Ever since the Kindle made its grand appearance on Amazon.com back in 2007 much has been said about the future of the book. Some have speculated that books will eventually be completely replaced by electronic media. It's still a bit too early to tell if the book will go the way of the dodo (and I personally don't believe that this will happen within my lifetime), but no one can deny that e-books are a hot commodity right now. The viewing screens on e-readers are surprisingly easy on the eyes and there's something to be said about having a dozen books loaded onto a device the size of an easy reader.
I've played briefly with the Kindle and I-Pad, though admittedly not enough to properly critique them. And I've long said that as a general rule, I'd much rather have a physical book in my hands than a computer. But then something happened: I received an e-reader - a Cruz tablet, specifically - for Christmas.
I'll freely admit that I actually put the tablet on my Christmas list of my own accord. There was a very specific reason for this that had nothing to do with books: I wanted to be able to upload PDF files containing knitting patterns onto the tablet. Once I had the tablet in hand and downloaded my first knitting pattern I was thrilled. Mission accomplished! But of course, it was only a matter of time before I used the tablet as an e-reader. Wisconsin libraries (and many other libraries across the country, for that matter!) all have access to Overdrive, a database of downloadable e-books and digital audiobooks, so I got out my handy dandy library card and downloaded my first e-book.
Reading an e-book is definitely a different experience than reading a physical book. It's much more trouble than it's worth to flip ahead more than a few pages(great if you're the type of person who spoils a mystery by reading the last chapter first), but it can also be problematic if you need to page back for any reason to re-read or double check something. And even though the reader tells me how much I have read and how much is left to go, there's something nice about being able to physically see how close to the end of a book you are, or to flip ahead to see how long the next chapter is so you know if you have time to squeeze it in before the end of your lunch break. But if all you need to do is read a novel from start to finish, reading the electronic version should not pose any significant problems. E-books also have the great benefit of not taking up much physical space (great for bringing multiple books on vacation) and giving you the freedom to increase the size of the type to make it easy on the eyes.
I still don't think that we'll be saying good-bye to the physical book anytime soon. But if you're like the millions of other readers who are curious about this up and coming format, don't be afraid to give it a shot. You can download e-books onto your PC for a test run, and if your library has access to resources like Overdrive or NetLibrary (and it probably does!) you should be able to try your first e-book risk free at no charge. Even those like myself who prefer the feel of a book in their hands to the feel of a small computer can't deny that that are some benefits to the electronic format, or the fact that the e-book is here to stay.
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