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Post by Mindymoo, Human Bradypus on Nov 2, 2017 22:04:12 GMT -5
I've been an avid reader since I was a kid. Learned to read before I turned two, and I just love to dig into a good book, whether it's a novel, a classic, a biography or a history book. So I should just love e-readers, right? They save paper, they save space, I can carry around hundreds of books on a Kindle or tablet or what have you. You'd be absolutely incorrect. I hate those things. I love the feel of a book in my hands. The smell of the ink, the weight of the paper, being able to count just how many pages I have left of a chapter and visualize it in inches. I can't do that with e-readers. And I've tried so hard. Kindles, iPads, iPhones, reading a book on my laptop, none of it is the same. I feel like I don't even process the material I've read the same way. I just can't get the hang of it, and I love having a display of books on my bookshelf that I can lend out to people, with little creases on the pages and little notes I may have written here and there. Sure, e-readers are convenient, and it's lighter to lug dozens of books on an e-reader in a knapsack in your carry on when you're flying, but it just isn't the same. I signed up for a free trial of Kindle's Netflix-esque e-book service, and couldn't even get through a single damn book. I cancelled it early and just bought the books I planned on reading.
So what say you, fellow book nerds? Do you prefer the recycled paper and paper cuts and the binding of an actual book, or are you an e-reader aficionado? Or does it not matter to you because you either don't read that much or you take your books however you get them?
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moimoi
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Post by moimoi on Nov 2, 2017 23:12:30 GMT -5
For years, I told myself I wasn't going to get in e-reader. Then I got a Kindle Fire for my dad, so he could read in large type. Once I saw the benefits (highlighting, notation) I decided to add the e-reader to my toolkit. On my daily commute, I still carry a physical book as long as it's lighter than the kindle. I find it's easier to finish books because you can see your progress. I also like the fact that regular books don't run out of battery and you can keep the good ones on your shelves. The kindle is for books I either don't want to be seen reading - such as "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man" - Russian novels that are too heavy to carry around, impulse purchases, and public domain books that I can download for free rather than check out of the library.
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oppy all along
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Post by oppy all along on Nov 3, 2017 0:06:18 GMT -5
When people ask why we don't have any books in our bookshelf, I lie and say it's because we read e-books. So e-books are great for my dignity.
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Dellarigg
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Post by Dellarigg on Nov 3, 2017 4:57:17 GMT -5
They're not nearly the same as a book, but I can put up with that. However, there are many authors I have a - so far - complete collection of, and when a new effort from them comes out, I want it to go on the shelf with the others, all the better to run my eyes along the spines and purr with self-satisfaction.
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Post by Ben Grimm on Nov 3, 2017 6:14:40 GMT -5
I'm a complete convert. They're much easier to deal with, I no longer half to fill half my suitcase with books for a trip, I don't have to get out of bed to browse my bookshelves, and they're allowing me to haul off boxes of books I no longer need to keep around. And I'm probably buying twice as many books and paying half as much. I find the stuff I'm still buying physical copies of tends to take longer and longer to get to now.
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Post by Incense on Nov 3, 2017 6:55:02 GMT -5
I read both. I still prefer books as physical objects - I'm a materialist, and like the look and the feel of them - but I have a tablet at work, and I find that I can take an ebook out from the library website and pull it up on the tablet while using my monitor for actual work. Alternating between getting something done and reading a page or two helps keep me focused (ADHD) and also helps me get through more books.
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Crash Test Dumbass
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Post by Crash Test Dumbass on Nov 3, 2017 7:40:35 GMT -5
Generally I prefer the sensory elements of a print book, but I am seriously leaning towards a dedicated e-ink reader. I sometimes read or listen to books on my phone, but the form factor is too small for comfortable reading. I have the history of the book tattooed on my arm, and I've joked that when I get an e-reader added to the ink, then it's time to start investing. I like the e-readers for portability (like others in this thread, I'm a voracious reader and would take five or six books on a trip), but I also like showing off my collection, so it would probably be more for library books.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Nov 3, 2017 7:56:37 GMT -5
I really thought I would hate them and resisted for a long time, but once I finally caved I fell in love right away. It's just so convenient. Of course I miss the tactile feel of books, or sensing my progress by watching the physical pages dwindle, but ultimately it's the words that matter, and eBooks get me there. I have a Kindle Fire, but the eReader I use most is my phone. I love how my Fire and the Kindle App on my phone sync, so I can keep the Fire bedside for evening reading, and then if I have an opportunity during the day to read, I can just pull out my phone and I'll be right where I left off. No scrounging around. One downside there is that if your sync doesn't work or it gets lost or whatever, I find it much harder to quickly scan an eBook and find my place from memory. Nothing so convenient or simple as a bookmark.
