Quote:
Originally Posted by DiapDealer
No matter how "clear" it may seem to many (and I'm not singling out BillSmithBooks here since he so obviously included an "IMHO"  ) that physical in-store browing would/should naturally be most people's preference, it just doesn't hold up across the board. I for one, find online book (forget ebook) "discoverability" vastly easier, much more efficient and sooo much more pleasant than the in-store browsing experience ever was. Even long before I personally became involved with ebooks, I had given up the physical browsing experience in favor of online research and online ordering of physical books. I considered online bookstores a godsend. |
I'm the same way. I find it a lot easier and more comfortable to browse on-line, although I do stop by our book stores when I'm nearby. I just hardly find anything I want to take home or even bother looking up later.
In the store, I have to depend on the cover to catch my eye, then see what the blurb says. Yeah, I can flip through the book, but I usually don't do that very often. Then have to check out the front listing and try to figure out if it's in a series or not. If it is, then unless the earlier books are there, it's not coming home with me. (I hate reading a series out of order)
On-line, I can still see the cover, still read the blurb, sometimes 'flip through' the inside. But I also have easy access to sites that'll tell me quickly if it's in a series, look to see if the earlier books are ebooks yet and check out their prices. I can also check out the reviews, (especially the bad ones) and look to see what other people bought.
There's just a ton more information on an ebook accessable on-line than there is in person. Otherwise, I'd have to hope the sales person likes my genre and is knowledgeable, or maybe I strike up a conversation with a real-live person who's hanging around the same isle I am. Doesn't happen all that often. Otherwise, it's a lot of time wandering up and down the isle, waiting for something to call out to me. I walk away empty handed most of the time.
Browsing on-line is just a lot faster, with a lot more information available as well as personal reviews, and the inventory a whole lot bigger than any book store. For me, it's a lot more fun.