[Timboli]

Further to my last post above. It has always been very important to me to emulate the experience of reading a good physical book as closely as possible. So the device looks and feels like a close proximity. I wanted it to feel like more than some tech toy. More than some plastic thing.

In that regard, I guess I have had an advantage over many others, because long ago, both my mother and then later myself, made stiff vinyl (imitation leather) covers to cover different size paperbacks, including the large hardcover size trade paperbacks. And I have been using those covers for decades now.

So in a real sense, the only time I saw a book's artwork cover was before and after I placed it inside the vinyl cover ... and then mostly the spine in a bookcase outside of that. This has meant, that the move from physical book to ebook and occasionally back again, has been a fairly comfortable transition.

Why did I use such a cover? Well, it was a good protection, gave some privacy, especially from the judgmental, and it gave some good stiffness to a paperback, kind of emulating a hardcover book to some degree. So a wet table or rain, was never an issue, and spills never did much, giving me that extra bit of time to rescue etc. They also added a personal element, as nobody had a book like me. It also meant, that my paperbacks stayed in great condition, often looking unread ... especially as I developed a way to hold them open that incurred minimal stress on the spine.

I could also do some stuff I would never attempt with a paperback normally .... put food or drink etc on top, toss a fair distance without fear of any dog-earing or other damage. In fact, dog-ears became a thing of the past. Also somewhere to slip the bookmark when not in use or for keeping slips of notes etc.

P.S. I always had it in mind, when I later came across a clear vinyl alternative, to make physical book covers out of that, but never have thus far.