by Raymond M. Coulombe
I never put up a suggested summer reading list at the beginning of the season. It’s not too late to start. Just read anything by the Quantum Muse Books authors and you’ll be entertained. There, got a self serving plug out of the way.
Summer reading sorta implies you’ll be reading out in the hot summer sun. Regular ordinary paper books work pretty well in that environment. The don’t fade out in bright light. A little beach sand between the pages isn’t going to cause a catastrophic meltdown. There’s a lot to be said for going old school.
While I read ordinary paper books, I do like my e-books too. Recently I treated myself to a Kindle E-reader with the glare free screen. I’ve done a lot of book reading on regular tablets and phones, but they really don’t work well in direct sun. Also, the dedicated E-reader has some advantages beyond ease of daylight reading. Because it’s not a phone or a tablet, I don’t get my reading interrupted by calls, texts, e-mail, or social media notifications. Life has enough interruptions without getting electronic ones. The really long battery life is also nice as there’s nothing worse than having your reader go dead while in the middle of a good book.
On thing I like about reading e-books is that I can crank the font up high enough so I can pretend I don’t need glasses. While I do have a pair of tinted reading glasses for outside reading, it’s nice not to have to use them. There is one area where the E-reader really falls down. Browsing the store is a pain as the monochrome display makes all the book covers look like crap.
I used to be a bit of a Luddite when it came to e-readers. Over the years the convenience won me over. That doesn’t mean I’ve given up on paper books. I’ll buy paper if it’s a reference book, something I might want to share, if it’s on sale, something to take to the beach, or if I just want it. Okay, maybe I’m still half a Luddite.
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