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The Mulberry St. Blog is a review and writing blog. I review mostly fiction/science fiction/fantasy sorts of books, with the exception of the occasional YA or nonfiction book. The blog is updated daily, excluding Mondays.

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Friday, June 3, 2011

Not-a-Word of the Day: Electronology

Electronology
[ee-leck-trahn-ahl-uh-gee]
noun
The study, discourse, and thoughts of electronics and technology, including, but not limited to, computers, iPods, ovens, and eBook readers.
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So let's discuss eBook readers. Now, I'm an avid reader of the common variety. I'll read anything I can get my hands on, especially the books with the pretty covers. I spend more money on books than I do anything else. It's unhealthy. It's extremely satisfying. There's no better feeling to me than to hold a book in my hands and to absolutely love it. And that's where my dilemma comes in.

In the last few years, eReaders of all kinds have been popping up all over the market. First you have Amazon's Kindle, the first successful eReader, and then you have Sony's models and Barnes and Noble's Nook and NookColor (and now they're coming out with a new all-touchscreen Nook), and then you have other companies like Borders jumping on the bandwagon with their [poorly designed] Kobo. We have a lot of options for eReaders, and that's a great thing, but I don't want to discuss the options. My question is simply: eReader or not?


Let's look at the pros and cons. First, the pros. It's an excellent idea. Now you can literally carry thousands of books with you at a time, all of them weighing no more than a pound (I think, no source to cite on that). It's convenient, easy, and while the ereader itself is expensive, eBooks are cheaper than their hardcopy cousins. You can store textbooks and word documents, play popular apps, even publish your own books and sell them. It's technology at its finest, replacing unnecessary clutter with sleek design.

All of sudden, your pathetic excuses for why you absolutely NEED that novel you just bought, down the drain. No longer do you have to spend money on beautiful covers. No more hardcover or paperback, no more driving to the store to buy that desperately desired novel! This is where I falter in getting an eReader. I love having books, and I plan to have a library in my house when I have a house. I want the convenience of the eReader, but I don't want to have to sacrifice my trade papers. I know for me, the ever-practical spender, once I have an eReader, purchasing a hardcopy isn't worth it.

So I waver. Buy a pretty eReader and enjoy convenience and ease, or spend hours browsing bookshelves and spending money I don't have. Perhaps I can form some conglomeration of the true, a nice balance between convenience and the smell of a book store. We'll see.

What you're opinion? eReader or not?

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