I’ve had a Kindle for a couple of years, now, and love the sample feature and ability to take loads of books with me on holiday. I still buy physical books, though, which brings me to the first item on my list:
1. E-books haven’t killed paper books. Not yet, anyway… The statistics for 2012 showed that while digital sales were up by 66%, physical sales (for fiction books) also rose (by 3%). Plus, sales for both physical and digital (in fiction) was up by 21%, which is a good thing for writers. Yay! [Source: The Bookseller]
2. You can order a signed e-book (or, more accurately, a digital signature that you can file with your e-book) from Authorgraph.
3. You can give e-books as gifts. At least, you can if you’re using Kobo, or if you live in the US (the Nook US store and Amazon.com both offer this option, but the UK sites don’t as yet). Just click the ‘buy as gift’ option that comes up on the book page.
4. You don’t need a dedicated e-reader to read an e-book. Just download a free e-reader app for your PC, iPod, phone or tablet.
5. But dedicated e-readers are very nice… Many of them have lovely screens that don’t strain your eyes, they have brilliant storage space, and they’re easy to tote about. Why not enter my competition to win a Nook Simple Touch and bag yourself one for free?