eBooks will never replace paper books.
Well ... is that a way to start a column praising eBooks? Certainly! It's no different than saying cars will never replace bicycles. For all that they are both transportation, they are completely different things. Same goes for eBooks and paper books.
Paper books are nice to have. They have a good feel in your hands. They look good on the shelf. You pretty much know how to use them already. You can curl up in the easy chair with a book.
eBooks are strange. eBooks are different. It's a scary new world. And who wants to sit in front of the computer monitor long enough to read War and Peace anyway?
Well, the first thing to understand is that you don't have to sit in front of the computer to read an eBook. I work with computers all day and really don't want to spend most of my leisure time in front of one. I personally read my eBooks on a Palm TX PDA. It's screen is adequate. It fits in my pocket. That means it's with me when I am in line at the grocery store! And it has a virtual library of eBooks on it so whatever I am in the mood to read is available.
Now there are dedicated eBook readers. These are a bit larger than a PDA -- they are typically about the size of a paperback book in width & height, but usually quite a bit thinner. The main thing though is that their screens are even better for reading than your typical PDA screen. I would like to get a dedicated eBook reader, but don't have the disposable income for one right now.
Which brings me to the purpose of this posting. The good folks at BooksOnBoard are having a contest. They are giving away a Sony eBook reader if you mention them, and the contest, in a post praising ebooks. That seems easy enough given how much I already like eBooks.
BooksOnBoard is one of the leading sellers of eBooks. They sell both eBooks and AudioBooks The audio books are available in mp3 format for your iPod or other mp3 player, not cassette tape ... also WMA format. The eBooks are likewise available in a variety of formats, including MobiPocket format (one of the most widely supported of the eBook formats for personal devices). Their prices are reasonable, and sometimes there are free eBooks so you can try a new author without risk. Right now there are a few available here
So -- try a free ebook. Get hooked. Remember the first hit is free, kiddies!
