Barnes & Noble showed off their new e-book reader, the “Nook” yesterday. If you download books with sexual content then you can call your little electronic word displayer a “Nookie.” Sure beats a Kindle in your pocket.
Big problem with e-book readers (why do they call them “readers?” when the device only displays text..you have to provide the “reading.” Must hearken back -redundancy- to McGuffey’s Readers?) is that you can only own the book in e-format…you cannot lend it to another, you can’t use it to line your bookshelves, needs electricity, hard to read in sunlight, if you lose it you lose your whole costly library, nothing tactile…maybe e-books should emit tiny electric vibrations, just to let the reader (you) know you are holding a book…also include a “sound” feature that emulates the sound of a page turning…The new Nook does let you “lend” out a single-only downloaded book for 14 days.
Here is an idea: Publishers and book sellers could offer a free hard copy (real book) of any downloaded book that is published in “hard cover,” i.e. new releases, or special publications. In other words, if you download a new book to your Nook you also get a coupon for a free hard bound copy. Or reverse it and give a free e-book download coupon for any purchase of a new hard-bound book. This would encourage sells of both digital and paper. One for your pocket, another for your bookshelf.
Mediaize 