E-book Readers

Sony Reader. Image taken from BHphotovideo.com

A while ago I expressed interest in getting an e-book reader like the Amazon Kindle or B&N Nook. However they cannot be used to their full function (i.e. WiFi purchasing), so I dropped the idea. Besides, sometimes books are cheaper printed especially when there are store discounts, so why not still buy paper books?

Yet the other day, just as I finished the 3rd book of the Millennium series, I ran into a problem. Due to the fact it’s such a big book; a full 9 inch by 6 inch and 600 pages thick, I had problems fitting into onto my already packed bookshelf. Small and lighter paperbacks I can still make space and squeeze. A mammoth full-size book? Tough luck. It’s just like trying to fit a full-size bicycle into the trunk of a sedan – some parts gotta get cut off. So I thought I would put the book into a cabinet where my old textbooks go. I opened the cabinet and staring into my face was the Lord of the Ring trilogy as well as a copy of Pride and Prejudice. Oh-oh. I am so screwed. So now the mammoth book sits on my bedhead alongside another 8 books.

Man. I need an e-book reader. I can’t carry on like this. I never realized it was this big a problem.

I don’t know if it is at all justified to shell out a few hundred dollars for yet another gadget. Frankly I am not sure if I am ready to embark on a future without buying paper books. I will still borrow from the library, but everything else would just be digital. So I shall list a few pros and cons of buying an e-book reader to help me rationalize my decision:

Pros

1. Space-saving.  An e-book reader holds anything from 350-1000 books depending on storage space.
2. Lightweight. A typical e-book reader today is about 6-7 inch diagonal and less than an inch thick.
   
3. Less power-consuming compared to a netbook. Someone asked me why don’t I just read with a netbook, which is arguable lightweight(ish) and compact. True, but a netbook saps power. Power needed to maintain the LCD display and to keep the harddisk running. Not for an e-book reader. In an e-book reader, power is only used in flipping the papers. E-ink technology requires minimal power. So for a typical reader, each charge cycle can last at least one week. Can your netbook do that?
   
4. Free e-books for download especially classics and domain-free books such as those from The Gutenberg Project. If I get one that allows me to instead Adobe, I can “borrow” books from the National Library’s online catalogue for up to 21 days. (More information here)
   
5. There is built-in dictionary with most brands, and built in annotation tools.
   
6. It’s cool lah.
   

Cons

1. It’s expensive. (Not as expensive as a Powershot S90, but still expensive nonetheless)
2. I can’t lend books to my friends. Currently I sometimes lend my paperbacks to my friends. My friends know I’m the first person to ask when they see an interesting book at the bookstore. If I get an e-book reader, I cannot share files with my friends unless they are not DRM protected. Even so, they would have to read off a computer, which is not terribly good.
3. I can’t resell books. Not that I sell my books. But just in case I ever want to do it.
4. No real book feel – no book smell or touch. (But apparently E-ink technology can make the display look like a real paper book)
5. No more retail therapy by books. One less therapy avenue down; try cutting a patient down on his Lithium and see what happens.
6. My expenses on books will be going up. UP. and UP from buying e-books online.

If you haven’t noticed, I haven’t listed environmentally-friendly down as a pro, because sometimes I am not sure if the amount of electricity I use is considered negligible in the greater context of fossil fuel depletion. Anyway, even after listing down the pros and cons I can’t decide. This is more than just selling out a few hundred bucks and buying a new toy; this has bearings on the way I read in the future, so I need to think carefully about it.