Tired of hearing how eBooks are going to destroy the publishing industry?  So am I.  It’s a ridiculous idea to me – why would buying something that you use to read books be a bad thing?  I think it opens huge opportunities for interactive books (kids would love this), textbooks, plus quick and easy access.  So I was pleased to come across a couple of articles recently that seem to agree with me.

First, from the Wall Street Journal, The ABCs of E-Reading.  Here’s a shock: people who buy e-readers spend more time reading and buy more books!  Really?  Gee, who would have guessed that.

It makes perfect sense to me.  Americans love gadgets.  Whether it’s fancy coffee makers or micromini video cameras, we love electronics that do handy things in cool new ways.  Kids who grew up with video games are going to be far more receptive to an e-reader than to a boring old paperback.  Add in the convenience of carrying a thousand books in your pocket?  Awesome!  Since I travel so much, I could cut down the weight of my suitcase by about 10 pounds a trip.

The article also notes that people with e-readers spend more time reading.  Makes sense to me – give me an easy way to haul my book around and I will read on the tram, at lunch, in line at the bank, etc.    I was also interested to see that, according to this article, hardcover book sales are up 10%.  I don’t know what has caused it, but I’m happy about it.

Now, if they want to kill the excitement over e-readers, here’s the way to do it:  ads in books.  I know publishers are always looking for profits, but this would be shooting themselves in the foot.  No way I would buy a book that had ads in it.