And if you're an amoral miscreant like me, eReaders also enter you into the vibrant world of book theft.
"Huh, maybe I want to read some Stephen King."
*spends two minutes on a torrent site*
"Cool, now I have all the Stephen King. All of it."
I have a folder on my computer with over 10,000 books in it, the overwhelming majority of which I will never read, but every now and then I'll hear about an author or book that sounds interesting. As long as it's more than 3 years old, I'll check my folder and sure enough it's there. Probably 4 out of 5 times.
There are authors, though, for whom I still buy the physical books, in part to support them and in part (like Della said) because they're my main squeezes and it's fun to be completionist about them.
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Post by sarapen on Nov 3, 2017 11:15:50 GMT -5
If you want to be pedantic - and of course you do because who doesn't enjoy it? - books can come in various formats such as epub, scrolls, and clay tablets. The book is the content, not the form it's presented in. The physical object which is a bunch of pages bound and glued together and sandwiched between covers is called a codex. What's referred to as the Egyptian Book of the Dead, for example, existed long before codices were invented.
Anyway, all else being equal, I think the reading experience of printed matter is superior to the digital version. However, I'm willing to overlook this just because of how damn portable and convenient ebooks are. There are 300 books on my reader and my biggest problem is deciding what to read next. They're handy especially if you're commuting by public transit. I don't read heavy material on ebook, though, and prefer being able to linger over a physical book. I do physical and I do digital and it depends on the book itself.
Although what I can't do is audiobook. Something about them doesn't click for me.
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Post by DangOlJimmyITellYouWhat on Nov 3, 2017 11:21:34 GMT -5
A book's a book, but I do love ebooks. I have 200+ books on my phone. You know, the phone that fits in my pocket? FUTURISTIC
I read pretty fast, and now I don't have to take up all the space in my backpack or suitcase by hauling six physical books with me every time I go anywhere for a week. eBooks are much more convenient, and it's easy to read while standing in a line that's just taking slightly too long at the grocery store or Walgreen's or whatever.
I do still buy physical books, but I find I don't get around to them. They are just piled up on an end table.
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Post by Mindymoo, Human Bradypus on Nov 3, 2017 12:04:33 GMT -5
A book's a book, but I do love ebooks. I have 200+ books on my phone. You know, the phone that fits in my pocket? FUTURISTIC I read pretty fast, and now I don't have to take up all the space in my backpack or suitcase by hauling six physical books with me every time I go anywhere for a week. eBooks are much more convenient, and it's easy to read while standing in a line that's just taking slightly too long at the grocery store or Walgreen's or whatever. I do still buy physical books, but I find I don't get around to them. They are just piled up on an end table. I've attempted to read stuff on my phone and I just can't do it. It's odd. I can read the news on there, short stories, shitposts, all kinds of things, but an actual book? I can't. The only actual books I can read digitally are e-textbooks. |
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Invisible Goat
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Post by Invisible Goat on Nov 3, 2017 12:52:27 GMT -5
I've never read an ebook and don't ever intend to if possible. Staring at a page for an hour is a nice break from the previous 23 staring at screens. Do not question my numbers.
