[leebase]

It is the best of times....

Looking back over ten years of participating on this forum, I think it is the best of times for reading ebooks. IMHO.

Turns out - eInk doesn't matter. All the hoopla over whether it's scientifically proven that {insert any of the vaious theories here}, it turned not to matter one tiny little bit whether eInk or phones/tablets is better for your eyes. If you like and prefer eInk, there are devices aplenty to choose from. Less than before, but that's for a different post. If you want to read on phones or tablets....there are many to choose from. Do you. Decent tablets and eInk devices are less than $100. Phone screens grew large as well. Read ebooks, it's a great time.

Apparently - the publishing world did not come to an end over Agency pricing. If you owned a book store, brick and morter or online, you might have been greatly affected. But for those who read ebooks....they still exist and still continue to be published. If you hate the Big 5 with a passion, there are more indie authors than ever before. If you hate Amazon, there is Kobo and Nook and Apple. If you hate Apple, there is everybody else. If you "never will spend more than $x for an ebook", turns out nobody comes to your house and takes money out of your wallet to buy one anyway. Nothing has changed. You buy a book or you don't buy a book depending on it's price and your desires and ability.

DRM is as DRM does. Nothing has changed in 10 years. If you want to liberate your ebooks from DRM you mostly can. [....] Those who buy way in advance of reading or like to reread....still need to beware .

People still read, books are still being written. Facebook, twitter, snapchat, instagram, chord cutters, Netflix, Prime Video and the "always and forever terrible state of our education system" -- and people still read. Some people. The same percentage of "some people" that ever read.

It is the best of times for reading ebooks.