E-reader
| Synonyms: | Kindle, Nook, Ebook reader |
| See also: | E-zine |
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E-readers have grown in popularity in fandom as a means of reading fanfiction in offline settings. The word has multiple spelling formats: eReader and ereader being the most commonly used.
Wikipedia defines an E-reader as follows:
"An e-book reader, also called an e-book device or e-reader, is a mobile electronic device that is designed primarily for the purpose of reading digital e-books and periodicals. Any device that can display text on a screen may act as an e-book reader, but specialised e-book reader designs may optimise portability, readability (especially in bright sun), and battery life for this purpose. A single e-book reader is capable of holding the digital equivalent of many printed texts with no added mass or bulk."[1]
Fandom communities such as Kindledfans have sprung up to recommend or discuss the best e-reader devices along with how to format fan fiction for e-readers and how to manage e-reader libraries with software such a Calibre. Fan conventions such as Escapade began offering panels on e-readers and fan fiction and archives such as the Ebook Library and AO3 have begun offering fan fiction in e-reader formats such as epub and .mobi. Popular fandom e-readers include Kindle and Nook.
A fan in very early 1999 was downright giddy at the thought of portability and fanworks:
Portability -- now that's an interesting subject. When I went on Christmas vacation a couple of weeks ago, I could have easily spent 20 bucks and bought 3 or 4 books for the plane. But what did I do? I spent 20 bucks to get a new ink cartridge and printed out Iolokus. *vbg*.
HOWEVER! And everyone watch your nearest CompUSA! I recently heard of a new invention that's going to hit the stores soon...it's called an "e-book" where you can download up to 5MB of text from anywhere on the Web (Gutenberg Project, fic sites, etc) and TAKE IT WITH YOU in a little Palm-pilot sized gadget. My fanficker incarnation is definitely savin' up to buy one! tee hee... [2]
When did fandom first start using e-readers in greater numbers?
When did archives begin offering fanfic in e-reader formats?
Ebook Library started in 2006
Examples of use
Should I finish Underwater Light? I’ve read half of it, months ago. I had to stop because OH GOD IT HURT, IT HURT. I would read a couple pages, put the ereader down, sob, then pick it back up again. [3]
I‘ve had difficulty adapting to reading fan fiction on the internet. I have worked with technology for twenty years and quite comfortable with computers for a wide range of purposes for work and entertainment. Reading for long periods of time from a computer screen has been something I have never done well. It is too easy to be distracted, or become uncomfortable sitting still and reading a screen for long periods of time and have a sense of being lost in a vast collection of web pages. It is too easy to start to read something, enjoy the story being told and then be distracted by something else -- an email perhaps, the call of real life, and never find my way back. Then I started traveling more for business and my husband gave me a Kindle for my birthday. Suddenly, all those vast hours waiting in terminals or in airplanes had greater entertainment potential. I pulled up the many, many web page bookmarks for stories I have always thought I would read one day but never got around to it. I saved many of those stories to my Kindle which helpfully allows me to read as many stories as I want at once, maintaining bookmarks of where I left off - allowing me to be switch between stories with ease. [4]
References
- ^ Wikipedia E-book reader article] accessed March 17, 2013.
- ^ Hey ATXC!! I've got a question for ya! (January 10, 1999)
- ^ mischiefmangled's Should I finish Underwater Light? tumblr post dated July 5, 2012.
- ^ from The K/S Press #164 (May 2010).