In honor of e-book week (as observed on my blog), I thought I'd talk about my favorite e-book devices.
For me, e-books have two significant advantages over "dead tree" books:
- you can bring your library anywhere (without lugging pounds and pounds of paper)
- you can read in the dark (great when getting the kids to sleep)
When my main objective is mobility, I rely on my pda with mobipocket software. I can easily tuck my pda in my purse and have hundreds of books at my fingertips. I'm never stuck without something to read. And the pda recharger is lightweight, too, so it's easy to bring on longer trips (such as my recent trip to Sweden). The screen is a trifle small, but mobipocket software can use landscape format and it scrolls pages so I don't have to fumble to turn them. (Great article about "Why to read books on your pda" starts here.)
When my main objective is reading in the dark, I prefer my e-bookwise reader. It's about the size of a paperback and very easy to operate one-handed. Because the screen is bigger than the pda, I find it more comfortable to read, and with the backlight set on low, I get 15+ hours of battery life before recharging.
Of course, both devices are great for aging eyes because they allow you to change the font size. Read without glasses! And both offer a staggering range of content. Add in content from sites like Fictionwise or Blackmask or Baen or Project Gutenberg (the last site offering thousands of FREE books), and I have more to read than I can possibly find time for.
If I really want to rest my eyes, I can buy audiobooks in mp3 format from Fictionwise for less than any other audiobook vendor I know of.
If I wanted to be especially diligent, I could buy Mobipocket creator and import .pdf and other files too--allowing me to read work-related articles on my pda too.
For readers willing to struggle with DRM, additional first-run books are available in secure Microsoft and Adobe formats, but I prefer to buy from vendors who don't treat me like a thief.
Comments