I like books. They have a nice feel, a nice smell, a pleasant weight. I don't like e-readers. They are tacky and plasticy they feel all wrong. I can't lend a story on one to a friend. I can't throw it in a bag and not worry about it. I can't take it on the beach and just leave it with the towels. In short I was sure I preferred the real thing, the e-reader was an impressive piece of engineering but I was a Luddite, an old fogey clinging on to the past, I loved books.
Then the iPad came along and I liked it. It helped that there was some design flair involved, that it was an item you would want to be seen with. This is something that may change my mind. You may notice that it doesn't have any of the attributes that I like about books. I can however see that it is something that I would use for reading more that just books. I could use it for the news and blogs, for videos and e-mails, for Facebook and Twitter. It is a screen that is light enough to take with you. It is for consuming content rather than creating it. E-readers on the other hand cannot be used for the news or video or even basic web surfing. They have nothing I like about books in them and nothing I like about computers in them.
Despite all this I cannot picture myself curling up by the fire with a cup of tea and an iPad but for trains and buses I would happily use one, when you are on the go the new technology has many advantages. It will never replace books for me, but I can see myself enjoying both. Maybe it is time to embrace the future and go and buy one, maybe...
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