Jun 25 2006

Ebook Weekly: Diary of Ebook Reader, Episode No. 1

By Jane • Ebooks • • Tags:

This week we are featuring a new ebook reader. Keishon of AvidBookReader is a very new ebook reader and I was curious to see why she took the plunge.

How did you become interested in reading ebooks? 

I’d had a interest in reading ebooks when I started to think about the advantages of having them. You have 1) instant gratification 2) no worries over bookcovers and thank goodness for that since some of the covers for most ebooks still suck and 3) storing them on a memory card and you don’t have to worry about yellowed pages or where to put it on the bookshelf. And last and not least is the ability to carry your library with you anywhere you go. Kudos for that. You know how most people have to pack up books to take with them on vacation? All I need to do is bring my charger with me – my books are on the device.

Was your first ebook an epublished book or a NY book published in ebook format?

My first e book was an epublished book that I bought at Fictionwise, Let’s Pretend by Raine Weaver.

What drove you to read more ebooks to the extent that you wanted a portable device?

I was already using a portable device to keep my drug reference database with me for my job but needed to upgrade quick since Sony’s Memory Stick was not compatible for storage of that database (which expands daily with every hot sync) and so I started looking around for a new device that was upgradeable and the bonus was having it also store and read ebooks.

I think you had a portable device before so what is the difference for reading purposes between the device you have now and the device you had then?

Well the big difference is that I have more memory and I had a palm before and now I have a pocket PC. I didn’t specifically get the LOOX 720 just for reading ebooks. I had originally bought it for my drug database as mentioned before and the storage card is compatible with it so it serves two purposes for me. Alas, reading ebooks on it was a bonus.

Would you rather have a single function device (like the Sony reader) that has a bigger and better screen or do you like multi function devices?

I needed a multi-functional device because I use mine for drug reference and for reading ebooks.

Do you find yourself reading more or less?

I’ve been reading more. A lot of the ebooks I bought were novellas. However, I like the novelty of it. It’s quite addictive. I love it.

What is it that is addictive?

As with anything that is new, I love reading on my Pocket PC.  I feel like I read faster, I don’t know.  Of course, the books I’ve been reading have been really good so that helps but I love reading on my PDA. I can’t really put my finger on it. It’s the novelty of it. I guess.

Do you miss paperbooks or do you still read paperbooks. What is the ratio?

No I do not miss paperback books and hope someday to have my favorites in ebook format. However, I do still read paperbacks but prefer ebooks.

If you can buy a book in paper format or ebook format, which do you choose?

I prefer ebook and I am the hardest to convert to anything. I hate audio books but ebooks? I love it.  I gave away a couple of paperback books to my tech’s at work who also read as much as me, just so that I can have an excuse to buy them as ebooks. Sick I know but I can’t help it. I love the ebook format.

What is your favorite ebook format? reader?

My favorite ereader is the ubook from Gowerpoint and next would be Mobipocket. What’s attractive to any ebook reader is customization. And the preferred ebook format is html.

Do you read on your computer as well as your handheld device?

I don’t care to read on the computer and would never have made the switch if that was my only choice to do so.

Do you find that epublished books are the lesser cousins of the NY print books?

I’d have to disagree with that description. I find epublished books no different than NY print books, honestly. In fact, what makes epubs more attractive to me is that there seems to be more room to push the envelope. I love reading new authors and would love to discover some good ones but like NY published books/authors: you have some good ones and some bad ones.

How can epublishers improve?

Improvements can be made starting with the editing. A few stories that I had read could have been keepers for me if they’d been edited better. Another would be the covers as more than half are horrific. I know your not supposed to judge a book by it’s cover but the chances of me buying a book with a hideous cover are slim to none.

What are your biggest irks about ebooks?

Probably the pricing of most of them – novella’s at 4.99 a pop is kind of pricey to me and those horrific covers. Most of the genres I enjoy seem to have scarce few titles available like historical titles are few and far between for most epubs that I’ve visited.

What are the biggest pleasures in ebooks?

The biggest pleasure of reading ebooks is that I can read them whenever or wherever I like and the advantage of downloading a new book when it becomes available without having to rush to the bookstore to get it. Love that. In fact, I’ve cut down my visits to the bookstore. I love the idea that I carry my library with me. I love that I don’t have to accept wide margins and big goofy fonts, I can customize all of that. I love that I have a say in how my ebook looks. I don’t have to worry about cracking the spine, or bending corners or storage space much anymore since my library is on my Pocket Loox 720. I love that I have 60 books on my Mobipocket and about 20-30 books in my ubook library plus my drug database with the continuous updates:  my memory sits  at 455 mb’s free on my device so – I don’t have to worry about memory much for a while. However, I wish I would have bought a 1 gig.

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