Are We Finished With Print Books?

Recently, I read an article about the skyrocketing of ebook readers and ebook sales compared to print books, and it left me wondering why. I remember not long ago at writer's organizations and conferences there was repeated talk about whether they would even acknowledge an author who only published an ebook as even being published. And this wasn't even that long ago -maybe 6 or 7 years ago. And now Amazon is telling us that ebook sales have surpassed regular book sales. Wow.

It can't be the price of the books, because they pretty much still ask for the same cover price on most books. In fact, my daughter who owns a Nook, was looking for books to fill her ebook reader's shelf and a series she was interested in was actually MORE expensive for the ebook than for the actual book, especially if I added a Border's 40% off coupon to the equation.

And it can't be the reading experience. Again, I read a preview of a book on my Kindle, and didn't like the book. Then a friend let me borrow the same book, and I found that I loved it! For some reason, the experience was different. Much more pleasant. It's much nicer to hold a book and turn real pages

So is it just the ease of storing a large number of books onto a reader, and maybe the ease of purchase?

I wonder what the real reason is, because if the trend continues - and it appears it will - I can't see publishers continuing to print large volumes of books that will only be returned. Especially since it costs them so little to put an ebook out.

I belong to a book club and always choose the real book over buying the ebook version. It's so much easier to jump to a certain page in a real book. For my college classes, I also buy the actual books, so I can jump back and forth in an instant when I want to find details for a research paper or assignment. Though I do have to admit that when I travel to New York this month, I plan to take my rarely used Kindle on the trip, because it's much easier to carry in my purse.

What about you? Are you a converted ebook reader or still gravitate toward print books?

Julia

A Visit to Callaway Vineyard and Winery

In our second walk through a winery, today you'll have the opportunity to visit Callaway Vineyard and Winery. I'm so excited about this one, because it's the first winery I visited when I first thought of setting SAY YOU'LL BE MINE in a winery. I planned to spend the day visiting a few Temecula vineyards, but this one was so interesting and had so much to offer a writer looking for impressions of a winery as well as details and plain education, that I spent the entire day at this one winery. I hope you enjoy Cecilia Vasquez's tour:

The Winery…
While some work for greatness others are born with it. Eli Reeves Callaway Jr. was one of those people who was born with greatness. Callaway displayed a knack for business at a very young age with an acre peach farm he started at the age of 10. In his first season with his peach business he made over seven hundred dollars. It doesn’t seem like much of a surprise to anyone that this young entrepreneur would become the man behind Callaway Vineyard & Winery. He defied experts who considered Southern California unsuitable for growing wine grapes and put Temecula on the map as a serious wine producing region. In 1976 at a luncheon with the United States President, Queen Elizabeth II, and The Prince Duke of Edinburgh at Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City there was only one wine served. The wine of choice for the bicentennial event was the Callaway's estate bottled 1974 White Riesling. The Queen, not known to be a wine drinker, requested a second glass. This was the first time in U.S. viticultural history that a dry table wine from Southern California was chosen to be served on the east coast at an international diplomatic event. The Callaway Vineyard & Winery was an underdog winery that hit the big time. Eli Reeves Callaway Jr. was a business man with an inevitable future of greatness and he made it in the Callaway Vineyard and Winery.

The Wine…
The Callaway Vineyard & Winery has a very wide selection; it leaves just so many wines to choose from. Some of Callaway’s top award winning wines include, 2008 Winemaker's Reserve Calliope Red, 2010 Special Selection Rosé of Sangiovese, 2009 Special Selection Chardonnay, 2009 Special Selection Gewurztraminer, 2009 Special Selection Viognier, and 2008 Winemaker's Reserve Chardonnay.

Upcoming Events…

Taste of Winemaking - Seasonal Seminars
Saturday Mornings from 10am-12:30pm

$88.50 Per Seminar
Legacy Club Member Price - $79.65 Per Seminar
Prices are per person, plus tax

Taste of Summer Winemaking Seminar
Saturday, July 23, 2011 from 10:00am - 12:30pm
This seminar includes guided tour of the production facility with Winemaker, lab demonstration, rosé flight tasting, casual lunch and certificate of completion.

$88.50
A Taste of Autumn Winemaking Seminar
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Take part in harvest as you pick grapes in the vineyard and help with the crush process. Enjoy wine tasting with artisan cheese and fruit and receive a certificate of completion.

$88.50

Cecilia Vasquez

To celebrate our visit to Callaway Vineyard and Winery, I will be drawing another winner this month! For June, I'll be giving away a nifty little wine pump and sealers set. For those times when you don't finish the entire bottle of wine (rarely happens at my house) this is perfect to preserve the flavor and essence of the wine by resealing it!

To enter the drawing, please visit the SAY YOU'LL BE MINE page on Facebook and press the little "Like" button, then let me know you did it in the comments below!

You get an extra entry if you've visited Callaway or another winery and want to share a little about your experience.

Winner will be drawn on June 30th!

I look forward to hearing from you!

Julia