Depending on where you are, English-language bookstores and book exchanges might be completely nonexistent, and hostel roommates might not be readers. Unless you’re a omnilingual language genius, you’ll probably be on the lookout for English-language bookstores, hostel book exchanges, or fellow reading buddies with whom you can trade a book or two. There’s just one horribly insurmountable problem: Finding books. Besides, those horrific 36 hour bus rides will drain the batteries long before you arrive at your destination, in which case a good book is often the only reliable way to keep you from going completely insane. It’s true that tablets and smartphones can help pass the time with movies and games, but voracious readers aren’t likely to spend much time tapping away on them before opening up a good book. Spending all day reading is sometimes the only option. Long bus rides, train trips, and flights carve out massive blocks of uninterrupted free time, occasionally preceded by an hour or two spent in the waiting area as well. It’s easy to see why the internet is less of a ubiquitous distraction, even with readily-available free hostel Wi-Fi. On the last trip, I read a whole book in a single day (fun fact: It was Armistead Maupin’s The Night Listener). I feed myself as many books as I can while I’m gone, because I know I won’t be able to keep up the pace back home. Maybe they were reading voraciously already, which is why they bought a Kindle, but the advantages of digital reading, combined with the ease of getting exactly what you want immediately, are surely a significant part of the equation.īut most importantly, when I travel, I burn through books at a ridiculous rate, devouring them much faster than I can manage at home, often going at around one book per week. What a nuisance.įor all of these reasons, Kindle owners simply read more, with estimates claiming they consume anywhere from double to quadruple the number of books as those who read only print. Just imagine trying to read a paper book while lying down on your side, for example. One-handed operation, faster page turns, non-curved reading surfaces, occasional built-in lighting, lighter weight, lack of app distraction, and font customization all combine to make quite a compelling case that digital books provide a better reading experience than paper. In many ways, digital book readers are better reading devices than regular books, and it’s not just the space-saving tininess of their svelte little library-in-your-pocket profile. I don’t even know if I should be sad or relieved.Īnd I really wanted one. It was as good of a deal as I’m likely to see for a long time, but I hesitated, for all the reasons that have held me back this whole time, until it was too late. That’s $40 less than a brand new one, and convincing enough that it’s now backordered for 3 to 5 weeks.īut I didn’t buy one. Amazon had a deal yesterday for a $79 refurbished Kindle Paperwhite.
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