In the past I have been tempted by the Kindle and Nook ebook readers, but never enough to pull the trigger and buy one. They seemed to be only a minor step up from reading a PDF version of a book. Don't get me wrong, the e-ink is very easy on the eyes, but still needing a book light to read at night without bothering the wife isn't a big improvement to me. But the more I read on the iPad's iBook features, the more I get to thinking about the possibilities...

With the iPad you will still get the colorful dust jacket art; the stoic picture of the author will be easily included. I will miss the smell of a good hardcover, and the ability to thumb fan the pages of a paperback. Hopefully the iBook reader will let you insert a bookmark by folding over the corner of the page with a flick of your finger. Fantasy readers could pull up the map of the world that they are currently lost in with a tap. No more flipping back and forth trying to figure out where the Tanvis Range is in relation to Mul'trak Swamp.

Think about reading magna or a graphic novel on the iBook. I would buy a copy of Watchman for my iPad and frankly be more willing to take a chance on other publishes of this sort of medium.

Children's books would also translate well to the iPad (ignoring the fact of the $500+ piece of high tech hardware they would be holding). The interaction that would be allowed between the child and the iBook could be endless. You could also do coloring books on the iPad and not worry about the clean up or if Billy put the green crayon up his nose again.

Several book publishers have already announced their support for the iPad, along with brick and mortar book stores such as Barnes and Nobles. Only time will tell if the iPad can challenge the printed book for popularity.

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