Musing Mondays January 16, 2012

This week’s musing asks…

What devices –if any– do you read books on? Do you find it enjoyable, or still somewhat bothersome? Or: If you only read the print books, why haven’t you chosen to read on any devices?

I started reading ebooks on my computer.  It was not my favorite way to read but I used my laptop and purchased books from Baen for a really good price.  I still read on the computer occasionally, mostly where I have downloaded something short.

I now have two e-readers.  I purchased a eBookwise reader 4 or 5 years ago.  It is limited in the formats that can be loaded or it would still be my only e-reader.  It is simple to use, has a good font, and is backlit.  I still use it when a book comes in one of the formats that will load on it.

My second e-reader is the original Nook.  I purchased it because it used epub and epub is available almost everywhere except Amazon.  I love the ease of purchasing books from Barnes and Noble and side loading for other publishers is not difficult.  

I like to read on both of my e-readers but it does have some drawbacks.  It is easy to forget about a book once it has been downloaded.  It is hard to flip through the pages to find something you want to re-read.  I also dislike the price difference between ebooks and paper copies.  If the paper copy is cheaper I will always go paper.  On the plus side there are a lot of books being released on in electronic form and having an e-reader makes it easy to purchase and read those.  Another plus is the ability to check ebooks out from my local library.  I have found that a good way to get books I might not find on the shelves.

I am thinking about getting an iPad to use when I travel and to download from Amazon.  I think I would like reading on the iPad but battery life could be a problem.