As much as I love new technology, I’m a complete traditionalist when it comes to reading a book. There is something so wonderfully tactile about turning the pages of a worn paperback and effortlessly skimming the crisp lettering.
The push, however, to digitalize books and read them on a small hand-held device is, sadly enough, gaining momentum.
Sure, I understand the convenience. On my last trip through the Balkans I carried three guidebooks and two leisure books. That adds up to some hefty weight to haul around. It would have been so much easier to store these five titles, and 75 more on a handy little device like the Sony Reader.
The Sony Reader is just one of a handful of mini-computers currently on the market that allows travelers and couch potatoes alike to download and read e-books. According to a review by Neil McManus in Conde Nast Traveler, the Sony Reader with its “crisp” text and long battery life is arguably one of the best. The Samsung Q1 and Nokia 770 received less favorable reviews from McManus, but are decent products nonetheless.
As a nice little touch, McManus also includes five suggestions on where to download e-books, including manybooks.net where one can find 14,000 free titles.
Hmm… seems pretty cool to me, but I’m still not giving up my dead trees!