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A great thread - so much so I decided to join up and add my bit.
I have been fascinated with the different perspectives on reading shown by the people on this list. I was surprised that so many of you seem effectively indifferent to the medium. I have revelled in books since I was a kid. Real books that I could feel, and smell and flick through. Books on shelves that I could stare at and reminisce about. Shelves and shelves of books that I could sit back and stare at and see which one wanted to jump out at me today.
But just a week ago I got a Sony Reader (650). The big reason for it was that there are lots and lots of books on places like Project Gutenberg that I want to try, books that are either very hard to get on paper or that I am not sure I'll like enough to make the space for on my shelves. But there was also something noted by several on here: the strain on the wrist when reading large hardcovers. I've got collections of H.G.Wells, Charles Dickens and more in beautiful but huge and heavy hardcovers ... so right now I'm reading "The War of the Worlds" off my reader.
It has been interesting to compare the experience. Yes this reader is much lighter than the multi-volume tome on the bookshelf, but as yet I still have to train my hand to hold the device comfortably - trying not to accidentally touch the touch screen etc (not a big deal but not the immediate comfort I always find with a paperback). I thought that being able to choose font sizes would be good - but the device is much too limited in that respect (and I think I need to get my eyes/glasses checked). When I came across a word I did not remember, a quick double-tap on the screen gave me the meaning - that was very nice. But when I wanted to flick back to the front to check on something ... I guess that's something you eventually learn to do better or learn not to want to do.
Overall the ebook reader experience is quite good I think, but I have to say that I do still miss the paper - even the big heavy tome. With a paper book there is an experience that goes with the medium. An experience of passing from the beginning to the end that is so literal with a paper book. Many of my favourite books get purchased in hardcover and so there is also a sense of "special" that goes with reading them (the very awkward size and weight imparts its own element to the experience). With paperbacks there is that constant feel in your hands that varies from book to book. Each book becomes a friend, each different with its own history.
I'm guessing I will get to like my Sony Reader more the more I use it but I firmly believe that any books I really love will still find their way onto my shelves of paper books ... because yes, I would miss my friends if they were not there on the shelves to keep me company.
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