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Grace2design's Gaia Log Just an average lady's ramblings about life, work, and all her pet peeves. I'm a designer working as a sales coordinate while looking for a career position in graphic design / advertising. I love reading, anime, manga, Harry Potter, and TV.


MrsGAM
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Books vs. eBooks
So, I was looking through a bunch of forum threads today that were comparing physical paper books to eBooks. The overwhelming majority preferred physical books (or DTB - dead tree books) to eBooks. I have to say, this used to be my position as well. When the Kindle first came out, I swore I would never buy an eReader because nothing would ever replace having a physical book in your hands, being able to flip through the pages, and having shelves of books to look through. This opinion started changing when I started reading more fanfiction than novels.

When I started reading more on the computer, I just got used to the electronic format. I ended up saving fanfics and putting them onto my pda, and later my iPod Touch. Then I started getting migraines from looking at back lit screens all day, what with online classes, work, and reading on the Touch. That's when I splurged on the Nook 1st edition even though I was only going read fanfiction and short storied downloaded from the internet. All I really wanted was the e-ink screen that would be easier on my eyes, but I ended up purchasing some of the less expensive self-published books that are available and I became hooked.

Now, I can't even read a DTB - it just doesn't feel right in my hands, and I don't like that you can't change the size of the text or the font, not to mention the convenience of carrying hundreds of books in one small device. As someone who spends the majority of her waking life away from home and physical library, it's really nice to be able to have more than one book on my person wherever I go; before I went electronic, I frequently carried around 2 to 3 books in my bag just so I wouldn't get caught with nothing to read if I managed to finish my current novel or got tired of a genre - yes, my purses where huge. I have a stack of unread DTBs in my room, but I don't think I'll ever get to reading them because I would rather re-read something I have on my new Nook Touch than pick up a DTB.

I guess I just wanted to put my opinion on this debate out on the Internet, because I don't think avid readers are giving eBooks a fair chance. It really is worth it to at least try an eReader for a while (you can return a Nook within 14 days of a purchase / receipt for a full refund) before you say there's no way that eBooks and eReaders will ever replace books. Or even just use one of the available desktop programs to read an eBook; the majority of eBook readers don't actually own eReaders, they read on the person computers. As parents say to their children who are confronted with something new, you really should try it before you say no.


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