Since discovering ebooks at the end of 2007 (before that I was a print fascist), there have been occasions when I’ve had to remind myself why I like this medium so much.

Granted this is generally after I’ve read one by an author whose stories I know can drive me round the bend with their ‘unbelievability’ (there’s that word again) and sometimes overblown characters, but I still end up buying the bloody things anyway. Rather than a lack of will power, I am putting this one down to unknown masochistic tendencies.

anyhow… ‘how I love thee ebooks, let me count the ways’:

instant accessibility and therefore gratification! Prob’ly not so good when I think of the $$ that I’ve spent. Srsly though my problem is that I speed read. You see I read a lot of material for my research, which means I skim. While this skill is great for work, it’s not so good for recreational reading. So the bottom line is that I go through a shit load of books every day, let alone every week. Having access to ebooks is a therefore a godsend, cos quite frankly there is only so many times that I can re-read Anne Bishop, Charlaine Harris, etc, etc.

storability (is that a word??) I’ve got crammed book shelves everywhere in my house as well as books in my bedroom cupboard, linen closet… what a relief to be able to put books in a folder on a hard drive and not worry about trying to find space!

cost Sorry to be crass and all, but print books in Australia are getting bloody expensive. Don’t you think it’s ridiculous that in a country where literacy is such a major problem that they price books beyond the reach of the majority of people?! It’s fucked!

novel vs short stories vs series I do collect a lot of authors who write series, but they need to be v. good for me to read anything beyond a trilogy. The worst thing about liking scifi/fantasy is that some authors just don’t seem to know when to quit already and just go on and on and on and on… where was I going with this?? Oh, because a lot of ebooks a really quite short (for me anyway cos of the speed reading thing) they make a great, quick break in between my regulars/keepers.

the ending My name is Kris and I am a chronic reader of the end of books. I know it’s a bad habit, but I can’t help myself sometimes, especially (a) when it’s so friggin obvious where a story is heading so I want to see if I guessed it right and (b) when the story is shite and I want to see if there is any real reason why I shouldn’t just put the book in the secondhand pile straight away. Reading an ebook on a reader (well the one that I’ve got anyway) makes it harder for me to read the ending without having to get out the pointy thing and use it, which generally means that I’ve got to put down the glass of wine that I’m holding – totally unacceptable.

and finally..

a whole new world (this song is haunting me!) Before discovering ebooks, I would have never, ever discovered m/m romance. Yaoi anime and manga I vaguely knew about and enjoyed the ones that I’ve been able to access, but m/m was a totally new genre for me and one that I’ve very quickly become addicted to. And who could not with such great authors like J L Langley and Jet Mykles.

Why I like m/m romance is a subject for another day. Plus I’m on my last cup of morning coffee, which means I need to get up and brave the world of Sat morning shopping. I also suddenly remembered yesterday that I’ve got a $50 book voucher to spend and it’s not so much burning a hole in my pocket as lighting a fire under my fat arse!