One of these decades folks will realize that a good e-reader is as game changing as the iPod was.
I’m very pro real books and as a result was hesitant to jump on the ebook bandwagon. That all changed after finishing a particularly large book early during a long trip, lugging those damn dead trees around the country for a while and unable to find anything worthwile to read in along the way. Now with my ebook any book and every book on my “to read” list taking up the same space, same weight, and I don’t worry about damaging them because the ebook is waterproof with a rugged cover.
I still buy hard to find and out of print books at used book stores, but those stay home and get gifted to special people when I’m done.
Yup, this is the way. My e-reader weighs less than my phone and is about 1/4th the size of a hardback or trade paperback with the cover or a protective sleeve. It’s a game changer for travel, commuting, waiting time before appointments, etc.
I’ve read 200+ books in the span of time I might have read 20 if I had to throw an actual book in my bag on the way out the door.
I probably read about as much on my phone as I do on paper. I would never read a book on my phone. I hate that experience compared to reading a physical book when it comes to such media. I would have to think about it a lot more to explain it coherently, but it’s ok for wikipedia and not ok for books.
I got round that problem by buying a folding leather cover for my Kobo
It’s an absolute game changer for holidays etc
This is the invention I’ve been dreaming of.
It looks like a blank book. Pages look, feel, and smell like regular paper. I download a new book and text appears on the pages. I read it like a regular book, and when I’m done I can erase the text and start over.
I know it’s a luxury item for a limited market, but that’s what I want.
If there was an easy way to easily let friends borrow your books, I’d agree. The whole benefit of physical books (aside from convenience) is full ownership of it. I can always sell it or buy cheap used ones.
I’m on my seventh e-ink kindle. I still prefer paper for reference books, but e-ink for everything else.
How did you go through six? I still rock my first and almost a decade old kindle
Working in machine shops; I often had cycle time to read. Drops killed most of them. I had a few mysteriously die. When I would open them up, there was board and frame corrosion. Metal working fluids and fine metal chips are hell on electronics.
Dropped a few in the bathtub. Current kindle has been dropped in the bath, but survived. It may die due to corrosion. Battery is getting weak anyhow.
For years, I didn’t use a cover. I now have one of the official Amazon covers and have gotten better longevity on my former and current kindles. My case has a crack in it due to a drop.
I consider them a consumable, they’re cheap compared to the knowledge and pleasure they give me.
When you use them heavily some of the incremental improvements are nice to have. I swapped my mid 2010s Nook for an ~8in Boox 3y ago or so and it was a huge upgrade.
