E-readers are wonderful: find out why

The electronic book reader market continues to blossom with another recent launch in Amazon’s hugely popular Kindle range (the Kindle Touch).

Big players like Sony and Samsung have launched e-readers and Google has also hinted it might enter the fray. What is it about e-books and e-readers that have captured the public’s imagination so quickly? Our online writer explains their pulling power…

Now I am a bibliophile. I simply love books. And when I first got an eReader, I was somewhat sceptical that I could learn to love this electronic gizmo in the same way as a well-worn copy of “A Christmas Carol” or “The Hobbit”. But, Dear Reader, I am a convert! The case for eBooks is simple and compelling: I can guarantee you’ll read more books and they’ll be better books. Here’s why:

Trial without error

One of the great features of eBooks is the ability to download a free sample and try before you buy. So, if a friend recommends something they think you’ll like, you don’t need to fork out a fortune. Or you can dip into titles you’d never normally touch and – if you’re gripped at the end of the freebie – download the whole thing.

Good for nothing…

Of course, eBook readers also let you download hundreds, nay thousands, of complete books for free too – classics like Wuthering Heights as well as modern titles including thrillers, romance and non-fiction. OK, so you have splashed out a hundred quid or so for the thing in the first place, granted. But from that point on, you could read free books for as long as you like.

What you want, where you want

As long as you’re in range of a wifi or3G network connection (and you have the right kind of eBook of course), you can download from the massive range of books wherever and whenever you want. So – if you’re in the pub and you fancy reading Graham Swift’s “Last Orders”, lounging on the sofa in your boxers and want to read “A Brief History of Time” or lazing on the beach and would like to read Alex Garland’s – er – “The Beach”, it’s really easy to get hold of a copy right there and then.

They’re light and compact

Maybe I have weak wrists, but carrying a paperback can sometimes be SOOO laborious – and I’m not just talking about “War and Peace” here. If you’re crushed on the Tube, a bus or train it is genuinely easier to hold a compact little eBook than a hefty tome. The handy “next page” button saves you elbowing your neighbour in the face as you attempt to turn the page. Plus, if you’re the kind of person who likes to have two or three books on the go, they’re all there in one device.

Bedtime reading made easy

Now, I don’t know what you do between the sheets, but I love to indulge in a little bit bibliographic pleasure. This is a bit of an obscure one, but reading in bed with an eBook is approximately 496% easier than grappling with a paperback. Not only can you clip a handy light to the top (so as not to disturb your partner) but you don’t have to do that annoying thing where you have to keep flipping over in bed when you want to turn the page. And, if you doze off your eReader remembers the page you were last reading– it’s a bit like having your own butler to carefully lift the book off you and pop in a bookmark. If only it could also iron my shirt and polish my shoes too…

Read all about it

The most compelling reason of all, I’ve left until last. Since I got my eBook (Christmas Day) I am simply reading loads more books (six at last count). I’ve read books about North Korea, the First World War and Siberian Death Marches. I’m currently working my way through “David Copperfield” (once considered too daunting), and loving it. So, while I might shed a tear at the thought that printed books may be heading for the great recycling bin in the sky, knowing that I will be reading more overall makes me happy. Now, back to Dickens…

Are you an e-reader lover or do you prefer the feel of a crisp page between your fingers? Let us know below

Download our free wi-fi app

All our broadband packages include FREE wi-fi access at 3.5 million UK hotspots.

 

Learn more about free wi-fi