I have a Kindle but still get print books as presents and the like. I normally buy ebooks for convenience and the fact that they're cheaper than print (usually) and therefore generally prefer them. However, what do you think, Hubski?
During my first trip to Egypt we had one luggage bag of just books to carry between my brother and I. On my second trip to Egypt I had an E-Ink Kindle, less than half a pound, able to fit in the smallest pocket of my backpack, with more than 100 books and three weeks of battery life if I was reading extensively. I like ebooks, is what I'm saying.
Eventually I'm going to get an E-ink tablet, and I'll load it with every book I'll ever want to have with me. But I'll still keep my hardcovers thank you. I love cracking open the spine of one of my first edition Harry Potters (One of which still has syrup stains from an abortive candy making attempt I made as a child), or any number of other series. Books aren't going anywhere because people like to have them in the same way that digital music still hasn't completely killed vinyl.
That was actually beautiful. I think I'm slightly tearing up from nostalgia
This is why I don't like my Kindle. I read on it a lot. But there is something undeniably awful about not being able to write in the margins of Hemmingway. I know there is a note taking function, but I haven't used it since the first time I realized it was there. Sad, lonely note. To balance that, I do love having a built in dictionary. Especially one that translates. Even better if it did idioms. I know that doesn't exist, but the first time they make a "figure out why I should be giggling about this Shakespeare passage" in an ebook reader I'll probably find that programmer/team and buy them a beer.
I much prefer physical books when I can. That being said, I read relatively quickly, and carrying around an ebook reader is a lot easier than carrying around multiple books.
I love to collect books when I find them at yard sales and thrift stores. I buy Stephen King, Terry Goodkind (if it's the original cover art), and Tom Clancy whenever I find them in hardback, a few other authors too. But for actually reading, I almost exclusively use my Nexus or iPad. The accessibility, price (tons of free and cheap books out there, check out Humble Bundle and Project Gutenburg,) has nothing on Physical books, plus I can adjust the screen (white on black for nighttime reading, sepia tone for daytime.) I also have a short attention span, so anything I can grab instantly increases the odds of me actually reading it. I'm the same way with games and movies anymore, buy the one's I really like on disc, grab the ones I'm somewhat interested in digitally, usually long after release.
Well, the big advantage to the ereaders is you can throw hundreds or thousands of books on there, for free if you pirate, and be content for a number of years and never run out of anything to read. Also for those of you who like ereaders who don't have a back-lit one, holy shit is it great. I don't have to worry about lighting anymore ever, which is pretty damn convenient. If you are traveling or moving around I honestly believe the ereader is just a better choice. It weighs less than a book, and I always end up damaging my books when I throw them in bags, which I hate. You may not have that problem though. There is still the matter of just having books around, which is the reason I still hold on to my paper books. Plus it makes it at least seem like you aren't an unintelligent buffoon. If you walk into someones house or room and there is an absence of books, it's usually a good idea to question whether you actually want to be hanging out with that person. Also sometimes you just want to read an actual book. I really don't think there is any disadvantage to an ereader though. It's more of a personal opinion/choice. I just love all the free books. I'm fucking broke right now.
As long as people are reading, does the medium of delivery matter? I like books and have a basement full of them, but I understand the utility of an ereader. I use books as a stress relief for when i have to turn the computer and internet off for a while. If e-books were significantly less expensive, I'd start to consider it more.
I agree with this. Reading on the computer is what I do for work, and my irrational concern is that I will mentally equate an ereader with work instead of fun and relaxation. Reading dead trees is what I do to relax. Upstairs I have a "Luddite room" with a comfy chair, bookshelves and zero technology other than the electric lights and ceiling fan. If I could get a $30 book for $5 on a Kindle or other style device, however, and that leads me to reading more? I'd have to seriously consider getting one.
