How to Learn to Love the eBook

Hello friends! I hope you’re all well. Today I wanted to talk about the eBook and the love/hate relationship they have in the book community. Physical books tend to be held to a higher standard than eBooks – some people even say that reading digitally isn’t real reading! As an eBook lover, I thought I would put together a little guide for anyone who wants to learn to love the eBook.

The Importance of How we Read

Choosing the Right Device

First things first – choose the right device. You don’t have to have a fancy kindle or an eReader to be able to read eBooks. I used my phone for the longest time, but later chose to use an iPad because I wanted something that wasn’t exclusively for reading. But you can also read on a computer or laptop if you don’t have any of these.

Find Your eBook Format

Once you’ve found your favourite device – find your favourite format. This is a little bit technical but if you’ll probably be familiar with a few of these. It sounds silly, but I hated reading eBooks until I discovered ePub. I read best when I can scroll through a book, rather than turn the page which this format allows.

ePub: The most common format (and my favourite!). Can be used on almost any eReader. Changes its appearance based on your personal device.
PDF: Widely available across the interent. Versatile and great for reading on almost any device. Doesn’t have a bookmark feature.
MOBI: Predominately used by Kindle software. Keeps the same format on any device. Allows for realistic page-turning.

Think of How Much Money you Could Save!

Take a Digital Visit to your Local Library

Even though I love reading digitally, I love saving money more. That’s why I always try to read eBooks for free (so I can spend my money on physical books from independent bookstores!)

Therefore, even during this global pandemic you can use your local library. Lots of libraries offer eBook download that works in the exact same way that a real library system does! There are lots of apps you can use depending on which one your library is registered with but I use BorrowBox. I was quite surprised at the amount of time you can borrow a book for and the app even offers audiobooks! I can’t recommend it enough.

Exchange a Book for a Review

If you’re a book reviewer, I’m sure you’re familiar with Advanced Readers Copies. But if you’re not, Netgalley, BookSirens and Edelweiss are fantastic sites where you can grab a free book in exchange for review. If there’s a book that’s being released soon that you have your eye on – it’s worth emailing the Publisher to see if they’d be willing to offer you an ARC.

Note: If you’re not a book reviewer, please don’t use these sites just to get free books! Why not start a book blog first? I promise the book community is the best place on the internet.

eReaders Can Look Pretty Too!

Easily Create Gorgeous Bookstagram Photos

It’s true that real books just look better visually. Someone even commented recently that they don’t like to take Bookstagram photos because of reflections. This is completely understandable and a lot of my images have suffered from this. But I think I’ve found a way around this problem:

Learning Lighting: Flat-lay photos can be incredibly reflective, therefore – try taking photos from different angles. Also, learning what time of day creates the worst reflections is helpful. For me, I can’t take photos in the morning, but I can in the afternoon. It’s all about learning what works for you.

Cheat with Photoshop: This requires a little bit of know-how, but if you’re familiar with image-editing it can be a lifesaver. Here’s my tip: copy and paste the book cover onto an image of your eReader. Play around with lighting and filters and – voila! An image without reflections.

What are your thoughts on eBooks? Do you love them or do you hate them? Let me know in the comments – I’d love to hear from you!