E-Book Giveaway & Guest Post by Author Elisa Lorello
As part of the WOW blog tour, Elisa Lorello stops by Bleeding Espresso today to talk about something that has within the past few months become near and dear to my heart: e-books!
Since I treated myself to an iPod Touch two months ago, I’ve become a proud e-book convert after *swearing* I would never get used to the feel of a gadget in my hand instead of all those gorgeous pages. Of course I still love paper books, but getting used to e-books was *much* easier than I had imagined–and talk about instant gratification. I can pick out a book and have it literally in my hands in SECONDS.
Elisa is the author of Faking It and Ordinary World, and has offered up some free e-copies for lucky BE readers. Just leave a comment on this post by midnight on Sunday, February 28 (Italy time), and you’re eligible. You can get extra entries by tweeting or posting about the contest on your blog and/or Facebook (four possible entries total). Be sure to let me know about your extra entries via e-mail, Twitter, or FB.
Now, here’s Elisa!
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E-books Are My Friend
E-books and e-readers have been the target of some doomsday scenarios. “Watch out, they’ll destroy the publishing industry as we know it.” “Bookstores will be no more.” And while it’s true that the e-reader (namely, the Amazon Kindle) has rattled booksellers, I’m not ready to paint it as the Big Bad Wolf just yet.
Maybe because e-publishing has been good to me. Last month, my novels Faking It and Ordinary World hit the Kindle Store Bestseller list. Faking It even cracked the Top 10! The Kindle Store was able to provide me with the mass distribution that chain brick-and-mortar stores typically refuse an independent author. That, in turn, provided me with a readership and recognition.
But that doesn’t diminish my love for the tactile book, or bookstores. Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, NC, for example, is one of my favorite places to be and one of the first places I show off to my out-of-town visitors. Moreover, if I’m not at a coffeeshop to write, then I’ve snagged a comfy chair so I can read a book. And my home is cluttered with books on shelves, nightstands, coffeetables, you name it. It’s a comforting feeling to be surrounded by books.
So who said you had to love either one or the other? Since when did a pleasurable reading experience become an ultimatum, warranting the kind of loyalty you’d show for your favorite sports team? My bookworm friends who own e-readers say they haven’t stopped buying (or reading) tactile books. The e-reader is a tool of convenience, great for travel, for example.
I see no difference between the e-book as one more reading experience option just as audiobooks are an option. In fact, I often listen to an audiobook during my daily commute or road trips. People download audiobooks on their MP3 players as well.
I think e-books and print books can peacefully co-exist, and I hope they do. I even think my protagonist, a writing professor and published author, would own an e-reader and be spotted in Harvard Square, a latte in tow, reading her husband’s favorite books. You could count on it.
Ordinary World is currently available in print and e-book at Lulu.com, and in e-book at Amazon Kindle Store.
About the author:
Elisa Lorello was born and raised on Long Island, New York. In 1995, she moved to southeastern Massachusetts, where she attended University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth for both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Her career in rhetoric and composition studies began in 2000, and since then she has been teaching first-year writing at the university level. Currently, Elisa lives and teaches in North Carolina and is co-writing her third novel. She is happily single.
To learn more about Elisa and her other writing projects, please visit her blog I’ll Have What She’s Having: The Official Blog of Elisa Lorello, or her official webpage at ElisaLorello.com. You can also follow Elisa on Twitter @elisalorello.
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For more information on e-books in general, check out these great articles written by Sara (of Ms Adventures in Italy fame) at her tech blog, When I Have Time.
Remember to comment for your chance to win some e-books!
20 Beans of Wisdom to “E-Book Giveaway & Guest Post by Author Elisa Lorello”
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
Calabria Guidebook
Recipes
I’d never thought about the instant gratification aspect of e-books. Hmmmmmm……..I love instant gratification!
Haha, me too Jenny! It’s *so* easy to spend money though….
.-= Jenny Woolf´s last blog ..News, Reviews and More Info =-.
Fun! I’m getting used to reading on my iPod, too. Much easier to do with that backlight when hubby is trying to sleep and I want to read!
Definitely one of my favorite features! I also love it for when P’s watching TV; we don’t need to have the light on for me to be in the same room and be happy 😉
.-= Cherrye at My Bella Vita´s last blog ..Guest Blogger Monica: Our Escape to Calabria =-.
I don’t know how I lived before the i-touch! I have well over 100 books on there now. It is my salvation on sleepless nights – no need to turn the light on! – and on long train trips or when flying! I carry all my favourites with me, right in my bag! Stanza is my most used app by far! 🙂
Not turning on the lights is really *so* useful! I’ve been using the Kindle app the most, but Stanza isn’t far behind!
I haven’t had any experience with e-books yet. But I can tell you that my house is full of books. I absolutely adore books. Maybe I could become a convert, but that is for the future. I know that I will always be a reader.
Always a reader here too, Cathy!
.-= Cathy´s last blog ..The simple things in life =-.
Michelle I am shocked…that didn’t take you long to convert !!! I do not have a i-touch or an ipod, or an i phone, ..I love going to the Book shop and choosing books, yes I understand the handiness of e-books, I was speaking to a man the other day who had Kindle, he worked in the States and Europe, so very easy for him,
I would miss lying in bed with a book!
Well as Elisa mentioned in the post, you don’t have to choose one or the other; I still read paper books too. And you might be surprised how nice an e-reader feels in your hand while lying in bed–I thought the same thing!
.-= anne´s last blog ..Muswell Hill – Part 2 =-.
You are so great to be showcasing these fabulous authors!
