Over the next few years, we collected what records we could afford and owned enough to provide a decent variety. Hubby liked Southern Gospel. Me? Not so much! Being the more “worldly” one, I preferred Pat Boone and a little bit of Elvis. I can still hear Pat crooning, “With the Wind and the Rain in Your Hair.” Then the 8-Track debuted. Although the 8-Track craze was short-lived, we had sufficient time to get on board and, in doing so, stir up the Southern Gospel/Other Music controversy.
Not long after moving into the land of 8-Trackdom, we discovered that a new development was entering the electronic world of sound. What we needed now was a cassette player to play music stored on little tapes. This was a format I liked, and one I stubbornly hung onto even after the introduction of the next big innovation, CD’s. But then I traded cars and, much to my dismay, discovered that there was no cassette player in my new model. So, once again, I had to pitch my favs - even the Judds!
I have come to accept changes in our tech savvy world, but have been surprised at how quickly readers are moving toward choosing eBooks over print books. In an article published last week by public relations firm, EMSI, the author discusses changes in publishing: (See: “Do You Need a Major Publisher to Get Media Attention?”) If this writer’s assessment is close to accurate, much about the way authors publish and the way readers purchase books will change very quickly.
Even though originally one of the “hold-out people,” admiring the book; savoring the smoothness of the paper as I turned each page, I find myself more and more caving to the convenience of the lightweight reader and, okay, I’ll admit it, feeling a little guilty about that, especially since I have a book in print. But where else can I purchase a classic for ninety-nine cents or even download one free?
How do you feel about eBooks versus holding that hard copy in hand?
