For months rumors have been swirling about Barnes & Noble going under. There is no doubt the big chain bookstore company is struggling, but they are putting up a valiant effort against increasing odds to stay afloat.

That said, however, the latest news is a bit disturbing - giving away Nook e-readers with the purchase of a tablet.  The article in Forbes states the reason for this give away is the company didn't sell as many Nook e-readers as expected during the 2012 holiday season.  The article further likens this desperate move to Hewlett Packard just before giving up its e-reader.

I submit, B&N and HP are vastly different animals.  B&N is in the book business, while HP is in the technology business. B&N has stores with physical book stock; HP used its technology to test the waters of e-readers to expand into a new market, but ending up pulling back. This is comparing apples to oranges.

This situation reminds me of a nasty review left on Amazon by a guy angry with B&N for the possibility of going out of business but took it out me and one of my books. He complained that he didn't get what he paid for when purchasing my book. Yes, he did, he got exactly what he paid for my book. He chose to buy the Nook for his e-books. I didn't make him buy it, and I am not responsible for what happens to B&N. No author is responsible for the fate of a bookseller.

So why did he spew such anger at an author?  Because it's easy. This guy felt angry about the situation and wanted to do something. Barnes & Noble rejected his abusive review, which only served to increase his anger and sent him to Amazon to vent.

Still, his actions leads to the obvious question: what happens to the e-books if Nook goes off the market? Nothing - at least for the customers. It will hurt B&N, but Nook owners will still have their books. Thousands upon thousands of downloads won't somehow disappear overnight.

Buying an e-reader is a separate issue from purchasing an e-book. It's the same as buying a hardback or paperback from a defunct bookstore. The reader still has the book, only they can't go back to that bookstore for more purchases. Thus heaping harm upon an innocent author is irresponsible. It is misdirected anger done solely for the purpose of venting.

In the wider picture, e-readers are going through the same challenges faced by other technologies such as VHS vs. Beta. For years, the competing systems vied for supremacy until a new comer came on the scene and won - DVDs.  The best solution is for the 2 dominate companies - Amazon and Apple - to join forces and created 1 e-reader capable of all formats. Yeah, right! I hear you saying. True, I won't hold my breath either. However, there are Apps for reading various e-book formats, so Nook versions can be read on other devices!

If Nook is eventually taken off the market, I can just about guarantee some company will make an app available to transfer the e-books off the device to be placed onto another device. Nook books will not go obsolete!

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