Ebooks or “Tree” Books, considered again.

Continuing last week’s musings on ebooks and paper books . . .

Despite my enthusiasm for the instant gratification aspect of ebooks, here are some problems with them:

1. Sure, you can get the next installment in the series right away without getting dressed or even getting out of bed. However– and it’s a big ‘however’–  you will still have to wait if the next installment isn’t written yet.  High speed internet downloads can’t help the millions of George RR Martin fans until he actually finishes the next installment. (While you wait for Martin to finish, you can always watch this).

2. No dog ears. Yes, some apps let you create a virtual dog ear, but what of it? I like being able to dog ear a page, close the book, and then view it in profile. I want to see where my dog-eared page is relative to the end of the book.  I get a sense of satisfaction from seeing my progress through the pages.  Yes, the ebook apps will indicate you’re on “page” 11 of 28. It’s useless, though. Why? Because the number of “pages” in an electronic chapter will vary depending on the device you use to read. Not only that, number of “pages” is also affected by the font settings re: size and typeface style, whether you have opted for single or double columns . . . there are many possible permutations.  I should also mention that my face gets tired of wearing glasses all day; I want to be able to read with my glasses off. Consequently I have the font jacked up to some ridiculous size. The upshot is that I have about 3.5 words per ebook “page” even though I read using the absurdly large Sony Samsung Mega fablet.

3. E-reader apps misbehave. One of the apps I use to read had some aggravating error last night. I just wanted to read the recently released Anita Blake novel, but instead I had to troubleshoot stupid software in the middle of the night.