POD

I ordered a book to read for the holidays and mistakenly ordered an older book. That's okay, though, because I hadn't read it, but when I received the book I stared at it for a while because it looked different. The cover was slick, the binding extremely tight, the paper slippery, and some of the line were squished on the page. It looked like an ARC, but it didn't have any sort of designation on the front. I had the book for a few days before I realized it was a print on demand book (POD).

So what is my feeling about this technology? Well, I'm happy that I can buy and read this older book. But it feels wrong. It's too shiny. I'm a spine breaker (of books, not people) and I absolutely cannot open this book wide enough to read it comfortably. That's probably an odd complaint, but it's hard to read the words close to the spine. It slips through my fingers as I turn pages, and the pages are too white. There's a glare from any light (and it's not even an e-reader). I'm finding myself unable to read the book for long periods of time.

Overall, I believe the technology has to improve before I give it my stamp of approval. I have yet to try an e-reader (I know, I know. I have absolutely nothing against e-reader, but I like the feel of a book in my hand. I've heard the experience on an e-reader is comparable, and I've finally decided which one I want, but I haven't acquired it yet...yeah, because the one thing I need is easier access to books because I don't have an addiction already), but I expect that it would be more comfortable than the POD.

Sigh. I really am too obsessed about books.
--Gabi
Books I'm reading now:
As You Desire by Connie Brockway