PLUGGED IN READING

In spite of my reported mishaps with technical devices gone awry, I do love 21st-century technology. One of my favorites is the ability to read books on a handheld portable tablet ( IPad, Kindle Fire, Nook). This miraculous technology has allowed me to:

*No longer lug a suitcase full of books on a week-long vacation.

*Have an entire library of books from which to choose, on one tablet thinner than a notepad.

*Adjust the font size of the print so that I do not need a magnifying glass to see it. Paperback book print HAS gotten smaller over the years. It’s not my aging eyes.

*Learn the definition of an unfamiliar word with the press of a fingertip that takes me straight to a dictionary.

*Buy a new book instantly with another press of a fingertip.

*Borrow a book from my local library and have it immediately appear on the tablet.

The one downside to a Kindle or IPad is that their backlights are not conducive to reading in the sunlight. I solved that problem by buying an inexpensive, simple Kindle E-Reader (https://amzn.to/3dtXZrw) that does not function as a computer like the IPad or Kindle Fire. Its only function is to read books and it can be read outside in the sun. All of the books that are stored on my IPad are also stored on my E-Reader, and continually updated by me pressing “sync” on the E-Reader.

I have been a voracious reader since I learned to read. It is my favorite leisure activity, one in which I was happily engaging last Sunday. All afternoon. I was reading one of those suspenseful murder mysteries (https://amzn.to/3dvZ9mG) that I knew I was not going to be able to put down until I had finished it. Then I noticed at around 4 o’clock in the afternoon, I had ……………only 20% battery power left on my IPad! A panic unknown in my first 5 decades on earth set in…………the decades in which one did not need battery power to read a paper book. I CAN’T run out of battery power before I finish this book, I thought. I CAN’T. I know that at this point you are thinking……………….What an idiot she is. Why didn’t she just plug the IPad into the charger and keep reading? Because the charger cord was too short to reach from any of the wall plugs to any of the chairs in which I could sit.

Being the industrious sort that I am, a solution quickly popped into my brain. I placed the IPad on the end table next to the wall, plugged it in to charge, then took out my fully charged E-Reader, pressed “sync” and continued reading.

Once I finished the book, I thought about the wonders of the technology age I had been praising. Had I been a bit too quick to extoll the virtues of electronic reading? Are we inching toward a time when paper books will be unavailable, and we will only be able to read if we are “charged” or “plugged in”? I cannot imagine being unable to have a book, whether for information or pleasure, at my disposal anytime, without having to worry about a plug being nearby.

I want freedom from battery power worries to read a book for hours at the beach or at a park. But I also want the conveniences such as font adjustment and instant dictionary, listed at the beginning of the blog  – conveniences only technology can provide. The proverbial “have your cake and eat it too” scenario. Typical for an impatient control freak like me.

Oh, excitement! According to Google, scientists are working on a “quantum battery” that never loses its charge. (https://interestingengineering.com/the-worlds-first-quantum-phase-battery-is-here#:~:text=The%20battery%2C%20which%20represents%20a,contact%20with%20aluminum%20superconducting%20leads.&text=And%20now%2C%20in%20a%20big,first%20functioning%20quantum%20phase%20battery.) The articles I read, which are written in language only physicist Sheldon Cooper from the Big Bang Theory TV show could understand, did not mention if this miraculous invention would be available during my decreasing life span.

In the meantime, while I am out this afternoon, I will make sure that my IPad and E-Reader are plugged in and charging to their full capacity. I am on Book #1 of a 12 book FBI mystery/thriller series ( https://amzn.to/3cGYW0F ). I need all the battery power I can get.

Which do you prefer – E-reading or traditional books? A combination? What do you like about each? My curious nature wants to know.

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