The subject of an e-reader vs. a book made from paper is something I've talked about before. But it's something that presents itself once again due to my friends having them and my constant dilemma of trying to decide which books to take on work trips and vacations. Sometimes this quandary is not too intense, but this is only when I have a stack of New Yorker issues that I need to catch up on. However, this is not always the case.
I am not the only one. This short post on one of my favourite sites touches on a lot of the same reasons why I cannot break down and get one (or ask for one for Christmas/birthdays/graduation).
I recently put this choice in the hands of fate. Except Fate was an elderly lady with a Boston accent. She was walking around the convention hall where I was trying to give away copies of some environmental science journals, and she asked me to take a survey about the convention center. If I took it, I would be automatically entered to win an e-reader. I took the survey with mixed feelings. I didn't really want an e-reader, but I did want to take the survey on her fancy-schmansy iPad.
Maybe the real question is this: forget the e-reader, do I secretly want an iPad?
"I recently put this choice in the hands of fate. Except Fate was an elderly lady with a Boston accent."
ReplyDeletebahahahaha
Also, last week I got an iPhone and downloaded the iBooks app, which gives you access to all uncopyrighted literature for free. (Naturally, the first things I downloaded were the Jane Austen collection.) I can definitely say I prefer reading paper books to an iPhone, and especially with Jane Austen, it's actually easier for me to find specific passages in my old dog-eared copies than it is to use the (otherwise handy) search function in iBooks. That said, though, I'm awfully glad I have iBooks right now when all my books are packed for the move and I desperately need distraction at the end of a day.
ReplyDeleteSo, back when the various kinds of e-reader first came out, I remember agreeing with lots of friends (you included, perhaps) that e-readers would be fantastic for travel, but otherwise, book-books are best ... and as it turns out, I'm agreeing. Still, I know an iPhone is not equivalent to a Kindle or even an iPad, so who knows how my opinion might alter if an Elderly Lady With a Boston Accent bestowed one on me. ;)