Comments on: Some thoughts on Books and E-Readers http://www.bookthing.co.uk/2010/01/some-thoughts-on-books-and-e-readers/ Books, reviews, bibliographies and stuff! Fri, 16 Jul 2010 18:28:35 +0100 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Kerry http://www.bookthing.co.uk/2010/01/some-thoughts-on-books-and-e-readers/comment-page-1/#comment-2134 Kerry Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:52:35 +0000 http://www.bookthing.co.uk/?p=1110#comment-2134 Hi Grete, I too love books, that musty smell you only get in second hand book shops is strangely appealing, but I also love my E-reader (PRS 505) and here's why. First and foremost, with the addition of a leather cover, it retains enough of the feel of a book. The "page" being magnetized ink is as easy on the eyes as the real deal. When I am cold in bed reading I only need my thumb out of the covers to turn the pages. It's a standard weight and size no matter how big the book I'm reading is. I have to confess I tired of reading my paperback version of Don Quixote in part because it was annoyingly heavy. (I probably shouldn't admit that...) I can easily travel with an array of novels and work texts without requiring an additional suitcase - with wheels! It reads just as well in bright sunlight too - there is no glare like on a computer screen because there is no back light. (That does mean you can't read in the dark with out a light though.) It stops me from putting dog ears on real book pages, which I have always done and always found shamefully sacrilegious. It is aesthetically pleasing in its own right and comfortable to use. There are however some downsides. How the publishers can justify it, is beyond me, but I have been unable to find ebooks that are reasonably priced (excluding those that are out of copyright and freely available). They tend to sell at the original full list price, whereas most paperbacks are discounted in several stores. This incenses me. Some formats are not that great and cause the page turns to be slower than I would like. E.g. Reading large pdf files with graphics can take a second or two to page turn which can be frustrating. This can also affect readability if for example the original font is particularly small. (Although the eReader has an option for adjusting text size it isn't entirely effective in all formats.). If you are a particularly fast reader the page turn time can be a problem. (I'm not that fast so it doesn't bother me too much.) So as you can see, it's not all good, but overall for me I wouldn't swap it for any other gadget. It helps me to pursue my joy of reading in the few spare moments I have - I travel everywhere with it, and consequently can choose what I read and when - wherever I am. It doesn't completely replace the good old fashioned paper version, but for a book lover like yourself, I think you might surprise yourself and like it a little more than you expect. Hi Grete, I too love books, that musty smell you only get in second hand book shops is strangely appealing, but I also love my E-reader (PRS 505) and here’s why. First and foremost, with the addition of a leather cover, it retains enough of the feel of a book. The “page” being magnetized ink is as easy on the eyes as the real deal. When I am cold in bed reading I only need my thumb out of the covers to turn the pages. It’s a standard weight and size no matter how big the book I’m reading is. I have to confess I tired of reading my paperback version of Don Quixote in part because it was annoyingly heavy. (I probably shouldn’t admit that…) I can easily travel with an array of novels and work texts without requiring an additional suitcase – with wheels! It reads just as well in bright sunlight too – there is no glare like on a computer screen because there is no back light. (That does mean you can’t read in the dark with out a light though.) It stops me from putting dog ears on real book pages, which I have always done and always found shamefully sacrilegious. It is aesthetically pleasing in its own right and comfortable to use.
There are however some downsides. How the publishers can justify it, is beyond me, but I have been unable to find ebooks that are reasonably priced (excluding those that are out of copyright and freely available). They tend to sell at the original full list price, whereas most paperbacks are discounted in several stores. This incenses me. Some formats are not that great and cause the page turns to be slower than I would like. E.g. Reading large pdf files with graphics can take a second or two to page turn which can be frustrating. This can also affect readability if for example the original font is particularly small. (Although the eReader has an option for adjusting text size it isn’t entirely effective in all formats.). If you are a particularly fast reader the page turn time can be a problem. (I’m not that fast so it doesn’t bother me too much.)

So as you can see, it’s not all good, but overall for me I wouldn’t swap it for any other gadget. It helps me to pursue my joy of reading in the few spare moments I have – I travel everywhere with it, and consequently can choose what I read and when – wherever I am. It doesn’t completely replace the good old fashioned paper version, but for a book lover like yourself, I think you might surprise yourself and like it a little more than you expect.

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