Myth: You can tell a lot about a person from looking at their book shelves; you can't tell anything about them from an E-reader.
Au contraire mon ami! Look at mine. Right away you know my favorite color from the faux leather cover. You also know I have a practical (i.e. cheap) side since I didn't go for a designer cover that cost as much as the device. Open the cover and the skel-animal sticker will show you my secret goth side. Pull the papers out of the pockets and you might find a Disney post card, a grocery list, library information. Turn it on and the title list will show you just how eclectic my taste are. Also notice, the cover stands instead of opening like a book which should tell you that I don't see any reason meals should interrupt a good story! Just from looking at my Kindle, you already know a lot about me.
Myth: E-readers mean the death of real books and book sales. I bet everyone said that about audio books and libraries and used book stores. I do not know a single person who stopped buying real books once they got an E-reader. If anything, we buy MORE books. I love real books, the smell, the weight, the beautiful covers, how they look on the shelf. I will always prefer to buy the real hardback book by my favorite author to have forever and read over and over. Also, please note, most of the books I get on my kindle are not FREE....I still buy them. Buying an e-book is still buying a book. Yes they are less expensive than the real book but they should be. Books I buy on my Kindle were books I was not going to buy anyway. They are new books by unknown authors that I would probably get from the library or the used books store, if at all. As far as I can see everybody wins here.
A few other points in favor of E-readers:
When my suitcase is at the maximum weight limit and I know I will need more than one book for the trip, I can solve the dilemma by simply putting my Kindle in my carry on. I don't have to worry if four books are too heavy, I can take 1500 with me.
When I am out of reading material or not in the mood for the choices I have, I can get a new book with a single click in a matter of seconds. No matter if it is in the middle of the night, or a weekend, or a holiday; the internet store is always open and with no delivery fee or waiting for shipping.
I can highlight or take notes without defacing the actual pages and I can easily search and find them all later.
I want my real books and my e-books. Please don't make me choose. I think this is called having your cake and eating it too!
