MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Why did you buy your iLiad? What do you do with it?

The GreatGonzo · 08-04-2007, 09:56 AM

A year ago, I was pretty new to the world of e-books; I'd tried reading stuff on a Palm Pilot before and hated it, so I wasn't all that interested.

What got me curious was the whole e-ink thing (whaddaya mean, it looks like paper? whaddaya mean, it looks like real print?) and the original prospect of reading foreign language newspapers. I live in the US, but would love to get my hands on German and British news. (Sadly, my French is not good enough for Les Echos.) I don't have the time to read those on my computer (job & stay-at-home dad), but I always have five minutes here or there to pick up the Iliad and read.
Also, as mentioned in other threads, I work in a second-hand bookstore where we have to throw books away on a regular basis; after looking at a dumpster full of books each day for a couple of years, you start thinking about how you yourself could maybe stop contributing to that...

Now, almost a year later, I can at least get my RSS news feeds in the morning and read them on the Iliad throughout the day. On top of that, I'm reading tons of fiction on it, I'm saving websites on it for later perusal, and I'm using the mobipocket dictionaries that I bought much more frequently than I would the p-versions. I do crosswords on it. I keep cooking recipes on it. (I think the ink cartridge in my printer may have dried up from non-usage.)

I'm putting together my very own Ultimate Lovecraft Edition, I'm toying with the idea of finding myself a job in e-book publishing in the long run, and the kids enjoy doodling and erasing. As you can see, all kinds of stuff happening...

I realize I'm perceived as being too relentlessly upbeat about the Iliad, but I can't help it - I'm having so much fun with it! Even taking into account the unkept promises and missed deadlines - in my life, it's become this incredibly useful tool that's also a fun toy (chess, mp3); and I am very grateful to all those community programmers out there who come up with nifty new apps for it. The fact that the Iliad is constantly developing makes it much more exciting for me. The Sony had only its second firmware ugrade just now? Boooring...

08-04-2007, 09:56 AM	#4
The GreatGonzo Old Yeller Posts: 180 Karma: 67 Join Date: May 2006 Device: Iliad & Kindle - The Best of Both Worlds	A year ago, I was pretty new to the world of e-books; I'd tried reading stuff on a Palm Pilot before and hated it, so I wasn't all that interested. What got me curious was the whole e-ink thing (whaddaya mean, it looks like paper? whaddaya mean, it looks like real print?) and the original prospect of reading foreign language newspapers. I live in the US, but would love to get my hands on German and British news. (Sadly, my French is not good enough for Les Echos.) I don't have the time to read those on my computer (job & stay-at-home dad), but I always have five minutes here or there to pick up the Iliad and read. Also, as mentioned in other threads, I work in a second-hand bookstore where we have to throw books away on a regular basis; after looking at a dumpster full of books each day for a couple of years, you start thinking about how you yourself could maybe stop contributing to that... Now, almost a year later, I can at least get my RSS news feeds in the morning and read them on the Iliad throughout the day. On top of that, I'm reading tons of fiction on it, I'm saving websites on it for later perusal, and I'm using the mobipocket dictionaries that I bought much more frequently than I would the p-versions. I do crosswords on it. I keep cooking recipes on it. (I think the ink cartridge in my printer may have dried up from non-usage.) I'm putting together my very own Ultimate Lovecraft Edition, I'm toying with the idea of finding myself a job in e-book publishing in the long run, and the kids enjoy doodling and erasing. As you can see, all kinds of stuff happening... I realize I'm perceived as being too relentlessly upbeat about the Iliad, but I can't help it - I'm having so much fun with it! Even taking into account the unkept promises and missed deadlines - in my life, it's become this incredibly useful tool that's also a fun toy (chess, mp3); and I am very grateful to all those community programmers out there who come up with nifty new apps for it. The fact that the Iliad is constantly developing makes it much more exciting for me. The Sony had only its second firmware ugrade just now? Boooring...