With nook (yes, no definite article and uncapitalized. That’s how you know it’s cool!!) arriving on the scene, there are now quite a few e-readers to choose from, and even more questionably named devices arriving imminently.
And though I tease the (whoops! Silly me, using the definite article) nook, it’s only because I want one.
Seriously: want.
But how much would you pay for one?
For the purposes of this discussion, let’s call our hypothetical e-reader the Wonderbook. The Wonderbook is much like the devices currently on the market: it has e-ink (no eye strain!), 3G wireless, and has a library of hundreds of thousands of titles to choose from, which you can buy for about $9.99. In other words, the only difference between the Wonderbook and the devices currently on the market is that it has a better name.
How much would you pay for the Wonderbook? $50? $100? $150? Nada?
Click through for the poll! If you already own a dedicated e-reader please click the price that’s closest to the amount you paid:
Also, if you haven’t had your fill of e-reader polls today, Eric at Pimp My Novel is also having a poll about why you haven’t bought an e-reader yet. Check it out!
Andrew the author says
Forgive me for my lack of knowledge, but how do e-readers work with libraries? My trepidation is that my discretionary budget is very limited. I buy some authors right away because I can't stand to be number 120 on an on-hold list, but can't support my voracious reading habits through purchases alone.
So, do these e-readers allow poor library bookworms like myself to check out books, or are the e-books a proprietary format that can only be purchased?
Anonymous says
Veronica Barton-Dean —
Maybe Walmart should stop blowing out books before hammering out the details on e-readers. Priorities, and such. Or do they plan on selling e-books at 99 cents?
Nathan Bransford says
Andrew-
Sony has a program worked out with some libraries where you can "check out" e-books from the library and check them back in when you're done.
Emily White says
It might be nice to own one. I certainly wouldn't pay for one, but I'd use it if I got one for Christmas or my birthday. I can see it's appeal. It would be very convenient for traveling, but in all other situations, I like the feel of a book in my hands and I just can't imagine ever giving that up completely.
Meghan Ward says
P.S. Nathan, I'm curious to know what blog polling software you use. I had trouble finding the results of Pimp My Novel's poll because of all the Google ads at the top.
dcamardo says
I don't know, even $50 dollars can give you about 9 paperbacks, where with the Wonderbook, I haven't even bought a book to read yet.
Susan at Stony River says
I'd love one, but can't come close to affording it. My house would certainly be tidier.
Ideally one of my richer relatives will get one as a gift this Christmas, and eventually pass it off to me after losing interest. I hope hope hope hope hope…
Snarky Cupcakes says
Got a Kindle the first Christmas they were available — about $250. A gift to me from my then-boyfriend, now hubby, who uses it more than I do.
It's great, really. I still like books better, but the convenience in carrying, price (of the books via Kindle) and instant gratification make it wonderful to have.
Another tool in the reader's satchel.
I wonder how the "digital generation" feels about them? Differently than folks like me, over 50?
Also, as the boomers age, the ability to enlarge the type will be huge. HUGE! Ha! I made a funny.
sex scenes at starbucks says
Considering I (and many others) spent 250+ for a phone, I don't think 150 is too much to ask. Right now. As competition grows the price should drop. Thing is, I see it not as "dedicated" but able to do lots of media as the definition of "novel" grows to include multi-media works.
sex scenes at starbucks says
BTW, I'm happy with the .99 price point for single tracks, and short stories, too.
Ulysses says
I think I'd buy one in the $50-$100 range. It's convenient, yes, but at a higher price point, the overhead it's adding to my book purchases becomes problematic.
The chief thing that worries me about these devices is obsolescence. I have a couple of '45s (records, not firearms), a double-handful of vinyl albums and enough cassette tapes to mummify an elephant. Finding devices to play these things is becoming an impossible task. Formats have changed, and the music I enjoyed in my youth is lost to me unless I go out and re-purchase the same music in a new format. Unfortunately, much of it is no longer available.
This is what will happen with e-readers. Format changes, hardware upgrades, and the gradual obsolescence of reading material.
My favorite book as a child was the Poky Little Puppy. I read the same book (somewhat worn) to my daughter now, and I can do that because the book's format is still compatible with my eyes. If that book were electronic, and e-readers subject to the same format whims as music players, it's unlikely I'd have this pleasure. Likewise, the book that inspired me as a child was the anthology "Way Out." It's no longer in print, but I still have my copy (coverless now and yellow). I can still read it. Were it electronic, I'd be unable to read it because the format would be over thirty years out of date and the file no longer commercially available.
Joseph L. Selby says
I picked $150 because that's the price I would like to pay. In 19 days, I'm going to pay $250 (possibly more if I determine the extended warranty is worthwhile).
