As part of the Fall Into Reading Challenge, Katrina @ Callapidder Days has decided to post a weekly question related to the challenge.

She writes, “I thought it would be a great way to keep Fall Into Reading participants connected throughout the course of the challenge.”

Here’s the question for this week:

What do you think about e-books? Do you engage in e-reading or do you prefer to stick to good ol’ physical books?

I have very little experience with e-reading but not for a lack of interest. I reviewed the Amazon Kindle back in June 2009. Back then the price of an e-reader was just astronomical – nearly $400. I knew that was too much to spend at the time and if they were still the same price now, I still wouldn’t consider it. I also think there is a very valuable timeless place for physical books. I love the smell of books, and I like being surrounded by them in my home (luckily, or I would be a very unhappy woman as I am literally surrounded by them!) but there is no denying the obvious advantages to e-reading especially when you are on the go.

I think e-reading is perfect for bringing a book on a work trip or vacation – or even to the office to read on your break. I think if you had very small living space, an e-reader would be a great way to continue reading and rereading the books you love without sacraficing valuable space. Not everyone has room for all those bookshelves! And the laundry list of excellent new features in the current assortment of e-readers is frankly drool-worthy.

I am currently coveting the newest Amazon Kindle which retails for as little as $139. They have come a long way since the first Kindle and now allow you to read your own documents on the Kindle as well, like PDFs and even have a “read to me” feature which would be so nice when reading at night, as you start to get very tired but still want to read just a bit more of the story… You can also connect the device to social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter to share any meaningful passages you read with others – how cool!

Add to this the light weight design (especially compared to a big hardcover), built in dictionary and bookmarks, adjustable text size and font choices, search ability so you can find that awesome part that you forgot to bookmark, and yeah seriously I could go on. I don’t think the Kindle or any e-reader could replace regular books for me – but it would be an awesome, powerful tool to be sure!

How about you? Do you have or have you used an e-reader? Love, hate or something in between? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below!