A few years ago if you had asked me to choose between ebooks and "real" books I would've probably chosen the latter. Like millions of other bookworms I have an attachment to the written word, ink & paper, fonts and binding. Yet these days if you ask me what I've been doing on the computer all day, 8 out 10 times, I'd answer that I've been reading ebooks.
I first got into ebooks a few years back when I read some book reviews but didn't have the funds to buy a book. I stumbled onto free ebook sites and began to find books I didn't own. Eventually, my growing addiction to anime brought me to manga and reading online became a habit. Given the chance and the money, I still went on book shopping sprees and continued filling my bookshelves with books. However, I moved to Vietnam in 2008 and acquiring printed books was put to a stop. English language novels aren't that common in bookstores here. In fact, I would have to go to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh) to find them and even then my choices would still be limited. There are a few secondhand stores here in Vung Tau that sell old English novels, but they mostly are of the dog-eared romance paperback variety. So that's why I now turn to ebooks when I need my daily book fix.
Ebooks are so easy to obtain these days, I have thousands of them in CDs and in my hard drive. I have started uploading them to a 4shared site in case something ever happens. I have also thought about it and for a greener future, this might be a better option than having them on paper. Less trees to cut.
Sometimes I envy people who mention that they just bought a new book... I still miss the smell of books, old or new. I miss touching the pages and rifling through the book for something specific. But ebooks aren't so bad, after all, it's the text that counts. Or so I keep telling myself.
hi sis, there's an ebook reader sold in Barnes and Noble.. I forgot what it's called. It's the size of an iPad or somehow smaller. But it's a lot cheaper. I'm sure you will like to have one too since you're into ebooks pala. I still prefer the traditional smell of ink and paper of new books any day. :)
ReplyDeleteyou're probably talking about Nook. nah, I won't be able to afford that for a while. right now I'm just focusing on my love of reading. traveling on a low budget, living in a non-English speaking country and collecting books I can read just don't go together. besides, i read too fast for one or two books to last me more than a few hours :P
ReplyDeleteI still prefer books! I love curling up in one corner with my book. Reading ebooks somehow gives me eye strain.
ReplyDeleteI was able to buy "pirated" books in HCMC. So weird! Was on page 95, then page 99, then 97. Some pages were even missing. They're not that expensive though. :p
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