Why book stores are dying

All other things being equal I prefer reading a book in bed, rather than a kindle.

But all other things are not equal.

I have been a long-term fan of the Magician series of books by Raymond E. Feist. I’m even lucky enough to be on a mailing list with the author, where you can discuss his works with him.

His 29th and penultimate book in what will be a 30 book collection (in 10 series) has just been published. It is not yet available in NZ bookstores. To be fair, we do often get it in our bookstores ahead of even the US bookstores.

As a hardcover, it will probably cost NZ45 or so when it is released here.

I could order the book off Amazon to be home delivered. But the book is not available for delivery until 13 March 2012.  Cost with delivery would be around US$28.

But I managed to buy a Kindle version for US$10 last week, and am already halfway through it.

I love having a physical book collection, but I can see more and more of my future purchases being for my Kindle (technically Kindle on iPad).