Thoughts on e-reading
Since college, pretty much all of my reading has been done via web browser: either directly on a site or through a RSS reader. Somehow, I picked up a book and finished it from cover to cover over the last few days.
First of all, it wasn't even a real book - it was the ebook edition of Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh. I'll review the book itself in a separate post and just give a few highlights on e-reading:
1. On the purchase decision
Choosing to read a book is trusting the author to deliver enough value in x number of words and pages to be worth your while. Since books require a larger investment of your time, samples are an amazing way to get a feel for how much value is in the content. I trust my own gut after reading a sample more so than any I would any review.
2. On information retention
Even though studies show that e-reading is actually slower than reading on the printed page, I believe the ability to highlight/bookmark parts of the book (and delete them if you wish) outweighs the slight loss in speed. Looking up word definitions on the fly is also very convenient. These features go a long way in helping me retain the juiciest parts of what I'm reading.
3. On going green
Cutting down on the cutting down of trees is good. So is losing some physical weight, as well as not having to choose what to bring on a trip (even if it's just to the couch!). Unfortunately though, ebooks aren't much cheaper than printed copies at all.
Those are my first impressions after finishing my first ebook. Diving into some good long-form content also made me realize how rapid-fire and fleeting reading on the web can be. No to mention, to be able to escape from both the desk and the daily grind for a good number of pages here and there is quite the simple luxury. That said...onto the next one!
