Sarah LaRose tries to read two to three books a day. She tries to read them throughout the day, for both class and pleasure.
When she wants to turn a page, however, she clicks a button.
Instead of reading an actual book, she's reading from her Kindle.
The Amazon Kindle is an e-reader, a device that downloads books electronically. The iPad, which was announced Jan. 27, is the most recent addition to this group.
They range in prices and appearances, but they all feature the same purpose: allowing users to read using a different medium than the traditional book. For some, that means convenience. For others, like local book store owners, that could mean a change in their sales and operation.
LaRose, a senior English major, got her Kindle last December. The Kindle, produced and sold by Amazon.com, displays e-books and other digital media directly bought from the Kindle store.
"I decided to get one because I read a lot of books, and this is a lot easier to carry around," LaRose said.
One of the benefits of having the Kindle is that LaRose can bring it wherever she is and have all of her books with her, as opposed to having to carry multiple books, she said.
"I won't have to be like, ‘Oh, I forgot a book,' because it's all right there," LaRose said.
The ability to hold numerous books is one of the advantages of all e-readers, said Spenser Bayless, manager of Barnes and Noble in Lincoln. Barnes and Noble sells the Nook on their Web site, an e-reader that allows users to download books from the Barnes and Noble database.
"It has a lot of unique features, and it can hold a lot of books," Bayless said.
The Nook also has a feature that allows users to "share" their books with other applications, such as a computer or an iPhone and has audio and photo capabilities.
"It's a step toward the future," Bayless said.
But for the businesses with traditional books, the future of e-readers may be detrimental.
One of the purposes of Indigo Bridge Books, located in the Haymarket, is to promote literacy, Indigo Bridge bookseller Adrienne Lemmer said. They hold a number of book clubs, with some meetings where readers can come, discuss a book and curl up with a blanket.
That may be harder to do with a Kindle.
"If you have something electronic, it defeats the purpose," Lemmer said.
Users buying both the Kindle and all the books from Amazon will also hurt local businesses, Lemmer said. The effect won't be seen for a while, though, Bayless said. It is going to take time before having an e-reader becomes the norm.
"Right now, it's not going to be detrimental," Bayless said. "It's so new that I think it's going to be awhile before it really catches on."
Jacob Lee, a Sony Specialist at the Nebraska Furniture Mart's Sony Shop in Omaha, saw an increase in sales of the Sony Reader during the holiday season. The Sony Reader is similar to other e-readers in that it holds multiple books bought from their database, but it does have an added feature: Users can "check out" books with their Sony Reader from the Omaha Public Library.
"It's been pretty popular," Lee said. "I'm seeing a lot more folks coming in to get one, probably because of the free content, like the interface with the Omaha library."
Lee has seen a surge in e-readers on the market, and the popularity of the Kindle, has helped sell more e-readers from other companies, like the new Reader 900, Sony's "answer to the Kindle."
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