Dear Friends,

This week it’s Edward Shepard writing for Don, who is still motorcycling about America. He recently sent us a dispatch from Sturgis, included below. South Dakota is one of my favorite states. I’ve had some notable adventures in the Badlands and the Black Hills, as well as Rapid City (of all places). I hope to visit South Dakota again within the next few years.

Right now, however, I’m in the middle a big move. Mostly I seem to be moving boxes of books. Dozens. Of boxes. Of books. It’s interesting because for the past year, the majority of books I’ve read have been digital. I’ve read them on my Kindle, I’ve read them on the Kindle app on my iPhone, and this spring I started reading them on my iPad. I love reading on my iPad, for one simple reason: the iPad is backlit. That means I can easily read in bed at night without disturbing my bedmate. I don’t need a flashlight, a clip-on backlight, or a bedside lamp. I get to read while my partner gets to sleep. What I’m trying to hint at: a nightly disagreement in my household vanished the day I brought home the iPad.

The majority of books I’ve purchased in the past year have been digital. I do still purchase and read traditional printed books—for example, when a book isn’t available in digital format, or when I’m going to be away from electricity for a few days, or when the book has interesting typography or art that wouldn’t translate well to the digital format. I also buy printed books that I expect I’ll treasure and re-read in future years. But at the moment, moving these endless boxes of books allows me to appreciate literature weighed in electrons, rather than ounces or pounds.*

Do you prefer to read digital books? Or do you loathe the digital format, and expect to prefer paper forever? Or are you like me: balancing the benefits of both, though curious about what the future will bring? From my conversations, I suspect most of you are somewhere in the middle. But please let me know by emailing ed@smalldog.com. This is an interesting topic, and I hope to return to it in the future!

*Note: Coincidentally, I’m also in the middle of a move, and I have procrastinated packing my books for the same reason… Now, who wants to pitch in and buy me an iPad? -KH