[darryl]

Just a quick update. I'm now most of the way through the paper book concerned and am enjoying it. It is the second in a series. The first was the authors initial publication, and I thought showed some potential. Already the second book is much better, and reading it on paper of course makes no difference to the story or fortunately to my enjoyment of it.

However, I have realised how spoilt I have become with e-readers and e-books. Firstly, my eye-sight is not getting any better. The front-light on an e-ink reader makes reading virtually anywhere a delight. I had forgotten just what a pain it could be to get the lighting level right for reading a paper book. Even a backlit screen on a notebook or tablet is preferable if correctly set-up. Adjustable fonts and font sizes are also wonderful. I was fortunate to borrow the book in a large print version, which I can read acceptably. Whilst I can probably still read a book with a standard size font I don't think I would be very comfortable doing so for long periods, particularly without taking great care with the lighting. Another disadvantage is fragility, particularly so in the case of a library book. Certainly ereaders can have their own problems with fragility. Displays can easily break and if they do so are much more costly to replace than a paper book. On the other hand, I have had a number of Kindles over the years and have not had a single problem, despite carrying one with me everywhere. My Kobo H2O professes to be waterproof! And, of course, instead of carrying one neatly sized electronic device with 10's or 100's or even more ebooks, I had the pleasure of carrying around a single fairly bulky volume constituting but one single book. And finally, of course, that one book has, as most do, a very prominent title. Not a terrible problem, but one thing I haven't missed about paper books is the propensity for virtually everyone who sees you reading to glance at the title before enquiring "What are you reading?", or "What is that about?" or even "Is it good?" For some reason this seldom seems to happen to me when reading an ebook. Needless to say, when engrossed in the middle of a good book these are not welcome questions, though then again one commentator actually suggested recently that this was one advantage of paper books as it presented an opportunity to "hook-up" on public transport and in other public places.

I love reading, and would do so on a papyrus scroll or a piece of bark if I had to. For most of my life, paper books have provided the best reading experience available. For me, that is no longer the case. Give me a Kobo or a Kindle any day. Even an Android or an Apple phone or tablet with suitable settings. If these better alternatives are not available, I will read a Paper Book, and enjoy the story just as much. The experience a paper book provides is still acceptable. As I mentioned earlier, I just feel I have been spoilt by my e-readers.

Finally, I do not have a problem with those who do prefer paper books. I simply do not see it myself. But then again, each to their own. Hopefully there will always be suitable alternatives to satisfy all of us.