Eileen Goudge

My Love Hate Affair with e-readers

Okay, I admit I was suspicious at first. I’m basically a Luddite at heart and the idea of reading a book without an actual, physical copy in hand – the scent of freshly printed pages pervading my senses and bringing pleasant memories of a bygone era when all books came in this form—seemed nothing short of heresy. Also, there was the sticky issue of an author’s revenue stream being diverted from monies earned off print sales to the less lucrative earnings off e-reader downloads. But I pride myself on being a progressive thinking and like to think it has the upper hand over my Luddite soul. So last year I did the unthinkable: I said a little prayer for all us Luddites – as we teeter toward extinction, clutching our dog-earned books; books only be pried from our cold, dead hands, in the words of the late Charlton Heston (okay, so he was talking about guns, but this is a pretty loaded subject, too) - and bought my husband Sandy a Kindle reader for his birthday.

I have to say I’m now a convert, if only once-removed. Sandy’s job as a movie reviewer for WABC-TV in New York has him constantly on the go, and he spends a fair bit of time in screening rooms. It’s not feasible for him to lug books with him everywhere he goes – especially since he reads mostly biographies, the dense variety that can double as door stoppers - so the Kindle reader is the perfect alternative. It fits neatly into his backpack and provides reading material for those stretches of time between gigs, when he’s waiting to interview some celebrity – all of whom are notorious for keeping the press waiting – or when cooling his heels in a screening room before the credits roll.

And I recently discovered another cool use for Kindle readers. While finishing my latest tome, THE REPLACEMENT WIFE, I fretted over the fact that delivery of the manuscript would coincide with my agent taking off on a two-week trip to Bolivia. I worried that she wouldn’t be able to read it until she got back, as, much as I know she loves me and my work, no one loves another person enough to lug a 600 page manuscript in his or her luggage at that person’s behest. Not to worry, said Susan. She would simply download the chapters I’d emailed her onto her Kindle and read them on the plane. Nothing could be simpler. I employed the same trick, downloading the chapters into my husband’s Kindle, so now he, too, can read the book that’s kept me from him lo these many months. Nothing could be easier! So now I’m a total convert.

How much of one, you might ask? Well, I’m now actively promoting them! My publisher is running a contest to win a free Sony e-reader that comes pre-loaded with copies of some of my titles. I encourage you to enter. It’s easy – all you have to do is click on the link and fill out the entry form – and you never know, you just might win. So check this out, guys…and bon chance, as they say in France.
http://bit.ly/cKGKUV

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Ohhhh - I LOVE the K...

Comment from: Susan (Guest)

Ohhhh - I LOVE the Kindle. Can't wait to get one for myself!! :-)

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