Now if you go back far enough you will see a post where I dispute the effect of electronic books/pads on bookstores that Seth Godin prophesied. I still stand by that post, but I have now had a Kindle for 5 months and it has altered my behaviour.
I have over 70 books on my Kindle and have used about 15% of the space available. I have paid for most of them, although there are a few freebies in the mix. And it has become my primary reading device.
I like it because it can go with me anywhere and I can read on trains, planes, buses, and so on. I particularly like the screen quality. Still not quite used to a single page rather than two facing pages, but will eventually adapt.
And it has changed my purchase behaviour, partly because I don't need to find much more storage in my flat for books. I can store many more on my Kindle or my computer. And this is particularly true for books I might only read once.
The good news for publishers. I have bought a bunch of stuff that I already had in print because it was more convenient to re read in this form. The bad news is that I am still pretty upset about their pricing polices and want to do everything I can to return purchasing power to Amazon. Too many books are priced too high by the publishers.
20% VAT on electronic books is pretty nasty too. After all, what difference does the media make. Either make all books VAT rated or make them 0 rated. Don't discriminate by media, Mr Cameron.
So while my Kindle is my friend, I'm not sure its a friend for life.
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