So e.book or 'real' book, - which do you prefer?

[Lady Smith]

I love reading, I always have because the moving picture are better for one thing.  I have shelves groaning with printed books all over my bedroom, but after my daughter gave me a kindle reader for my birthday I've very much become a fan of electronic book readers and hardly ever touch a printed book anymore.

Before the Kindle I had an older Nextbook reader, but the menu interface was clunky and it didn't render some book formats very well so it didn't feature that much in the time I spent reading.  My Kindle reader has changed all that though.  I love the paper white screen which is so much better for reading than my old Nextbook and when I go out anywhere, - especially anywhere where I might have to spend time waiting, - I take my Kindle with me.  Being able to carry dozens of books with me in one slim lightweight device that fits easily into my shoulder bag is wonderful and the battery life on my Kindle is really good and the battery lasts for days at a time before it needs to be charged again.

Don't get me wrong I still have love for printed books and I own a few that are getting to be almost a century old which are wonderful to handle and read, but living with an illness as I do and often having to spend a lot of time in bed my Kindle just plain makes life easier for me.  If you asked me five years ago if I'd allow an electronic device to take me away from reading printed books I would have laughed at the idea, but here I am using one on a daily basis.

So what is your preference when it comes to reading?

[Marly]

I'm about 50/50. I love my kindle fire, but at times it feels better to have a book in my hands.

[Mariah]

ebook.

[AnonyMs]

ebook for fiction, paper for textbooks

[Tessa James]

Like you, I love to read.  I was skeptical of e-readers considering the energy use and the discounting they do to authors.  Then I started traveling more and agree with you.  it sure is nice to take that kindle with as many books inside as we want.  I like the dictionary features too.  I got so accustomed to it that once when reading a paper book I started pushing on the word like it was going to pop up--duh

I wonder what could happen if our magnetosphere fails, even briefly, and the digital world goes poof?  I'll be heading back to the library shelves for something real or start cave painting

[Lady Smith]

ebook for fiction, paper for textbooks

Most of my paper books are textbooks of some kind or another, - psychology, sociology, theology, health science & etc, - because it's still difficult to find academic 'xxxxology' books in e.book form that won't bust my budget and there is no such thing as a second hand e.book.  With theology there are some good reprints and translations of books dating from the time of the early church in e.book form that are reasonably inexpensive, but for anything recent it's a case of saving up my pocket money.
Just about all the fiction I buy these days is in e.book form and Amazon has some great discount deals from time to time.

[Lady Smith]

Like you, I love to read.  I was skeptical of e-readers considering the energy use and the discounting they do to authors.  Then I started traveling more and agree with you.  it sure is nice to take that kindle with as many books inside as we want.  I like the dictionary features too.  I got so accustomed to it that once when reading a paper book I started pushing on the word like it was going to pop up--duh

I wonder what could happen if our magnetosphere fails, even briefly, and the digital world goes poof?  I'll be heading back to the library shelves for something real or start cave painting

Ha ha, I guess I would be the same Tessa, but perhaps without the cave painting   Our local library has clearouts of older or less popular books from time to time and it's possible to pick up some great titles at around a dollar each.  Last time I went to one of their sales I took home a pile of fantasy and Sci Fi books so I'm really and prepared for the day when the digital world goes 'poof'.

[Elijah3291]

real book! always! I like the smell, I like seeing my collection on my bookcase, I like being able to visually see how far I have gotten into the pages, and I can't concentrate when reading from my computer or a nook. I also like being able to bend and crease the pages.

[Picklehorse]

E! /giggle

[Starfire]

I still prefer real books generally and I've always wanted to have a massive library at home.  These days I'm much more pragmatic about it all.  I definitely see the benefit of e-readers, especially for travel, convenience and it's hard to beat having an entire library in your hands, though I have yet to get one myself (other than my smartphone which doesn't really count.)

[kelly_1979]

I don't have a Kindle and currently I prefer real books. Reading on the PC or smartphone is possible but difficult. Too easy to get distracted.

