WICKED WEDNESDAY

I was reading the Maven's blog about ebooks, and thought I would share something with all of you.

On our recent cruise to Asia, we attended the daily enrichment lectures in the big theatre. Because there were 2,500 people on the cruise, and only 1,000 seats in the theatre, everybody showed up early to get a seat. What to do with that dead half hour? Read. What to read?

80% of the passengers were carrying electronic reading devices. Here is a photo of the row I was in. 13 seats. I was taking the photo. Everyone else was reading. Two were reading novels. Ten were reading from hand held devices.

Notice the demographic. Mostly retired folk. People our age, who are not as adept with technology as the next two generations are, have adopted this new medium with vigor. Electronic books are indispensible on cruise ships, because of all the free time available, and the restrictions in luggage space. The ship's library did a roaring trade in fiction and non-fiction, but it was a small library, so the selection was somewhat limited.

Most people on the cruise were veteran cruisers who knew how things work and what to expect. They were prepared.

With ebook readers.