll just be another voice in the e-slush pile lol, but I'll still tell you what I think.

I plan on buying one and I don't feel that $200 is all that much to ask for considering the convenience of it all. And FREE copywrite-expired books... You can get your moneys worth out of that alone!

I'm very excited

I don't like that it's not (that I could find) bac...

2009-11-14T08:47:16.349-08:00

I don't like that it's not (that I could find) backlit. My current e-reader is, so I can read anywhere - in a dark little corner on a rainy day and not have to hunt for a light source.

My Kindle2 was a present. Now, I'm suffering from...

2009-11-12T16:44:29.485-08:00

My Kindle2 was a present. Now, I'm suffering from a serious case of wanting to cheat with the Nook. But I've restrained myself. For how long, I can't say because HOLY MOTHER OF GOD, I'm in big time lust with the Nook.

So what if I do most of my online book buying at Amazon? A simple switch with the credit card and bang, you're in business at B&N. Browsing while I'm in the store. A good thing. The pretty color pixels have turned my head and finally, being able to LEND my books out like normal people do? Oh hell to the yes.

Now, how do I break up with the Kindle2, especially since I'm very fond of it. AND, it was a present. From my husband. OhmygodIneedanaccompliceandanexcuse.

*Sigh* What was the question?

Cam Snow in Egypt and Jeff in Argentina: I'm in C...

2009-11-12T16:26:45.247-08:00

Cam Snow in Egypt and Jeff in Argentina:

I'm in China. Yes, it's true that the Kindle and nook are nearly useless to us who are in countries where you can't purchase the ebooks, BUT I purchase ebooks all the time from online sellers - ebooks.com, Powell's, etc. and have no problems downloading them to my laptop (only one or two times I couldn't because of my geographic region and ebook restrictions.) Right now, Sony Reader is our only real ereader option. But don't discount ebooks as an option to reach the English language books you crave. I also suggest audiobooks, way more expensive, but I do what I have to do to access good books!

I bought mine with Christmas money, so it was esse...

2009-11-12T15:44:51.905-08:00

I bought mine with Christmas money, so it was essentially a gift. BUT, I would have bought it anyway. I have a Sony 505, and I love it. Love the e-ink, love the capacity, love the long-lasting battery. I even love that it is NOT Internet capable, because I have to control my bookaholism somehow.

The only thing I don't love is that it's kind of hard to page back through to check on something I thought I read, but I'm not sure I remember.

I think a lot of people will eventually use their phone/devices as readers, but I'm one of those that doesn't want all the bells & whistles on my phone because that monthly access fee is so dang expensive. When that goes down...

Still, I loves me my Sony.

Thank you so much Mira! I didn't want to go off of...

2009-11-12T15:11:29.509-08:00

Thank you so much Mira! I didn't want to go off of my own contract as it is for a children's book, and I would not presume that it in any way would be the same as what is happening out there with adult fiction. I had heard that many of the big publishers were raking authors over the coals on erights. However, it would seem that I may now be able to look around at ereaders with a guilt free conscience.

My husband is an early adopter and gave me a Kindl...

2009-11-12T14:47:30.867-08:00

My husband is an early adopter and gave me a Kindle for our paper anniversary, otherwise I wouldn't have picked $300. I think $100 is a good range. If I really want something, I'll pay $100 for it from shoes to purses.

That all said, if I had known how much I would love my Kindle, I would have bought it for $300 no problem. However, now it's a lot like a car bought new in 2007. You loved it ... til you saw the 2008 version ... and now there's a 2010 nook. And I want it.

Never thought I would say this, but I actually wou...

2009-11-12T14:23:55.472-08:00

Never thought I would say this, but I actually would love to own a nook (I know there's not supposed to be an article there, but it just sounds too weird to say "own nook".). I love actual books, but I'm sure I would read more if I had an e-reader. I can imagine having a multi-tiered experience of reading: books I buy (always in paperback because I love that kind of binding), books I read on an e-reader, books I read on my iPhone. As I wrote recently on my blog, there's room for all of it in this paradoxically hyper-literate new world.
http://henriettepower.blogspot.com/2009/10/when-is-book-not-book.html

Why aren't they donating ereaders to school kids? ...

2009-11-12T12:21:19.400-08:00

Why aren't they donating ereaders to school kids? or kids who need books?

I like the idea, but I'm not ready to sink money i...

2009-11-12T12:17:37.328-08:00

I like the idea, but I'm not ready to sink money into it. I like that you can "lend" your ebooks to a friend. They need more. It should play my music, too.

The ebooks are too expensive.

If they had a program where you'd get half off when you give your reader back to upgrade to the new version, I'd have it already. The technology isn't quite there yet.

Sinking money into a device that will be outdated by the end of the year doesn't appeal to me.

People who are so adamant about not wanting an e-r...

2009-11-12T11:39:11.848-08:00

People who are so adamant about not wanting an e-reader, or so against them are the same people who thought television would kill live theater. Get with the times, like it or not technology has taken over a LOT of things. Just look at grocery shopping, people can scan in their own groceries now. ATM's anyone?

Ooops, I mean <$100

2009-11-12T11:27:45.062-08:00

Ooops, I mean <$100

>$100...unless ebooks are sold at ridiculously low...

2009-11-12T11:26:22.022-08:00

>$100...unless ebooks are sold at ridiculously low prices. The model should be give the reader away for free (or loss, or no profit) and sell ebooks at regular price (compared to print). What we have now are readers costing $300 and ebooks costing the same as a print book.

NO thanks.

If e-books were available for purchase for $0.99 a...

2009-11-12T10:28:05.847-08:00

If e-books were available for purchase for $0.99 after buying the e-reader, I'd buy one at any of those prices. After all, I can store 10,000 books on it and not take up any extra space. After that, I see one basic flaw.

