|
I bought a Sony PRS-505 because I am not well-off.
Does that sound like a contradiction? It isn't. My primary reason for buying the ereader, as I've put it many times, was to be able to read Project Gutenberg in bed. My secondary reason was to be able to buy ebooks from publishers who sell them cheaper than their pbooks (Baen, for instance). I got my 505 on sale for $200 (which also gave me some Borders Bucks).
Is owning a TV "elitist"? It costs more than an ebook reader. A lot more. And if you're going to purchase paid content for it (i.e., cable TV), you're looking at, in my area, from $40 to $130 a month. That would pay for at least one ebook a week (assuming a $9.99 price point - and I buy from cheaper stores) which is all many people have time to read.
By owning an ebook reader, I can read public domain books, affordably-priced ebooks, etc., instead of walking into a place which is carefully designed to tempt me into buying books when I'm at my most vulnerable. Yes, I'm one of those people who can't leave a bookstore with just the book I went to buy; I love books too much. When I'm trying to economize, it's safer for me to stay away from bookstores. Plus, given that my nearest Borders is a gallon and a half of gas and $2 in tolls from where I live, what I save on driving to Borders once will buy me an ebook from Baen or BVC. And the nearest used bookstore that has anything other than thousands upon thousands of romance novels is even further away.
I don't have an ebook reader because I'm rich; I have one because I'm not. It's the tool I need to access my primary form of entertainment in the most economical fashion.
|