Bookish Questions – Do you use ebooks?
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Do you use ebooks?
While I generally prefer to have a physical copy of books, ebooks can be really nice. Most of the classic novels I have read recently have been ebook versions I was able to download for free for my Kindle app. I mean, who doesn’t love a free book?
Another reason I read ebooks are that most publishers prefer to send ARCs (Advance Reader Copies) as ebook editions. It’s much less expensive for them.
Do you like reading ebooks?
Love ebooks; easy to carry with me on multiple devices. I am never without something to read.
That is a big plus! I do miss the smell of the paper though. I guess, I could get one of those book scented candles or perfumes to solve that problem.
Just a few years ago I was one of those who said, “No, no, no! Never will I have one of those gadgets!” I love paper books: the heft of them, the smell of them, I have even gotten attached to a certain typeface in a certain copy of a book to the place that a new copy is not as good! But space is limited in our apartment and our climate is not kind to paper, do what you will. Also books are hideously expensive in Spain (we pay a 30% luxury tax on books, can you imagine?) and the local library is not up to much (and much less so in English!). I own three different e-readers (though one was an honest mistake!) and use them all. As you know I’m a real insomniac, either I can’t fall asleep until 1 AM or sometimes I come awake at 4 or 5 AM for no apparent reason. That’s why I have at least 2 ebook readers– because there’s nothing worse than running out of batteries! No heat in our apartment in the winter, so it’s great to be able to lie cosy in bed and flick on the little clip-light and read for hours without bothering my hubby.
It’s so great to have hundreds of titles at your fingertips, from the abstruse to the fluffy to children’s classics. I always know it’s going to be a bad night when nothing interests me, out of all that! To be able to slip my slimline Tagus Reader in my purse and know that no matter what delays may come, I have all those books on tap is a great comfort. Also, as I age it’s great to be able to increase font size with just a tap or two.
My ebook readers have names, particularly the old one, Antonio (who is, I believe, 6 yrs old and a little slow but still going strong). He named himself, somehow. Then there was Chekov (as in Antonin Chekov), my first touch-screen that was poorly made and didn’t last after being dropped. My Tagus ereader has inherited that name. The “mistake” is backlit; I thought I was getting something more like a tablet, which it is not (no touchscreen, either). I don’t care for backlit screens as much.
I talk too much. LOL
I love that you named one of them after a Star Trek character. As you may have noticed, our kitten is named Geordi after Geordi LaForge in the TNG series. I simply use my phone and tablet as e-readers. It’s much easier for me to only have the one device. I think I would die with a 30% luxury tax on books. How is gaining knowledge and insight a luxury? That being said, in Indiana, I pay a 7% sales tax on everything I buy that is not considered a staple grocery item. Even if 7% is a lot less than 30%, I try not to think about it too much.
Actually, the Russian author of Uncle Vanya, The Seagull, The Cherry Orchard et al was Antonin Chekov first, lol.
I remember an American friend who lives here called shortly after I got my first ebook and my husband picked up the phone. When asked if I was available, he replied, “Just a moment, she’s in bed with Antonio.” Fortunately my friend kneew me well enough to realise she didn’t have all the info on that one! 😉
Well, that’s less fun. But maybe that’s just because I’ve never read a happy book by a Russian author. Though, I used to quite enjoy reading Ayn Rand in High School. I think that was a case of finding the right author at the right time in my life. Her works were the foundation on which many of my principles were forged during that time.