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When I was a little girl – well, still a little bit little, as I lived in a town without a bookstore when I was really little-little – I used to spend all my allowance money on books. It would take me about six weeks to save up for one Baby-Sitters Club or Fabulous Five book. I was always envious of people carrying bright yellow Coles Books bags. I couldn't imagine anything better than being able to buy as many books as I wanted.
I now have a lot of bookcases layered two or even three books deep. All of the shelves on the Ikea bookcases are bowing under the weight. It has come to the point where I don't want to buy more books (except for ones by certain authors whose work I collect), due to lack of places to put them. At the same time, I still want to support writers and publishers and everyone else who helps makes books happen.
It was a year or two ago that I started exploring the possibility of eReaders. The tipping point was when I decided that I wanted to own all of Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, but knew that there was nowhere for me to keep 38 books without giving up some of the books I already own, and that's simply not going to happen.
After much research and internal debate, I bought an eReader back in November. It currently contains five novels I purchased (including one Discworld novel – I'm hoping to find a Canadian source for bundles of his books so I don't have to buy each one separately), all 14 of the original Wizard of Oz books (they are in the public domain), and three library books.
I carry my eReader with me in my purse. It weighs about 8 ounces and I always have a book with me. I don't get quite as much reading done in coffee shops and restaurants as I planned, however, because waitresses and people at neighbouring tables are always asking about my device. I really don't mind answering questions, but sometimes I worry that I am babbling too much information at someone who had just a casual interest, so I clam up quickly unless there are follow-up questions.
( So, a summary of the stuff I learned about eReaders for anyone who wants to know )
Part two is here: About digital reading: eBooks & eReader pros & cons.
*It is my understanding that there are ways around the proprietary format, but I didn't want to mess with things like that.
I now have a lot of bookcases layered two or even three books deep. All of the shelves on the Ikea bookcases are bowing under the weight. It has come to the point where I don't want to buy more books (except for ones by certain authors whose work I collect), due to lack of places to put them. At the same time, I still want to support writers and publishers and everyone else who helps makes books happen.
It was a year or two ago that I started exploring the possibility of eReaders. The tipping point was when I decided that I wanted to own all of Terry Pratchett's Discworld books, but knew that there was nowhere for me to keep 38 books without giving up some of the books I already own, and that's simply not going to happen.
After much research and internal debate, I bought an eReader back in November. It currently contains five novels I purchased (including one Discworld novel – I'm hoping to find a Canadian source for bundles of his books so I don't have to buy each one separately), all 14 of the original Wizard of Oz books (they are in the public domain), and three library books.
I carry my eReader with me in my purse. It weighs about 8 ounces and I always have a book with me. I don't get quite as much reading done in coffee shops and restaurants as I planned, however, because waitresses and people at neighbouring tables are always asking about my device. I really don't mind answering questions, but sometimes I worry that I am babbling too much information at someone who had just a casual interest, so I clam up quickly unless there are follow-up questions.
( So, a summary of the stuff I learned about eReaders for anyone who wants to know )
Part two is here: About digital reading: eBooks & eReader pros & cons.
*It is my understanding that there are ways around the proprietary format, but I didn't want to mess with things like that.
