Tolkien on the Kindle

[Ibrîniðilpathânezel]

I use an iPad rather than a Kindle, but I have all four available Tolkien books on it. At home, I will certainly sit down with the physical books, but when we were in Florida for most of October, I was glad I could have all the books with me, and more, without needing to haul them in my luggage. The iPad will draw more power than devices like the Kindle because of the different display type (which can be read in the dark), but unless I have the contrast cranked up to the brightest it gets (which isn't necessary), I can go a solid ten hours or more of constant use before I need to recharge. It would go longer if I turned off a number of wifi features. Not as good as the e-paper low power draw, but not bad for something that can do nigh onto everything my laptop does.

I think that while I still enjoy the tactile experience of a physical book, I also enjoy some of the conveniences of an ebook. The ability to adjust the font size and contrast is a big benefit to someone as nearsighted as I am. And not needing a reading lamp is a plus for me. But everyone will gravitate to what they enjoy most, of course.