$10 for a single data transfer AFTER paying $350 to house it? Are you outta yo' damn mind? I can go to book store, and get any book I want for $10. The way the markets going, I could probably get free coffee and foot rub from desperate salesmen while I read it too. Why would I pay $10 and get, physically speaking, nothing in return? It's stupid.

I'd like to be the B&N version, however, AT&T 3G n...

2009-11-12T09:27:21.109-08:00

I'd like to be the B&N version, however, AT&T 3G network sucks for my area. We had to go with Sprint because we kept getting dropped connections with AT&T's.

Next, I wouldn't mind shelling out $250+ if ebooks were priced below mass markets (I feel a little differently if there are no other editions out there save for hardback.). Otherwise, I'll be saving money by buying the paperback.

Jodi

my vote for $150 comes with the caveat that this h...

2009-11-12T09:15:59.181-08:00

my vote for $150 comes with the caveat that this hypothetical e-reader supports non-DRM'ed formats. I don't sign licenses for things I purchase, and I don't rent things I can get from the library for free. Readers that only support locked-down content are therefore useless to me.

But yeah, an e-reader that supports formats like .pdf, and allows me to back my stuff up myself so that I don't have to trust that Amazan will graciously abstain from destroying my property, could get $150 put of me. I base that on having spent $189 on a Dell Mini-9 Netbook. I'd pay about as much for the one as the other.

I'd happily buy an e-reader for up to 100 dollars ...

2009-11-12T09:02:21.451-08:00

I'd happily buy an e-reader for up to 100 dollars if the books I could get on them only cost 1. But if the books cost 9 I'm better off with my used book stores.

I don't have a problem with the Kindle or nook or ...

2009-11-12T08:21:21.441-08:00

I don't have a problem with the Kindle or nook or e-readers in general, and I think they certainly serve their purpose for some segments of the population. I even think they will increase readership over time (though probably not sales, since some of that readership will likely be pirated).
My problem is the thought that it would or should replace paper books.
Some people keep comparing it to music: vinyl vs. 8-track vs. cassette vs. cd vs. mp-3...etc. The difference is that recorded music is a fairly new concept compared to the written word, and its formats have changed so regularly in response to the different desires of the public (portability and sound quality being the main two drivers of the technology), that it is only natural for music delivery to have changed the way it has.
Books on the other hand, are inherently portable, easy to use, and relatively inexpensive (for paperbacks anyway).
At this point, the only thing an ereader has over a book is the ability to store a whole lot of books in one small space. Which is useful for certain people-- students, teachers, publishing industry folks, travelers, super voracious readers.... But for most people, it is simply unneccessary, and is cheaper and easier to just grab a book. Add to that the collectability of books, the common act of passing on well-read, well-loved books to the next generation, and I don't think books in paper form will ever disappear.
I certainly think book publishers will over time have to find new ways to stay in the game, and that POD will become a new norm. Perhaps publishers will have their own POD machines in your favorite bookstore, or something...

In the meantime, I have no use for a piece of electronics that can only do the one thing, so I'm sticking my tongue out at them.
Maybe once they can do more, or are incorporated into multitasking devices, I would consider it for my more impulse book buys.
For books I know I want though, I will always buy the hardcover edition, so my kids can one day read them and learn to grow fond of 'old book smell'.

I would pay $200 or more for one, but there is a h...

2009-11-12T07:50:44.784-08:00

I would pay $200 or more for one, but there is a huge caveat to that - I currently live in Egypt and print English language books are really hard to come by for anything not on the best-seller list. However, Egypt isn't on the list of the 113 countries that the Kindle (or wonderbook in this case) will work in, so I ain't buyin' one.

Really, this is the same law game consoles face. T...

2009-11-12T07:38:52.941-08:00

Really, this is the same law game consoles face. The less expensive the device, the more likely it is that people will buy one and make use of it (i.e., shell out money for games, or in this case books). All the cool (read: rich) kids get them when they first come out, and then the rest of us follow suit when the price falls enough.

I voted $100. The current cost of the average e-reader is still prohibitive enough to me that I won't get one until a) my cell phone craps out and I can upgrade to an iPhone, or b) someone gives me one as a gift.

Personally, I'm a serious gadget queen. From the k...

2009-11-12T07:23:38.015-08:00

Personally, I'm a serious gadget queen. From the key finder to NuWave Oven, I've yet to find a gadget that I didn't LOVE. If the Kindle or Nook were around the $100mark, there is NO question that I'd have one already. But with the economy such as it is, I feel I have to justify spending nearly $300. At $100-$150, I don't have to justify it so much.

I see E-Readers going the way of video game systems in time. The price will drop significantly once the newness all wears off and companies realize price is a major reason why demand isn't higher.

Dedicated ereaders will go extinct within a few ye...

2009-11-12T06:50:08.659-08:00

Dedicated ereaders will go extinct within a few years, starting when Apple's multifunctional iTablet debuts.

Echoing what someone else said here, I thought iPo...

2009-11-12T06:06:19.963-08:00

Echoing what someone else said here, I thought iPods and MP3 players were items I had no interest in, at least until I got one as a gift. Now you would have to pry my 5G iPod Classic out of my cold dead hands, or offer me an iPod Touch to replace it with (and let me keep the Classic).

I suppose it might easily work the same way for me with an ereader. Once I got one I might never want to give it up.

i'm not interested in supporting barnes & noble's ...

2009-11-12T06:03:02.069-08:00

i'm not interested in supporting barnes & noble's exclusionary business practices any more than amazon's.

five years from now the e-readers will have a $30 price point and you won't be limited to proprietary devices. until then, as a gift i wouldn't refuse it.