We love books. At home several of our walls are covered with book shelves. So is my parents living room wall. We own several thousand physical books. I grew up going to the library every week, reading a book a day when time allowed. My local library here in Arcata, CA still finds me a loyal visitor.
The feel of a book in my hand, the images and colors of the cover, lay-out and print type, all contribute to my joy of reading. And yet, I have begun to read books on e-readers and online.
Of course there is the ease of handling the reader, especially with a 330 plus-page book. Not having to hold up a heavy hard-cover, actually helped me heal up an arm and shoulder injury last year. Then there is the ease of choice when traveling. Which book to bring? Will I stay within weight limits of my baggage? And should I run out of reading material, any wi-fi equipped cafe allows me to restock my reader instantly, including after hours. Did I mention the free samples? No more lugging home books from the library that sounded good but remain unread after the first few pages disappoint.
We also love trees. Recently, when we received several boxes of our first-published book The Power of Peace, which is also an on-demand print book, and carted them over to our author and neighbor Tom Early, it struck me. This thin volume took more trees for cardboard to ship than paper to print. Ten copies each were tied together with plastic, wrapped in foam and with another stack of ten packed into a cardboard box. Two of these boxes then fit into the sturdy outer box. And all of it was shipped via carrier, still needing to be transported to the local books stores, or mailed out again.
Ebooks are as green as you can get. And they are here to stay. We at Wild Earth Press are dedicated to bringing you high-quality and beautiful eBooks with the newest technology, for the most reading pleasure. Please take a look at our first e-only book Sierra Crossing which is an adventure photo story written by acclaimed outdoors writer Tom Stienstra.