Yes...I have been given a Kobo eReader for Christmas and love it.
I have always been skeptical about eBooks, until recently.
I love reading and I love paper books. I love the whole experience of books....browsing around book shops...ordering them from Amazon...waiting for them to arrive in the post (and let's face it...I don't get anything else through the post these days...even bills and bank statements arrive by email these days!)...settling into the bath with my latest trashy bodice ripper.....collecting flashy hard backs that I never read, but look intellectual on the book shelf...
I have always been of the opinion that you can never replicate that experience with eBooks.
But the trouble with paper books is they take up a lot of room, and I have been forced to give many away over the years every time we have moved house.
Books are also difficult to travel with. They take up a lot of room in a suitcase. I always travel with...what I call..disposable books....books that I leave in hotel rooms or airport when I have finished reading them.
So to address the problem of traveling with books (especially on the bus, back and forth to work), I have recently discovered the joys of reading with a Kindle app, which I have downloaded onto my smartphone. I download free books from Amazon, which are fun but are easily deleted when I have finished. The only problem with the smartphone is the pages are very small, and fiddly to read.
My eReader is bigger and easier to read....I don't need my glasses! It also has back lighting, which means I can read it in bed without disturbing my hubby, or requiring a big torch. I have even had it in the bath, although I am terrified of dropping it!
I am sure that eBooks will never totally replace paper books for me. I still like to buy paper books in book shops...collect them...smell them, feel and look at them...all experiences that you cannot replicate electronically. However, where my eReader will come into its own is when I am traveling. It will be so much easier to travel with a device that weighs a couple of pounds, compared to 10 books that take up half my suitcase.
What do you think about eBooks? Have you ever read one? Do you have an eReader? Do you think paper books will eventually become extinct?
4 comments:
I have a Kindle, I converted just over a year ago for reasons of space.
When I knew I HAD to read the Game of Thrones series I made the decision that I just couldn't find any more room on our bookshelves for another series of 6 thick books.
The books are cheaper. I also subscribe to Pixels of Ink through FB which gives a handful of free books for Kindle every day (mostly very mild mannered disposable titles).
I take mine in the bath too, it is EASY to pack and have with me on a daily basis. Drawbacks are that we can't share our books with friends - which I used to do a lot, passing them around with family and friends.
I find it difficult to hold a thick book in bed (I am still trying to finish the fourth Eragon book from a year ago)so my Kindle wins hands down.
I can see that I will use both methods, and some I still buy in paper form, but for reading in one direction (start to finish) that I don't need to flick back to the Kindle is great.
I haven't had my Kobo for long so I am not sure how it will stack up against Kindle...I'll let you know when I have had more of a play with it.
Sarah, I just got a Kobo Glo over the holiday too and I really like it! Like you I was sceptical about e-books. But a few months ago I was searching for a book at my local library and the only copy that showed up was an e-book. I downloaded it onto my iPod and enjoyed having access to the book, and it's portability. As you mentioned with your smartphone experience I found that the screen was just too small.
The only problem now is that my boys really love using the Kobo too. Trying to get time on it is getting trickier and trickier!
All the best,
Claire
I'm really enjoying my Kobo Glo, Claire. The only thing I am finding is that I am keeping the light on all the time which seems to be cutting down the battery life. Are you finding the same?
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