As I've mentioned before, I'm a techy gadgety type with a hint of an inner Luddite. I'm always keen on the latest televisual technology but my mobile phone is a couple of years old and just makes calls and sends texts*. I've been these here inter-witterings for about six years now but a lot of them are still initially composed via the time-honoured method of ink via a nib onto the page. I always thought I'd be a "you can prise my papery book from my cold dead hands" type but it would appear not to be so.
Partly it's the convenience; there's nothing worse as a reading commuter than reaching the end of your book when you're only on the journey in and not having a fresh one to hand. Mainly, though, it's the fact that it's easy to use and clear to read; it feels like reading a book and it doesn't strain the eyes (any more so than excessive reading of a book would do).
Yes, there are of course drawbacks when compared to a normal book - books don't need to be charged for one and aren't generally subject to hardware failure (unless you drop them in the bath)- but the advantages are considerable. My current holiday luggage allowance, for example, will be considerably lighter without the ten or eleven books crammed in there.
Does this mean that I hath abjured the sight of regular books? Oh dear me, no. I'll still read plenty of papery books - I've just found another way to consume them. There's room in my life (and my rucksack) for a lightweight portable library. Just need to remember to keep it charged...
* I'm sure that I'll undergo a sudden smartphone conversion at some point. It's just that I'm big fingered and clumsy and don't find them easy to control.
2 comments:
This actually seems like quite a rare admission, to be accepting of BOTH the old and new way. Most people seem to feel they have to choose one or the other. You're right on, though: why not both?
Exactly. Nobody says you have to have one or the other. There's room for both. It was brilliant on holiday, though - I read ten books and actually had room left in my suitcases for once.
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