[onecommentman]

Then again, there is more to life than increasing its speed. (Gandhi). When I read a physical book, especially an early (hardback) edition, I’m reliving the experience of all the early readers of that book. A mug of tea, a warm light, perhaps a candle or oil lamp, a period chair — and I’m recreating the experience the Author imagined his/her readers would be experiencing. Digital for work, analog for pleasure.

[cbfrench]

That is very true, and certainly I’m in agreement that fast, digital reading isn’t necessarily desirable as a mode. Then again, my academic background is in English lit, and I’m a priest, so my professional reading has generally been slow and analog! Reading novels quickly allows me to become immersed in them without allowing my analytical lit-crit brain entirely to take over, and that itself is a nice change of pace, so the e-reader has been a welcome introduction. I do enough wrestling with dense theological texts that I appreciate being able simply to read.