remembering to blink
I’ve been reading every chance I get these past few days. I guess that’s no different than any of the other days.
E-books are a topic I’ve remained quiet on for quite some time. Others have written and will continue to write more eloquently than I. I definitely find them tempting and having seen three (two Sonys and a first-gen Kindle) this past week, they are even more tempting. One would be perfect for traveling — but since they’re as of yet muktzeh (not for use on shabbat) so I don’t see how much use I could give one. We don’t travel much at the moment so I guess I’ll keep waiting. I have spent quite a bit of time thinking about how much more yarn I could have packed on my trip to Tokyo (and things I could have returned with) if I had one of these instead of piles of books with me.
I spend my subway rides knitting on 9.5/10 trips so that isn’t enough of a reason to pick one up. We’ll see if this changes in the future. Besides Beverly (who is awaiting her Kindle2 delivery) are you going to get an e-book reader? Why or why not?
ETA: xkcd perfect as always.
(Please don’t let this turn into a debate about muktzeh being stupid or good or what have you. I will not respond and will delete those comments in whole or part. Though if you are holding off just because you read a ton on shabbat and it being muktzeh is why you won’t be picking one up any time soon, that is a legit response. I just don’t want essays about ???? one way or the other or harsh words.)
This past week I finished these traditional paper books. I don’t have much to write on them right now and still need to scare up cover art for some finished a while ago.
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The Tales of Beedle the Bard
by JK Rowling
Reader interactions
3 Replies to “remembering to blink”
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I can’t quite get myself to want an e-book reader – maybe because one of the reasons I love reading so much is that I’m not staring at a screen, so I remember to blink… But definitely I could see its use in traveling, if for nothing else but to load in the guidebooks!
Not planning to buy one — price is one important factor, but another is comfort in the hand. I have a pda and have put ebooks in it — and it’s fine for short stories (such as Flatland) but for actual long books, it doesn’t work so well.
Why?
1. The screen is too small, which the dedicated readers solve.
2. scrolling is annoying, but you don’t have to use that feature
3. screen contrast is harder on the eyes than print on paper, but the dedicated readers are actually better than my pda on that point and that’s a major concern for them as well, so it’s something they plan to better
4. It just doesn’t fit in my hand the same way as a book. Worse than a paperback! (I prefer hardcovers for ease of use.)
I don’t read fiction on Shabbos unless it’s Jewish fiction, so the Shabbos issue isn’t really a consideration for me.
I read The Tales of the Beedle the Bard too. It was alright. I probably wouldn’t read it again unless I read it to my children.
I think the e-book readers are interesting. They remind me of Star Trek the Next Generation. You make a good point about travel, but I think I would try just taking my laptop. I could read books on it as well as listen to podcasts and peruse the internet. Still they do look really cool.