Hey, I was wondering if you’re a polenta fan, I’ve updated the Polenta series, care to taste THREE more toppings?
Ciao
E xx
Glad you’re enjoying Eleonora! Will check out the polenta shortly 🙂
.-= Eleonora´s last blog ..Polenta Times Three =-.
This is an awesome giveaway! I will also be tweeting and Facebooking for sure.
Thanks Heather! Good luck!
Have the iPod touch, but unsure if I could train myself to read on it – not against e-books, far from it – just not too happy with the tiny screen; doesn’t that get irritating? Am still exploring uses and apps…and reading is on the queue too, I suppose just haven’t gotten there yet.
And I would imagine that an iPod is much more comfortable to hold than a book in bed…..though ever since I first needed glasses to read, sadly, I’ve stopped reading in bed (I was a side reader!)….
Have you tried a book on it? I find that reading an e-book on the iTouch is *very* different from reading emails and whantot; for one, the print *really* resembles pages in a book. I thought I’d have issues with that as well; in fact, I ordered a Kindle b/c of it…then canceled it when I decided that for the same price, I could do a lot more with the iPod…I’ve been *extremely* happy with my decision as the screen size hasn’t bothered me at all. And I read on it every day 🙂
.-= anna l’americana´s last blog ..World Nutella Day 2010…. =-.
I have to agree that these readers are not going to take the place of real books. There will always be a need for the real thing with schools, business, etc. I don’t have any type of electronic reader and don’t think I ever will. I prefer a real book in my hands. I can’t imagine a cookbook in this format, unless it’s changeable and one could add or subtract pages as desired.
Thanks for the great article.
Oh Michelle, an e-reader in the kitchen is the best! If you have an iPod, for instance, you can do recipe searches, compare and contrast, look up ingredients, etc., then slip it right in your pocket…no mess all over it either! It’s *really* convenient. I hear you, though, as I love books too…I just think there’s also room for e-books. Believe me, I was just like you on this several months ago!
.-= Michelle @ Italian Mama Chef´s last blog ..Making bread at church… =-.
Thanks so much, Michelle, for hosting me!
Excellent comments so far! And here’s my little confession: I don’t own an e-reader either! *Yet.* My original goal was to buy a Kindle as soon as I sold enough downloads to afford one. I’m well past that goal now, but I’m waiting a little bit longer for the price to come down. Will likely own one by the end of the year, if not sooner.
And I too love curling up in bed with a book. But it would be wonderful to save suitcase space normally reserved for books and use it instead for, say, shoes…
Thank *you* Elisa! For traveling, you really can’t beat an e-reader, I agree….
If I can put in my half bean of non wisdom, I just wanted to say congratulations to Elisa.
Julie
I know Elisa appreciates it, Julie!
.-= Julie from jbulie’s blog´s last blog ..19 reasons substitute teaching sucks is entertaining and inspirational. =-.
Michelle, by the way, did you get my ebook I sent you Zero to Blog?
I did! Thank you 🙂
Don’t have any e-book readers. I do have an iPod but could not imagine trying to read on such a small screen.
I do love books. Maybe when I can afford it I’ll get the iPad. It has a bigger screen and would be good for reading scripts and books while traveling. We’ll see.
I just responded to Anna below…if you haven’t tried a book on the iPod, I recommend it; I don’t know why, but it feels *completely* different to me reading a book versus reading other stuff. In fact, I have little patience for doing emails, FB, etc., on the iPod, but I can read an e-book for long stretches. The iPad looks fun too though, and actually now Kindle has a program for PCs to read e-books too (they say the Mac version is coming) 🙂
.-= nyc/caribbean ragazza´s last blog ..Favorite Things: Mondi Pasticceria – (danger!) =-.
Thank you, Julie! Michelle is right — I do appreciate it! I appreciate all the comments!
An iPod Touch is also on my technology wish-list. Would love to try ebooks on them.
Best of luck to all of you with the giveaway!
Love love love my iPod Touch, Elisa 🙂
I think we are all in agreement, “reading is breathing”. I have never considered owning a Kindle or the like for reading books. But I think I may have to rethink this. It would give one more opportunities to read and that is a good thing! I look forward to catching Elisa’s books. Good luck Elisa on your third. Thanks Michelle for introducing Elisa to us!
My pleasure Leslie! You’ve said it well…e-books really do just give us more opportunities to read. Perfect!
I think I might become an ebook convert rather than an ebook virgin after reading these comments.
Isn’t it amazing how technology has moved on in the past few years?
It certainly is, Lesley! Now if only we can keep up…. 😉
Thank you, Leslie!
I love ebooks! I thought that reading books on my ipod would be annoying but it’s just so convenient! I’m currently saving up for a Kindle because it looks so much easier to read (espeically when you’re outside-i.e. no glare in the sun).
Truth be told, I’d love to have a Kindle along with my iPod…never happy 😉
Perfect time to be reading this post as I prepare to purchase our first e-books (on our I-Touch) for an upcoming trip to Germany. Hoping it proves to be as easy and as enjoyable as everyone says….it seems like a great way to lighten the load when traveling.
What are you reading and enjoying these days?
Well on the iPod I have mostly classics as they’re free 🙂 I just finished Goat Song (not a classic but on the iPod!), which I loved, and am now reading hard copies of The Mystery of Lewis Carroll, Jayber Crow, and The Master Butchers Singing Club…really enjoying all of them 🙂
Wow! Thank you so much for the pdf! It’s so fun to win and especially books (whatever medium)!!!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Hope you enjoy Leslie!