Why I love my e-reader

I have two e-readers. One is a secondhand kindle my dad gave me, and the other is an iPad I got for Christmas.

At first when I was reading about all the hubbub about e-books I was a little skeptical. How could anything compare to the tactile joy of a new book, the smell of old pages, the feel of flipping through softly worn chapters? What would happen to cover designs when they weren’t necessary anymore? What about the painstakingly selected fonts, and the cloth hardcovers? What about bookshelves and borrowing from friends? I was confident that nothing could replace the paper book.

But, as it turns out, I was wrong. While there is really nothing like a solid book, e-books have a lot of surprising advantages. First of all, I read a lot more. Not only does the e-reader give me access to any book in the world within a matter of seconds, the format of the e-book, the inability to physically flip through the pages to the end, has forced me to actually read what’s on the page in front of me. Where usually I would skim through long passages of description, or skip to the end of a fight scene to see who won, now I have to patiently read through each and every word. I can’t just skim anymore, and so instead I go through each page, reading each word one by one. This is wonderful because it not only forces me to read the beautiful passages I normally would have skipped, but it makes me, inexplicably, read faster. I can no longer stop and count the pages I have until the end, and instead I can become completely immersed in the story. As I read, there are no pages to slow me down, no physical distractions, and I can just read.

Because I’m reading more, faster, I am also buying more books. Amazon sells many of its best titles at only $9.99, far cheaper than any bookstore. So, it is much easier for me to replenish my supply once I’m done with a book. Additionally, because I can do all my purchasing over the internet, it’s much easier for me to click over and pick up a book when I’ve just read an amazing review or an interesting article. When people complain about how e-books are ruining the market I just get so confused. If it weren’t for my e-readers I would be reading much less, and buying fewer books. How can this be bad?

Finally, e-books are extremely portable. Both my kindle and my iPad are light, small, and perfectly shaped to fit into my lap on long car or plane trips. Instead of packing three novels, all of varying size and clunkiness, I can just pack a single slim e-reader. When I am finished with one book, instead of pulling down my suitcase and digging through its contents for a second, I can just click on the next book without bothering anyone.

Of course there are some downsides to the e-reader. I don’t get to brag about what I’m reading to random passersby with the cover of Proust displayed outwards to the world, and I can’t take my beloved books into the bubble bath. I can’t display my reading prowess on bookshelves, and I can’t bring my iPad on the El because it might get stolen. But, these are all minor complaints when I think about the benefits my e-reader has given me. If my own reading habits are anything to go by (and they’re probably not) then I definitely believe that the future of reading and publishing is in e-books, and we should all be embracing them.

Of course, I still love paper books, and to those of you die hard paper book readers: don’t worry. I haven’t completely abandoned my beloved paper books yet. In honor of their greatness my next unscheduled post will be a guide to my favorite bookstores in Evanston, IL.