Why we started reading with electronic book readers

[Giggleton]

Because printed books are highly illogical.

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by Fluribus

Carry? Hell! I'd never leave that room. I have about 7,000 books and no place to put them. I WANT that room!

Amen!

[kennyc]

I was into computers way before ebook readers or even most of my more serious reading life. I have been tracking, following, looking for ebook since before they existed, first on computers, then on pdas, laptops, and finally dedicated ebook readers! I still prefer some books in paper form, but fewer and fewer...

[Anabana]

Because of injuries and nerve damage to his back, feet & legs, my dh has to spend more and more hours sitting or lying down. He's as avid a reader as I am, so keeping him in books when he couldn't hold a paperback larger than 200 pages became increasingly difficult. I bought an ereader for him 2 years ago, and he was totally sold on it within 15 mins.
A day or two later he commented on a book I had downloaded for him, so I 'borrowed' his reader for that one book. The next day I bought one for myself. I still have several thousand books, but I'm starting to get the paperbacks scanned and converted to my reader. What a joy. I now have all my hardbacks in bookcases! Only a couple of boxes of paperbacks on the floor and one large stack of books beside my bed. As previously mentioned, I have been able to donate a huge number of 'classics' and public domain books and replace them with the free ebooks.

[taosaur]

Originally Posted by kennyc

I was into computers way before ebook readers or even most of my more serious reading life. I have been tracking, following, looking for ebook since before they existed, first on computers, then on pdas, laptops, and finally dedicated ebook readers! I still prefer some books in paper form, but fewer and fewer...

I wasn't dedicated enough to read anything longer than a short story from a stationary computer monitor and didn't really start in on ebooks until I got a netbook in 2008, but I did check on ebook progress occasionally from the late '90s onward, always baffled that we still hadn't sorted it very well. I would say it wasn't even e-Ink and the Kindle's success that shaped things up, so much as the smartphone and tablet era convincing retailers like Amazon that they had to make their offerings multi-platform and spurring some competition in e-reading software. Mobile reading apps also provided (and continue to provide) a gateway experience to ereading on devices that people have with them anyway, opening up the market beyond the early adopters and 'special needs' consumers (you might remember that Kindles early on were associated with a similar demographic to Rascal scooters).

[tompe]

I started reading on an eInk reader just because I wanted to buy a gadget and managed to convince myself that I needed an eInk reader. Then I stopped reading on it when it broke because I did not like the Gen 3 and how it worked.

I have started reading on eInk again now when I bought a Kindle Wifi a while ago. I got the convenience with buying books and I really like how lightweight it is and how the current location is synced between all my devices.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

What got you started in the first place?

Free public domain.

[Anabran]

For me an E reader is what got me reading novels again and even collecting comic books again.

The economic "downturn" of 2008 resulted in me
having to live with "what I could carry for a good while" until I settled in another state

since then I try not to collect anything that wont fit on my person for travel.
No big desktop PC ,only a laptop and now a small tablet
(kindle fire)
and two small High capacity external Fire wire drives
I dont collect DVD movies and the thought of storing paper books or comic books in my tiny apartment is just silly and impractical for Me
I HATE clutter

Paper is flammable( although I dont smoke)
Used books are nasty and smell bad from all the Dry Spit caked up in the upper right corner of the pages by fingerlickers who needed traction to turn pages.

I hope the E-readers will eventually become free item for most citizens to encourage Literacy

[LovesMacs]

Much as traffic seems to fill up all available space, so too do books, no matter how big a house you own. An e-reader helps with space issues.

[Bilbo1967]

Same as many, the ability to carry a lot of books while travelling was the main driver (plus, lets be honest, a love of 'gadgets').

I felt particularly vindicated when I was stranded in Germany whilst travelling alone for business and yet still had plenty to read

[kyteflyer]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

I got a PDA.
Nice and compact and I could take it everywhere.
It let me read anywhere anytime.
And there was this website called BLACK MASK loaded with nicely formatted classics...

I had a Casseiopia EM500 PDA, Windows CE operating system, and Microsoft Reader, bought in 2000. I was obsessed, and have stayed that way. I diverted somewhat for a couple of years, but iphone in 2007 sorted me out quick smart. I got most of my books off M$ itself (they had weekly freebies) or usenet.

Besides. My bookshelves are full to overflowing, there just isnt room for any more.

[rkomar]

Originally Posted by Anabran

Paper is flammable( although I dont smoke)
Used books are nasty and smell bad from all the Dry Spit caked up in the upper right corner of the pages by fingerlickers who needed traction to turn pages.

Have you ever tried burning a book? I have a feeling that a plastic ereader would actually burn harder than a paper book (especially if the book is kept closed). Also, I really don't think the smell comes from dried spit. I don't lick my fingers when turning pages, and my old books start to smell after a while. It's probably mostly the smell of the acid in the paper eating at it, along with mold. See, now you can go back to liking paper books.

[Anabran]

now you can go back to liking paper books.

Never!!!

save the trees!!

[ppowell002]

Too many books taking up too much space and arthritis in my thumbs making it painful to hold open a book...not good for a voracious reader.
I pre-ordered the very first kobo but returned it after one week. Pressing that button was painful. Replaced it with Sony PRS 600 and never looked back.
I have donated or recycled all my paper books. LIBERATING!

[ppowell002]

Originally Posted by Moriarty's

I honestly hate the smell and feel of paper.

Now that's an interesting aversion!