The Book Chat: eReaders vs. Printed Books

This week's book chat is discussing the merits of eReaders vs. Printed Books, and I thought I'd weigh in with my opinion. They both have their pros and cons.

+ lightweight, easy to carry, hold, and turn the page
+ can purchase books from home (or almost anywhere)
+ built-in features like dictionary and highlighting
+ can change font, color, size, orientation, etc.
+ iPad has backlighting for night-time reading

- when browsing to purchase, you can't "flip through" the pages
- not a great idea to bring to the beach or poolside
- have to be charged occasionally
- have to buy the eReader device plus books

nothing beats the feeling of holding, smelling & flipping through a loved book +

can be easier to scan multiple pages to find & re-read a passage +

have beautiful covers that can be displayed in your home  +

easy to pass on to friends and family members +

books can be heavy & hard to carry -

often carry a slightly higher price tag per book -

Are eReaders truly more "on the go" than printed books?
Is it really easier to share a book online than handing a friend a paperback copy?
I'm not sure.

What I do know is that I prefer each for different circumstances. It's so nice to be able to read in bed at night with the lights off, knowing that I'm not keeping Chris up. And it's really convenient to be able to find books online from home & start reading them in under 2 minutes. However, while I love how easy it is turn pages on an eReader there is no way I'd ever take my iPad to the beach. I even had a hard time bringing my kindle near the water because accidents happen (to me).

As a lifelong reader I never thought I'd enjoy reading from a screen. I bought a Kindle two years ago when I learned we'd be moving to an island that had zero bookstores. I discovered that it wasn't that big of a jump from the printed word to the Kindle's screen. My biggest challenge was finding inexpensive books online, as I'd always been a used-book-store type of gal. Then I discovered Calibre and how easy it is to share books with friends.

When I got an iPad last summer from my mom, I thought I'd never like reading a pixelated screen. Wrong again! I was shocked at how beautiful the screen was, and loved the backlighting and ability to change the size, font, and color of the text.

What's the verdict? As much as I love paperback books, I think if I could only choose one option I'd have to pick the iPad. Although it's an expensive little toy to carry around on a day to day basis, most of the time I read at home in bed and I love how easy it is to do that with my iPad and iBooks. In fact, I ended up trading my Kindle to a friend on the island and haven't really missed it.

I'm curious what your opinions are on the matter.
Do you have a preference? eReader or Print?
Did I miss any pros or cons?

Vacation Read - The Sugar Queen

Generally, I gravitate towards more epic historical novels while on vacation like The World Without End by Ken Follet or Cane River by Lalita Tademy. I love having a thick book to really treasure during my endless hours of reading by the pool.

On my trip to St. Maarten however, there were a few roadblocks that caused me to veer from the usual.

• no book stores in Dominica to visit pre-trip
• no book stores past Customs in SXM
• no kindle (my iPad will never visit a pool deck)
• shorter vacation

Thank goodness for Clare, who had a stack of paperbacks at her apartment that had been handed down to her by various people. It was really picking bad from worse (sorry Clare.. I know they weren't your picks!), but I decided on The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen. What "sold" me was the main character is 27 years old - Not the cover.

My Review:

Josey Cirrini lives at home with her aging mother. She drives her to the beauty salon, takes her to social events, and in every way obeys her mother. One evening as she goes to hide in her closet to munch sweets and read romance novels, she discovers a local woman - Della Lee - hiding there.

Unable to get Della Lee out without giving away her secret closet, Josey allows Della to lead her on a somewhat magical goose chase. Family secrets are spilled, Josey begins to gain independence, and even falls in love.

The whole time I was reading this book, I was about 60% into it. I didn't have anything better to read, and the story was sort of interesting, but it just didn't do it for me. Honestly, it was almost as depressing as the cover, even with the bits of magical goodness.



Sorry for the poor report, but better to be honest about these things & save you from several days of reading boredom. Thank goodness I had Fifty Shades Darker on the iPad to keep me company in the hotel room at night! {and yes, I did finish Fifty Shades of Grey!}

Today I'm linking up with Blonde.. Undercover Blonde and The Nerdy Katie for Book Club Friday, as well as Sweet Green Tangerine for Best Vacation Reads from her weekly Book Chat linkup. Thanks Ladies!

It's a Vacation - Unplug!

I am getting so excited for my trip to St. Maarten! Tonight I'm spending the night at Mary's house because we have to catch a bus really early tomorrow morning. The bonus is that it will feel like I'm extending my vacation an extra day!

Maybe we will get lucky & catch this bus again:

Is it totally lame that I want to bring my laptop (aka Big Mac, Mac Daddy, the Precious)? Yes, I fear it is. Would you like to hear the 'excuses' I'm telling myself for why I need to bring it?

