Say hello to my new toy, my iPad!
It’s not exactly *new* I’ve had it for about a month and a half now, but I selfishly haven’t showed it to all of you yet.
I won this beautiful toy at my company holiday party from a raffle. Color me SHOCKED when they called my name. I was so excited!
Prior to winning the iPad, my mom had been planning on buying me a Nook Color for Christmas. However, my iPad has proven to be the only e-reader I’ll ever need. I love it so much because I’m basically able to take advantage of free books for Kindle AND Nook because I’ve downloaded several different e-reader apps including Bluefire Reader (perfect for NetGalley books!) the Kindle app and the Nook app.
All my of my book apps: Kindle, Borders, Bluefire Reader, Nook and Apple’s iBooks
The books I’ve downloaded and reviewed for NetGalley
In addition to being my new, favorite toy, my iPad has also become my workout buddy. To provide a little background, I’ve been going to the gym 4-5 times a week since September. I don’t mind going to the gym, but while I would be there running on the elliptical for an hour, I kept thinking to myself, “What a waste of time! I could be reading, writing, blogging, (insert activity that’s way more fun than running here)” And as many of you know, I’m a big fan of multi-tasking. Doing one activity at a time is SO overrated.
So one day (pre-iPad) I brought my mom’s Nook to the gym with me and propped it up on the Elliptical. I made the font of the book a bit bigger so that I could easily read while running and before I knew it, an entire hour (and 100 pages) had passed!
From there, I became addicted to reading at the gym. I put on my headphones, prop up my iPad and get lost in a book, while sweating my butt off for a good 45 minutes and 4.5 miles. I’ve been losing weight AND I’ve been reading way more books because I consistently am reading one book at the gym and one book at home.
See here’s the thing….whatever book I’m reading on my iPad at the gym is considered my GYM book- as in, “You better get your butt to the gym if you want to find out what happens next in this book because you’re sure as heck not allowed to read this book anywhere else.” It’s been working pretty well!
My current gym read- WISHFUL THINKING by Alexandra Bullen
In addition to being able to read on here, it can obviously do all of the other cool things an iPad can do (although I haven’t really explored all its capabilities yet- I’m too busy reading). While I currently use this most often at the gym, I know it’s going to come in handy when I travel for work in March and for long car rides, train rides, etc.
I also love my iPad because it’s great for aspiring writers! There are so many fabulous writing apps and the iPad is basically a mini-computer, so it’s perfect for typing up scenes while you’re on the go. You can also take notes while reading and highlight passages you like (I believe you can do this on other e-readers, as well).
And for those of you who are skeptical about getting an e-reader, once you have one, I swear you’ll wonder why you waited so long! I love that new book smell as much as the next bookworm, but just because you get an e-reader doesn’t mean you need to neglect buying real books. If anything, an e-reader is perfect for taking advantage of those free book deals, sharing books with friends, taking books out from the library and using NetGalley, on top of buying books (which are usually cheaper in electronic form). Nothing will ever replace the feeling of holding a book in my hand, but I’ve definitely figured out a way to balance both loving my e-reader with still purchasing “real” books and adding them to my collection on my bookshelf.
Why do you love your e-reader? If you don’t have one, what’s holding you back from getting one?
There’s an iPad in my household, but it’s my husband’s. I want to use it for NetGalley, but I don’t know if he would let me play with it for long enough to read a book. He LOVES that thing. Clearly I need one of my own!
@Jessica Love, You REALLY DO! They are so fab!
That is a great exercise motivator – I might try and introduce something similar to motivate me to go to the gym
I love my iPad too! I purchased it for my ereader, but after reading on it for awhile, I found my eyes grew tired quickly. I then bought a Kindle. So my Kindle is my primary ereader. Other than that, I love my iPad and use it daily. It’s great for checking emails, browsing the net and I like that I can take it with me almost anywhere. Traveling with it is fun. I don’t have to carry my laptop anymore. It’s definitely one of my favorite purchases in 2010. Great review!
@Shonda, Oh no! Sorry to hear that your iPad hurt your eyes! I’ve been lucky that mine doesn’t hurt, but yay for getting a Kindle too!
Great post! I’ve been hemming and hawing over whether I should get an e-reader, so glad to get your endorsement. What machine can you read on at the gym, though? I love to run, but I can’t run while reading!
