So, I read an eBook the last couple of days. Not my first . . . I started reading eBooks last year. There are many things that I like about eBooks but I will always love me my print books. Here, in no particular order, are the things that I do and don't like about eBooks (I read on dh's PDA using Mobipocket FWIW).
Likes:
- The compact size (ability to carry lots at one time)
- The abililty to sit anywhere in the family room and still read (not hog the only good lamp)
- The ability to sit in a darkish theater and read while waiting for the show to start
- The ability to read in bed without the light on (don't disturb dh)
- The ability to buy and immediately receive the book (as long as I can be online and have dh's PDA with me)
- The ability to get the classics for free (from certain sites)
Dislikes:
- The inability to loan a book to a friend hoping she'll fall in love with one of my favorite authors
- The inability to really enjoy the cover -- even when the cover is included in the electronic version (not always the case), it's still not the same thing. I've even been known to forget a book's title while reading it b/c the title isn't right there in front of me all the time.
- Concern that in 20 years I won't be able to re-read the books I'm buying now (technology might change) -- of course, my keepers I have at least one print copy of
- The inability to pick up the book and FEEL it, read the back, enjoy the cover, flip through it at random . . . of course, it's GOOD that I can't peek ahead as easily in the eBook format
- The inability to easily find a passage that I want to re-read if I haven't marked it (you can "bookmark" if you want/need to, I just forget to while I'm "in" the book)
What about you? What did I miss that is a pro or con for you in the eBook world?
Penn
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ebook pros and cons
for me the pros are a little different because I can only read ebooks on pc so first four pros don't apply. 5 I can buy the book anytime and once I am at my computer I can download it. Not only classics but some out of print books or hard to find book. Another bonus is space. I don't need to find space for another bookshelf. Cons I can agree with. Also so easy to find a book on the read shelf with all the spines visible.
What do you do with an ebook you abolutely don't like. With a print book you can give it away and see if someone is of a different opinion, with the ebook do you just delete it?
Christa ~ Quiet Canadians ~ 2008 Challenge Blog
My Shelfari Page
July's MEMBER OF THE MONTH
I leave it in my ebook directory and never go near it again
but I don't delete it
This reminds me that I have one of the free ebooks from the December offer that I still haven't read, the nocturne I think
Hugs
Sadhbh
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One thing...
I like about ebooks is something you don't like (and probably reflects a difference in format). I always use pdf format so the search engine allows me to find passages, names, etc. that aren't easily found in a print book.
The D2K Paranormal Junkies 2008 Challenge
I can search with Mobipocket
and I have . . . there's just something nice about curling up in bed and turning to the passage that gave me warm fuzzies the first time. Trick is, I have to remember a unique phrase. :) But I've used the search to find a character that was mentioned in passing in one book who is the main character of a later book. Cheating, I know, but it's fun! :)
Penn
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If I don't like an eBook
I still leave it on my hard drive. I delete most of my ebooks from the PDA as I read them. Some people buy multiple memory cards and have their libraries stored on them . . . I haven't needed to do that (yet). Several of the places that I buy my ebooks from have a place to rate a book (by clicking on # of stars or a drop-down menu with 4 or 5 word choices like "excellent" or "okay") and I try to rate all my reads, so a bad read for me would get a bad rating. Those ratings are compiled so you would see the little bars with the total number of people who rated the book (like a Nora Roberts will probably have several hundred people who rated her book and you'll see graph bars for each possible rating).
Penn
Join the 2008 Book (Reading) Challenge!!! It’s for a good cause and it’s FUN!
Come find my teammates and me at The DFWPlus Blog!
I've been
I've been reading more and more on my Kindle but not if it's one I know I'll keep or then I buy the print book too. It's so much easier to read on the Kindle because I can make the font size larger. I also love the fact that I have so many books available on one small device.
The D2K Paranormal Junkies ~ 2008 Book Challenge Blog