Oh my, what are you reading?

I have a question out there for those of you with e-readers (or those of you who wish to purchase e-readers). Is the primary reason you purchased (or wish to own) an e-reader so you'd be able to hide what you're reading?

Seriously?

Are you so afraid that someone will spy upon your book covers and gasp oh my! and avert their eyes, perhaps hide their children from view that you ponied up the cash and purchased an e-reader?

I ask this, because somewhere around 80% of the ebook market is in the combined romance category. And Avon Books just announced last week they are starting up their digital romance Avon Impulse brand (where print versions will be available only on demand) because then "fans can read e-editions in public without fear of embarrassment". How kind of them. Why bother printing books fans are too overcome to read in public? Yay for e-readers! Now we romance readers are no longer consigned to closets and basements! Whoopee!

I think the publishers miss out on some other tangible benefits to the readers.

1) Price: ebook pricing is almost always lower than the print version.

2) Immediate Delivery: I don't have to travel to a book store to pick up the next book in a series. I effectively have the store right here with me! A must for the voracious reader!

3) Genre Stigma: I don't just read romance. Wow, now what do you do with me?

4) Author Loyalty: ebooks make it easy to find other books published by the same author, and with immediate delivery to access those books.

5) Book Library: I keep all of my books in a nicely compact format. I can highlight and bookmark areas of interest to me, and those stay in my collection.

6) Environmentally Friendly: No more trees or ink are being processed for me to satisfy my voracious habit. There's less in the way between me and the artist.

And that's just my short list. What are some reasons you have for using an e-reader, or wanting one? Are you one of those who do prefer to hide your romance covers? Please, do share. No one will tell.

Tagged: e-readers, ebooks, embarassment, publishing, reading, romance