eReading Murakami

I finally bought an eReader a couple weeks ago, fulfilling the first of three New Year's resolutions. After spending some time with it, I can say it was the right move. Based on my experience, eReaders complement traditional books without threatening to make the former obsolete (just less widely used).

eReader Advantages	Book Advantages
Small form factor	No batteries required
Adjustable text size, font, and spacing	Paper colour offers better background contrast
Easier to sneak in a quick read	Easier to navigate
Displays pdfs	Authors can sign copies
On-demand book buying	Look good on a shelf

As a parent with two attention seeking boys and a full time job, finding time to read has just been a tremendous challenge. To wit, last Thanksgiving I flew up to visit my parents on my own. On the return flight, I began Lawrence Hill’s The Book of Negroes. Between the flight and the train ride home, I enjoyed 200 hundred pages.

Didn’t touch the book again for nearly three months.

After buying the Kobo, I bought Haruki Murakami’s Sputnik Sweetheart and polished the book off in a week. Even if it was unable to crack my personal Top 5 list of Murakami novels, it was still an engaging read. Carrying that little eReader around in my pocket, I was able to read chapters while making pancakes and waiting for my son to get ready for bed. Before I knew it, I was on the last chapter and keeping the TV shut off so that I could finish it. Having regained some reading momentum, I have returned to The Book of Negroes, but even then, can only find time to read after the kids are in bed. The portability and compactness of the eReader really make that much of a difference.

As for the Kobo itself, I have been more impressed with it in daily usage than I was in the store. The screen refresh between page turns is closer to seamless than I thought possible. Having read up on it, I can only assume that the delayed refreshes in the store were due to low battery power or a change in the page refresh settings. While some reviewers have been unimpressed with the quilted back of the Kobo, I see it as more than a fashion statement. It makes it easier to find a grip on the reader, and I suspect that the series of diagonal lines would accommodate a variety of hand sizes.

Although I’m glad I have it, I don’t regret not buying one sooner. For me, it was worth the wait for touch screen technology and E Ink Pearl. With the prices of eReaders hovering around $100 and the widespread implementation of the colour E Ink Triton on the horizon, the adoption of eReaders is likely to continue at exponential rates.