JaxPop says
Have been away from home for 6 weeks with 2 weeks to go. E Reader would have been great – Brought 4 new books with me & purchased 13 more since arriving (only one left to read). So I'll end up packing at least 20 books for the return trip. On the road – would make sense but gimme the paper version at home. I'll need to check one out in person.
Anonymous says
nook is getting there as far as digital text presentation is concerned. It's got features that imitate book presentation more closely than what's come before. But price-wise and proprietary format-wise and technology-wise it's still in the realm of early adapters stage as are all e-readers to date.
They're like the 8-track tapes from the dawn of the me generation, the Betamax of the same era, the DiscoVision LaserDisc, the early cell phone data modems of recent times. Momentary, but prematurely released advances in technology. I'll wait for the next generation evolution that surpasses books by improving on my reading experience rather than imperfectly imitating how I currently read.
Vacuum Queen says
I voted "gift" because as much as I'd like one, I just KNOW that the second I pay big cash, there will be a bigger, better, cooler one that I'll NEEEED! And really, until there's one with EVERYTHING I want, I think I'll just drool from the sidelines.
Donna Hole says
Yes, I've been looking around myself, and have decided the nook is definitely the one for me. Mostly, I like the size. I don't relish reading on a screen about as small as my cell phone, but I like that the nook can easily fit in my purse.
$200 doesn't seem unreasonable to me for the technology being offered. Really, how much did you pay for your iPhone?
Anonymous says
I'd take one as a gift, but I refuse to pay for something to read books with and still pay for the books too. That feels weird.
Also won't it be funny if some publishers only put their books on kindle and some only put their books on nook?
Incidentally, if a book costs $10. $4 goes to the bookshop. (e-books don't need that). $3 goes to distribution and warehousing. (ebooks don't need that). $2 goes to print costs, etc (ebooks don't need that) $0.50 goes to the publisher and the same to the author.
I don't expect to pay more than $1.
These figures are just examples, not real.
Diana says
Even if someone gave me one, I wouldn't use it. Reading text on a computer screen for long periods of time bothers my eyes.
If I go to a website that has a lot of text and very little white space around it, I'll move on to something else.
Even cruising the blogosphere, if there is a lot of text and little white space, I'll move on unless the post really engages my attention.
Matilda McCloud says
Great point, Ulysses. I saved important stuff on floppy disks and now it's pretty much lost forever. Our VHS tapes are so faded and scratchy, we can't watch them anymore. But our 1928 copy of THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS is as fine as ever.
Mira says
Meghan, I don't know if Nathan uses this, but blogger comes with a poll 'gadget' that's ad free. Easy to use and set up. I'm not sure what Eric is using.
Donna – I paid 99 bucks for my I-phone (3g, oldest version), plus the monthly service fee which starts at 70.
Mariel says
Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I like actual books.
Steve Ulfelder says
I bought a Kindle2 at whatever the going price was – $250 or $300? Call me moderately disappointed. I love it for fiction, but for beefy NF with endnotes, maps/illos/pix, etc., the Kindle2 doesn't cut it; the device leaves me with an unanchored feeling.
I'm back to hardcopy nonfiction and bookshelves that are filling up (again) too quickly.
Wilkie says
I'd accept one as a gift. Or take one if I were paid to, but I don't know how much I'd use it. I use my laptop pretty much all day for work. I also use it for pleasure when surfing the net for entertainment or new info. But it's not something I enjoy for prolonged reading, and I would hate the feeling of electronic technology being attached to my hip- my laptop, my cell phone, now books converted, too??? For those who love their e-readers, that's great, it sounds like a very convenient technology. But I know I'm not alone in enjoying my bound paper books either.
Marty Ison says
I would pay $99 for a “wonderbook”, the same price as my iPhone.
That said, I will never buy an e-reader or content from an e-store that uses a proprietary platform. The purpose of DRM is to manage and protect digital rights. These online retailers have effectively made themselves an owner of the rights I purchase. Look for a class action suit against Amazon et al.
Even iTunes allows download to any compatible MP3 player. Because Apple knows it’s impossible to sustain proprietary rights to purchased property. That’s why iTunes is free software while the iPod and iPhone have patented features.
I would agree with ULYSSES about obsolescence. To anyone buying a Kindle® or nook®, well, I have two things to say: Betamax and HD-DVD.
If you need an e-reader now, then buy one. But if you can wait six months to a year you’ll be able to buy an e-reader that will work with books bought from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or any other electronic store.
Hey, but I could be wrong…NOT.
steveb says
I'd like a Wonderbook for the books I read for fun, but I'd still like printed books for my research-related books (although an electronic search function would be interestingly convenient), which includes books that become my literary classics.
Still, any more than $200 would require some soul-searching of "do I really need this?"
