Quote:
Originally Posted by BookCat
One function I frequently use is: if a character was introduced at the beginning of the novel, dropped, then turns up again, I find myself thinking "who is this, I know the name, but can't remember who she is?" Then I can tap the name, search in the book and find the first instance (every instance in fact) of the name; I go to the first, find out the basic details then press the backward pointing arrow at the top to go back to the page I was reading...
...The quick tap dictionary check enables me to obtain the EXACT meaning of words of which I know the GENERAL meaning, thereby making my vocabulary more precise.
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I too frequently look up character names, and search several dictionaries for words' meaning or pronunciation or usage. I also frequently look up quotes from a book from the reference elibrary I've been building up since my first ereader (2011), which is impossible from a paper book.
And to return to a theme from earlier posts (I haven't looked at this thread for a while), it is becoming more and more difficult to buy a paper book again, event recent ones, as the delay between first publishing a book and pulping all those available has shortened drastically. Also, non-fiction books with a limited readership are expensive and have very limited runs, so when I was aware of one I wanted I bought it immediately even if I knew I wouldn't be able to read it in the near future. That applies to e-books nowadays.
And an e-publisher going belly-up means a book becomes unavailable, even for its author to republish, for years, and this happens frequently enough. This is compounded by the fact that many publishers take on only new books, not reprints - which seems to fit the general public's taste. Luckily some do reprint "modern classics", and some books I'd despaired of finding do find their way back - not all of them though.
I hope it'll end like music. I remember all the prophets of doom when CDs appeared. Over the years most of my vinyls became available, though not all, and the width of choice increased drastically as CDs, then emusic allowed very niche segments to prosper.