• What if one of my lovely clients has a design problem, that can't wait till next Monday?
• What if I have a stroke of genius & need to type or Photoshop it? 
• But I can't just not answer my email.
• It will be useful, we can watch movies on it at night.

I think it's partly guilt over taking a vacation and partly separation anxiety. I should leave work & the laptop behind, right? If I really need the internet, I will have Paddy with me (yes, my iPad has a name too.) The funny thing, is this wasn't even a Question until I saw this video on Katelyn's blog today. Not a question, as in of course my laptop is coming.

Hi, my name is Katie and I might be addicted to my computer/the internets.

Do you have problems unplugging? or is it just me...

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

This is the first "comedy" book I've read and for some reason I thought it was a novel when I first started reading it. My friend lent me the ebook for my iPad, so once again I started a book without checking out the synopsis online. However, I really did love this book, even though I had never heard of Mindy Kaling before. The Office is a show that I know people love, but I've never really taken to. I think I need to give it a shot after reading this book!

Mindy Kaling is like the Indian best-friend you never knew you had. She is not embarrassed to tell you exactly what her childhood is like, and doesn't sugar-coat her trials. I really liked how the book was divided into chapters and sections based on topics from her life. The book also has pictures (shock!) that help you to really get what she is saying. I think it was her overall down-to-earth writing that made it feel like you weren't reading a book, but rather at a Starbucks listening to a (funny) friend tell you stories. Thumbs Up, Mindy Kaling, Thumbs Up.


This week, I'm Linking Up with Heather from Blonde... Undercover Blonde for her Book Club Friday! Thanks to Emmy for recommending the Link Up. She also reviewed a book today & posted a really interesting review of it here. The book is called Under the Banner of Heaven, and it's moving up on my 'to-read' list on Goodreads.

Hand-crafted Gifts

For Christmas this year I received several beautiful handcrafted gifts. I love perusing Etsy, and always prefer supporting small businesses - especially stay at home moms.

I got this purse from Katie Read's It's Elemental Fashion shop on Esty. It is really well made, with big pockets inside, and lots of padding on the strap and purse. Plus my 15" laptop fits in perfectly! The front is covered in ruffles of Amy Butler fabric. It is So Sweet.

Just as bright and cheerful, is this blanket that came from Aubree at Fabricadabra Designs. She had agreed to make me a blanket in exchange for a new blog design. I made myself wait until Christmas morning to open the package, and immediately fell in love with the cheery colors and the grey chevron. Thank you Aubree!  

My little sister made the whole family their own circle scarves. {I've heard them referred to as infinity scarves as well.} It was so sweet of her to handmake these. Mine has a deep shiny blue inside, and then a thick, textured knit on the outside. Thank you Jules! 

Last, but not least, remember the iPad cover I designed a few months ago? Well, Grove did an A-mazing job engraving the leather and creating a bamboo cover for my ipad. Thank you Grove!

Birthday Wishlist

In a perfect world (aka America) where you can order things online and have them shipped to you within a week, this would be my Birthday Wishlist this year.

 Forever & Ever, wooden and leather iPad2 case by Grove

iNecklace, glowing "breathing" power symbol by Adafruit

I heart California necklace by Truche on Etsy

Gold & Diamond Feather Ring by Fire and Ice

iBooks

I am loving my iPad2, and especially iBooks.  It amazes me that I can convert a book with Calibre, email myself the file, and then open that email on my iPad to have it automatically install in iBooks.  I've been sharing books recently with my friends. Here is what my bookshelf looks like today:

I really am shocked at how much I like reading books on the iPad.  I thought I would never make the jump from paper-back to Kindle, but I did.  And the jump from Kindle to iPad has been even easier.  Check out the beautiful format I read with:

I'm reading The Magicians by Lev Grossman right now and loving every minute of it.  The best way I can describe it is Harry Potter meets The Chronicles of Narnia, but with college aged characters.  If you have an e-reader, I'm happy to let you borrow it!

Pads and Pads

While shopping on Etsy for a cover for my new iPad2, I discovered a whole different kind of pad, available for purchase.

To be honest, I had already heard about homemade pads from an eco-friendly acquaintance, but I never imagined the plethora of options out there.  This shop has 6", 8", 10", and the important 12" overnight pad available in a variety of prints and colors. 

Which brings me to another little-talked-about female product, the DivaCup.  To better explain the product, check out this video available on DivaCup's YouTube Channel.



They are regularly $39.99, but are on sale for $32.99 at Drugstore.com.  So, what do you guys think?  Would you try it?