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Originally Posted by dgm
I've been asked if I'd like a Kindle or Nook for Christmas, but I don't think I'd use it.
First, I've been turning pages in books for 50 years and it doesn't bother me in the least.
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For me, the nuisance isn't the page-turning so much as the gutter-reading, the spine-grasping and most of all the font-rendering. ebooks solve all those issues perfectly. There
is no gutter, it doesn't have to be 'held' open, and the font is whatever my eyes happen to like at that particular moment in terms of both type and size. I won't even get into the ability to look up words I'm unsure of.
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Second, I live 3 minutes from an excellent public library.
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With an ebook and an internet connection, you live
30 milliseconds from the greatest library in the world, the Gutenburg Project; 10's upon 10's of thousands of the greatest works ever written by mankind ... with 1000's more every year. And you don't have to get dressed to go there. Sometimes I go there completely naked!
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Third, I have no interest in multimedia - I virtually never watch movies and would never download video or music to a tablet device.
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ebook doesn't equate to multimedia device. Some do both, but I prefer my words unadorned with flash and bling.
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Fourth, I have explored the free e-books available from my library and found virtually nothing of interest.
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That will change. Pretty soon your library will just close from lack of use.
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Fifth, I never read a book more than once and have no interest in owning many.
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Never buy a book again and have more in your to-read pile than you can ever read in 10 lifetimes.
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Sixth, I frequently take a book home from the library, read a few pages, and decide I don't want to finish it. If I buy the download I'd be stuck with it.
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Previously addressed.
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Seventh, why would I want to pay for a book that I wouldn't want to keep and that I could get free at the library down the street?
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previously addressed.
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Eighth, I don't travel much and have no particular reason to have a mobile device. It's not that hard to throw a book into a suitcase.
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How hard is it to throw 1000 in your suitcase?
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Is there something about all of this that I'm not considering? Given my situation, can anybody suggest why I might want an e-reader?
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'Cause you'll never be a cool kid until you have one.
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And by the way, I'm not a cave-dwelling luddite. I'm heavily involved in information technology as a senior software developer - maybe on my off-hours I just don't want to stare at a screen...
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e-ink is a 'screen' only in the most obscure way. e-ink is easier (by far) to read than a screen (according to most) and even easier to read than real ink (according to me and other correct people).
In summary, I'm not saying that once you go ebook you'll never go back. I'm saying you'll probably not be disappointed and likely to make great use of it. My son bought me one for Christmas last year and it has turned out to be the greatest gift I have ever received.