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Old 10-06-2012, 11:45 AM   #1
uebyn
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Don't Own an EBook, Not About to Get One.

The title says it all. Despite the increasing popularity of ebooks, I refuse to buy one. Not because devices are expensive, not because I am biased against ebooks, but because of the way I discover books.

I hardly ever listen to book recommendations by people, around me or in publications like papers or magazines. Coz' I'm too aware how people's tastes vary, and what someone else thinks is a fabulous read may read terrible to me, and vice versa. Of course, there are those books that are so famous you can't help hearing about them, and usually end up reading them to see if they deserve their reputation. Again, it's a matter of taste - for example, I heard so much about Catcher in the Rye, but when I actually read it, I didn't love it. I liked it, but it wasn't my favorite. (I do love Catch-22 though.)

One of my greatest pleasure is to stroll in the bookstore and discovering books - sometimes by their cover, other times by their spines. In any case, I pick up a book, briefly read its synopsis, and if it interests me, I will read the first page. If the first page intrigues me, and I have spare cash, I will buy it on the spot. Sometimes, if I feel like it, I will stop right at a cafe to read the book over a nice cup of coffee. One of the simple pleasures of life...

With ebooks, you don't get that. Searching by keywords on Smashwords? Clicking on 'People who browsed this also bought...' on Amazon? Yeah, helpful, but not enjoyable. A flat experience no different from Googling online.

Why am I still saying this NOW? Precisely because there're so many converts now, I'm wondering: why did you switch to ebooks? Have you forgotten the pleasure of books browsing, or is the e-book experience comparable to that of the old-school experience? Or has convenience displaced experience?
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