I doubt if you drop it in the water that you’ll electrocute yourself, but you won’t have an e-reader any longer. I don’t see a way around this issue, but a course in miracles were never that good to read in the bathtub or sauna anyway-they would get wet and the pages crunchy, and in the sauna, the glue would melt and the pages would fall apart, so I’d say e-readers and paper books are about even in that respect.
Battery Charging: Yes, you have to keep the battery charged. Because e-readers are battery operated is a reason why I avoided using one for so long. I remain annoyed by how laptop batteries only last a few hours. Who only uses her computer for three hours a day? I figured e-readers would be the same, but actually, the Kindle’s battery will last a good month (although using the audio feature will wear down the battery sooner). A disadvantage is that there’s no warning when the battery is low-the Kindle will just suddenly stop working, but the advantage is that while it takes a couple of hours to charge the battery, once you plug in the charger, you can still use the Kindle while it is charging. If you are leaving home for an extended time, you might want to charge it before you go. Otherwise, the battery running down shouldn’t be an issue.
Glare and Light Issues: A lot of people have told me they look at computer screens all day so they don’t want to stare at one in the evening when they are reading for pleasure. I completely understand that, but at least with the Kindle, the screen is very easy on the eyes. It is not lit up from the back and claims not to have any glare-although in direct sunlight I have seen a bit of glare, but it’s very minor. Kindle does not light up its screen like a computer, or like you would experience with an iPad, but if you want to read in the dark, you can purchase covers that come with lights that pull out to read by. I haven’t done that since I figure if the lighting is bad, I can always listen to the audio for Kindle. Nevertheless, the glare and light issues really are not an issue, and because you can adjust the font sizes to be as large as you like, I don’t think anyone with fairly normal eyesight should have an issue reading on the Kindle.
I have racked my brain for other ways that using an e-reader to read an e-book is a disadvantage over reading a paper book, and while I was myself resistant to e-books and e-readers initially, thinking they were just a passing trend (like the T.V., right?), the bottom line is that they are very user-friendly and there are far more reasons why they will continue than why they will not, including lower cost, storage space, quick access, large print, and audio features. E-books and e-readers are here to stay, and if the few disadvantages listed here are reason for you not to purchase an e-book reader, just wait, because in a few years, I have no doubt even these minor issues will be resolved.
