Tuesday, 5 May 2015

eBook readers

I've always loved sci-fi gadgets. They're so cool!

And now that we're in the 21st Century, many of the sci-fi gadgets I dreamed about as a child are a reality (except for lightsabres. I'm still waiting for one of those).

One of the nifty things I love is an eBook reader. I read on a Kobo Aura HD. It's got a touch screen and the most beautiful backlighting I've seen on an electronic device. 

I could read the thing for hours. (Waitaminnut. I do.) I've got nearly 900 books on my little cutie, and more are added every week.

While there is an old-school charm about print books, how they look so good on a shelf, how you can easily loan them to friends who never return them, how you can drop it in the tub and not worry about electrocution (or the mad, wet dash for a tub of dry rice), I must confess I prefer the convenience and ease of ebooks.

What I love about ebooks:
  • Lightweight. A thousand books weighing about 200 grams? Awesome. Not to mention the ease of carrying an ebook reader around. Few single books weigh less than my ebook reader, even with its protective cover.
  • Convenience. My ebook reader boots up as quickly as it would take for me to open to a bookmarked page in a traditional book.
  • Night reading. My Kobo Aura HD has a lovely easy-on-the-eyes backlight with adjustable brightness. Perfect for reading in bed at night. And should I fall asleep, the ebook reader will turn itself off after bookmarking my page. If I had had an eBook reader as a child, I would never have gotten any sleep!
  • Access. If I want to read the next Mary Robinette Kowal, I can. My Aura HD connects to the KoboBooks bookstore and I can have any book I want in their catalogue in less than a minute. As for library books, it's a little bit more of a song-and-dance, but even so, in under five minutes, I can check out eBooks from my local library.
  • Go-go-gadget coolness! Those readers who are nostalgic for the old-world charm of a print book can be nostalgic for that. However, as a child of sci-fi, my skiffy soul is thrilled with the sheer gadgetryness of an eBook reader. You can be nostalgic for the past. I long for the future.
Currently AS GOOD AS GOLD and FOR RICHER, FOR POORER are available on KoboBooks, and other good eBook retailers. So if you're a Kindle fan, a Kobo lover (like me) or a Nook addict, you can read my books.

My next three novels will also be available as eBooks.

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Her Grace is looking forward to the day when books can be uploaded directly to one's brain.


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