My eBook Experience
My first experience with an eBook would be when I installed apps called Stanza and Classics to my iPhone about 2 years ago.
Stanza is an app which you can download a selection of more than 50,000 contemporary books from its partner stores. It also allows you to download classics and recent works from Project Gutenberg, Feedbooks, and other sources.
Classics is a similar app to Stanza. The only difference is that it only has 23 classics such as Dracula, Treasure Island, Monte Cristo, Frankenstein, and the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
I usually read these eBooks before I go to bed. Some advantages of reading an eBook on the iPhone is
- Portability: I carry my iPhone all the time, so I get to read an eBook whenever I can. It’s much lighter than carrying a book (doesn’t matter whether it’s paperback or hardcover).
- Accessibility: iPhone is always in my bag, in my pocket, or in my hand, so I have easy access to the eBook. It takes less than 5 seconds to upload the part of a book that I want to read.
- Go green!: I am contributing to the protection of the environment. It saves trees, energy, printing costs, and much more.
However, there are disadvantages as well. Some of the disadvantages are
- Health issues: Since both the screen and the fonts are small, it’s not good for my eyes.
- No batteries, no read: Sometimes when batteries get run out, I can’t have access to my eBook. Unlike a paper book, I have to wait until I can turn on my iPhone.
Although there are some advantages that I’ve found when using iPhone as a book, I like my experience reading an eBook. Since I’m used to it, it’s much more convenient and efficient for me to quickly read eBooks/eArticles/eMagazines than spending time and energy to print and wasting paper. I just needed some time to become adjusted to “reading from the screen”.
Deb
Posted in: Week 06: eBooks
schiong 3:51 pm on October 12, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I agree with your health issues. I guess we need to moderate the use of eBook (especially with children). Getting a pair of eyeglass is not cheap.
Deb Kim 9:54 am on October 13, 2011 Permalink | Log in to Reply
@ Schiong: I agree with you. In addition to glasses, affording eBook or iPad is expensive as well. But, eyes also hurt when we read a book in the dark or watch TV. We might need glasses even though we don’t use eBook. Which one do you think is worth possessing more in the end? eBook or paper books?
Many people like eBook for its convenience and portability. However, it’s more expensive than buying paper books. On the other hand, since my eBook, for example, has more than 50 000 novels, buying eBook is a lot cheaper than buying 50 000 paper books in the end.
Not considering health issues (eyes), then eBook is very useful, isn’t it?
Deb