Think you don’t need an ereader, think again!
“I’ve got an iPad.” I know.
“I like books.”I know.
“I don’t need an ereader!” I know.
That’s what a lot of people say when I tell them to check out the Kindle Paperwhite. The thing is, outside of the US, ereaders are pretty hard to come by unless you’re in a BIG electronic store.
Over here in Japan, while Japanese people are big readers (comics, books and newspapers), I think I can count the times I’ve seen someone using them here on one hand. What gives?
I can only ever find two reasons why people don’t want to buy an ereader.
- They already have an iPad.
- They like to have actual physical books.
Both valid arguments. I mean, today what with our smartphones, tablets, notebooks, desktops and now smart watches, who needs another electronic device. Certainly not me. I’ve got one notebook, 4 desktops, two iPads and an iPhone. The last thing I need is an ereader to cart around.
At least so I thought.
Two years ago, I wasn’t sure what to get my wife for her X-Mas present, but saw that Amazon had just released their newest ereader – the Kindle Paperwhite. It intrigued me, and while I wasn’t sure my wife would like it, I thought it would surprise her. I was right.
What surprised me even more is just how much she likes it.
The device out of the box doesn’t look that amazing, but when you turn it on, you can’t help but be impressed.
The screen is lovely and it makes reading a breeze.
However, I held off buying one myself as I loved the feel of an actual book.
Here in Japan though books present a problem, space. I have bought over 400 books in the last 7 years and I’m having trouble figuring out where to put them all. So this year, I decided to take the plunge.
My first choice was the Kindle Paperwhite. That is until I heard that one company (Rakuten) offered a waterproof ebook reader – the Kobo H2O.
I love taking a nice bath after my karate lesson or after a hard day’s work.
As you might remember in a previous post, I talk about chunking. Bath time is a perfect example of time management for me. At present I practice phonics with my son at bath time, but it won’t be long before he starts reading. So the Kobo H2O fit the bill.
I still wasn’t sure if I should go with it as its price tag was twice that of the kindle, but when I found out that you could use any number of formats on it and add up to 32gb of memory to it, I was sold.
Last week, I finally took the plunge (so to speak).
I loaded up a ton of ebooks and away I went.
And let me tell you – it’s just awesome.
I love that I can read a story to my son in the bath. I love that I have over 400 books in it and it only takes up a fraction of the memory (and saves tons of space). I love that I can use my time more effectively. Win – win – win.
It’s not often I tell people to buy something, but if you’re a serious student of success, I highly recommend you pick up an ereader.
Adrian Shepherd