Thursday, August 2, 2012

My eReader Experiences - Jordan

Summer for me largely involves sitting in a lounge chair in my backyard with a novel. This year though, I've switched up a part of my old routine in favour of a recent innovation. I will admit that my dog-eared paperbacks have been swapped for a Kobo eReader. If I hadn't been generously given the Kobo by a family friend, this day might not have arrived so soon, but to my surprise, I can now comfortably read from an eReader with the same ease and familiarity of a print book. 
When I received this eReader, I borrowed a few books from Overdrive that I had been eager to read for some time but had not been available in print here at the library. If you're new to eReaders, my first recommendation would be download an eBook that you are genuinely interested in. Don't download the first available book you find just to try out your eReader as this not-so-favourable experience will likely create a negative association with your eReader. I believe this was my biggest mistake when I had borrowed an e-Reader from the library about a year ago.
If you've used Overdrive at all, you probably know most titles have extensive waiting lists on them. There were a few titles I wanted to read that weren't available on Overdrive (or in the library), so I purchased these from the Kobo store. This was so easy. Much easier than taking a twenty minute drive to the nearest Coles. Definitely a plus side to using an eReader. Probably not so great for my Visa bill but that's another story. 
Since getting my Kobo, I've also had the chance to use a family member's iPad as an eReader. The backlight display makes reading in bed so easy, and getting books from Overdrive takes just a few clicks. I'm  trying to trade my Kobo for the iPad... Just dreaming though.
If you've used an eReader in the past and didn't like it, I'd say pick it up and give it another try. Maybe try a different model and see what features are of importance of you and what you can do without. A lot of people are hesitant to abandon the print book... and that's completely unnecessary. There's no reason why you can't find an eReader that you love and enjoy the best of both worlds!

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