I like to read – to a point. I have written about this before, and about the books I like to read.
When it comes to reading, recently I have been reading a lot more ebooks than paper books. There are certainly advantages to reading ebooks but there are also some disadvantages as well. Also, I have been doing a lot of books from the online library system as well.
Advantages –
- I don’t have to leave my house to go get a book. Yes, I could always order it online and have it delivered to my door as well, but still I can get it on my tablet easily.
- I can read at night or the early morning without having to turn a light on. I really like this fact. Then I don’t wake my wife up (usually) by reading if I stay up later than her (rarely) or I wake up before her (usually).
- You can have a lot of books with you at one time and no extra space is taken up. This is great. As you will see in the disadvantages section (#3) I need more than one book on my tablet at a time.
- Ability to adjust font size. As I get older this is a nice one. At night I am able to take my glasses off and read without any issues at all if I want to by just adjusting the font size a little.
Disadvantages –
- I don’t like the “feel” of an ebook. I like holding a book in my hand, and you don’t get that at all with an ebook.
- I like being able to quickly flip back to something with a paper book. I can sometimes remember where on a page (roughly) something is and then I can find it when doing a Quick Look back. You don’t get that with an ebook at all. The formatting may change so words may be in a different place each time you open the ebook. Also, if there is a map or something at the front or back as a reference you can’t easily get to it and back to your page in an ebook like you can with a paper copy.
- Waiting for the book. I am a slow reader. It can take me months to read a novel. I don’t read a lot and when I do it takes me a while to read. I dislike that the online libraries only allow you 2 weeks on an ebook. I can never finish a book that fast, and if there is a waiting list it can be weeks between me having to return the book and getting it back so I can continue reading it. The current book I am on I have checked out 3 times and between each return there has been at least 4 weeks of waiting to get it again. As a result I am reading 2 books this way and I always hope I can get the other book while waiting for the one I just had to return. It is a major pain.
- Staring at a screen wears on my eyes more than reading a paper book.
- Availability of books is sometimes limited without buying the book. The online libraries don’t have a huge selection so I sometimes can’t get the book I want in digital form. This is sometimes even true if I want to buy a book as well. Ok, that doesn’t happen much anymore, but there are books I own (yes older books) that aren’t available in digital form so I can’t get them on my tablet even if I wanted to.
Yes, I like using my tablet to read. I don’t think it is perfect, but it is something I am getting used to.
What do you think about reading books on a tablet/ereader?
Hey Bro,
I mostly agree with you on most of your points. I enjoy holding a real book in my hands more than my tablet. But, I also read a lot with the tablet, because of the conveniences you mentioned.
What online library service are you using?
I mostly use Hoopla and I think, when you borrow an e-book there, you get it for like 3-4 weeks. And I don’t think they have waiting lists for books. If you want to re-rent it after the time period is over, you can do it immediately. Maybe it’s a good alternative.
Yo,
Your Bro.