New numbers out showed for the first time ever, e-readers like the Nook, Kindle, and iPad are out selling hardcover and paperback books. Are readers on the beach following that trend? That is the question in North Myrtle Beach Sunday afternoon.
For many there's nothing better than sitting in the sand, soaking up sun and flipping the pages of a novel. For Deborah Russel, one of the millions who owns an e-reader, there's less page turning and more clicking.
The Association of American Publishers says that e-book sales totalled $90.3 million in February, up 202 percent compared to that time last year.
Earlier this week, Amazon said it will start allowing owners of its Kindle e-reader to borrow e-books from libraries across the country. Sony and Barnes & Noble have already offered free library books for a while now.
On the beach though, most readers opted for what they call the real deal.
"I have an iPad with a Nook on it, but bringing to the beach is kind of difficult," says reader Priscilla Pope. "I bring my paperbacks to the beach. It makes it easier. E-readers and iPads are expensive and I don't want them to get sandy or have any technology problems at the beach. "
"I just prefer to have the hard copy so I know where I am starting where I am ending," Bonnie Templeton said.
Not Deborah, she says even the threat of someone stealing her kindle doesn't keep her from bringing it to the beach.
"It could easily get stolen, but a bag could get stolen with your books in it as well. I just guard it with my life," she said.
