E-Books Taking Off?

According to an article in today's New York Times, the answer is "yes." The Kindle device, which is sold by Amazon, is out of stock (not good holiday planning) and not expected to be available again until February. Amazon's failure to predict the demand for its e-book reader has created an opening for Sony, which is marketing a competitor, the Reader. Sony is putting Reader kiosks in train stations, airports, and bookstores. I spotted one in Grand Central Station recently, but didn't have the time to stop.

This year, we are not exchanging holiday presents in an effort to replenish our nest egg. If we were, I think I'd ask for an e-book reader. When we go on an extended vacation, reading material is always a problem. Our operating theory has always been to bring paperbacks and to share them; once both of us have read them, we throw them out. However, my husband too is a librarian, and neither one of us likes throwing away books. In addition, we don't necessarily like the same types of books, so this complicates the selection process. After we read a book, we become attached to it, assume we will want to read it again, and often end up hauling home the books we truly intended to discard during our trip. An e-book reader would be the perfect solution. I could bring as many books as I wanted (and buy more if I exhausted my supply--this would be great because it can be difficult to find English-language books outside of major urban centers abroad) and not worry about throwing them out. Maybe next year?

Happy holidays to all of our faithful OOTJ readers!