On eReaders and the future

The news of the last few months -- eReaders are the next big thing! Traditional books are dead, all hail the ebook! -- came to a head with Apple's unveiling of their new iPad portable device which can be used as an ebook reader (and the simultaneous announcement of their eBookstore, the literary equivalent of iTunes, which will open in the United States in the coming months).

We at Bolen Books have been facing and considering the rise of ebooks for several years now, and after lengthy thought, we have come to the following conclusion: ebooks ARE coming, but traditional, bound, paper-and-cover books aren't going anywhere. And that's a good, good thing.

What it boils down to for us is this: ebooks are a format, like hardcovers or paperbacks. Another way of reading. They definitely have a place in the ecosystem of the word, but it's going to be a while before we know exactly what that place is.

The thing is, we believe in books. Yes, we're hoping to figure out a way to participate in the ebook revolution, but we're committed primarily to continuing to provide you, our customers, with the best books -- actual bound books -- from Canada and around the world.

For us, books are not just a solitary experience: they're a chance to build a community of the word, incorporating writers, readers, and booksellers. We've spent the last 35 years encouraging and nurturing that community, and looking ahead, we can't imagine that changing. So boldly we stride forward into the future, on a journey which we hope you'll continue making with us.

More sad news

A lot of us at the store are in mourning today, following the news that JD Salinger has died. The notoriously reclusive author, creator of The Catcher in the Rye, was very important to a lot of us, and though he hasn't published any new work in almost 50 years, he will be missed.

For more information, please click on the blog at www.quillandquire.com

To serve you better...

I'm sure that many of you have been following, as have we, the increasing popularity of ebooks and ebook readers. But stories in the media are just that -- stories -- and we're hoping to get some more tangible information from our customers.

Could you please take a moment to answer the following questions?

If you don't have an ebook reader, how likely are you to buy one?

If you DO have an ebook reader, how likely are you to upgrade, and how soon?

Please send your responses to promotions@bolen.bc.ca -- we've got some advance reading copies and books that we'll be awarding to a couple of people drawn from all the responses we received by Friday, January 22.

Thanks so much for your help!