Nothing beats a good copy of a good book. There is a sensory aspect to reading words off a tangible, printed page. Furthermore, that is the way that it has been done for nearly three millennia.
But a digital book is not only the next best thing; sometimes it is more convenient.
I can say with great confidence that, if you live in the USA, you are within the geographical designation of a library system. There is also a very good chance that said library offers digital resources like Hoopla or Libby. If you have a library card, you’ll have free access to these services and the innumerable ebooks and audiobooks.
For our purposes, it is pertinent to mention that there are quite a few quality fly fishing titles available.
With a library-based service like Hoopla, hundreds of angling resources are accessible on a phone, tablet. and, depending on your situation, computer or smart TV, Again: nothing beats a physical book. However, I always have at least one title at the ready on my device if I am waiting at the mechanic or doctor. Audiobooks are also a great long-form alternative to podcasts.
Truth be told, there are a lot of titles of questionable quality. Some self-published works that are objectively poor do pop up from time to time. But here are some of the books that you can read with a tap of the finger:
- Fly Fishing with A.K. Best, A.K. Best
- Fly Fishing for Smallmouth, Bob Clouster
- The Little Red Book of Fly Fishing, Kirk Deeter
- Sex, Death, & Fly Fishing, John Gierach
- Colorado’s Best Fly Fishing, Landon Mayer
- Fly Fishing for Trout, Tom Rosenbauer
- Fifty More Places to Fly Fish Before You Die, Chris Santella
The fact that a dozen Gierach titles are available as audiobooks should be reason enough for you to check a service like this out!
Once more, your local library probably gives you access to one of these digital resources for free. All you need to do in order to sign up is to punch in your library card number. Different services have different rules: 5 titles a month, limited use of certain books within a give timeframe, etc. But with no added cost and a rabbit hole of discovery, there is hardly any drawback.
So whether you like reading by the light of your tablet, listening to a good fishing story, or having the option of a good distraction in the waiting room, your library probably has a good, free option for you.
Gotta have Trout Madness or Trout Magic on the list. John Voelker, pen name Robert Traver, is the grandfather of outdoor writing; his work is unsurpassed and can still easily be found on the internet.
I agree, Gerry – they are great books. I am kind of surprised that they are not on this service, but it probably has to do with the publisher. That being said… Any decent library will have a copy of his work.