Pages

Wednesday 19 September 2012

Imagine if you could buy the paperback and e-book together


I took a Kindle on holiday for the first time this summer. This meant I didn't weigh the car down with my usual pile of books.

Sometimes after reading an e-book, I find I'd like the paperback as well. If I enjoy a novel, I want to put it on the bookcase and re-read it. As a writer, sometimes I like to flick through a novel to find examples of a certain kind of writing or to look at how chapters or scenes are structured. It's not the same doing this on a Kindle.

When I read the Stephen King book, 'On Writing' on my Kindle, (For more about this book, see post-Is it worth sharing a first draft in progress with a writing class?), I wished I had the paperback, so I could use post-it notes to mark pages I wanted to look at again.

I saw many tweets during July and August saying something along the lines of: 'I wish I had the e-book version of the paperbacks in my TBR (To Be Read) pile-as I want to take those books on holiday.'

So what's the answer? Wouldn't it be nice to have the paperback at home and the e-book version for train journeys and holidays?

I had to renew the anti-virus software for my computer recently. These days I get a code called a Product Key, which allows me to download the software onto three computers.

This made me think about buying both versions of a book. What if when you buy a paperback in a book shop, you could pay a bit extra for a code which allows you to download the book to your e-reader? Or what if you could buy the paperback at a discounted price if you've already bought the e-book?

Would this be a way of saving the paperback and book shops, which may decline if the growth of e-books continues? And would it mean more sales for authors?

What do you think? Have I been drinking too much coffee?

I'd be interested to read your comments on anything relating to the above.

More posts about e-books/Kindle:

Does downloading samples change the way we read?

How has the e-book changed being a reader and an unpublished writer?

21 comments:

  1. I don't have a Kindle yet - but I hear people read differently on it. I know I write differently - shorter paragraphs - for Kindle than for a paper book. I guess we just adapt! Thanks for this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Carol, thanks for your comment. I love my Kindle-also download my WIP to it-saves a great deal of paper and printer ink.

      Delete
  2. I think that is a really rally good idea and I am surprised publishers haven't thought about that yet ... I was very anti-Kindle when it first came out, but you can't deny the perks especially for travelling. I also like how they have made so many Classics free, allowing people to read novels by Charles Dickens and Jane Austen without having to pay.

    My only issue with the Kindle that I have noticed is that you don't retain the information as much. Because we are designed to skim read on the screen ... we don't take in the information. My cousin has read hundreds of books on Kindle and can't recall a single one. It's bizarre - this doesn't happen when your read paperback books ...

    http://unpublishedworksofme.blogspot.co.uk/



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Melissa, thanks for your comment. I've downloaded loads of the classics for free too which is great. I think you and Carol are right re we read differently on it-I'll be re-reading a book in paperbook soon which I've read on Kindle and it will be interesting to see what differences I notice.

      Delete
  3. Yes that could be a good idea. I took my kindle on holiday and it was great having all those books at my fingertips to read. The only thing about real books ,although I do love having them in my hand is the space they take up. I have boxes and boxes of books I don't want to art with and yet aveno room for.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Anne, thanks for your comment. Loved the photos of your hol on Facebook by the way! (Have you thought about setting up a photo blog?!) Yes, I have loads of books I need to sort through and decide which to keep, which to get rid of. There are some special ones which I'll always keep though, hoping my children will read them.

      Delete
    2. Thanks Anita,no never thought about a photo blog but then I've just started taking them, Good idea!

      Delete
  4. The great dilemma, Anita. I don't yet have a Kindle (hoping for one for my birthday - blimey, I've chucked out enough hints to Mr B - Ha!) but I'm sure, like you, I'll be wanting both ebooks & paperbacks. I do love the feel of a paperback and I also love flicking through them to search out examples, layout, etc. Then again, when going away, if I take my Kindle, my suitcase won't feel like a lead weight. Choices, choices! Fab post, as usual! :) x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your lovely comment Jan. Hope your husband gets you a Kindle for your birthday!

      Delete
  5. Sounds like logic to me, I am sure bundled packages like this are going to be promoted by bookstores, once they stop being afraid of the new digital era.

    Buying the e-book for travel and reading the print version at home makes total sense, people are already doing it now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Claire, thanks for visiting and for your comment. It will be interesting to see how the market adapts. It's already changed so much in the past year I think.

      Delete
  6. I love the idea! I use post it notes on my books too. I make notes in my Kindle but it's not the same. Though I do love the ease of traveling with my Kindle. You should take to some people and make this happen, Anita! ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Kelly! I find making notes on my Kindle a bit of a pain. Much prefer pen and paper.

      Delete
  7. Yes, I'm another one who'd like both! Books for notes, reading in the bath and so on, and - although I haven't got a Kindle yet - I'd love one for travel, and also because I actually find it uncomfortable to hold some really thick books. (Especially when I'm reading bed, with the duvet pulled up to my nose for warmth... Bother - it's getting to be that time of year again too.) Great post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Clare, thanks for visiting and commenting-hope your writing is going well. The Kindle is great for travelling as it's light and I just put it in my handbag for train journeys/car journeys (when husband is driving!)Yes, it's getting chilly-wore slippers for the first time yesterday, but don't have the heating on yet.

      Delete
  8. I love my kindle for bedtime reader (it's lighter to hold!) but also love print books. I tend to buy print when it's a book I might want to keep, but it's a good idea to have the option of both. I think one of my small Canadian publishers, MuseItUp, tried this a while back - now instead they're trying a preorder deal for upcoming books.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Rosemary, thanks for your comment. I love that the Kindle is light and that once it's charged it lasts for ages. Being able to download a book within seconds is great too.

      Delete
  9. Hi Anita,
    Good idea! I love my Kindle but I've decided to buy reference books as paperbacks because I find it easier to flick back and forth (and because of the opportunity to use post-its). I can certainly see times when a combo-purchase would be useful x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Elle, thanks for your comment. Yes, I think I shall buy reference books as paperbacks from now on too. It takes ages to find bits I want to re-read in the Kindle version.

      Delete
  10. Anita - I've given you a Sunshine Blogger Award! You can pick it up on my reading and writing blog, if you want to accept it

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Rosemary for thinking of my blog!x

      Delete