So, how did everyone’s holidays go? Toronto escaped the snowstorms that incapacitated the east coast–even the light snow forecast for Christmas Day never showed up. I spent a quiet Christmas at home with Julian and the kittens. They’re settling in quite nicely, and I have high hopes that they will learn to stop stepping on our heads when we’re trying to sleep.
Here they are as reindeer, bugging Santa-Julian:
In book news, Fractured received a wonderful review from Pamela at At Home Between the Pages, and I was also interviewed by the lovely Claudia Osmond on her blog.
My big Christmas present this year was an ereader: the Kobo, to be exact. The first ebook I read on it was Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver.
Pros:
- I found the eInk reading experience to be just as satisfying and immersive as reading on paper–no eyestrain
- Kobo is lighter than a book, and more compact than Kindle or iPad
- Don’t have to hold Kobo open–much easier to read one-handed
- Can carry around thousands of books with you: great for travel
- Can download books without going to a bookstore (I looove bookstores, but I also love getting to read a book the minute I decide to buy it, rather than having to go pick it up or wait for it be delivered)
- Can add multiple bookmarks
- Can sync between computer, ereader, and iPhone so that I can pick up where I left off even if I leave my ereader at home
- More space on my bookshelves! So much easier if I ever move again!
Cons (of ereaders in general and the Kobo in particular):
- eInk is black-and-white, so covers/illustrations look horrible
- Can freeze or run out of battery power, cutting off access to your entire library at once
- No touch screen: can be annoying to have to use buttons to scroll through a long menu rather than just tapping the option you want (the iPhone has spoiled me!)
- Somewhat slow page refresh can break the reading flow sometimes, especially when starting a new chapter
- No lending capability yet, nor can I re-sell my “used” ebooks
- Prices still seem high (about the price of a paperback), considering that I can’t re-sell, lend, or give away an ebook once I’ve bought it
Do you have an ereader? If so, which one? What do you love about it, and what do you wish was different?
