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Probably $400 to $500. I keep a running wishlist at Powells, and another at Amazon, and buy from them regularly. I go over to the local Borders every now and then, and usually get two or three books. And whenever I travel, I buy books while I am out. But the sheer volume of books in my house is getting overwhelming, and the ereader is my second attempt to scale back. I went to the library several times this past summer, but the habit didn't stick - I fear I'm too disorganized to keep track of my library books, plus I really do like to own them and take my time over them rather than keep track of that 21 day return due date. And library books are no good for traveling - they're usually heavy hardbacks and you have to be more responsible about them, you can't just leave them behind somewhere and never think of them again, even if they turn out to be boring.
Then this past fall I got my Sony reader. Since then I have not purchased any print books, but it's not because they don't call to me - they do! But I am considering myself to be on a print book diet. If the urge to graze hits, I will go online and buy ebooks. With luck this will stick, and my overall household will lose weight. But I suspect my book expenditures will not be reduced one bit.
Besides the reduced weight of household goods, there's another advantage I don't see talked about much. And that is the cost of shipping. With print books, I would keep the Amazon and Powells wishlists and buy several at a time, to qualify for free shipping deals if I could. But with the ebooks I will never pay shipping again, and I can buy books one at a time if I like. I think I can pay for a new ereader every year, with what I will save in shipping costs!
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