[Lady Smith]

I dug out my old Nextbook reader and experimented with loading PDFs configured for Kindle onto it.  I get a lot of e.books from Forgotten Books (forgottenbooks.com) in Kindle configured PDF format and I hadn't tried loading them onto my Nextbook before.  Well the experiment was a success and the books all seem to display clearly which pleased me a lot.  There are many out of print books available on the 'net in various formats and the problem I found with a good many of them was that my Nextbook wouldn't render them properly or in a readable size due to the files being intended to be read on a PC monitor.  With the Kindle configured PDFs everything is fine and suddenly my old Nextbook has become useful again.

Something I like about my Nextbook is that it takes SD cards up to 32 Gb in size so that means that carrying about a vast library with me is very possible.  The only downside is that its battery life isn't anything like as good as my Kindle and the index interface is clunky.  The other problem is that the Android operating system has been nerfed so it's not possible to install a Kindle reader app on it and most app stores are blocked as well.  But apart from that it's going to do what I want it to do which is to have all my reference and out of print books all in one place.

[Trillium]

I can't read real books, maybe I'm just too lazy to hold them open for very long but I think my dyslexia plays a part. Ebooks seem easier to follow and concentrate with. Have had a few Kindles which were all great. Though I'm finding my Kobo Aura just that much more sleek and impressive, also I prefer that the light is a little warmer and not as blue as the kindle, I feel I get to sleep easier after my reading with that somehow.

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[Cindy]

I also love reading.

I have a kindle which I really like but I also like print, so I suppose I'm split about 50/50. Books are cheaper her on kindle though!

[wanessa.delisola]

I love reading, but I never can find a nice position to hold the book. My arm always get tired, the book get swet, and i get anxious that i will ruin the book (i like to maintain my books in always new condition - I hate when the start looking old).

So i got a kindle. I LOVE the kindle. No worries about ruin it or making look old, no need to protect the cover, the pages wont turn yellow (lol) and, the most important feature, its very light and i can read in any position.

I really dont get why people NEED the "smell and turning pages" thing. Reading for me is about get into that story until you forget about the world.

[NathanielM]

Nothing will ever replace the feel I get from real books. When I'm reading at hom eI'll always prefer a real, paper book. But I spend a lot of time on (and waiting for) the bus and the train and then it's so much easier to have an ebook. Not another thing to put in my (already full) bag, easy to put away, no need for placeholders...

So I think they both have their own merits

[Lady Smith]

I love reading, but I never can find a nice position to hold the book. My arm always get tired, the book get swet, and i get anxious that i will ruin the book (i like to maintain my books in always new condition - I hate when the start looking old).

So i got a kindle. I LOVE the kindle. No worries about ruin it or making look old, no need to protect the cover, the pages wont turn yellow (lol) and, the most important feature, its very light and i can read in any position.

I really dont get why people NEED the "smell and turning pages" thing. Reading for me is about get into that story until you forget about the world.

This
And books have the best moving pictures too.

I find some very old books are lovely to handle and read.  It's almost as if the joy they have brought their previous owners have soaked into the pages.

Real books are expensive here in NZ too Cindy which means I nearly always try and find a title I want on the second hand market if I really do need the printed copy.

Yes Nathaniel, Kindles are great for reading when you're having to wait for a bus or an appointment because there's no places to hurriedly put a bookmark in and they can be put away quickly and easily.

The rural district where I live is dairy farming country so the medical centre in the township has an ER type of role.  If the local St John's ambulance guys bring in someone appointment times can get delayed while the doctors are busy with the emergency.  More than once after a long delay my doctor has had to gently touch me on my shoulder to get my attention because I was deeply into reading a book on my Kindle and I didn't hear her call my name.

[davexalex]

I'm 50/50. If I'm going out I usually use e-books but if i'm staying in and just enjoy a day of reading and chilling I prefer printed books, i love the smell of printed books and there's nothing like the smell of a new one or a really old one


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[Cindy]

It also depend where I read. If I'm curled up on my sunny seat by the window I read paper, in bed I read my Kindle.

[barbie]

As I am getting old, it becomes more difficult to read printed books, especially those published scientific papers in very small fonts. E-book relieves my burden of presbyopia.

You can see the difference.



barbie~~