Just in case you were wondering, my life isn't all about dyspraxia and SPD, you know!
This morning, I was reading to Jam from our huge pile of library books when I noticed the picture book we were reading was also available as an ebook. A kid's illustrated picture book in ebook format. I was kind of taken aback. I just couldn't imagine Jam and I pouring over a picture book on the computer screen. I completely understand using a screen for distraction and entertainment, say... at the doctor's office or a restaurant. Believe me, the iPad is something we rarely leave home without on long car rides. But there are so many great interactive book and game apps, I couldn't imagine why I'd ever download a picture ebook to share with Jam.
I do have a nasty little secret, though.
I'm a bookseller. I work at a bookstore. A wonderful, huge, successful independent bookstore. A bookstore filled with tens of thousands of real paper books.
But, for myself, I only read ebooks.
Isn't that terrible?!
It's sad but I can't imagine reading a real print book for pleasure now. The thought of lugging around a book on top of everything else I have to haul... it's just too much. At least schlepping around my iPad gets me access to email, the internet and dozens of apps. And tons of books. All at the same time. And all for the same price in weight.
Now, I know tons of people who LOVE 'real' books. Being a bookseller, I work with those people and sell to those people every week. The heft of the book, the texture of the paper, the physical act of turning pages, the endorphins released after a new acquisition for the collection.
But me, I'm more a 'content' girl. I want the content and don't care so much about the packaging.
I have noticed two downsides to ebooks for me, though. One is that because I'm not constantly picking up and seeing the book I'm reading, I can never manage to remember the title and author of what I'm reading. In fact, I don't even see the jacket cover on my iPad and probably wouldn't recognize the actual book if I walked by it at work. Not great for a dyspraxic bookseller with memory issues.
The other downside is that I never have a good idea of where I am in a book. Am I half-way done? Am I coming up to the end? It actually affects my reading of the book, not knowing where I am in the story. I could easily find out on the iPad- but I don't. And I hadn't truly realized before how much information the book as an actual physical object conveys. There are times I miss the print format.
Just not enough to actually go back to it.
The one exception is when I'm reading for in-depth information rather than for pleasure. Non-fiction reading has traditionally been hard for me. Mostly fact-driven with no story and little personal relevance, it's hard to remember and synthesize any of it. And for whatever reason, screen print is even worse in terms of retention and recall. It just doesn't imprint on my brain very well. I found this out recently when I bought Cindy Gaddis' The Right Side of Normal, about right brain dominant learning, in ebook format. Very excited, I started reading it right away. And couldn't remember any of it the next day. So I had to go buy the book again, in paper format.
Much better the second time around!
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