E-books should cost much less than print books with their manufacturing over-head. A $3 difference is hardly any difference at all!  I expect that an e-book price sits under half the print cost of that same book.  Even better, I expect it to be even lower than that.

I enjoy my computer and my kindle and my droid phone.  There is very much to recommend them and someday I would like a nice ipad or tablet, but not quite yet.

Meanwhile, I struggle with the entire idea of books in digital format where a computer crash might cause them to vanish and lead to major head-aches in trying to get them back.

Meanwhile, in my very fire-proofed home, my hard-copies, print books, sit like little soldiers on their shelves and give me great tactile pleasure in addition to the pleasure of their content.

My biggest issue though is about PRICE.

I expect to pay for a hard-copy because of the costs related to printing, binding, storing and shipping a nice book. I expect this because the materials and manufacturing have costs related to them which must be passed on to me, the buyer of the book.

It is simply ridiculous that an e-book can sometimes be found to be MORE expensive than the brand new print edition.

I use my kindle to allow me to carry an assortment of books in my bag for waiting rooms and other times when I want something to read but do not want the weight of a book and magazine bag. On my personal kindle are ebooks I purchased very inexpensively which while I would like to read them I do not care if I never own a print copy.  I also have copies of a couple of my favorite very very large and heavy books that I own in a print edition to keep and use at home and on my kindle so I can read anywhere without the weight of the print edition.

If I could buy my hardbound editions with a kindle edition thrown in for good measure I would be delighted!

This is just my take on the whole kindle vs print debate. I would buy MORE ebooks if they were radically less expensive than the print editions.

Dear Lord, thank You for books, computers, kindles and smart phones. Amen.