Some of us have taken longer than others to make the switch from books to ebooks, and many still haven't made the transition. Last year I would have placed myself right in the middle of the spectrum. This year I'm leaning toward the ebook side.
The other night my husband was reading a book at the dinner table and had to get up to go into the kitchen. As soon as he let go of the book, the pages flipped and he lost his place. He grumbled about having to hunt around for something to use as a bookmark and said, "That's one more thing I appreciate about ebooks on tablets. You can walk away without having to worry about losing your place."
It's true. I keep an envelope filled with bookmarks, some of which my children made for me when they were in elementary school. However, physical bookmarks still fall out of books and get chewed up by dogs.
Last night there was a big flash in the night sky as a transformer near us blew. We spent a couple of hours in blackout conditions, and I discovered what a blessing it is to have an ebook tablet under those circumstances. Since we couldn't watch TV or play video games for entertainment, we could read on our battery powered tablets, which provide their own light to read by. At my age, my eyes are not good enough to read a paperback by candlelight. Also, the tablets worked well as flashlights to help us get around the house.
I discovered the other day that I can stock up on free ebooks to read on rainy days when the electricity is out and I am unable to download a new purchase. Teams of volunteers have converted some selections of classic literature into electronic format and are giving the books away for free if they are now public domain or if they have permission to do so. I think about all the books I had to buy for English classes throughout high school and college, and today's college students can get many of those publications for free. That doesn't exactly make up for the outrageously high cost of a college education nowadays, but at least it makes life a little easier. You don't have to worry about the bookstore running out of copies.
