Sunday, July 4, 2010

Electronic Books - Really?

You may or not know, but I have hundreds of books. I like looking at them, holding them and reading them. Recently Chuck asked me why I was still buying them - couldn't I just read them electronically?

I ignored him, after 40 odd years I've become pretty good at it! But, it has been on my mind. Yesterday my friend Pam brought her "Nook" to our genealogy meeting and let me try it out. While I didn't fall in love with it, I saw Chuck's point. Maybe I should at least test drive the notion.

After reading about the Kindle, Nook, Sony eBook, etc I decided not to purchase a device at this time, but borrow Clayton's iPad. He loaded the Kindle reader onto it and I purchased my first ebook, "You Never Give Me Your Money, The Beatles After the Breakup". It seemed fitting I would buy a book about one of passions, The Beatles, for my test. What isn't there to love about the Beatles! I was also pleasantly surprised that there were a number of books by F. Scott Fitzgerald (another passion)at no cost since the copyright has run out.

So, while it is raining in Tampa I will be working on my "Secret Genealogy" project and see if I can fall in love with electronic books while reading about a group that produced awesome vinyl.

1 comment:

  1. Be sure to look at back lighting. If you try to read outdoors--I'm on my lanai reading all the time--backlighting on the screen can make that difficult. It's a real limitation if you're a beach reader. Be sure to check what happens with battery life and changing batteries. If you blow one, replacing it can be a real hassel. A Nook advantage is that you can walk into any B&N and buy a new one and replace it on the spot. Went wandering in B&N yesterday...bought books with my Nook...never went near a cash register...no lines...no hassels...it's a strange new world...

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