I usually take a book or two and now take a basic Kindle. The charge is good for a couple of weeks (Kerry, the new "paperwhite" claims 8 weeks of battery life) of heavy reading (though on a really cold trip it does not last as well), certainly more than I will read. I admit I find a certain guilty pleasure in being wind or rain bound making a chaise lounge with my pfd, a cup of coffee and some well-crafted bit of prose.