It doesn't matter that much. I was just curious on the general opinion of an aggregate of moderately-intelligent people such as Hubski
I used to collect the ones i loved or meant something to me, display them on shelves, trade with others, loan them to people. About a year ago I gave every single one of them away. I will still read print and I will still read digital. But I don't feel like I need to collect them or store them or save them. Even if I do love the smell of them, the feel of the pages... They are too much to keep up with, and only slow me down if I want to move, or cause me concern if I'm going to be traveling for a while, or caused me the feelings of loss if one was destroyed. So much better are books, perfectly safe in the cloud, used by many, without the pesky crinkling of the spine or the tattered corners of pages from one too many dog ears. I guess I never thought I would say this. But I prefer ebooks to books.
We moved to a new home in December and I put many of our books either out by the curb or gave them to second hand stores. It was very difficult for me. I saved perhaps 40 books but gave away hundreds because it just didn't make sense to move them. They're essentially trophies or decorations at this point because I know I'm not going to read them again and if I want to reference some aspect of them, the internet is going to likely give me an answer faster than me walking to the shelve, pulling the book down and searching it. I'm not sure that I'm going to ever prefer ebooks to books but I certainly prefer not having to move them or store them. On a side note, I really enjoy audible and the digital audio books as opposed to having to use CD's in my car. -So nice.
pretty much exactly how I feel. Unless I could have like a nice lofted vertical room with high shelves filled with books in addition to one of those little ladders that slides down the wall, a fireplace, a comfy chair, and a plastic pipe that has bubbles. then. then thenewgreen, I would enshrine my books for ever!
I guess I don't travel enough. Never read an e-book, never thought I needed to. Can't even imagine not being able to read because my "book" isn't charged. That being said, as I think about it, I don't read much mass media paperback fiction, "Lusty Tarzan" or "Clever Detective" type books. For the love of rain forests I suppose those throw-away type of books make digital sense. Just not my bag, baby.
It depends, really. I walk a lot, so I listen to a lot of audio books. However, since a lot of what I "read" is non-fiction, I almost always have a physical copy for notation. I don't like ebooks for notation. Anything I'm going to need to reference, I want in print. For fiction, I like physical books as well, but I'm fine with the Kindle. Especially for books like "Duma Key" and "Under the Dome" both of which I own in print (and read in print), but also have on my Kindle. I like reading bigger books on my kindle because there isn't size intimidation. I read graphic novels or comics/manga on my iPad Mini, not exactly an ereader per say, but probably close enough. I also read some PDF books on it, such as Save the Cat. I feel the same way about it as I do the Kindle.
Personally I always thought I liked physical books until I had nothing but a Kindle for a while, I had about 100 free books from the Kindle Free list and other sources, not pirated, and couldn't justify the extra expense to spend $12 - $13 on a new bestseller and back catalogs of old scifi and stuff aren't the greatest. So I stuck to my Kobo and later a Kindle Touch because it was cheaper that way. Occasionally I would read on my Touchpad (with Android) device too. Then last month I managed to remember I had a library card and I'm within a couple of miles of the place, I hopped on over and picked up a few books and got home and was sad because I couldn't enlarge the font on them. I still like to flip pages, but I really do like being able to increase the font size of ebooks. So, in all I would not say I like books better, but I do like their functionality. Now if only you owned your ebooks. On another note I just wish there were alternatives to the big names like their are in Europe. In the US we have Kindle and Nook. Kobo is also there but there is no marketing in the US for them. Nook is on the way out it would appear based on news Samsung will make the next Nook Tablets, that leaves Amazon and Kindle to monopolize things. The smaller stores that sold ebooks have slowly started going out of business, the Sony eBook Store went out of business, it just seems if we could have real books that weren't rented and more options we'd be better off pricing wise and I could quit relying on the free Kindle section and find out what the hell Dallas and Peabody are up to these days, lol.
I was a huge reader as a kid and through middle school, I was constantly reading. Around 14 this stopped and I didn't read anything that wasn't required for school for about 8 years. At that point I bought a Kindle and started reading again. 3 years later, I haven't used my Kindle in months and I buy books (paper) on a regular basis. It was great at first, and it definitely got me back into reading but there's something about having that physical book that can't be beat. I also have a large music collection on CD though, maybe I'm just old fashioned (ish since it's not vinyl).
