The E-Reader
My Sony E-Reader duly arrived exactly one week ago today, and first impressions straight out of the box while at work were favourable. Problems arose, however, as soon as I got home. The software that came with it on CD, steadfastly refused to install on my laptop, because the latter had previously been part of a network. To overcome this, and get it to install correctly, would have meant reformatting the hard disk and reloading all my programs, documents and stuff again.
I eventually solved the issue by shelling out £150.00 on a new notebook computer, justifying the purchase on the grounds that it makes sense to have a spare, and that the cost to me in terms of the time and effort reformatting the hard drive of the laptop was probably greater. Thus do we rationalize our capricious purchases, but suffice it to say that by Thursday evening, I was ready to rock and roll.
Two things are immediately apparent. Firstly, the free Adobe software (Adobe Digital Editions) which you need to download from the internet if using Waterstone's books in the UK, is far easier to use than Sony's own system. I suppose it's logical to suppose that a documentation software company, in collaboration with a major bookseller, would come up with a better, 'literary' package than a Japanese electronics giant. The second point is that e-ink technology (in its present format) produces less contrast on the 'page' than conventional print. A few friends who have seen my E-Reader have observed this, but I can honestly say with use (and I've been using it exclusively for leisure reading this past week) you soon get used to it and the text is clear and legible in pretty well all lighting conditions.
I purchased a 2-gigabyte SD card locally on which to store my downloaded books, thereby freeing up the memory of the reader itself, and this was easy to organize according to my own preferred way of doing things. My e-books are now neatly divided into three sections, or as Sony calls them, 'Collections.' The first is for novels, the second for biographies and the third, I have simply called 'Reference.' My passion for order and storage is thus met satisfactorily. The books themselves load almost instantly and page turns are immediate. The device 'remembers' where you stopped reading, so book marking is easy, and you can easily have several volumes open at the same time, if you so wish. I suppose the most satisfying feature is that the device itself looks and feels quality. It's about the same length and breadth as a standard paperback with a similar weight, but only half the thickness. It is smartly protected in a stitched black leather cover, and the controls are simple to use.
I am, therefore, a convert. The plan hereafter, is to try and buy only e-books (there are plenty of sites from which you can download free ones, too) and restrict my 'real' book buying to special volumes, such as art books. It should certainly free me from the headache of shipping books back home after a year or two away. Such additions will all be safely stored on the reader, and backed up on my computer. It's a very liberating feeling to realize I need never be short of reading material again.