Courtney Price says
Gosh, that nook looks pretty cool… it looks like something that I might want, which means I'll have to take back all that "cold dead hands" stuff I've spouted…
GhostFolk.com says
Okay, now we're talking.
I'd go $1,250 if I could cable it to my flat-screen hd TV and split-screen the book alongside whatever is on the tube. That way I could read and watch TV at the same time without having to constantly look up and down, through and then over my reading glasses.
Wow, a book with closed captioning. Now that's a Wonderbook.
Next up, teleprompter-screen car windshields. I am so tired of the back of that semi, anyway!
Nikki Hootman says
The price of the reader is not what keeps me from getting one; it's the price of the books offered on the reader. Until they are significantly lower than print editions, I'm not buying.
dOgBOi says
I have a first generation Kindle, and while I love it, I won't buy another e-reader until a few things happen.
1) It becomes easier to move my books from one device to another. Like my music, I want DRM free books that I can use on every device I own, and any future device I might own. I don't want my books locked down to one device.
2) Multi-column landscape views, for newspapers and magazines.
3) Color E-Ink for pictures
4) Faster page rendering
GhostFolk.com says
Okay, now I want book goggles. Sunglasses style preferred for beach reads and maybe a flip down sleep-mask book reader for rides on airplanes.
That light the you stare at when you are in the dentist's chair… it could hold a book, couldn't it? Readers Digest Condensed to keep pace with the Muzak?
ann foxlee says
Ulysses has put his finger on exactly why I am uncomfortable with electronic books.
I have every book my mom ever read me, complete with my 'artistic' drawings on some of the pages. And I don't think the kindle or nook will ever be able to replicate that old book smell that instantly makes me smile.
Besides, if I wanted to read a modern book that I didn't care about keeping, I'd rather download it to an iphone or to my mini-netbook than have yet another device jangling around my purse.
I can see them being very useful for book industry folks (agents, editors, etc.), since they are reading all day long, but for me… kinda useless.
GhostFolk.com says
Anonymous 12:22
Or by a TV and pay for cable?
I'd take one as a gift, but I refuse to pay for something to read books with and still pay for the books too. That feels weird.
Paul Neuhardt says
I can't decide. Part of me wants the physical book because of the feel, the smell, the joy of turning a physical page.
But part of me wants to feel all Jean-Luc Picardish and have books on a little pad that I can read at will just by turning it on, a pad that will mysteriously suck books out of the cosmos and display them to me at my command.
And then there is the geek in me that just wants a cool gadget.
Two out of three inner personalities probably win in the end, but not yet. All of my inner voices are broke. So if anyone would like to lob one at me as a gift…
Kelly Bryson says
My library card was free. I'm super cheap, I guess.
But I don't read library ebooks on my computer either. Why would I?
I get terribly annoyed with the way ipod and MP3s won't stay in the same room. I listen to my husband's ipod, but I won't put that software on my computer, thankyouverymuch. I'm leary of ereaders, like so many other commentors.
Bron says
I think the problem most people have with the price isn't the price itself, but the lack of functionality. As others have pointed out, they paid as much as an e-reader costs for phones. The difference is phones now come with a lot of functions. But that's not to say e-readers won't one day – remember when phones just made calls?
Maybe e-reader retailers need to look to the pricing scheme of phones. You could buy an e-reader on a plan and pay one monthly rate that goes towards paying off the device, and also allows you, say, two free eBook downloads a month.
Mary says
I happily read on my iPhone. It's always with me, and can be whipped out when I have an opportunity to read but don't have a book in my bag.
But when reading at home, I love physical books. A solid, hard electronic device is something I associate too much with work. So, until I see a high performance e-reader I respond to in a tactile, personal way … I'll stick to reading e-books on my phone. 🙂
Shelby says
You'd have to pay me. I want to hold the book in my hand and feel the spine of it and turn the pages myself. And loan it out to a friend if I want to. I want a bookshelf full of books lining my walls.
I don't want words on a screen to pass on to my grandkids.
Gordon Jerome says
I consider it brutish these days to have to read a book. Even when I get Stephen King's newest that I preordered for the first edition hardback as a collector's thing, I won't read it. I'll buy it again on Kindle and read it on Kindle.
This holdover for books is ridiculous, and I don't even have to argue it: fiction is going Kindle and/or nook. Right now, the market works with books and treats e-books similar, but in the near future, Amazon is going to have to do something to gain exclusivity to publishers and authors over Barnes and Noble.
Everyone likes to rebel: "I WONT EVER OWN ONE!" I'm old enough to remember that same shtick about albums over CDs. It's going to happen. Get on board and start looking at what it means to be a fiction writer in an e-age.
