E-Reader Buzz: Are Paper Books Becoming Obsolete?

Image from Google; Copyright Taylor Argenzio

(Disclaimer:  I am not being paid in any way for advertisement in this post.  These thoughts are my own opinions and I am not being sponsored by any products or companies mentioned.)

Did you know the idea of an electronic reader (or e-reader) dates back to the 1930’s?!  Crazy, right?!  A man, Bob Brown, who saw his first talking motion picture went home and wrote about “readies” (after “talkies, the talking motion picture).  He said the machine would be “a simple reading machine which I can carry or move around, attach to any old electric light plug and read hundred-thousand-word novels in 10 minutes…” (Schuessler, 2010)  Brown died in 1959, not living to see the first e-reader hit the market in 1998.  Since then, Kobo, Amazon, Sony, and Barns and Noble have gotten in on the e-reader action. 

I know plenty of people who swear by traditional paper books.  They love the feel of it in their hands and the smell of it by their face.  That’s cool.  I used to be one of those people, too.  I tend to like to read in bed, though, and I am a person who likes to be on their side.  So, if I weren’t at the perfect spot in my book, it would be awkward to hold.  I have dropped a book on my face too many times to count.  My manager at work told me about e-readers back in 2009, when they were just starting to pick up speed.  She showed me her Amazon Kindle (the very first one).  It was bulky but still light compared to most novels, had the ability to store about a thousand books at a time with essentially an unlimited amount on “the cloud,” and had 3G to be able to download a book anywhere (without a monthly bill to pay).  I was sold and got the 2^nd generation Kindle for Christmas. 

Since then, I’ve owned the Amazon Kindle 2^nd gen., the Kindle Fire (hated it), and iPad, and my current love- the Kindle Paperwhite 5^th gen..  I absolutely adore the true e-readers (not the tablets with a reading app like the iPad and the Kindle Fire).  My Paperwhite is gold to me- incredibly lightweight, fits in my purse, holds thousands of books, has a soft backlight so I don’t need a bulky book light anymore, AND has Goodreads built in.  Major plus with Goodreads because I use it all the time and my Kindle will update suggestions for me based on what I have shelved in Goodreads.  Amazon released the Kindle Oasis about two weeks ago, and it looks pretty cool, but I stand by my trusty Paperwhite.

As convenient as the e-readers are, they’re already dropping off in sales.  This article from last year states that only 12 million e-reader or e-ink devices were sold in 2014, down from 20 million in 2011.  That is a pretty big decline!  But why is it happening?  I personally don’t understand it, and that is probably because I am bias and LOVE my Kindle, not to mention I don’t like dropping books on my face in bed.  One thing I don’t foresee happening, though, is digital books making paper books obsolete.  I think there will always be traditional books, co-existing with the digital world to make everyone happy.  What are your thoughts and what do you prefer?  Let me know in the comments below!

Finally, click here to check out my latest book review on Emily Giffin’s The One and Only.

Reference:

Schuessler, J. (2010, April 8). The Godfather of the E-Reader. Retrieved April 23, 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/books/review/Schuessler-t.html?pagewanted=all

Yes, There is a Difference Between Loose and Bagged Tea!

Did you know there is a difference between loose-leaf tea and bagged tea?  I didn’t either until a few years ago.

Back-story:  My husband used to be interested in pipe tobacco.  He could tell me a good deal about it and when I asked why he knew so much, his response was, “If I’m going to spend money on something, I do my research about it and want to know what I’m putting my money into.”

Flash forward three years.  My co-worker told me about a place in the mall that sells “real tea” and if I enjoyed bagged tea, I had to try it.  She was talking about Teavana, the Starbucks of Tea (who also happens to be partnered with Starbucks).  I walked in curious and walked out with a receipt saying I spent $100 in a blur that I couldn’t quite remember because I was in tea-heaven.  It was then that I decided I needed to do more research on what I was spending money on, just like my husband did with his pipe tobacco.

That is when I discovered (in personal experience and in research) that there is a difference between bagged tea and loose-leaf tea.  

Reference the above picture.  On the left, there is a teaspoon of Earl Grey black loose-leaf tea and on the right are the contents of one bag of Earl Grey black tea.  As you can see, the bagged tea looks almost like ground coffee.  That is because it is essentially the crumbs and dust of the loose tealeaves.  So what does this mean in terms of taste?

When you break a tealeaf, you release essential oils and aromas that are needed to give your cup of tea flavor and health benefits.  The dust that is used to make bagged tea are the broken off parts of full leaves, meaning the essential oils and aromas have already been released and evaporated.  This robs your cup of tea from numerous health benefits, flavors, and aromas.

In addition to that, tealeaves need room to expand and move through the water.  When you confine the leaves to a bag, the leaves don’t have the room they need to fully release their deliciousness, again robbing you of flavor and aromas.  Here is an infographic from TeaWithMeBlog.com as a quick reference.

 

So now you know!  Generally when I post about tea or post tea recipes, I’ll be using loose-leaf tea.  If that isn’t an option for you, that’s ok!  Shoot me a message and I can help you using a bagged substitute.

Finally, this week’s read!  Currently, I am reading The One & Only by Emily Giffin, which I am enjoying on my Amazon Kindle Paperwhite e-reader.  I love me some chick-lit and Emily Giffin is gold for that.  You can check out the info on this book on Goodreads by clicking here.  I’ll post my review on that next week.  Until then, happy steeping and happy reading!