It seems like everyone is talking about e-books and e-readers these days. Which e-reader to buy, which formats it supports, who has the best e-book prices, and whatnot.

I have a confession to make — I don’t have an e-reader, and I don’t plan on getting one anytime soon.

Why not? Well, mainly because I like paper books so much. I like the way they look and feel. I like being able to pick them up and browse through them in the store. Heck, I even like the way they smell. That musty tang in the air in libraries and used bookstores always makes me smile because it means that I’m in a place where there are books — and lots of them.

Price is another issue. Most of the prices for the e-readers that I’ve seen are more than $100. That seems kind of steep to me. And I’ve seen a lot of blog posts were a lot of readers have had problems with their e-books. It all kind of seems like a big hassle when I can just open up a paper book and start reading it without having to worry about if I’m even going to be able to open an e-file or not.

Plus, I spend all day on the computer at work and then again at night doing book stuff. When I have time to read, I don’t want to do it on the computer or on any kind of electronic screen. I want to curl up on my couch, put a blanket over my feet, and have the book on my lap.

Don’t get me wrong. I know plenty of folks who love, love, love their e-readers. One of the ladies in my book group brought her Kindle to one of our meetings and let folks play around with it. I thought it was cool, and I can certainly see the appeal of carrying thousands of books in something that’s only a little bigger than some people’s wallets — and being able to download more instantly. That’s another reason why I don’t get an e-reader — I’d spend tons and tons of money on books. Well, more so than I do now anyway. 😉

But I just don’t think an e-reader is for me. Maybe I’ll change my mind someday — or at least when the prices drop below $100. But for now, it’s good, old-fashioned paper books for me.

What about you guys? Have you jumped on the e-reader bandwagon? Why or why not?

There’s been a lot of talk lately about the death of publishing, especially with romance publisher Dorchester possibly dropping its production of mass market books and going to an e-book/print-on-demand model.

You can read about it at Publishers Weekly, and there’s also a good post at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. Tons of other blogs like Dear Author have also weighed in on this. Do a Google search, and you’ll find plenty to read. However, also according to Publishers Weekly, there is some confusion about exactly what’s going to happen, so take this post with a grain of salt because by the time you finish reading this, something else may have happened or changed.

First of all, let me say that I really feel for all the Dorchester authors out there. To be told that your book will be printed one way and then have this major change thrust upon you, well, it sucks. It just sucks. I would be screaming and pulling my hair out if something like this happened to me.

So how will this affect publishing overall? I don’ t know, but I think it’s the beginning of the end for Dorchester. Ink and paper are big, big expenses, and if Dorchester does in fact drop production of their mass market books, then it will save them some money in those areas.

But by dropping the mass market books, they’re also cutting off an important source of revenue. E-books are growing in sales, but I don’t think those sales will be enough to make up for the lack of mass market sales. What about impulse buys by folks browsing in bookstores? Or at Wal-Mart or even the grocery store? No mass market books means no sales that way. Plus, I just don’t see readers paying $12-$15 for trade books, which is what the Dorchester POD books might be priced at, according to one of the PW articles.

Personally, I don’t mind spending $8 for a mass market paperback. But when the price goes above $12, even if it’s a trade paperback or hardcover, then I think twice about buying it. If it’s something I really, really want, then I shop around. Usually, I end up buying the book at Amazon, just because it seems like they have the best prices on trade paperbacks and hardcovers. For example, I ordered a hardcover of Catching Fire the other day at Amazon because it was less than $10 — and so was Mockingjay.

So I don’t know what the Dorchester news will mean in the long run, but I do know this — it’s an interesting (and scary) time to be in publishing right now because no one knows what the future will bring. I’ve got my fingers crossed that everything works out okay for the Dorchester authors affected by this. I’m sending well wishes your way, folks.