Monday, September 16, 2013

Five Ways eBooks Have Changed My Life

Given the title of this post, you might think my list is about selling eBooks. I'm an author and it is true I've made my living on eBooks. But today, I'm appreciating them as a reader. I was a reader long before I was a writer, and I was an early adopter of the ereading device. I still have my Kindle 2. My family gave it to me for Mother's Day 2009. Best Mother's Day gift EVER. Little did I know that first device would change my life in five important ways.

1. Instant Gratification: One morning I decided to read Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Thirty seconds later, I was snuggled into my special reading chair falling in love with a depression era circus. Ereaders are absolutely the fastest route to the written word.

2. No More Uncooperative Pages: I remember one particularly embarrassing elliptical session at the gym where I tried to exercise while holding open a hardcover of Harry Potter. It was neither a good work out nor an effective reading session.  In contrast, my eReader rests on that tiny shelf above the start button as if it was at home playing with the bigger machine.  Turning the page takes just one sweaty finger.

3. No Glasses; No Problem: The years of working twelve hours a day on a computer have been hard on my eyes. I really should wear reading glasses. But with my ereader? I simply make the font bigger. Genius!

4. Back and Shoulder Friendly: Before my kindle, I always had a sore back.  Always.  When you are carrying two or three twenty pound books around with you at one time, that will happen.  No more.  My ereader weighs a couple of ounces and fits in my purse.

5. I Read a Greater Variety: The ebook revolution has opened up a whole new world to me. In the old bookstore days, I would not never wandered over to the non-fiction aisle, but when I see a book like Super Foods For The Brain on my Kindle best seller list, I check it out. I've read in every genre since I purchased my kindle, and because I buy a bunch of Indie books too, I don't see the same tropes in fiction that you do again and again in the bookstore.  I've read more work that breaks the mold in electronic format, work that sadly would not have made it into the traditional market.  For example, Jenny's Blue Velvet by Angela Carlie. Is it a romance? A thriller? Who cares!  It's good, and it's different. Would I had risked it in hardcover? Probably not.

My eReading habit has evolved from Kindle, to iPad, and lately to my iPhone. I regularly purchase books from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and iTunes on my iPhone and read every time I find myself waiting for something or someone. I've definitely read more books since my family blessed me with that first ereader.

How has your ereader changed your life?

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G.P. Ching is the author of The Soulkeepers Series, Grounded, and a variety of short fiction. She specializes in cross-genre paranormal stories, loves old cemeteries, and enjoys a good ghost tour. She lives in central Illinois with her husband, two children, and one neurotic Brittany Spaniel. Visit her at www.gpching.com and www.thesoulkeepersseries.com.

3 comments:

  1. me too! I read way more and more of a variety. Love all the different styles and unique books I've found, along with more traditional genres and tropes too. Though, i've never been able to read while running on a treadmill. Too much motion. Not sure how people do it. :)

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  2. Oh my goodness, I have become such a binge reader since the advent of the kindle. If I'm like, "I totally loved that book," you can expect to find me hiding out in the bedroom for the next three days while I consume an entire series. It's especially true with Indie books--not quite so much with traditionally published ones. They haven't quite caught the wave on the pricing ring yet. =)

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    1. Absolutely! I refuse to pay double digits for an eBook.

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