Will E Books ever really catch on?

Have you ever tried searching for good e books to download and read on your PC? Anyone wanting to explore the e book world is in for a shock. Its an absolute nightmare. There are so many formats and layouts that will confuse all but the most experienced e book user and quite honestly - can we really be bothered with it all?

I spent a good two hours searching through the net on various sites. What did I find? Mostly commercial sites promising free e books only to find they want you to register and then you find out what the catch is. I downloaded several books and there is no uniform means by which the e book industry operates. Formats vary from PDF ( I do particularly dislike PDF with its clunky slow downloads ) to Microsoft Reader and numerous executable programs, all of which require separate software to open and read them.

Why oh why doesn't everyone use one of the programs that will work on any computer and just open. Like a book does. It's not too much to ask is it? Life is frustrating enough without having to make things complicated. My own experience of e books has led me to the conclusion that until the industry gets its act together and agrees on one format they can keep it.

Many authors were enthusiastic about the potential of the e book revolution but if you read what has happened the mainstream writers have now turned against online publishing and e books for reasons of distribution, copyright and format issues.

If your really bored sometime just take a look around the net for some good quality free e books to download. I have to admit that there are a few gems out there but in the main its normally crap. The type of thing you get is listings and directories of online e book stores - all claiming to be the biggest and best - all offering nothing! When they do offer you anything its almost always associated with ebay, marketing tips, how to run your business blah blah blah - basically crap.

Well rant I may due to having lost 2 hours of my time which I can never replace, but deperately low sales of e books and the lack of any half decent material have almost without doubt ensured the continued existence of book retailers who were supposed to be worried about e books and their potential to change the way we read. Oh well, another good idea down the toilet!

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From the website of www.birminghamuk.com