Roger Zelazny discussion

Do you have an ereader? What kind? Do you read a lot of ebooks? How do you like them compared to paper books?

I looked into ereaders a lot last year & finally settled on the Sony PCR 505. It was the best I could find at the time & will certainly last me a while longer, but it isn't really 'there' yet. I still like paperbacks the best.

Most ereaders use epaper, a gray scale screen that only uses energy when it writes the page. It doesn't need the back lighting of a regular monitor, so the power savings is huge. Unfortunately, that means you can't see anything in color, including cover art & maps. That sucks.

My vision for an ereader would have epaper on one side for the text & a smaller color screen on the right to allow me to view pictures & write notes. It looks like that might be here now with the entourage eDGe (their capitalization, don't blame me).
http://www.entourageedge.com/devices/...
Unfortunately, it looks like it is running $550! That's a bit too high for me - almost twice as much as my Sony. That's a lot to spend on a device to read a book that can cost as much as a regular paperback. Still, it looks like the technology has taken a huge leap forward this year.

I have the free Kindle For PC application installed on my netbook. I am using it as an experiment, to "feel out" whether or not I like the whole ereader thing enough to actually buy a dedicated unit.

I use it mostly for out-of-copyright freebie classics, although I bought one very long doorstop that is too unwieldy to carry around in book form and a handful of cheapie deals on out-of-print books.

So far, I really like having the ability to have several books with me at a time. I tend to read 2, 3, sometimes more books simultaneously, (especially if I am working through a non-fiction title) so this is a true convenience and space-saver for me. I still prefer the aesthetic experience of paper books, and I still read far more old-school books than electronic, especially at home, but I am strongly leaning toward getting a proper Kindle as a supplemental reading option.

Furthermore, we will be moving soon, and I like the idea that I can compromise with my book habit. I can still collect books, but I will only purchase in book form those I really love enough to make shelf space for and move around in boxes and will surely re-read.

You pretty much pegged the way I read ebooks, Candiss. How long does the netbook's battery last?

How comfortable is it? I like curling up or laying down in my chair. I almost always read with one hand - my left. That leaves my right free for petting dogs, drinking or a cigarette.

I have a Nook which I like quite a lot but the next generation Nook Color will be better.
I tend to read several books at once so it's good to have. Also I don't like to carry around rare copies I own or out of print books, I prefer those just stay on my shelf. And I can check out ebooks through the library. Battery holds up for about a week and if I decide I want a new book then I can buy it on the spot.

I read a lot and I wanted to own a copy of everything I read, in hard cover I cannot stand paperbacks! but after 10 years of that I donated over half of what I own to the library and now I only keep my favorite books on the shelf.

I saw the Nook Color is now available for pre-order. It looks nice.

I have a kindle, but I use it for the Internet more than books. Exception: vacations.

Dan turned me on to a super article about ebooks & publishing. It's long, but well worth reading.
http://barryeisler.blogspot.com/

I've been thinking a lot about ebooks, their costs & the future of publishing lately. i think it's been on a lot of people's minds, so I changed the name of this topic to discuss it here.