I love reading. I really do. And I love taking books with me when I travel, whether it’s a weekend escape or a longer trip. The problem is that, for years, this meant carrying heavy, bulky and very impractical books in my bag. The most recent example was a Dan Brown novel, one of those brick-like books, heavy, huge and not at all friendly for anyone travelling with limited luggage.

That’s when I started seriously thinking about getting an e-reader.

Everyone told me the same thing, that it was lighter, more practical, better for travelling. I resisted for a while, I’ll admit it. I love paper, the smell of books, underlining pages. My whole life, and career, has been built on and with paper. But the truth is that, when travelling, logistics started to matter more than romance.

Reading while travelling without carrying half a kilo on your back

One of the biggest advantages of an e-reader for travellers becomes obvious the moment you pick it up, the weight, or rather, the lack of it.

An e-reader takes up almost no space, weighs practically nothing and lets you carry dozens, or even hundreds, of books in a single device. For someone like me, who enjoys reading more than one book at the same time and choosing based on the moment, what do I feel like reading today, in this place, this changes everything.

It’s also perfect for long flights, train journeys, airport waiting times, and quiet late afternoons at your accommodation.

All without having to decide in advance which book to bring, and without that classic regret of “I should have brought the other one”.

Kindle or Kobo, the decision process

Before buying, I did what I always do, research. Lots of reviews, comparisons, conflicting opinions and reader forums.

The comparison was clear: Kindle vs Kobo. They are the two names that always come up when talking about e-readers. Kindle is more well-known, more mainstream, and more closely tied to Amazon. Kobo, on the other hand, kept appearing as a more open reading experience, closer to the reader.

What weighed most in my decision was:

1. not being locked into a closed ecosystem (Amazon)
2. being able to buy ebooks from different stores
3. compatibility with more common file formats
4. and reading experience closer to paper

Why I chose the Kobo Libra Color

I ended up choosing the Kobo, more specifically, the Kobo Libra Colour, and after using it, it made complete sense for me.

First, the shape. It’s ergonomic, comfortable to hold, even during long reading sessions, and the physical page-turn buttons make a bigger difference than I expected, especially when reading on your side, on a plane or in bed.

Then there’s the colour screen. It’s not a tablet, and it doesn’t try to be one. The colours are soft, designed for reading, not for video consumption. For me, they’re perfect for the book covers, to make text highlights in colour, read books with graphs or illustrations and for visual notes.

Another important point is the battery. I fully charged it before a trip and, honestly, left the charger at home without any stress. The battery lasts weeks, not days, and when travelling, that’s gold.

The only thing I’m still getting used to is the “ghosting” effect when turning pages or adjusting settings, like font size. Being used to the speed and sharpness of smartphones and tablets, it feels a bit like a step back… until I remind myself that the goal here is reading books. Period.

Does an e-reader make sense for frequent travellers?

In my opinion, absolutely.

If you’re someone who:

• enjoys reading while travelling
• travels with a backpack or reduced luggage
• reads more than one book at the same time
• wants to reduce weight and volume
• doesn’t want to depend constantly on chargers

then an e-reader is one of the best practical decisions you can make.

It doesn’t completely replace physical books, and it doesn’t need to. There’s still room for both. But when travelling, it has become, for me, a quiet essential, something that takes up no space, draws no attention and greatly improves the experience.

For me, it already earned a permanent place in my travel bag.