A-Z Challenge: E is for E-Readers

E is for E-Readers

I have a confession to make: all the years that my husband craved an e-reader, I thought he was silly. What could ever replace the feeling of a solid book in my hands? Then, when I bought him a Kindle for his last birthday, I changed my tune. I was wrapping it, and I noticed how light it was, and how neatly it fit in the palm of my hand.

I was converted, then and there. I still have an ever-growing stack of books on my coffee table, but I love having the freedom to throw my e-reader in my purse and have access to more books than I could possibly read in an afternoon.

Pros and Cons: First, the Pros

1. Travel: I have destroyed so many carry on bags simply because of cramming them full of books. Now, I just take my Kindle, and I have enough books with me to cross the Atlantic and come home again.

2. Revising: I have developed a revision method that relies on using my e-reader. I read my manuscript on the Kindle, keeping an open notebook beside me. Because I can't write on the actual document (the note function takes me too long), I write my comments and changes in freehand. Every four or five chapters, I move to the computer and make the changes. This has really helped me improve my work: until buying an e-reader, I sort of flailed at revisions.

3. Free books: there are many, many classic books that are available to download for free, and many new authors will sometimes run promotional deals where their books are free for a week. Because of my e-reader, I have been able to re-read old favorites and experience new books that I might not have otherwise picked up. But honestly, who can resist free?

4. Dictionary function: so cool. If I could give every public school enough e-readers for each student to use, I would. Can you imagine the potential for active reading that exists when the dictionary is contained in the same place as the text? No more excuses!

5. Libraries (also a con: read this article about libraries and e-readers). A lot of public libraries are expanding their collections to include e-readers, but this also means that libraries are struggling with copyright concerns.

Now, on to the cons:
1. Nothing replaces the feel of a real book

2. Highlighting/annotating takes a bit more work on an e-reader

3. Can’t use it during take off and landing when flying: enough said.

4. % rather than page number: I'm a bit OCD, so this annoys me. I'd rather know that I have forty-five pages left than know that I've read 77%.

5. Libraries (see above)

Still Undecided? Check out these links for more information:

7 things you need to know about E-Readers

Compare and Contrast reviews

Do you have an E-Reader? If so, why did you buy one? If not, why haven't you bought one?

Remember to check in with the other A-Z challenge participants!