I own two kindles. Both of them are eInk. I find that I enjoy reading on Kindles more than reading paper books but my wife is exactly the opposite. eBooks also suffer in the illustration department unless you're reading on an iPad/Fire/Computer; I don't like staring at a transmissive display that long because it eats my eyes. Cookbooks and shop manuals suck on eBook. However, they're much more searchable. It really depends on your application, I guess. Most fiction and non-fiction I consume as audiobook anyway.
I read both print books and books on my Kindle. I generally only read books I can obtain for free on there. If I'm going to spend money on a book I'd rather have a physical copy.
Printed books are irreplaceable in my reality, they represent an integral part of my identity. From feeling the cover, the spine, and taking in the smell of a fresh book or one aged like fine wine, their physical aspects are always a delight to explore. However, nowadays I don't always have the time to hit a bookstore or library, and my phone's always with me, so I do download books and use MoonReader to open them. Ebooks lack the "feel" to it, but they serve just fine. Sometimes I would like to be able to underline things or annotate the margins though.
I loved printed because it feels great when the pages are tangable. It's also great to see it on your bookshlef as well--it gives off character :) But for portability, an eBook such as a kindle is the prime choice. Both have their ups and downs, but I would end off this note by saying a hard cold book is the winner for me.
I solely own printed books. I think a book caries more then just ots own story, but also the ones who've read it. So if I used an eReader and was looking for a specific book, chances are i'll get it for free in seconds. that's nice.
What I like to do is ask other people for it and borrow, you get to talk about literature, and you get a second story. I like the haptics of paper, you can smell where the book was, letters are drowned coffee, rain and tears, there might be old bills or business cards, comments on the margin or a devotement. Then, its actual material: it betters a. rooms akustic, you can hold to it of nothing else is left, you can use them as building blocks and you can give a book to an almost stranger, saying I read this and I think you might like this. There is the historical side to a book. Monks coping books by hand, the first time medieval farmers could read their own rights and the bible, the invention of the letterpress, the 'bücherverbrennung'. And today you are able to hold such a strong object.
Books are beautiful. Also you can use it as blindfold when sleeping in the sun.
They are both fantastic in their own way. I don't think one substitutes for the other, really, if I love a book I would like to have the two for the two very different experiences. That said, ebooks are the right medium for "disposable" content, if there is such a thing, for example if someone has a book about "how to promote your company on Twitter" chances are it has a half-life of 6 months and would be perfectly stupid to have as a hardback. If, on the other hand, King Lear is available in a hardback edition, the use of an eBook version would be very limited, perhaps just to look up something quickly or enjoy the book when traveling.
I love my Kindle for its convenience, but I would have to go with a physical paper book. Lazy Saturday afternoon. A pot of green tea. The smell of a new book. I think I just wet myself.
I have a Kindle but I like both, the convenience is the biggest advantage for me - saves me carrying around tonnes of books. I much prefer reading paper technical books with diagrams as I hate reading on a backlit screen.
Okay, I loved my original kindle, it was great. I could carry it anywhere, read what I wanted and didn't have to worry about people seeing the cover and trying to converse with me about it. But then it died, inexplicably the screen was shattered. So I bought a paperwhite. That backlight has made a great device into a must have. I can read before bed without turning on a light and attempting to shift myself into a position that let's me read optimally. I love print books while I'm at home, but the convenience of an e-reader is just great. If there's a book I really like I'll get it in print (or I'll hit up the used book store in town and grab 20 dollars worth of whatever I feel like) and I read them at home. If there's a new release by an author I like then I will buy it on kindle first because it's cheaper and I can take it and read anywhere. I will add, however, that I can't stand technical books on kindle. If there's any kind of code involved the formatting just isn't there. Plus I like to mark up my technical references, which is ridiculously hard to do efficiently on any e-reader.
I prefer physical books but if I'm travelling, an e-reader would do.
as much as I've missed the smell of a new book and the satisfying feeling of physically holding a book and turning its pages manually, I prefer Kindles now on almost every level. They're lighter, more portable and its easier to buy books now, instead to walking to a bookstore I can just buy (*cough*pirate*cough*) it online. And they save you money in the long run too. Hands down, my favourite gadget!