The screen reading experience may appear daunting for those who have grown up in the post-digital era. In one of his interviews, the prominent American literary critic Harold Bloom said that he once tried out reading ebooks and he found the experience weird.
Bloom is not alone. One of my friends (at the same age as mine) is so opposed against the ebook stuff as well. With these in mind, I have written this essay. Hopefully, it works as a preaching piece to make you at least not dislike it, or in general, to make you read more with the help of the screen.
The e-Reader doesn’t replace the paperback experience. It is not an ‘either/or’ but a ‘both’ situation. Like many others, I read paperbacks and hardbacks at home. But I don’t enjoy sweating over a 200-paged book at the bus stop in a Hong Kong summer. The ebook debate has a geographic aspect to it as well. Hongkongers may love better ebooks during our commute than the Westerners. It can be an aesthetic experience in the UK but a self-aware experience of smudging the dog ear with your sweating hand in Hong Kong.
To help let go of your paranoia about the e-Reader setting, I want to share my experience about the access to books and the format conversion.
Libby is a good free platform to link your e-reader back to your local library. I am a Kobo reader so I am not representing all e-book users. Libby is compatible with many tablets, including Kindle and Kobo. You can borrow books from your library and read them on your e-Reader. I am sure you will find some ways to gain free access to the texts you want to read if you have a mind to it.
If you are worried about the format conversion, Calibre is a free and helpful companion for you. You can covert EPUB or PDF into KEPUB in there, for example. Check out Calibre as well.
Whether you want to try out the e-Reader or not, reading is a lifelong experience. Holding a paperback, hardback, or an e-Reader on the street will be part of the reading revival in your community.