Quote:
Originally Posted by Sirtel
That may be true for people living in the U.S, UK or other big western countries, where cheap paperbacks are readily available. Where I live, paper books are expensive. Used books in English are almost nonexistent. There are very few English fiction books in local libraries. Buying paperbacks via Amazon or used book marketplaces is expensive too (shipping them here costs often more than the book itself). E-books, OTOH, are cheap compared to paper books (no shipping involved). So, even though I don't certainly have a high income, I managed to purchase a couple of cheapest Kindles available and have been reading e-books almost exclusively for the last four years. And have saved lots of money doing this. 
I doubt I'm in a unique position regarding e-books. What I described is probably true for most small non-English-speaking countries. Of course, many people (especially older people) in those countries don't read in English or other foreign languages at all, but for those that do, e-books are truly a blessing. |
Even in the United States paper books are only cheaper than paper books for people in metropolitan areas. Out in rural areas and small towns there is likely a thirty-five mile or longer drive to even a small book store.