Ever since my grad program in anthropology, I write copious notes in nonfiction books I’m reading. I highlight sections and scribble summaries of important facts. I also “talk back” to the text, using a nomenclature of [D] for my response to the author. I also talk back to myself, critiquing my impressions, using [D2], [D3], etc. It’s a shorthand for me to quickly get at my state of thoughts and the authors. It’s become very useful when I come back to a work and need to get some information quickly.

So, when I got the first iPad, I was excited to try out my system. I read two books that required more than simply highlighting text. Even with the iPad’s virtual keyboard, it was difficult to quickly jot my notes and talk-backs. I got more involved in the mechanics of getting the text down that I slowed my progress and even sometimes lost my train of thought. I tried copying and pasting the [D], but that didn’t work when I was doing D2, D3, etc. And, to get to certain symbols, e.g. ampersand and the square brackets, I needed to “change keyboards”, yet another required “touch” that slowed me down.

When I moved to a 4th generation basic Kindle, I thought note taking would be worse, due to the 5-motion button to select letters to enter. It was. Entering anything but the shortest of notes was painful and slow. Highlighting, however, seemed better to me on the Kindle than on the iPad. I also really like the dictionary.

For an eBook reader, I wanted the lightest and slimmest reader I could find. I also wanted something that focused me, kept me from distracting myself with email, web browsing or other online apps. I have some self control, but hey, if you can’t do it then I don’t have to worry about doing it! I basically wanted an electronic backpack filled with books and the ability to do some basic form of highlighting or dog-earing pages.

What I found is that for fiction, the Kindle is the sweet spot. It’s perfect to read, light, easy to carry and travel with and it’s got a great battery life. If I have to, I can suffer through taking notes, but I think that my conclusion is that the Kindle is for fiction and I’ll buy printed books for nonfiction.

I’m a huge bibliophile, so there will be books I will want to be able to hold, touch and see on my bookshelves. An example of that is Steinbeck’s In Dubious Battle. I read that on my iPad but then I bought a hardback copy of it. On my Kindle, I’ve read a few books that I’d like to get in printed form. This is especially true for very old books, such as Ernest Poole’s The Harbor.