A quaint little thread regarding how you read

[Dan]

Greetings forum, and welcome to yet another thread. Now what you are currently doing is reading, but why did I need to point that out you ask? Well it's interesting, all though out time we have been reading, from the days we were living in caves reading from markings made on cave walls most likely written in feces all the way to the present where we now have multiple formats to read from.

I've been quite bicurious about this for a while but what format do you read on/prefer to read on. Some people will swear by books and say that it is the only way to truly read which is an explanation I can't grasp. I understand why people say "Watching a movie on a phone isn't the same as watching it on the big screen" since there are objective factors that come into play, but I see no advantage to reading on paper.

Anyway poll attached so please vote. By reading I mean read a book obviously. Of course everyone reads on all the devices listed below...

 

[Jamie]

Being a book elitist is like, so against the principle of reading books lmao. Art shaming, nothing better.


I read them in a hard copy format, or if I'm feeling like a pirate (arr), I read them on my computer (looking at you, Orwell, Vonnegut and Suzanne Collins)

Sometimes I read the feces one, but I'm disappointed there was no option for "self-written stories written with feces on your bathroom mirror", so I had to settle for the cave markings.

 

[Curmudgeon]

generally hardcopy for nonfiction. i tend to write a lot in the margins. i stick to my nook for fiction to save shelf space.

 

[Azure Sage]

It depends on how I have access to what I want to read. Most of what I read, I read online, because that's the only way I have access to it. I'm not opposed to reading physical books, though, if available. But I generally go for whichever is most accessible to me, and that's usually online stuff.

 

[Spirit]

Book, cant read a story/novel if it isn't in a book on a page with covers that goes on a shelf.

 

[CynicalSquid]

I am one of those people and can only read physical copies of books. I just can't read digital book online or on electronic devices. I just can't. I need to have the pages in my hand or I have a really hard time focusing.

 

[Batman]

I have never read a book on an e-reader, actually. So honestly, I don't know how I feel about it. I always read physical copies of books but I have nothing against e-readers of course. One of these days I'll switch over but for now I like my physical books.

However, I'm also a sucker for giant scrolls. I have Atlas Shrugged and The Adventures of Gladly, the Cross-Eyed Bear on scrolls. I also have this book called Elder on scrolls.

As a cunninglinguist though Dan, I have to nitpick something you said in an otherwise brilliant thread OP.

all though out time we have been reading, from the days we were living in caves reading from markings made on cave walls most likely written in feces

Humans have been reading and writing only a very short period of our "time". Human (homo sapiens) language itself has been around for roughly 150,000 years, but writing is a fairly recent technology that appeared in about 3,500 BCE (less than 6,000 years ago). At this point, we were a long ways into the era of agriculture, not to mention long after being hunter-gatherers who many were themselves far removed from being "cave men" in the Homo erectus (hehehe) and the typical Neanderthal sense.

Nevertheless, you know some dude thousands of years ago took a **** in a cave and smeared it on the wall using cuneiform shapes or something and thought it was funny. So your point still stands.

 

[Dan]

I personally use an eReader mostly at night... mostly, but I'll also read books as well but only if I find them cheap at a store. I actually prefer eReader since It syncs how far I've read so I can pick the book up on any device. I personally find there are more advantages to an eReader which is why I prefer the format. I know for many it's about feel as well, some people have argued that books have a certain smell which eReaders can't capture, I find this a little strange but to each their own; I always envision people snorting the centre of their physical books and getting high from it when that statement pops up.

 

[Eduarda]

I have actually only read a book online, recently. Before that, I didn't want to read a book on anything but paper. But while I was reading a series, there were some books which were only available as ebooks so I had no choice. And I guess reading ebooks aren't bad at all. But it still doesn't compare to the real thing. Being able to bring your book wherever you want. Getting to read outside in the sun on a picnic or just chilling in your backyard, without worrying about the sun's glare on the screen. It's like how some people think newspapers would never die out because its not the same enjoying a cup of coffee with a newspaper in your hands. Even the small inconveniences like losing your spot when the book mark falls out, I'd prefer than ebooks :c But each to their own. If you like ebooks, good for you

 

[misskitten]

My reading preferences:
1) E-reader (kindle), comfortable on the eyes, not heavy to hold, easy to put books/stories onto it, storage big enough for thousands of books/stories, and easy to drag around - plus the battery lasts really long, and it remembers precisely the page you were on on any of the stories you are reading. Also, I can buy a new book on it anytime I want thanks to the free 3G internet access. Hands down a win.

2a) Tablet/Laptop - they are decent back-up options if I cannot use my kindle, or if I want to read a story that I haven't already put onto the kindle (may take some effort to do this, but it's worth it IMO)

2b) Physical book, not fond on the heaviness or the texture of the paper, plus how they can snap shut if I'm unlucky and drop it, but they never run out of battery, so that's something at least.