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Post by DangOlJimmyITellYouWhat on Nov 3, 2017 14:23:40 GMT -5
A book's a book, but I do love ebooks. I have 200+ books on my phone. You know, the phone that fits in my pocket? FUTURISTIC I read pretty fast, and now I don't have to take up all the space in my backpack or suitcase by hauling six physical books with me every time I go anywhere for a week. eBooks are much more convenient, and it's easy to read while standing in a line that's just taking slightly too long at the grocery store or Walgreen's or whatever. I do still buy physical books, but I find I don't get around to them. They are just piled up on an end table. I've attempted to read stuff on my phone and I just can't do it. It's odd. I can read the news on there, short stories, shitposts, all kinds of things, but an actual book? I can't. The only actual books I can read digitally are e-textbooks. Oh man, I haaaaaaaaaaate digital textbooks. HATE. I study better with a hardcopy and a highlighter; I just took a certification test in September, and the book for the course was an ebook, and it just took me so. long. to be able to find a study groove that I was worried I wasn't going to retain anything. I did tho. But my dudes, digital texbooks are awful. |
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Post by Mindymoo, Human Bradypus on Nov 3, 2017 15:02:04 GMT -5
I've attempted to read stuff on my phone and I just can't do it. It's odd. I can read the news on there, short stories, shitposts, all kinds of things, but an actual book? I can't. The only actual books I can read digitally are e-textbooks. Oh man, I haaaaaaaaaaate digital textbooks. HATE. I study better with a hardcopy and a highlighter; I just took a certification test in September, and the book for the course was an ebook, and it just took me so. long. to be able to find a study groove that I was worried I wasn't going to retain anything. I did tho. But my dudes, digital texbooks are awful. Don't get me wrong, I prefer regular textbooks, but if it's one of many books I need for a class and it's a smaller book, and it's a quarter of the price of the regular textbook, I'll just go digital. I mean, sometimes they're even cheaper to buy a hundred page digital textbook than rent one on Chegg, which is freaking bonkers if you ask me. |
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Post by DangOlJimmyITellYouWhat on Nov 3, 2017 15:30:20 GMT -5
Oh man, I haaaaaaaaaaate digital textbooks. HATE. I study better with a hardcopy and a highlighter; I just took a certification test in September, and the book for the course was an ebook, and it just took me so. long. to be able to find a study groove that I was worried I wasn't going to retain anything. I did tho. But my dudes, digital texbooks are awful. Don't get me wrong, I prefer regular textbooks, but if it's one of many books I need for a class and it's a smaller book, and it's a quarter of the price of the regular textbook, I'll just go digital. I mean, sometimes they're even cheaper to buy a hundred page digital textbook than rent one on Chegg, which is freaking bonkers if you ask me. Yeah, textbooks are an utterly breathtaking scam. If you can look at textbook prices and still believe that unchecked capitalism is a good thing... |
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Post by Mindymoo, Human Bradypus on Nov 3, 2017 18:16:46 GMT -5
Don't get me wrong, I prefer regular textbooks, but if it's one of many books I need for a class and it's a smaller book, and it's a quarter of the price of the regular textbook, I'll just go digital. I mean, sometimes they're even cheaper to buy a hundred page digital textbook than rent one on Chegg, which is freaking bonkers if you ask me. Yeah, textbooks are an utterly breathtaking scam. If you can look at textbook prices and still believe that unchecked capitalism is a good thing... And every damn year or year and a half, there's a new edition. Not because of there being new information, oh no, they just rearranged the chapters around a bit. I remember when my wife was in nursing school, they didn't even care if the textbooks were three or four editions out of date, as long as the newer editions hadn't been updated with new info. They'd just have a key that corresponded with which textbook you were using. If only we could all get that lucky with universities and professors. |
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Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on Nov 3, 2017 18:49:55 GMT -5
I prefer actual physical codices (thanks to sarapen for making that good point about how what we refer to as "physical books" should actually be called "codices"). I like having a physical thing to read, I find printed text on a page far more aesthetically pleasing than an ebook, I can easily flip back-and-forth between pages with a codex, I don't have to wait two seconds every time I turn a page, nor whenever I want to access a foot/endnote, codices don't need to be recharged, and no codex is ever going to randomly start glitching out for the last 200 pages, the way that the digital copy of Infinite Jest that I read did. Also, just looking at a bunch of codices on a bookshelf is a good feeling. That being said, I do read ebooks. I've checked out quite a few ebooks from the library over the past few years; the fact that the digital license simply expires and then you can't read the book anymore means that I never have to deal with late fees for ebooks, nor do I have to travel anywhere to check them out. I've also recently reached the point where I feel like I have enough codices and not enough shelf space and I'd like to at least partially offset most of my future acquisitions by selling off those codices that I'm not so attached to. |
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Post by MrsLangdonAlger on Nov 3, 2017 21:50:15 GMT -5
If I'm going to re-read a book at any point, I prefer to have a physical copy. And I dream of one day having a house full of bookshelves.
