By Alan S.

I am a recent convert to the pleasures of an e-book. I appropriately played the T-Rex who needed help in a recent Facebook video. I have always preferred physical books over eBooks, enjoying the feel of holding a book in my hand more than the feel of a tablet or phone. I resisted the call of eBooks for a while. Working in a library, all of those printed books were right in front of me. Why choose to look at a screen? What would ever make me choose to read a book on a device?

The first thing that changed my feelings about the electronic version was packing for trips, especially those requiring plane travel. When taking a road trip, it is easy to fill a bag with books and throw them in the trunk. This is not so simple when you are packing for a plane ride. I started packing one or two physical books, then downloading a few e-books as a backup. I still usually take at least one physical book on a trip, but tend more toward eBooks when traveling. I’m sure my family likes the extra space to pack other things.

An increase in the number of audiobooks I listened to also led to an increased use of eBooks. My car is still equipped with a CD player, so a book on CD is an option, but there are benefits to an eAudiobook. The biggest is the lack of a need to change CDs. I hated listening to a book in the car and getting to the end of a CD with no safe way to change to continue the book. With eAudio, the book continues without your help. I have also learned the joy of increasing the speed on some books. When reading for an assignment, or if the reader reads very slowly, I can listen at a faster speed and still enjoy the book (I might also be a tad impatient).

If you are ready to join me as an eBook convert, see HCLS’ resources.

If you need help accessing your eBooks or with any of our other online resources, please join us for live Online Tech Time Wednesday, July 22 at 11:30 am. Other sessions of this useful class will be offered in the future.

Alan has worked for HCLS for just under 25 years, currently at the Savage Branch. He enjoys reading, television, and most sports.