Yahoo Article is Wazoo

I read an article from the Yahoo home page today (here). This is not usual for me. Ordinarily I breeze right through the Yahoo home page on my way to my mail, hardly taking a second to glance at the generic articles. I've written articles like these. They're usually quite staid, not very informative, and are hardly memorable. This article caught my eye as it dealt with reasons not to buy e-readers.

In the past, I have taken the stance of which e-reader to buy and not whether or not it should be bought. Having read the article, I've decided not to change that dynamic. Some of the article's points:

Cost: The Kindle cost me almost 200 dollars. In just 12 more months I feel as though i can recoup that cost in savings on books that I've bought. I look through my Kindle and see about 15 books, three of which were free. One of the books and an online only book filled with great stuff on publishing. I've read them all. Had bought these at the store, I'm betting it would have cost me 200 dollars. I've spent less than a hundred. This is a spurious argument in my view. He would have been better off saying that at least when you're done reading a bookstore bought book you can take it to Half-Price and recoup some of the cost. He didn't though so I shant remind him.

Casual Readers Shouldn't Bother: I am an on again off again reader. Sometimes serious, sometimes casual. The Kindle lets me be serious all the time and I like that about it. Thanks to the Kindle, and my Droid equipped with Kindle, I'm never at a loss for having a book. Yesterday, sitting outside work waiting for someone to show up and open the door, I was able to read my book. I've increased the amount that I read. Bad thing? I think not. If anything I think the article should have said, "Makes Casual Readers Serious."

Books Can Be Found Just as Cheaply at the Bookstores:The author, Mr. Arends, breaks down the cost of books bought at bookstores with coupons vs books bought for an e-reader. I have a problem or two with his analysis. First, he's talking about the recently released best sellers, those that are 9.99 or more on e-readers. He compares these to buying the paperback at the bookstore with a coupon. First, the best sellers that are 9.99 and up, the new releases, aren't always in paperback form. Secondly, if I'm a coupon person at the bookstore, what about the coupon from Amazon. Apple to apples please. I've bought thousands of books in my life, new, used, trade-in, everything. When I buy for my Kindle, I've yet to feel I could do better anywhere else (One exception, buying On Writing. 12.99 for Kindle, 10 bucks at Half Price.)

I hoped to find some meat to the article, instead it was tripe. The ease with which e-readers allow readers to read and buy books easily outstrips any of the arguments against.