However, I was converted to loving e-books when I was gifted a Kindle and discovered Overdrive. Being able to check out books I want to read from the library, especially books I might not want to actually buy or own, is HUGE. When I was first given the Kindle I read a lot of YA, and there's a high hit to miss ratio there, so I loved being able to check books out that easily. I don't read as much of that genre anymore (though I still read more than most adults, I'm sure) but I still love being able to check out a book and have it on my Kindle within seconds.
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Post by MrsLangdonAlger on Nov 3, 2017 21:50:36 GMT -5
Oh, but nothing will convert me to reading graphic novels/comics on e-readers.
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Post by Incense on Nov 3, 2017 22:00:08 GMT -5
Oh, but nothing will convert me to reading graphic novels/comics on e-readers. Ugh. I tried that once. Once. |
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Post by MrsLangdonAlger on Nov 3, 2017 22:01:14 GMT -5
Oh, but nothing will convert me to reading graphic novels/comics on e-readers. Ugh. I tried that once. Once.I know many systems have made it more intuitive and less jumpy, but I still hate it. I don't collect individual issues anymore, but I want the PB part of my TPBs, dammit! |
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Post by Desert Dweller on Nov 4, 2017 1:09:08 GMT -5
I prefer the printed form. I just moved and it was at that point when I realized that I have a LOT of books. I have a one bedroom apartment, but I packed 17 boxes of books. This was more than the rest of my boxes combined. And it was after I traded in nearly 80 books for credit at my favorite used bookstore 6 weeks ago.
I may have a problem?
Anyway, I find reading to be a lot easier with a printed book. I like being able to flip pages back and forth. Somehow, being able to feel the weight of the book and actually see how much I have left help me understand it better than seeing a "page _ of _" notification or a percentage bar at the bottom of my Kindle. I, too, find that I comprehend the book easier with a printed book than with an eBook.
That said, I do have a Kindle. A basic one, uses e-ink, has no backlight, and that only has the bare minimum of internet connectivity on it. Like, I can browse for books, download then, and use the dictionaries. Perfect! I use this for library books, books in the public domain, books that are really heavy, and especially when I travel. It is awesome being able to download books in the public domain for free. And it is so much easier to take this rather than pack 4-5 books in a suitcase.
But getting that Kindle definitely did not slow down the pace of how many printed books I buy and read. I also find that I can often find paperback books cheaper than the eBook version.
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Crash Test Dumbass
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Post by Crash Test Dumbass on Nov 4, 2017 9:04:01 GMT -5
I want to say, being a librarian, that A) the love of the printed word displayed here heartens me; B) the ease of use of e-readers to download library books cannot be understated; and C) my profession has sort of limited my book purchases, but now I go to author conventions and get free autographed books so I still have a book problem. I donated about 500 books to my library's Friends group when I moved, and I'm still overflowing my shelves.
I don't know if I'd buy too many e-books -- I want a reader like the Kindle but that can handle epub as well -- but I would keep taking them out of the library with gleeful abandon.
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Post by haysoos on Nov 5, 2017 7:40:28 GMT -5
I vastly prefer physical codices over the electronic version, for all of the myriad reasons mentioned by everyone else. However, the last physical codex I actually completed was probably "Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen", and that was probably about a year and a half ago. The convenience of the electronic format just ends up trumping everything else when it actually comes time to start a new book.
Plus, I have literally thousands of books on my tablet, some of which would be hard to find in physical form. I'm currently going through the early short stories of Robert E. Howard, which I haven't even seen in hard copy.
And, most of what I've been reading lately is comic books. Unlike some of y'all, I love my tablet for reading comics. My Marvel Unlimited subscription rivals Netflix in value for dollar. There is just no way I could ever afford to read every Dr. Strange going back to the seventies, nor even to keep up with the current titles I've been following (Captain Marvel, Hulk, Gwenpool, Champions, Ms. Marvel, etc.). I just wish the navigation was better, especially when a storyline jumps titles, and that the search function worked better than it does. The pages are about the same size as a regular comic on my Tab S, it keeps track of where I was, and I haven't had any lag problems in quite a while.
