2951. I got my first e-reader!
It never came across my mind to own one.
The time I took to ponder and consider was quite long: a few years probably, since I wanted to save for Steam Deck. But with how computer hardware market is nowadays, and my unstable frequency of travelling, I really don't want to spend that much for a Deck.
I still love to read. I always carry a book whenever I'd be away from home, and it's been a great habit. It got pretty annoying when I finished the book only halfway through the trip, so re-reading it was my only way of staying entertained. And packing more than a book at a time isn't practical at all.
That was when the owning an e-reader sounds appealing.
There's only a few but important things I want from an e-reader: ability to sideload my own writings and comics, and no account/internet usage is needed. A pure, e-reading device without all the networking features. Surely it isn't hard at all right?
Well, long story short: I found an e-reader called Pocketbook. In addition to having so many file types support, especially comics (I love my comics) it doesn't need account to use (good, I'm sick of making new accounts). It has some syncing features (through its app or Dropbox?) but it's not mandatory. Another good thing: I can sideload easily with the good-old USB cable. That means: any writings or comics I make myself can be accessed from it. In addition to all those: it has physical buttons!! I love my physical buttons. Alright, I'm sold. 🤣
It took me a few weeks of pondering, and when the shop suddenly put it on sale, I checked it out right away.
I got Pocketbook Verse Pro plus its cover. I didn't pick anything fancy because the discount appealed me more than any cute design.
While the price different between Verse Pro B/W vs Color isn't large, the B/W version appeals more because from several articles reviewing the product, it has better screen. I'd rather have better screen and sacrifice the colour than enjoy colourful screen but with slightly dark/muddy colour. Thanks to e-ink feature, the B/W screen looks really nice.
A reddit post pointed this out: it has tiny sleepy Pocketbook icon when the screen is locked and it's so cute. They know my weakness...
Of course, I tested it with my own stuff right away:
Look! A spoilered section of Reapers on Duty which I'm currently writing! I exported it as epub file and sideloaded it on the device. It's with Ren'py format hahaha... 💦 it doesn't matter, it's from me and for me anyway.
A better demo:
My one (and only) monochrome comic: To: You! ✨ It looks so cool. Sometimes I feel like my comics have very cringey art style since I made them a few years ago with super wonky characters, but when I see them printed, or in a different format, suddenly they look really nice, cute, appealing. It's like I didn't make them at all... What kind of sorcery is this??
While I wasn't thinking much about it, owning an e-reader gives me quite some interest in making digital comics and light novels in epub format. Even if I don't publish them, being able to enjoy them myself in this e-reader is happiness by its own.
Anyway, this post is mostly me showing off a new thing I bought which I ended up liking a lot and am happy to talk about. With my current lifestyle of not wanting to be tied to the internet, closed ecosystem of a brand, and unlimited freedom to put what I want: Pocketbook is, at the moment, a very nice e-reader fulfilling most if not all of it.
And one more time: physical buttons!!!!! Please, don't remove them. I love them so much!!!!! 😄