Taking A Closer Look At eBooks

Call me old fashioned!  With over 350 quilting related paper books on my shelves, I thought I knew what side of the paper vs. ebook debate I am on.  However I spotted an inconsistency … I have been completely digital with my music for the past six years, and with my photos for the past ten!

 

So why I am slow to embrace change on the book front?

 

 

I decided to take a look at my perceptions of eBooks.

 

Perception 1:  eBooks are not the same quality as a printed copy!

 

Wrong!  I downloaded copies of my own books; images and quilts that I am really familiar with.  The page layouts are exactly the same as the paper book.  The images are brilliant!  I can zoom in on photos for a closer look with quality so good I could do thread counts on fabric with little difficulty (slightly better on my laptop than my iPad).

 

Perception 2:  I would likely print off a “not great quality” paper copy for myself to have in hand, so why not buy the paper copy straight off.

 

There is a bit of truth to that one. I wouldn’t print off a copy of a novel, but my craft books are reference tools. I like being able to pull a book off the shelf and have a quick glance or a long study.  My limited workspace in my studio is too precious to have my laptop there all the time. And I am not going to lug around my iPad for a knitting project. So I would definitely be printing off at least a copy of the pattern.  Plus I can make notes on the paper copy.

 

Perception 3:  Navigation through an eBook is clumsy.

 

No, it is just different.  Many years of muscle memory makes handling paper books easy. But swiping my finger on my iPad is easy to get used to.

 

 

And, when looking for a piece of information instead of flipping through a book numerous times to locate it, eBooks offer an ease of searchability that my brain envies!

 

 

A grid view lets you quickly navigate from one part of the book to another.

 

 

Plus eBooks can include HTML links in the text, enriching your reading experience.  (Are you tempted yet?)

 

Perception 4:  Portability

 

The allure of eBooks for travel is obvious; lots of choices without the weight.  That is why I purchased 6 eBooks recently.  At the same time, eBooks can tether you to one place with a power cord, risk hard drive crashes and computer viruses.  And you won’t find me relaxing in the tub with my eReader.

 

The real benefit of eBooks, besides lower price, space conservation, searchability and zooming in, is accessibility.   If you are inspired at 2 am and want to start that project now, hit click to buy, prep your cutting area while the eBook is downloading and you are off to the races!

 

In the end, I still love the tactile feel of pages between my fingers, the gentle whoosh of the turning pages and the familiarity that each reading brings or suddenly seeing a quilt in a new light, sparking a new idea.  It is soothing and relaxing in a way that my computer eBook experience is not, no matter how much they add the computer generated click/swish of pages turning.  But as my shelf space is becoming limited … I can see eBooks as a good solution!  And for books that are out of print, eBooks are a fantastic solution!

 

There is loads more interesting information on ebooks here and here.

 

Are you embracing eBooks?

 

Have a great week

&

Happy Stitching!