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Post by sarapen on Nov 5, 2017 14:05:32 GMT -5
Oh, but nothing will convert me to reading graphic novels/comics on e-readers. If you read them on your computer it's actually almost a decent substitute, kind of like reading a webcomic. But I agree, I've even tried pretty big tablets but comics just don't translate properly on them. But even a typical laptop screen can make them look pretty good, or at least let you zoom in all the way and see every ink blotch. |
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Post by Jean Luc de Lemur on Nov 6, 2017 1:40:44 GMT -5
The e-ink stuff doesn’t really even register as “screen” to me—it’s basically like reading a page. I rarely light up the screen, and if I do only very gently, but it’s quite convenient if I’m someplace and there are weird shadows or something—always have an actual light on in bed, though. I also have my weird European Kobo, which has a sort of angled back so it’s much more natural to nestle your fingers into than a real book.
Europe the whole reason I have it—I wasn’t going to ship a ton of books overseas. And for series of books it remains the main way I read them. Still, I do love physical books for all the reasons listed above, and also I’ll add old books have a bit of history to them (don’t mean that in the euphemistic “it smells a bit weird and someone clearly spilled something here” way, but their design and publication history says something). For that reason I’m also very loath to make marginal notes, which I don’t have any problem with doing in an ebook—the only problem is that I don’t really look back at ebooks very often—with physical books I’m often going back to book and looking at passages again, my memory being partly in my fingers.
I’m also not fond of electronic references, though for me that’s more pdf-vs.-physical than epub-vs.-physical. Flipping pages plus keeping track of what I’m doing on the computer’s efficient—constantly switching back and forth between the program and the pdf and then having to figure out where I need to be in the pdf is just more cumbersome.
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Post by Albert Fish Taco on Nov 6, 2017 8:36:23 GMT -5
I generally prefer physical codices, but e-readers have their place. It depends on the book itself and how you find it. As others have said, if it's a book where you're going to want to flip back and forth to maps, illustrations, tables, notes, etc. e-readers simply do not work. Like I can't imagine reading ASOIAF books on Kindles/e-readers, or travel guides. But a straight novel works fine in that format.
Another physical book advantage (to me at least) is the ability to read them while on the can (which, yeah, I know you aren't supposed to do with any format, but whatever). I don't like the idea of touching any electronics or things with buttons in the bathroom. But a physical book makes it a more pleasant experience.
That said, e-books are cheaper to buy and lighter to carry along. And if they are a straight read, it's a better format to keep for a re-read (no clutter in the house)
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Post by gillianandersoncpr on Nov 6, 2017 11:52:06 GMT -5
My perspective doesn't fit into the poll; I'm okay with eBooks for what they are and for practical purposes, but a real book is more real a book than an eBook. The latter is to me a lesser thing that has its place. I neither hate nor love.
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Post by Delicious Waffle on Nov 6, 2017 16:50:14 GMT -5
I tend to buy very different books in eBook format than I do in old school books. If it's something I want other people to read or I think will take me a while it's paper all the way. If it's something I think people would judge me for reading in public it's eBooks for me. And it's not always questionable romance, I also read some really odd stuff from time to time and the last thing I want to do is invite strangers to ask me about what looks like religious literature or video game books I'm reading.
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Post by Delicious Waffle on Nov 6, 2017 16:52:22 GMT -5
I want to say, being a librarian, that A) the love of the printed word displayed here heartens me; B) the ease of use of e-readers to download library books cannot be understated; and C) my profession has sort of limited my book purchases, but now I go to author conventions and get free autographed books so I still have a book problem. I donated about 500 books to my library's Friends group when I moved, and I'm still overflowing my shelves. I don't know if I'd buy too many e-books -- I want a reader like the Kindle but that can handle epub as well -- but I would keep taking them out of the library with gleeful abandon. Question to a librarian: Do you ever see printed books going totally out of fashion? I feel like they're going to end up like records eventually where people will still have them for the cache but the majority of reading will be digital, but you would have a better sense of that than I would, being in the biz, so to speak. |
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