Hooked on my e-book reader

I really like the new Fort Frances Public Library. It is bright and airy, and a welcoming place to be.
I can sit down with a book off the shelf and begin reading. If, after one or two pages, I find that I’m not enjoying the writer, I can return it to the shelf and begin the search for another book.
If I’m going to be late in returning the book, I can go online and extend the lending time. I can borrow books, movies, and music. I also can reserve books for future reading from home or at the library.
Technology has made that all possible.
My mother has macular degeneration and just over a year ago, the family acquired a Sony eBook reader for her.
The beauty of the electronic book is that multiple titles can be loaded on the device so that she has a library with her. And because of her diminished eyesight, the print can be enlarged so she can read the book.
She really enjoys her e-book. And if my mother could adapt to the electronic book, anyone can.
Electronic book editions are far less expensive to buy than hard- or soft-covered versions. Several different manufacturers offer up different e-book readers while the Internet provides hundreds of free titles to load on the readers, as well.
Today the applications that run the larger e-book screens are available in special applications for most android, I-phone, or Blackberry phones. It allows your library to be your phone.
I had never imagined I could be easily converted to an e-book reader. I like the feel of a heavy hard-cover book in my lap. I liked the feel of the paper as a page is turned or flipped back to re-read a paragraph that I found particularly well-written.
I liked to be able to flip to the end of the book to see the outcome, then follow the author as he or she developed the nuanced paths to its conclusion.
I liked the size of the words in the book and the spacing that made reading pleasing. I didn’t flinch when hard-cover books went from $17.95 to $29.95 to $38.95 as I could justify the cost by the hours of reading pleasure they provided.
And even though my library shelves groan under the weight of the books, I find myself returning to re-read my favorite authors.
Given a choice between a paperback or hard-cover, I would choose the latter. But that didn’t stop me from reading hundreds of paperbacks.
I never even thought about acquiring an e-book reader. I have tried to read documents on my computer and found the words on printed paper are much easier to follow.
Even though I write my weekly column on the computer, the touch of the paper in my hand always feels better.
But that now seems changed after my wife gave me an e-book reader for my birthday. It is light, the screen is the size of a paperback page, and it is easy to adjust as I read in bed or in a chair.
It came with 100 titles of all the books one should read in their lifetime. And I immediately downloaded three current bestsellers and have enjoyed them.
I can flip back and forth on pages as I do with a book. I can re-read that paragraph over and over to feel the words and enjoy the sounds of the sentences.
I haven’t figured out how to jump to the end of the book, but that will come. And I have moved from extra small type size to small (the larger sizes seem too big for me).
Having now read four books, I find myself hooked on my e-book.
Will I still pick up a hard-cover book on the shelves at a book retailer? The answer is yes. However, the ease of downloading immediately a bestseller from the Internet makes this e-book reader really attractive.
Our neighbours on the island to the east have “Kindle” and “Sony readers” loaded with summer reading material. Two youths who arrived this past week at the south cabin on the island came with their “Kindles” filled with books for two weeks of reading.
All generations are now picking up these new gadgets, making the e-book reader one of the fastest-growing consumer products in North America. And they can choose from more than 100,000 titles.