Opinion

Is it Time to Get a Divorce?

Wallace Yovetich

Staff Writer

Wallace Yovetich grew up in a home where reading was preferred to TV, playing outside was actually fun, and she was thrilled when her older brothers weren’t home so she could have a turn on the Atari. Now-a-days she watches a bit more TV, and considers sitting on the porch swing (with her laptop) “playing outside”. She still thinks reading is preferable to most things, though she’d really like to find out where her mom put that old Atari (Frogger addicts die hard). She runs a series of Read-a-Longs throughout the year (as well as posting fun bookish tidbits throughout the week) on her blog, Unputdownables. After teaching for seven years, Wallace is now an aspiring writer. Blog: Unputdownables Twitter: @WallaceYovetich

View All posts by Wallace Yovetich

I’ve owned a Kindle but gave it away when the Nook came out and allowed sharing (or “Lending”) books. So, now I own a Nook as well as an iPad (which can also be used as an e-reader). Want to know how much I used my e-reader when I first got it? ALL the time; probably everyday. Want to know how much I use my e-reader now? Only when I travel, have finished the other books that I’ve brought with me (which is usually plenty, and I know this is exactly what the e-reader was supposed to circumvent), and also the ones that I’ve bought when passing a bookstore on my travels (hey, I don’t write for a book site for nothing — I’m a book-a-holic people).

I’ve learned that if I love a book, I want to have a copy of it. That means that early on I was buying the e-book and then going back and purchasing a hard copy as well. NOT a plus in my mind. Then I learned that if I thought a book was pretty good (which are the only books I’m willing to lend out — not the ones I adore, I fear I won’t get them back, which is usually the case), I want to lend it out. Though Nook allows “Lending” for certain titles, those titles are limited (and so is the length for which you are allowed to lend it). Finally, I realized that the books I bought on my e-reader that I ended up hating – I was stuck with. No putting them up on Paperback Swap to swap for a book I might like better. No selling it to a used bookstore. Nope, I was stuck with it.

Eventually, this all led to me almost never using my e-reader anymore. It’s just not worth it to me. Especially now that e-books can cost just as much or even more* than a paperback version of the same book. So, until the publishing industry starts putting some of Rachel Manwill’s ideas into practice, I’ll use my iPad for the library OverDrive App and my Nook for galleys, but that’s pretty much it (unless I’m desperate and I’ve read all of the books I’ve brought with me on a trip – which is as likely as bunnies flying out of my… well, it’s not likely).

*Used copies of books are typically listed on the same page as other versions of books on large book selling sites and these copies tend to be very inexpensive — sometimes only a few dollars, thus much less than the majority of e-books.