@Alexis Grant, I read while I’m on the elliptical. Could never do it on the treadmill! Haha.
Love your thoughts on this, Jessica! I finally bought a Nook in November, and I love it. That said, I think I love my real books better…because I think they’re prettier haha I love being able to place my Nook on the stationary bike though, and I’m excited to bring it with me to Africa! (So convenient!)
@Melissa, Love real books better too; I just love holding a book in my hand…but I have to admit, my iPad is HIGHLY convenient…especially for traveling like you mentioned! I lugged eight books on my last vacation with me! Haha.
I never win anything so I would have been so ecstatic! I have found that reading while working out makes the time go by SO much faster and almost makes it easier to go (almost).
I have debated on buying an iPad because you can buy books for Kindle, Nook, etc. but ended up with a Nook instead. I hope you enjoy and congrats 🙂
I am a nook girl! I have loved the ability to read books in bed and just manage one finger free to “change the page.” My local library has an amazing selection of ebooks, so after I get through my NetGalley list, I will be working on that wishlist!
@Kristin, Yay for Nooks! My mom has one and before I got my iPad, I always used hers!
That is a really good idea!!! I might do that too – have a gym book and a home book! I haven’t tried using the Nook yet at the gym, which is kind of sad because it was one of the reasons I bought it! I need to get my bootie to the gym before it grows anymore! 🙂
I am 100% addicted to my Kindle (so much so that my bf threatens to hide it from me), but have been on the fence about getting the new iPad when it hits stores later this year. I wasn’t sure if I’d need both, but I think the iPad could be a great device for magazine/newspaper/blog reading (I can’t read longer pieces on backlit screens due to major migraine issues). I’ve talked to a couple of people who have both the iPad and Kindle and they seem to enjoy owning both for these two different purposes.
Reading while on the treadmill usually makes me sick, but after reading your post, I think I’m going to give it a try tonight. Since you can up the font size on the Kindle, it might make it okay… we shall see!
@Meg, Bummer that the backlight hurts your head. I thought this would be a problem with the iPad, but it honestly hasn’t been.
I don’t read on the treadmill; I don’t think I could do that! I can barely run without getting dizzy, haha. I read on the elliptical which is more manageable.
I’ve had my Kindle for about a month now. At first I was skeptical that I’d like it, but I can’t beat the fact that I can carry around more than one book at a time in the same slim packaging. It always fits in my purse no matter how many pages a book has!
@melissa, YES! I love being able to carry around as many books as I want!
Wow! Congrats! I don’t have an ereader yet, i still love my paper book collection!!
When I was working out regularly (yes, I really really need to get back to that) I listened to audiobooks on my iPod. I did the same thing you do – it’s my gym book – I was only allowed to listen to it while working out. I’d try to get really good suspenseful books. It worked pretty well….. now, got to go renew my gym membership ….
Lucky!
I’ve been trying to decide which eReader to get–I’m pretty sure I’m going to go with the Kindle and I’m dying to have one to take to the gym. Blackmailing me with books works pretty good 🙂
I got a Kindle for Christmas and except for the fact that I’m locked into Amazon, I love it, and I too have found that reading on the treadmill makes time go by and that having treadmill books is motiviating.
@RAnn, Yeah…that’s why I wasn’t too keen on the Kindle, but e-readers in general are fabulous workout companions!
You are a lucky girl – winning an ipad in a raffle! I bought mine over the summer (well, it was technically a birthday gift but really I paid for half of it). And I absolutely love it. I agree with you: it is great for taking to the gym. I love reading while I work out and the iPad definitely makes that a lot easier. I hope you enjoy discovering more of your iPad’s capabilities. I know that I have absolutely fallen in love with mine! For Christmas I got a keyboard dock and it has made the iPad even more awesome! I use it with my computer sometimes when I’m working on getting everything in my life more organized.
I love my Ipad. I primarily use it to watch TV and check my emails when I am out and about. I work for DISH Network and have the TV Everywhere with them. It’s great because whenever I am out of town I can watch anything from my DVR and also watch live TV from my Ipad. It is a great way to keep my kids busy anywhere we are at. I don’t know what I would do without it.