The Travel Dilemma

Can you imagine being stuck in 1990 and you need to jump on a plane to travel around the world having to make a decision about which book you are going to take?  Let's face it, onboard entertainment wasn't what it is today and you wanted a good novel, maybe two.  But those things are heavy and choosing just two is difficult.  What if you didn't like one?  You have to finish it, you only have two.  Or you cold shell out big bucks at an airport for another.  What a disaster.  Thank you technology!
Today we travel with a device that weighs nothing more regardless of how many books we put on it.  I prefer doing my reading from a nine inch tablet, but in a pinch I could use my phone.  Epub files are so easy and reading a novel has never been easier.
But there is a newer option also, and it's one I have been exploring a little bit out of curiosity.  Just like books have been replaced with digital files, I wonder if those won't soon pass along to web-based platforms.  I mean, I always have data now - and reading a book takes very little data.  So why not just read the book online and save myself the hassle of downloading a file?  If I don't like the book I can simply navigate away and find another.  Online reading seems to have it's perks.
It has caught on in other countries and other languages so it makes sense that soon it will be a legitimate contender in English too - online fiction.  I have not seen any classic literature posted in this format yet but I'm sure it won't be long.  For now the sites I have been using have not had popular books either; only amateur works of fiction.  But I quite enjoy finding something new.  Online books written by someone unknown is fascinating to me, I feel like a literature teacher who has found a gem in my student's homework assignment.  And other times I feel like the student needs a home tutor.  Some of them are bad, and when that happens I love the fact that I can quit and find another.  Simple!
Another big draw for me is the price.  I don't know if everyone is like this, but I love getting something for free.  Free fiction is so intriguing.  I've bought my share of books in the past, but why can't I read a book for free?  No download, no cost, no app, no heavy book to carry.  For a new author the draw is similarly intriguing.  Post a novel online and allow people to read it.  Free fiction will draw readers, and if I'm writing a book that is what I want; readers.  My last name is not Shakespeare or King.  I may never get a publishing deal - but if I post fiction online and let people read for free then maybe my book will reach an audience.  That's something pretty special.  That's something that was not available to writers twenty years ago.
And then next time I'm on a plane I won't have a tough decision to make since I will do my reading online and then the sky really is the limit.