I Read My First eBook

Are they even called that anymore?

I have always read books in their paper form, saving digital media for social media, how-to's, recipes, and exploring my personal wonder - by that, I mean Wikipedia.

I have been through seven long years of college and have amassed over 70 books during that time all related to the readings of coursework. I don't even remember what class mandated that I read The Jungle or God Gave Us Reason -- Not Religion. But they did, and instead of just renting them, I bought a fresh copy, right off Amazon's Click-to-Print presses.

My collection of college-mandated books also includes lucrative reads like Organic Chemistry 3rd Edition and Modern Inventing 6th Edition.  I know, these two are at the top of Amazon Best Sellers list. In fact, instead of paying $680 for Organic Chemistry like I did, you can get this exact edition for just $30! What a bargain! I mean, who knows when I may need to reference the chemistry vices circa 2013?

My first e-read was actually Appalachian Eulogy, due in part to my own ambitions but also because it was free for 30 days if I just handed over a credit card. I figured it would be a good start.

The experience was mixed.

I generally like reading a solid book under the blazing sun or next to the fireplace or even on a car ride. I immediately see issue with all but one of these. Under the sun, obviously focusing on the OLED screen will still prove difficult at best, and long car rides with a screen constantly illuminated will leave me (or the tablet) wanting more juice in no time. Maybe a fireside snuggle with the device would out fine.

For my first read, it was fireside experience. During day 341 (or maybe 17) of the COVID pandemic on a Monday (or was it a Wednesday?) afternoon (pretty sure it was after noon --my watch read 13:47, so). I fumbled on my old RCA tablet from like 2012 or something -- ya know, whenever that whole fad was underway. I found a vacant spot not occupied by a cat or a dog (difficult in my household) on the sofa, tossed a log of beech wood into the pit and got to reading.

There isn't much to report on the reading. It worked. Like reading a listless Wikipedia article that went on and on without end. I did find it wonky to 'pause' the read, and holding a slab became uncomfortable after a couple hours versus simply adjusting a book... you know I am one of those disturbed individuals that twist the left side of the book up underneath the right side as if to challenge the physics of the bindings. I am a lefty, and doing such allows my dominant hand to rest on the active read. It's the small things.

Anyway. I can't do that with my tablet. Unless I got one of those weird leather case things --anyway.

My battery died. After like 45 minutes I was reaching for the USB cable. After two hours, I was needing some ice to chill the slab of plastic in my hands. Seriously, this old tablet was not up to the task.

With that in mind, I have decided to jump all-in and invest a couple hundred into converting to ereading. I picked up the Kindle Paperwhite without the Special Offers (Read: Spam). We will see if throwing some money at this adventure returns a more universal replacement for my bookshelf.