Tuesday, December 28, 2010

All I Want for Christmas is an Ereader

Happy Tuesday! Forgive me for not making my usual Monday post. It was a hectic day. But I have some interesting news for you now that Christmas is over with.

For those of you who are regular readers, you know that one of the things I frequently update on is the growing ereader market. In recent news, Google announced that they would be coming out with their own version of the ereader and allowing independent bookstores to sell ebooks through their mother site; therefore, eliminating some of the threat of ebooks causing the downfall of independent bookstores.

In this week's news, ereaders are again taking the market by storm. No one was exaggerating when they said ebooks would be the hottest gift of the season. I know there must have been tons of people across the U.S who received Nook's for the big day, because on December 26th when I went to download some ebooks to my Nook, the site was moving at snail speed and not processing all my requests. When I called the company to ask why my downloads weren't going through, they told me they were having an overwhelming amount of users on the website all at once since the Nook was a big gift this season--they were still able to fix the problem for me though. Pretty good news for any author who has a book in e-format.

But Nook isn't the only ereader doing well this season. Until Christmas, the most sold item in Amazon's history was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but according to Amazon, during Christmas the Kindle 3 outsold their HP sales. Now, none of the actual figures were reported, which in my opinion makes the claim questionable. I also think Amazon is trying to make it sound like a much more epically huge deal than it is. The Kindle 3 outsold the number of HP books on Amazon, not the number of HP 7 books sold total--which they vaguely avoid stating outright. But while Amazon may be trying to make it sound like a much bigger announcement, it is still great news for their company and ereaders. You can check out the article for yourself HERE. Isn't it weird how anything that sells well has to be compared to the sales of Harry Potter? Just a thought.

Overall, what this shows is another indication that ereaders are here to stay, at least until some new technology upstages them. For more info on ebook trends, click HERE.

So I'd like to hear, did any of you, my loyal followers, get ereaders for Christmas? If you did, are you enjoying it so far? What do you think?

Don't forget to enter into the 250 follower giveaway. If we can reach 250 followers by the set date, I will be giving away from free books. So hop to it and spread the word. Til Wednesday! ;-)

7 comments:

  1. I got a Nook Color from my sweetie for X-mas! I was kind of ambivalent about e-readers for a while because nothing can replace the feel of a real book in my hands. Not to mention the fact that I LOVE reading in the bathtub and taking an e-reader in there would be a huge no-no (Although, I have since found a waterproof case online for the Nook).


    I live in a small town that just closed a major bookstore last year. Which means we only have one small independent book store and one small chain store--which doesn't always guarantee great selection. So, it's nice to have a nook to get immediate access to some titles without having to pay shipping and handling.


    I also have to admit, that I love using the Nook to get ARCs from Net Galley---since a lot of publishers are now leaning towards ebooks for ARC distribution as opposed to print because the actual ARCs are more expensive to produce than the finished product due to mistakes and edits. So, there's another plus.


    I did notice that B&N's site was awful slow the day after X-mas. It was pretty frustrating, but I figure that was what was going on with all the after X-mas sales and stuff. All in all, I'd say I'm pretty satisfied with my Nook Color, but nothing will ever replace the feeling of having an actual book in my hand.

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  2. Gosh I would love an e-reader! Is on my wish list *lol* Am excited though, just checked my book on DTG and Amazon has published it!! Not announcing it on my blog yet as I said it wasn't out till 1.1.2011 but OMG my first book is up and there!!! Seriously scary/exciting feeling right now ;p

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  3. Didn't get one, didn't ask for one, didn't want one. Sorry, but I'm a paper diehard.

    -LupLun
    Lupines and Lunatics

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  4. Carissa--That's great! I don't have Nook Color, just the regular Nook. Sounds like you're really enjoying yours. They are great for getting books that you can't find in small independent stores. Hope you continue to enjoy it!

    Nicole--Congrats! I will keep my fingers crossed that you get an ereader ;-)

    LupLun--I understand your perspective completely. I was the same way. I thought I would never ever ever like an ereader and would read paperbacks only until the day I die. But after my fiance got me a Nook to try out for my birthday, I changed my opinion. I still buy books from my favorite authors in paperback because I like to hold them in my hands and enjoy the covers, but the ereaders are great for many reasons. You're more likely to try reading new authors and expand your horizons, they're environmentally friendly, they save shelf space, the books are cheaper, you don't have to waste gas money driving to the store every time you want a book, and you can take your whole bookshelf with you anywhere you go. I definitely understand the diehard love for paperback, but with the current state of the publishing industry I would recommend you take an ereader for a test run to see if you like it. Ereaders seem to be the future of reading, so you might as well make an informed decision on whether you like them. ;-)

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  5. Sorry, didn't realize how long that response was getting. Will rework for my own blog instead.

    -LupLun
    Lupines and Lunatics

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  6. I did not get an e-reader (didn't ask for one). My husband loves his Kindle though, and I think I may try out a book or two on it to see how it works for me.

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  7. BookGirl--You should give it a try. At first I really didn't think I would like it, because I like the smell of book's pages, the feel of the covers, and lending them to my friends. But surprisingly, getting a Nook didn't make a huge difference for me. I didn't feel like I was missing anything, because once I started reading I realized it was more about the story and characters than what I was actually reading on. Plus, with the Nook it has a lend me app so I can still lend my books to my friends--they just have to read it on a Nook or computer =)

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