Karla says
The options for buying an e-reader in Canada are limited. No Kindle, no Nook, and the Wonderbook probably won't be available here either 😉
I have a cheapie cell phone, an even cheaper mp3 player, and a refurbished computer, but I bought a hideously priced Sony and I love it. No regrets. I buy more books than ever and read more than I did before. Love it.
Liana Brooks says
I'm not paying for one unless it comes with a stylus that I can take notes with and I can download word documents from my computer onto it. At the very least.
If it's just for books, it needs to be a cheaper format than a book. If I have to pay for the reader AND pay for the book (sometimes $20 or more) there's no reason to give up the paperback format.
It has to be more than an electronic book if you want me to fork over cash.
Dara says
I'd pay $150, BUT there needs to be the capability to use the device to get eBooks from the library on it. That's the only way I'd ever consider one.
Then I wouldn't have to worry about those pesky late fines or losing one of the books amongst the mess that is my computer room 😛
Jourdan Alexandra says
I understand the concept of the e-reader: It's compact, lightweight, and can store many, many books. It's perfect for traveling, or for someone who is constantly on the go. I know that Kristen Nelson uses her Kindle to read sample pages, so obviously it's a great tool for agents.
Nonetheless, I have a huge problem with it.
It seems that as the e-reader becomes more and more popular the less important books become. I've read things that prophesize that physical books will be gone in the next ten years, and that the e-reader will be will be the primary medium that people use to read.
The thought that the physical, tangible written word will disappear terrifies me. I don't like it, at all. And I can't understand why someone wouldn't want to actually hold the book, smell it, run their fingers across the raised print. I have books that I've loved for years and years, some of which are over a decade old. You can't get that from a lousy e-reader.
In conclusion, I voted for "Accept as a gift, but I ain't payin". The e-reader is a nice tool to have, but it better NOT be the future of the literary world.
Paula B. says
It's not the price of the ereader, Nathan. It's all those books you have to buy for it.
We have a house full of thousands of books that represent a huge investment. Now we're supposed to start buying many thousands of dollars' worth more? Sorry. Can't afford it.
--Deb says
I'd love an ebook reader if they were more reasonably priced. I've tried out the Kindle app for my iPod and like it (minus the eyestrain), and would certainly consider electronic versions of books that I know I'm only going to read one time. But, especially in this economy, $250 for a one-trick pony is too much. (Hence the iPod thing.)
Marva says
It's got to be a reader that accepts open source formats, e.g., PDF, MOBI, HTML, EPUB.
A big reason I'm not too hot on a Kindle is that you're stuck with those over-priced $9.99 books in a proprietary format. Sorry, but I am not convinced that publishers are "losing" money by selling ebooks for $9.99.
I know a bunch of good books for sale on Amazon for Kindle for less than $2.00. Boo hoo, they're not Brown, Grisham, King, Rowley, or (blech) Palin. Still, they're darned good books a poor schlub can afford.
I'd pay $199 for a reader just to match the $1.99 on a ton of great books available at that price.
Veronica Barton-Dean says
Anonymous-
I was simple stating the fact that the regular population still don't know that much about the e-readers, but our associates tend to be the same way. People don't want to purchase something that's expensive and that they don't understand.
What home office chooses to do for pricing of any product, is not up to the every day joes that simply run their stores. Just because I work for them doesn't mean I agree with the things they necessarily do in those terms. I was merely using my professional experience to shed some light on what I've heard from different customers about the products.
AM Riley says
The only thing holding me back was the specter of a row of digital devices cluttering up my desk. MP3 player, phone, bluetooth device, and now an ebook reader?
Today I bought a 'Droid'. It has an ereader in it !for free!. I just downloaded 'The Tempest' and one of my own books. They look great. I'm sold. And all I'm paying for is a 'smart' phone.
B.J. Anderson says
I just bought a Kindle and I love it. I read way more than usual, and I impulse buy books I normally wouldn't have purchased. Plus, I can read it in the mornings while I'm curling my hair (although, I did just about burn a piece off today). It is totally worth the money.
Anonymous says
"Everyone likes to rebel: "I WONT EVER OWN ONE!" I'm old enough to remember that same shtick about albums over CDs. It's going to happen. Get on board and start looking at what it means to be a fiction writer in an e-age."
I'm old enough to remember when they said that about radio over TV. "It will never last."
I'm also not too old to own and use an e-reader. And I'd never go back to books.
Anaquana says
I don't even own an Ipod or other MP3 player, so I doubt that I would ever buy an e-reader.
I just hate the idea of having to buy a specific device in order to read books that I then have to purchase as well.
No thanks. Not when I can pay once for a printed book.
And if I run out of space, I can just donate the books I no longer read to my local library. Or ship them off to a friend who owns a used book store.