Now that I got my iPad and started to read books on it, a dilemma has become more and more painful. Should I buy the paper book or just the electronic version? This from a guy who loves his iPhone and has used other PDAs for years. And also from someone who prides himself in having a huge library that's occupying more space in my house than I'd like to admit. Browsing through the shelves and touching the books is physical pleasure, that every book-lover will agree with. But reading the first couple of sample pages of the current (and highly recommendable) top sellers "Packing for Mars" and "Drive" on the iPad felt just so natural, that I don't know what I should do: buy the book in a book store or just download it?
It's not about money. I don't care, if a good book costs US$12.99 (electronic) or US$25.99 (hardcover). If I want to read it, I buy it.
Perhaps comparing it to other forms of media will help. Let's look at magazines. Yes, I read magazines on the iPad, but I still prefer the good old printed paper version. The magazines haven't yet shown the big jump you'd might want to see on the iPad, even when there were these fancy-shmancy embedded videos or effects demonstrated. They just distract from good reading. Perhaps also because magazines tend to be larger sized than an iPad and it becomes less enjoyable to just read the same magazine on the smaller Apple device. But I am waiting that Wired magazine and others bundle the print version with their electronic version into one reasonably priced subscription.
What about CDs? I happen to have 400+ CDs - the last one I bought years ago - which I have only recently started to digitalize (call it digital procrastination). But here I still want to own the CD, the physical object - and I still want to be able to conveniently take it with me on an electronic device.
Books on the other hand - comparing that now with magazines - are most of the time the same size as the iPad. The screen layout remains the same. And though there is no additional bang or bling embedded in the majority of e-books, I am not missing anything at all. e-books on an iPad are a quiet, straight forward reading experience without much distraction. Perfect for diving deep into the story.
And here's the desire that I see evolving for my self: I want both forms. Digital and "analog". I want to own the physical thing (the CD, the magazine, the book) AND the digital to put it on any device that I happen to carry with me (iPhone, iPad, MacBook).
Amazon, Borders, Barnes&Nobles and all publishing companies can you hear me? Sell me a bundle. Give me the book AND the electronic form of it. Sell it at the hardcover price, but give me both and I assure you will keep me as customer and will still visit your brick&mortar store. Because that's what a real book lover always will do. But please, sell me a bundle!
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