I made the decision a while ago that I wouldn't become an e-reader user. I love to read and I also love the experience of reading. I love turning real pages of real books; I love dog-earring the page to mark my place; I love the smell of the pages; I love browsing the shelves of the library or, if I'm feeling really indulgent, a bookstore (I say indulgent because if I'm in a bookstore I find it almost impossible to leave without buying a book and with a library literally a ten-minute walk away it is indeed indulgent to spend money on books); I love reading in bed, laying down, not propped up on pillows.
But I have an iPad now and with an iPad comes the ability to download thousands of great apps (and lots of not-so-great ones). Kindle and Kobo are two of the free apps that are available. So, given what I said above, what did I do?
I put those suckers on my iPad quicker than you can say Luddite.
My first reason was curiosity. I wanted to see what all the hubbub was about even though I felt I'd made up my own mind about them. My second reason was that I'm going through a short list of Victorian classics that I've somehow never read (Jane Eyre is the bomb!) and I'm having serious trouble getting them at my local library and I know that they're free through Kobo.
I may also have purchased The Postmistress and The Hunger Games.
And so I cuddled up with my iPad two nights ago in bed and started reading The Postmistress. After two nights reading in bed with my iPad I have short list of pros and cons. Mainly short on the cons.
Pros
- No heavy books to prop up while I'm laying down
- The light the iPad gives off eliminates the need for a reading light (which I haven't had for a while thus annoying John as I turn on my table lamp every night while he is trying to sleep beside me)
- I can switch to a different book very easily if the mood strikes
Cons
- Laying down reading with an iPad isn't very comfortable.
I can find my way around the Con here. I can start sitting up to read or I can save my iPad reading for the living room, deck etc (if my kids will stop playing the cookie baking game on it long enough for me to get my hands on it). I can see why people who travel a lot love their e-reader. I'm going to be loving it at the cottage this summer and on our trip to New Brunswick in a few weeks.
My assessment so far is that it's pretty cool and it will definitely have its place in my reading life but it won't completely replace the traditional book for me especially since, while I'm an avid reader, I'm also a frugal one and prefer to get my books for free at the library.
Do you have an e-reader? Do you like it? Love it? Wish you'd never bought it?
3 comments:
I love my Kindle. I still read regular books though. It certainly doesn't have to be one or the other. I actually really like the Kindle in bed, but that may because it's significantly smaller than the iPad.
I think it's going to be awesome for the cottage. The perfect thing, actually.
Didn't I leave a comment on this post? I had one disappear from my blog too. What is going on with blogger?
I have a Kindle and I love it. I love reading in bed with it, although it may be more comfortable because it's a lot smaller than the iPad. I think it's going to be great at the cottage.
Blogger had some issues this week that had them remove posts put up over a couple of days and when they put them back up the comments weren't there. Another reason to move to Wordpress this summer.
Post a Comment