Okay, I give up. I want one of THESE:
Call it a kobo, a bobo, a babbo or bindle… a nook or puck or whatever stupid name you want to make up*, the fact is, there are bazillions of ebooks out there on PDF. These are CLASSICS and living books – many far better than the “modern” alternatives – and I want them and I want them paperless but as close to the paper experience as possible, if that makes any sense.
I have been holding out for years, partly because of the cost but mostly because of Shabbos: what’s the use of a book you can’t read one day in seven??? (If you’re new to this blog, welcome! As observant Jews, we spend the time from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday without computers, phones, e-readers, or techology of any kind!)
Plus, if everybody migrates to e-books, there will be no actual book-books left for me to enjoy on Shabbos. This is a nightmare; if not for me, than for my grandchildren.
It would be like the Rapture: everything on paper with any literary merit would vanish, taken up to the virtual paradise. The only novels “left behind” (so to speak) would be those printed by Feldheim and Artscroll (Jewish religious publishing houses that typically print bland, uninspiring “women’s novels” written at about a 6th-grade reading level).
Still and all. I have been finding a number of out-of-copyright books I’d love to use in our homeschooling over the last few weeks, and the thought (and cost) of either buying them in printed form or printing them myself is truly prohibitive.
So – ebook reader it is: 6 days a week, at least.
*p.s. Worst name discovered so far: the Ectaco jetBook. It looks thoroughly clunky, tiny screen and all. Nice to have a freebie I can cross off my list straight from the get-go!
So… when are you taking the plunge??? (or have you already?)
I haven't yet but I am getting awfully tempted. My phone is an e-reader as well so little motivation for me personally. And Froggy loves to read over my shoulder as I read-aloud so I hesitated thinking it would make reading time less pleasant for her. But it would make access to so many books so much easier. And there is supposedly one that you can add annotations on and is almost like a mini-laptop. That is what makes it tempting for me.
ReplyDeleteIt would be like the Rapture:
ReplyDeleteLOL! :-)
I've got a Kindle and while I love it (truly, I do!) I downloaded the Kindle app to my iPhone and find myself doing a lot of reading on my phone. I didn't think I would like reading on such a small screen, but the truth is, my phone is always with me. I have books with me, many books, whenever I find a moment to read. So cool.
ReplyDeleteWe have not even thought of making the switch, what would I do with my new bookshelf? ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm generally against new technology. (Purely because I have a hard time with change :-). But we got a new iPad to replace the old family desktop computer. And after a few weeks of outrage in trying to figure it out, we love it! My daughter (9 yrs) loves to read books on it. And I'm reluctantly glad that we will be able to buy a few books cheaper for school next year.
ReplyDelete