Technology has really taken off over the past ten years or so, giving us new gadgets to ponder almost every month.  It used to be that only a handful of people had a computer, now there are usually at least two in every household (if not more)!  That same theory holds true for cell phones.  No one used to have them; now everyone does.  It doesn’t matter how old you are. I’ve seen six-year old kids chatting it up on them as well as eighty-five year olds texting and searching the Internet.

One of the newer gadgets that have hit the stores within the past five years is the e-reader.    At first, you did not hear much about them, but then Amazon put out the Kindle and it has become one of the hottest items.

Barnes and Noble have come out with Amazon’s competition- the Nook.

Last year, I caved and bought the Kindle.  I was not sure if I would like it as I love visiting the bookstores and like the feel of a real book, however, my mind quickly changed and I was hooked.  While I still love browsing the bookstores, the Kindle has a lot to offer.  You can change the text size, use its read-aloud feature, built in dictionary, order books and have them delivered within sixty seconds and the best part is that MOST books are less expensive than their paperback or hardcover counterpart.

To offset my book addiction, I treat myself to an actual paperback every now and again, but the majority of my books are now electronic. It is an awesome device.  In addition, one of the best things is that you do not need to actually buy the kindle.  You can download the Kindle software to a computer, iPhone, Adroid or Blackberry for free!  Then you just download the books and read it straight from there.

I wonder now what the ratio is to how many people own a Kindle or how many people still buy physical books.  What does this mean for bookstores?

--Elizabeth Parker

Author of Finally Home, Unwanted Dreams and Phobia

www.elizabethparkerbooks.com