Why E-Readers Annoy Me

***Preface: if you own a Nook or a Kindle or any other e-reader device, please know that YOU don't annoy me. Just e-readers (the technology, not the reader who reads electronically) bug. I still love YOU!***

Ever since Christmas, approximately 82% of the phone calls I answer at work start something like this:

"Hi, I got a ___________ [Nook, Kindle, other e-reader device] for Christmas and somebody told me I can download e-books for free from the library."

Deep sigh. Actually, I don't really sigh. I grit my teeth a little bit, but it's surprisingly easy to smile while gritting. That question combines two things that really, really bother me: 1—the "I can never actually purchase a book I want to read! Who BUYS BOOKS?" attitude and 2—unsubstantiated rumors.  I'd really like to know who this "somebody" is that's spreading the get-your-e-books-for-free-from-the-library rumor.

It's worse than the time that Merilee Crook spread a rumor that no one should kiss me (especially not the boy we both liked) because I had mono. (I didn't have mono.)

Because here's the thing: sure, some big city libraries do have e-books you can check out. For free! But ours doesn't. You can use Netlibrary or Overdrive for e-books, but there are about 27 titles to choose from, all of which are highly boring. You're not going to find Outlander or The Stand or Twilight there. (Gasp!) If you want e-books on your e-reader, you're going to have to buy them.

And then the complaining starts. People want to read books without buying them—hence the library. But there's just not a system in place (yet...I'm certain there will be) for checking out many e-books. I'm certain it has to do with copyright and ownership and other stuff that makes my brain glaze over. And also makes my point for me.

Books (the kind made of paper and ink, with a cover and possibly a ribbon to mark your spot) are easy. You buy one and then you open it up and read it. You own it; you hold it in your hands. You turn the pages. You can write in it and fold the pages down and love it. You can remember your history in conjunction with your copy of that book. I can't bond with electronics like I can with a book.

And yeah, I know the plug: you can carry around your entire library in your purse on an e-reader. (But only the library you've purchased!) Generally I have never needed my entire library all at once. If I'm going to be somewhere with plenty of reading time, I plan ahead. I bring three or four books along and I am happy.

But when it comes right down to it, the reason e-readers annoy me is that I love books. Real books, the ones you read with both your mind and your senses. I love the smell of a book, even if it's dusty; love to hold it in my hands. Love to turn the pages. And I am deeply terrified that the e-readers of the world will manage to overthrow the book readers, and then books will stop existing. I don't want to live in a world without real, live books.

Plus, you can't exactly read your Nook in the bathtub now, can you?

Comments

[Janssen]

I love books too. Thank you for this post.

[Becky K]

I am annoyed at the e-readers, too. People talk to me about e-readers and they are all excited about them and then I have Reasons that I don't want one. Because I don't want one.

And I would be sad to lose books, too. The real ones, not the ones in the cloud. Do those ones really exist at all?

[Lisa]

I'm pretty sure you can't inscribe an ebook with a little note if you were giving the ebook as a gift to someone either. I love to give (and get) books as gifts and enjoy rediscovering those inscriptions. Or how about ebook signings with authors in the future? You summed up my feelings exactly. Oh, ebooks make me sad. Can we start a save-the-paper-books campaign soon? :)

[Britt]

I swear that the only people who own e-readers are people who don't really read.

I like having a physical book in my hand. No technology can replace that.

[karen]

you can! and not to speak up to the opposite here but i have a sony reader, a kindle and now an ipad on which i read. i have read at least twice as many books on my reader if not more. since i've moved to having a reader, i've read about 112 books so I am pretty sure it's not true that people with ebooks don't read :) sure, i love books too and I even fought buying a reader because I love the smell of books and i loved going to the library etc etc. but the thing is i have a bad back and i always carried 3-4 books with me. if i went on a trip, it was more like 12 books even if it was a two day trip. i didn't want to choose. now i have 145 books with me at all times. i can sit and read anywhere and everywhere. to me, there are tangible advantages and i've grown to love love love my readers. btw, my library does have ebooks :)

[Kim D]

I am with you - I don't like those readers, either. But I understand my Uncle's love of his. He has only one arm, and it's much easier for him to manage an e-reader than a book. And I understand my friend's love of hers. She travels a lot by plane, and books take up space. With the baggage fees going up, it makes sense for her to have an e-reader. But I don't have one and I don't want one. I thought I was the only one who loved the smell and feel of old books. I have a little framed calligraphy on my bookshelf: "When I get a little money, I buy books; if any is left, I buy food and clothes." Erasmus. That about sums it up.

[Jody]

I agree with you. I am all for technology but I love paper - books, magazines, newspaper, etc. I want to sit in a sunny spot and hide my face from the world behind paper not a gadget. Wait until we have a large power outage or the internet goes out for an extended period of time and then see who is the happiest! We will still be able to read!

[heidikins]

I just prefer books. And I hate when I am somehow made to feel inferior because I like a nice novel in my bag instead of an e-reader. I want to pass my books along to another generation, and I don't want to have to upgrade my e-reader in 3 years when the Next Big Thing in electronic books comes out and because the Must Have Item of the Year.

No, I'll stick to my paper-and-ink please, and thank you.

xox

[Jamie]

give me the real thing baby.

[Kristin]

Love this post!! I couldn't agree more.

[Robin W]

I too love having a real book in my hand!!

[Jillian]

As with most technology, there's a time and place for e-readers - we could save a lot of paper on trashy beach books that get read once and then junked. However, the books in my library are friends, ones that I want to bring home and have on hand always. There is a tactile joy in handling a beloved book that you just can't get from a screen.

[Lucy]

I've been asked probably 50 times if I have/want/like e readers. I'm not like anti-e reader or anything but I have no desire to have one. Books work for me. I like the cover, I like bookmarks, I like knowing how far into a book I am by checking out my bookmark's place in the spine. While I'd never say never, I don't see me getting an e-reader any time soon. But, they definitely are all the rage.

[Jenn]

I love books too. And I have an eReader. Sometimes I do miss the tangible experience of feeling the paper and folding back my favorite pages. But, I am traveling a lot right now, so my eReader has been a blessing. I have, however, found myself buying books at bookstores that I own on the eReader simply because I loved the book and want a physical copy to love as well.

And, my (future) children, will only be receiving real books from me until they are old enough to purchase their own eReader. And then I will still probably buy them real books. Because you're right, the book smell and the inscription and the process are an enjoyment that an eReader simply cannot replicate.

[Wendy]

Sounds like Merilee deserved her last name. Perhaps she never married and has it still - hee-hee!

My brother once told a guy I liked (who was asking his advice because he had to decide whether to ask out me or another girl at camp) to ask out the other girl because she lived in his state and I would just end up being a camp fling. I didn't speak to him for a week after he told me (but the guy did end up going on to date, marry and divorce the other girl, so I'm no longer carrying the angst).

[Melissa Grogan]

I admit I have a kindle. I do have about 200 books on it that I have read. It is handier than my figuring out how to squirrel 5-6 books in the luggage, or the assorted crap that I have to take to the kids sporting events. Please, please note I do not read during the event. HOWEVER, the children are required to be there at least an hour beforehand to warm up, so I read! I am, however, a book lover. I love the feel, the smell, and everything about a book. As for the libraries offering e-books, my library does, however it is not compatible with the Kindle only the Nook. And if you don't download it back to the library within in the three week period it becomes corrupt and unreadable. For someone who usually has books back a day late or so, that would be a VERY BAD thing. So anyone who does use this, read ALL the instructions or it can become a bigger hassle than not!