Why Should You Try E-books?

With the surge in popularity of e-books in recent years, books in electronic format have been receiving a lot more attention.  Readers who had never heard of an e-book two years ago are now downloading with relish and won’t go anywhere without their e-reader. 

Why?  Because there are a lot of benefits to reading books in electronic format, especially for the avid reader who reads three or more books per week.  Now, we know that print books are appealing.  The feel, the smell, the comfort—these are the things that keep us coming back for more year after year, even as prices rise and our shelf space dwindles. 

We know that readers may never completely give up print books, and we certainly aren’t asking them to do so.  What we ask is that readers give e-books a try, even if it is only to supplement their print collection. We have compiled the following list of e-book benefits in the hope that more readers will see the many benefits of electronic books. 

Save money:  Quite simply, fiction in electronic format gives readers more books for their buck.  E-books cost less to produce, so e-book publishers are able to pass these savings along to the consumer.  For the reader with a large appetite for new reading material and a limited budget, e-books make perfect sense. 

Get the book you want when you want it:  Since you can purchase an e-book at any time of the day or night from the publisher’s website or an e-retailer such as FictionWise, you never have to wait to obtain your favorite new releases or titles on your reading “wish list”.  Aside from 24 hour availability, e-books save you a trip to the bookstore, and shipping costs that you would pay if you placed an order with an online bookstore.

Go GREEN:  We live in a world of dwindling resources, and print publishing is not exactly an environmentally friendly endeavor.  Print books require paper, ink, and energy (fuel, etc) for production and shipping.  In addition, retailer returns of print books are a waste of paper and shipping costs.  Even recycling returned books requires energy.  For readers who want to do their part in conserving our environment, e-books are absolutely the greenest way to read.

More room on your keeper shelf:  Many avid readers complain that they just don’t have enough room to store their massive paperback collection.  What if you could have one bookshelf for your “keeper” paperbacks by favorite authors that you will read again and again, while the remainder of your collection is conveniently stored on your computer, e-reader, or on disk?  E-books make this possible.

Take your books anywhere:  Electronic readers have come a long way in recent years.  Large, easy to read screens, font re-sizing capabilities, longer battery life, and more storage capacity have made these devices much more universally appealing.  E-readers allow you to carry your e-book collection with you wherever you go.  Forget about a suitcase bogged down with books on your next vacation.  With an e-reader, you can carry your entire collection in your purse.