A Writer and her E-Paper. Getting the Boox Go (10.3)
So, I got an e-paper; whether e-paper is the correct term referring to the Boox Go 10.3, I'm afraid only the geeks and the masterminds behind the device will know. (Is 'geeks' a term still in circulation? It sounds dated, and yet - and yet, I can't think of anything better, and that might show my age). While I do have a tremendous lot of respect for those being able to use digital terminology correctly, as I am not one of them, I will refer to my e-paper going forward simply just as Jamie.
This is Jamie:
And this is Helen:
They arrived together (both included in the original price); so now, I imagine they are in a stable, long-term relationship. Whether they are married, there was no indication on the package, and anyway, this blog is no place for gossip. Shame on me, shame on you.
Something that was not included in the price, though, and that I decided to get anyway was the Logitech Pebble Keys 2 K380S (a compact little wireless keyboard).
It's called Pebbles, I imagine, because the keys look like tiny pebbles, and as this is a mechanical keyboard (whatever that may mean), it does have an unreasonably satisfying cadence to it when typing. Pebbles is a word I can internalise far more than 'e-paper' - maybe because it's rather poetic. So, Pebbles remained Pebbles - no renaming occurred in this case.
And what did I forget to get? The protective case for Jamie, of course. But we'll get there, Team.
This trio - Jamie, Helen, and Pebbles - arrived in my writer life after years of back and forth, lamentation, and hesitation, and while I do want to call them the Holy Trinity of Writing, I don't actually know (yet) whether they are worthy of that name. We'll see what happens. That is why this post is only called PART I.
Come back in three months for PART II...
...so I can tell you - with complete and sworn-to honesty - how this experiment has been playing out. I'll recap my findings, check in on my initial predictions, and weigh in on whether I would recommend it to others, especially those writing (a lot).
SO, LET'S SEE TODAY'S ESSENTIALS aka AN IMAGINARY Q & A
The Whys, the Hows, and the What-nows:
I. Why on earth did I do this?
1.) Travel Troubles
The truth is, I'm really not a(n instinctively) digital person - or rather, I'm that one analogue madman who always has 600 notebooks. However, the realism of notebooks is that a complex system may work perfectly well if you tend to be a homebody and hence don't go around a lot - I am, however, literally the complete opposite of that, and it physically hurts my body to carry various notebooks all the time. Similarly, I cannot mentally cope with a system that involves too many types of note taking (calendars, planners, diaries, commonplace notebooks, reader journals, lesson planning ones...just to name a few). And I have the odd feeling I've been doing worse and worse with stimuli, even if I'm only facing myself. (But aren't we all in the same boat?)
2.) Dry Eye Pain
This is the key reason. I don't know why, but occasionally, I go through phases when my eyes can hardly tolerate almost anything: the wind, strong sunlight, blue light, screens...which can be a real issue if you work online and remotely. It has happened too many times that I wanted (could've) worked on things (blog posts, lesson plans, my own literature), but my body was incapable of adjusting. And if you tend to place your self-worth on productivity, this can be a mental hell on Earth. To be fair, in certain cases, I make my own life complicated as I like writing many of my own materials for my ESL lessons and that, of course, can take ages - and ages in front of screens. Too bad I love writing my own things. And too bad, I find students react to personality much better than to cookie-cutter lesson plans devoid of all oddness, heart, flavours.
(If you want ESL lessons with heartfelt, self-written materials, or you know someone who'd benefit from a bit of whimsy, even if preparing for language exams, even if super serious ones, such as Cambridge or IELTS Academic, contact me here. I'd love to tackle fear and spread joy even if the goal is C1 or C2. Maybe especially if the goal is C1 or C2.)
3.) Why not Write Longhand if I'm so Analogue?
I do write longhand. For a while, I handwrote a lot of things, and I will certainly keep handwriting some other ones, such as most of my own pieces (and especially poetry). But handwriting lesson materials and typing them up (or dictating them) doubles the time spent on them, with the problem of having to edit them and going through them in front of a screen once again. With this approach, I don't win much, but I keep losing time like crazy.
4.) Why the Boox Go and not, for Example, the Remarkable?
This is easy. The Remarkable products (the Holy Grails of e-papers, as far as I understand) are horrendously expensive, and I just don't need that much 'fluff'. I just don't. Besides, the Remarkable locks you into its own ecosystem (while the Boox works with Android). So, synchronising is possible.
While the Boox has a colour version (obviously at a higher price), I chose to go monochrome. The colour edition still omits some blue light; the monochrome one omits none.
5.) Why the Logitech Pebbles Keyboard?
Based on my research, it is the most liked product when pairing. It's a mechanical keyboard that can connect via Bluetooth and is super portable.
II. How much do they cost?
Pricing can vary, but here are some links you can look around:
The Boox Go:
Pebbles:
III. My predictions (AKA) what I think my Conclusions after three Months Will Be:
It took me a looooong time to make up my mind about getting Jamie, partly, because you just don't quite know in advance whether these kind of niche things will work for you or not.
But I got Jamie, because I had faith. So, here are my predictions:
1.) It will be a game changer for my eyes and editing (as it's possible to write, read pdfs on it - and annotate them.)
2.) With that being said, I won't read much on it, as I prefer physical books and I somehow just comprehend text better when read on real paper.
3.) I will not like or use the pen too much - partly because if I write things longhand, I prefer to do that on real paper, and partly because I almost never draw, so no need for that function.
4.) I will LOVE the mechanical keyboard.
5.) I will feel limited by the 10 inches (yes, I know it's a generous size, but when I truly need to plan, outline, organise ideas (usually pre-writing), I love doing that on sheets of paper untidily scattered around the room, preferably on the floor.
So, here I go. Let's see what you've got, Boox. And if you are curious about my findings, Dear Reader, don't forget to subscribe, or come back in three months. I'm planning to share my findings around December.
Last but not least:
If there is any factual misinformation in this post, please don't come for me; let me know, and I'll update the post. I genuinely did my best, but who understands all these devices fully?!
This is all. Take care:))!
Best,
The Fearless Frock
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