I love my Nook. I really do. And someday, I promise, I will make Carol love it too. J I own nearly 200 ebooks, and I borrow at least two or three ebooks from the local library every week. It might just be the best thing that’s ever happened to me.
But I am still buying books. Yes, there are some books that I still need in physical format. Here they are:
1. Toddler books: This is something that can NEVER, EVER be replaced. From touch and feel to lift-the-flaps, I will always buy toddler books. Yes, they can make the color ebooks look exciting and interactive, but I will never give them to a toddler to chew on and hit his siblings with. Plus, touch and feel can entertain a child for extended periods of time, and as yet, I don’t know of any technology in the world that can mimic that.
2. Hardcover picture books: I buy these for a number of reasons. So I can give one to one child and one to another, and everyone stays quiet, for one. Another is so that I can read it to a large group. I do feel like this is one area that publishers are really fighting to fulfill with the new, interactive color ebooks…which I admit, are amazing. But so far, it hasn’t been enough to convince me.
3. Books I need to take notes in: I know I can highlight and make notes on my Nook. And I know I can transfer it to my computer and make note taking even easier with a full keyboard. But the fact of the matter is, I like writing in the margins of Shakespeare’s plays. Or Stephen King’s On Writing.
4. Cookbooks: Again, publishers are fighting for this. The new NookColor has instructional videos embedded within the recipe itself to help with the cooking. But I don’t have a NookColor, and I need color photographs of the food I’m making…I need to know what it is I’m not quite living up to! Also, I need the tabs, because I’m too impatient to type in what it is that I’m searching for.
5. The continuation of series I already own: Okay, this is purely an OCD/bibliophile need, but it’s a need nonetheless. If I start a series in hardcover, I need to finish it in hardcover. If I start a series in paperback, I need to finish it in paperback. I couldn’t switch between hardcovers and paperpbacks, and I can’t switch to ebook either. So yes, I did buy Mockingjay in hardcover, even though it was cheaper and easier to get on my Nook.
6. Leatherbound (or really nice-looking) copies of the classics: Let’s face it. These books make you look smart when you have them on your shelf. I like how pretty the look next to each other. So even though I can get all of the classics for free in ebook format, I will spend money for them to look good on my shelf. I see it as art.
7. Comic books/graphic novels/humor: So, mostly I just read Calvin & Hobbes in this genre…But still, I need actual books. If I’m buying a book for the pictures, I need it to be physical, and not dots on a screen. I also don’t like zooming in and shifting the page from side to side to see the whole thing.
So…what is it that you’ll never give up?
P.S. Just so you all know, I am running a contest on my blog through the end of the week. I’m giving away 50 books! The time to enter is now!http://cherylynne.blogspot.com
Throwing Up Words 
It was nice to meet you at the blogfest, Cherylynne. I’m working up courage to buy a Nook, but I love love love my ‘real’ books. I love waking my kids up in the morning and finding an open book on their chests. I love picking up a book at the store and thumbing through the pages, and wondering what the cover means, and experiencing love at first sight again. I know e-books are going to be huge, but some of us will always be stubborn. I’m one of them.
I think that the books I read and really love will be the ones I want to fill my bookshelves. That’s not to say I wouldn’t want a eBook of the same thing, just so I can have it with me all the time. But those favorite books are the ones that I just want to have that pretty physical copy of. 🙂
I’m kind of like you. I still buy tons of books for my kids and if I know I’ll want to take notes in a book, I’ll buy it. I don’t really buy many cookbooks, but I would never buy one for my e-reader (I have a Kindle). I love having it. And I just recently bought two YA novels on it (in the past I just bought my fluffy romances that I read in a day or less). I like being able to buy a book anywhere I go and not having stacks of books in my bedroom anymore (it was getting dangerous there for awhile). Oh, and I look cool.
Jonene, you should have seen me a couple years ago…I would have sworn up and down that an ereader was the worst thing in the world for me, and I would NEVER EVER buy one. Now I can’t live without it. What did it for me was I actually read a full chapter on the sample Nook at the store, and I realized…I forgot that I wasn’t reading a book. It becomes really natural after awhile.
Karen, I agree…I wish there was a stronger program for buying a physical book and getting a digital copy along with it. On the other hand, my bookshelves already hate my guts, so maybe it’s for the best.
Andria, it sounds like we’re cut from the same cloth! I buy all my YA on it now, because yeah, the stacks were getting pretty high.
And yes, looking cool=#1 reason for buying an e-reader. 🙂