Thoughts on TV and E-Book Reading

I did not see the draw of Alex O'Loughlin until I started watching Hawaii 5-0. Now I do, though I prefer Danno/Scott Caan, myself. :) Last week, I thought, "It would be nice to have a Kono-centric episode." And then I saw the preview for this week! Cool when writers anticipate my desires. :)

I'm not enjoying The Mentalist much this season. I think we're still two episodes behind, and if it wasn't nearly midnight, I would have wanted to watch another episode last night. But that's party because I'm eager to get to the Jim Beaver episode. Jane's been too much of a downer, and hasn't been involved enough with cases to really do much of his "thing." The cases have been kind of mundane, the guest stars flat, and way too little focus on the team (Grace, Rigsby, and Cho). I have to say, though, the actress playing Christina was fantastic in her "I'm dead" episode. SO creepy, and her catatonia and uneven eyes... *shudder*

I shall post a Supernatural post soon. I know, it's kind of shocking I haven't yet done it. I guess I've been spending all my thoughts in the comments at Supernatural Sisters. I will say I love this season, and I can't wait until the next episode each week. I will also say that my passion has matured and doesn't burn so hot, which is probably inevitable in the sixth year, and that Friday messes me up because I always forget that it's on! Not forget to watch it, but I don't have that excited anticipation I used to have all day Thursday. But that's okay. It's still the show I would most miss.


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I tend not to comment on blogs very much, because I read the posts a few days after they're posted, and everyone else has moved on. But sometimes, I want to voice my opinion anyway, so I post here.

I read a about e-book reading, and the author believes cell phones will win the e-reader war.

I say, why does there have to be a winner? Why a war at all?

The argument had merit: That people take their cell phones everywhere, automatically. They don't have to remember to grab an e-reader when they leave the house. The Japanese are way ahead of the game of reading on their cell phones. And there are, of course, lots of people who love reading on their iPhones and Blackberries and probably their Androids.

The post pooh-poohed the counterarguments, that the screens are too small, that the backlighting hurts the eyes and doesn't work in sunlight, that the batteries die too fast. For people who love reading on the phone, those are easy to work around. For others, they're dealbreakers.

Then there are people like me. I got my first bag phone in 1995. 2010 was the first year I ever paid for a phone. And I paid $20 for it. I know you can get smartphones for good prices, or even free, but my monthly bill for three phones is now $60. I'm not paying three times that monthly so I can have access to apps that let me read books. I wouldn't do it even if I didn't already have a Kindle.

Which is another factor. I'm sure there are a few people who were early adopters of the main e-book readers who will drop them and switch to cell phones or something. But most people who have invested in or received e-readers seem to love them.

But really, my point is, why do we have to fight over the pros and cons? Each technology has them. Each has is proponents. Gone are the days when one technology must win out and dominate the market. There are still more print readers than e-readers, and will be for a while, though I'm sure there will be a slow shift to equilibrium. There are people who have multiple e-readers, who read in multiple ways. There are people who are rabid in their devotion to one format, and others who don't care, as long as they can get and read the books they want, somehow.

And really, isn't that what's best?

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Guest Blog Alert! Toni Anderson will be here Friday talking about Imagination!