The readers use a system called E-ink to it make easier on the eyes. As thaibebop says, they are not back lit.

A lot of writers I liked a few decades back haven't been published for years. John D MacDonald's excellent Travis McGee books are hard to find, as is anything by Peter O'Donnell but they're nearly all available online.

Some e-readers use e-ink, but many don't (the iPad does not). However, they are all starting to use touch screens which have a lot of glare and the e-ink is not at all clear. IMHO, it is going to be a while before they solve all these problems, but I do not have a crystal ball.

Some e-readers use e-ink, but many don't (the iPad does not). However, they are all starting to use touch screens which have a lot of glare and the e-ink is not at all clear. IMHO, it is going to be a while before they solve all these problems, but I do not have a crystal ball.

Almost all e-readers use e-ink. The Ipad is not an e-reader. It's a multi purpose device that you can read books on. Touch screens are an unnecessary gimmick in my opinion.

My guess is that "multi-purpose devices" (that you can read on) are going to very popular, while e-readers will never gain more than a small market, but I am not claiming to know the future.

You are right about touch screens IMO, but they seem to be getting more and more popular. Some gimmicks succeed.

I posted an article in another sub-forum, Internet "stuff", that suggested they are already history. About the time the iPad came out they all dropped their prices dramatically.

The point is moot anyway, what is a larger concern is the damage eBooks will do to the people who write books. With a few exceptions writing doesn't pay well and a young writer who gets a good review in a national daily will expect to sell books. I can see them being downloaded for free from torrent sites, and others like them.

I was thinking last night, what would it cost to print them off yourself on A4 sheets? The size of a small novel seems to be about 80-100 pages on Word so all you would need is a pack of cheap paper, 500 sheets for about 80B, and one of those cheap printers with the big ink bottles (refillable).

Read once and throw away.

I get these homemade books from Vietnam and Cambodia, but few people want to read them when real books are available, no matter how low the price. I know that I hated them when I was a traveler unless there was nothing else available. They are just not comfortable to carry around or read.

About people downloading books off the Internet, I agree that it could very well ruin the publishing industry. That is why publishers are cutting their own throats by pushing e-books (to make huge profits that they do not have to share with retailers).

There are still a lot of people making huge new  investments in traditional books, so how it will turn out remains to be seen. 

My Mom always told me reading in half-light would ruin my eyesight. Talked sense on a lot of issues my Mom ( RIP ), like the generation of " train till you bleed" gym junkies who are now feeling the pain of arthritis in their old age, I wonder if these poorly lit " cubes" will produce a generation of near blind moles as they get older?

I was nearly 50 before I discovered computers so hopefully my eyesite will last me out.

Other organs I started using at an earlier age let me down on occasions though.

Should have stuck to the piano

 I am not a big fan of fantasy (I love good sci fi though). However I enjoyed the Hobbit and the first book of the trilogy, but felt that it was too repetitive after that. I much prefer CS Lewis. 

Ever tried Robert A Heinlein?

I used to read everything of his I could find... even his short stories were thought-provoking.

Agree with JD. Certainly not light weight, but worth the effort.

( he even invented that move to free you up when you're choking, what a guy )

 Yes, I am a fan. I often think of "Stranger in a Strange Land" which was my favorite. Do you grok?   

Although I have literally thousands of books scattered around the globe, about half-to-two-thirds are the novels one can pick up easily in airports and tourist bookshops. These I read nightly in bed for a while before sleep.

In Vietnam they are about half the (US/UK) cover price and I buy about three a week, more if I am taking a few days off.

So it's not profound, just something to get me to sleep without worrying about the day's work. And it's no good looking at this stuff on an iPad or Kindle when laying in bed, winding down for the night. So paper books will survive for the likes of me.

I have a lot of CS Lewis back in UK, like Salman Rushdie as well. And los of historical stuff from Folio Society. But my throw-away novels never get thrown away. Maybe six or seven hundred in Thailand, a hundred or more here in VN and an attic full of them in UK.

So I'm nearly set for retirement - give it another five years and I'll have enough. And of course if Alzheimers kicks in, I will only need the one book - start afresh every evening.

 Yes, I am a fan. I often think of "Stranger in a Strange Land" which was my favorite. Do you grok?   

Glory Road was a great read if you can find it.

See if you can find Harry Harrison's Deathworld trilogy.

See if you can find Harry Harrison's Deathworld trilogy.

I loved that series.

You can download them from The Burgomeister's Books site' Thad, you'd be lucky to find them even second hand now. They have "The Stainless Steel Rat", another Harrison classic as well.

You can download them from The Burgomeister's Books site' Thad, you'd be lucky to find them even second hand now. They have "The Stainless Steel Rat", another Harrison classic as well.

Thanks for the ref, I'll have a look at that later ...... Harrison is one of those writers I found that you knew he was taking the piss some times, but so enjoyable and easy to read, candy floss literature.

The Burgomeister's Books site.

What a great site, I borrowed more than I should, I didn't read the rules first!!

Well I'm glad you're too honest to use a friends computer and email them to yourself.

You naughty Cowboy you..................

His avatar looks more like a randy jackaroo. 

It's Tuco, the ugly gunfighter from "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly".

You know, the slightly dim, easily offended guy?

Could be quite a bit of symbolism there.

A few fireworks in the Chiang Rai forum today UG, in, of all things, a discussion on first aid classes.

I remained the voice of calm and reason as usual.

Thanks. I'm bored. I'll check it out.

Checked out the first page - bored by the half-way mark.

Why, on so many forums, do people belittle others?

Is it the only place they can show their superiority? Not willing to come outside and discuss it in the car park? That's why I only visit Bedlam these days, except for the occasional foray into Thailand News Clippings when I see an interesting headline. And that usually turns out to be a damp squib.

Hey Ho....

I find the local forums valuable sources of information and an important means of keeping in contact with the expat neighbours, even if they are 100km away.

The CR one usually runs well, we have our differences, let's face it, if we were all completely normal we wouldn't be living where we are.

Now I agree with this . I live in a flat and I have thought for some time the people around me are insane. Scuds has confirmed my deepest worries...........

I too live in a flat, here in Ho Chi Minh City.

Can't tell if the neighbours are sane or not, 'cos they're all foreigners.

I live inna flat in Hanoi an' all my neighbors are certifiably insane...they are my work associates an' ye gotta be insane to work in Vietnam...

the manager, with supercilious regard sneers: 'I see that you are reading 'Anna Karenina' herr tutsi...does this indicate an absurd literary pretension or do you find it genuinely entertaining?'

hisssss.....

actually , something to think about...Anna is always well turned out and Vronsky in a captain in the cavalry, presumably always well fitted in military uniform...she announces that she is pregnant: did she lift her petticoat for him to do the necessary or did they get all naked and sweaty?...was there oral sex foreplay? Just how did high society women in late 19th century Russia manage to get pregnant?

there is also the passage with Levin and the mowing with the peasants....excellent, moving and timeless...

I'll wait till the movie comes out, no doubt they'll add all the sex bits and take out the mowing.

the manager, with supercilious regard sneers: 'I see that you are reading 'Anna Karenina' herr tutsi...does this indicate an absurd literary pretension or do you find it genuinely entertaining?'

I have very little tolerence for slow, old timey classics as I am quickly turning into one, so I can kind of see his point.