A Paperback Devotee Praises Electronic Readers
It Only Took a Decade or So
I have tended to shy away from electronic books during their rise to prominence. I am an avid reader, and at first I thought, regarding e-readers, “Well, this is certainly for me!” Early in the e-reader debut period, I was gifted an electronic reader, and read the start of a few books on it… but something was missing. I also had an app on my tablet that allowed me to order books, and I toyed with that as well.
But, when given the choice, I would always choose an actual book with pages, with the delicious, just-printed smell of a new book or the indistinguishable mix of smells from a library book, the physical turn of pages and the progress I could feel in my hand or at a glance. I preferred, I found, the tangibility of paper books with an intangible longing. It felt more like “real” reading to me, to turn pages and scurry for a bookmark (or dog-ear a page if particularly desperate).
So my e-reader gathered dust, and my tablet was used for Words With Friends or long, time-sucking forays into Facebook, and I kept bound books made of paper as the main way I interacted with the written word. (Preferably paperback, but that’s another essay.)
Fast forward to 2020 and the pandemic in which we all now find ourselves. I yearn to read even more than usual, and for some reason, bookstores and libraries are not considered essential. While I have not been above using Amazon to order books during this time, I found it is much better for my conscience (no one has to expose themselves to the virus to get a book to me) to buy the book I can’t get at my library or local bookstore, right now, electronically. It is contact free and arrives immediately- both bonuses in my quest to read in the time of Covid. As I was, before this experience, a practical luddite when it comes to e-readers, I have made several discoveries during these past few weeks that have broadened my reading horizons and given me more reason to read electronically. I could not help but think there are other paper-book “snobs” like me out there who might benefit from my discoveries. Read on for a few of my favorites:
1. You can look up any word right away. I love to figure words out myself, but when confronted with “vestibular” or “gryke” , it’s good for this lazy lady to just highlight, press “look up”, and discover new words that I might have skimmed had I been reading on paper.
2. Highlighting is a breeze. No messy pen, no searching for your book journal to write down a heart-stirring quote. Just highlight it and then go back and copy it at your leisure. And the variety of colors are handy for my infrequent and random fits of organization when reading non-fiction.
3. You can read in bed without disturbing your partner. Booklights and I are not on good terms. They go dead in about two seconds, and it requires significant shuffling around (for me, anyway) to get settled at the right angle; the clip that attaches to the book is often unreliable…. And don’t even get me started with the booklight on my phone. An electronic bestseller comes with its own light. How convenient!
4. Unless the new installment of the next book in a series you are reading has not yet been published, when you simply can’t wait to read it, it’s in your hands with a few clicks.
5. The bookmark! It is so satisfying to tap the right corner and immediately have your place marked, ready for you next time you pick up your latest read.
6. An e-reader is immensely portable. My sister reads books on her phone and my best friend on her iPad, a practice I was not eager to adopt until I realized how much more content I could carry with me if I would become part of the e-reader fan club.
It’s unfortunate that it took a pandemic to endear me to e-reading. “Endear” may be a stretch. I’m not a complete convert- I still prefer a paper copy, I’d still rather make notes with a pen or highlighter, I’d still rather fling my book face-down to hold my place when I take a short break. I will definitely return to bookstores and libraries in search of paper-and-ink volumes on the regular when this is over. That being said, during these days I actually now look forward to climbing into bed at night and clicking on my bookmark to bask in the blue glow of my latest literary adventure.
