Physical Books Versus E-Books

[Emma]

So, these days traditional, physical books are becoming less and less popular. What's increasing in popularity these days are e-books in digital reading devices. What do you prefer?

I have long been determined to never convert to using a digital reader. But... lately, I've been changing my mind on that. I've got my reasons. I prefer longer books, but they're awkward to hold. And if you get a stain on one of the pages somehow, it's basically there forever, there's no cleaning it out. And the spine tends to wear out quickly. Especially if you have someone borrowing it from you that doesn't properly use a bookmark; they're just pressing it flat on a table. Also, when you're going on a trip and you're thinking of bringing something to read, you know you're not going to get through the number of books you'd take, but you don't want to take too few books so as your choice is limited.

Digital readers get around these problems. You can carry hundreds, with some devices thousands, of books. Of course they have their own flaws. The biggest one is glare, it can be difficult to read in the sun. But I wasn't the biggest fan of reading normal books in the sun anyway. Also the screen can get dirty, but that's better than permanent stains on normal book paper. A big one is that e-books are not, as of yet, realistically priced anywhere. Most publishers set the price of e-book versions at the same price as the paperback version, which isn't exactly logical. So you're not exactly saving money by going digital, unless you count needing to replace normal books due to damage or loss.

I finally made my choice and bought an Amazon Kindle, and bought about six ordinary e-books, and about 60 free, out-of-copyright e-books. I'm really liking it so far, but my library's still limited and there's a lot of e-books I want to get.

Anyway, where does everyone stand on books? Digital or not?

 

[A Link In Time]

Part of the pleasure I have in reading a regular book is seeing it wear out. This may sound demented but I feel satisfied and accomplished seeing the pages of a book turn black. If anything, it's more uncomfortable holding an E-Reader for extended periods of time. I do agree that digital readers are great for travel, however. Any buying the Kindle?! Wouldn't the Kindle Fire have been better-more features and color screen and all.

 

[Emma]

Any buying the Kindle?! Wouldn't the Kindle Fire have been better-more features and color screen and all.

Not necessarily. It really depends on what you want. For now, I was only interested in e-books. The other various Kindle models use what's called e-ink. It makes the display of the reader look like a real paper page of a book to improve visibility in various lighting conditions. Currently this isn't possible in color, so the Kindle Fire does not have this feature. Also, to make use of most of the extra features on the Kindle Fire, you need to make investments in buying an Amazon Prime membership as well as buying Amazon instant videos. e-books themselves are expensive enough. And for just reading, and nothing else, the Fire isn't as good. The Fire is more so geared to watching movies and browsing the web. Not to mention it's twice the price as the most basic Kindle.

 

[A Link In Time]

Not necessarily. It really depends on what you want. For now, I was only interested in e-books. The other various Kindle models use what's called e-ink. It makes the display of the reader look like a real paper page of a book to improve visibility in various lighting conditions. Currently this isn't possible in color, so the Kindle Fire does not have this feature. Also, to make use of most of the extra features on the Kindle Fire, you need to make investments in buying an Amazon Prime membership as well as buying Amazon instant videos. e-books themselves are expensive enough. And for just reading, and nothing else, the Fire isn't as good. The Fire is more so geared to watching movies and browsing the web. Not to mention it's twice the price as the most basic Kindle.

True, true. I do enjoy the various authors and book covers displayed after turning off Amazon's Kindle.

 

[Batman]

I embrace technology and I really like the idea of the e-book; but I must admit I'm a little old fashioned when it comes to reading. I love holding a physical copy in my hands. I will eventually get with the times, but I still cherish the hard copy. I agree that holding thick books is somewhat ackward and paperbacks wear out pretty quickly if you don't treat them with care. These are all problems that are solved by the e-book.

 

[PK Love Omega]

I love reading on my Amazon Kindle. I left to get a 3DS at 8PM and enjoyed eating snacks, hearing Toy Story 3 go on about 3 times in the background and reading Diary of The Wimpy Kid. Done the first one to Dog Days

 

[misskitten]

I've never really been a big fan of regular books, the feel of them between my fingers, the weight of lugging them around in my bag. But ironically despite my issue with regular books (despite loving to read) I wasn't really on the eBook bandwagon either. I thought the Kindle sounded like a waste of good money...

Then my best friend got one, praised it, and I started looking into what the Kindle could offer and the free wi-fi sold it for me, cause I work nights and there's a lot of downtime at work, since basically I'm just there in case someone needs my assistance. And I'm addicted to the internet, if I don't have access on a regular basis I tend to feel very uncomfortable, so having the opportunity to check in on twitter and facebook anywhere really changed my whole opinion about the Kindle.

So when my parents asked me what I would like for Christmas this year, my answer was the Kindle Keyboard, which I got early because first of all while my parents are learning they are not overly internet savvy, so ordering Christmas presents online is really not their thing, and also they figure there's really no point in waiting if I can enjoy it right away, especially since I won't get to go home and celebrate until the 26th due to having to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day this year. So they told me to order the one I wanted and they would pay for it, and to my surprise Amazon delivered it just a couple of days later (I'm used to it taking more like a month).

And I LOVE it, it's become my favorite out of all my devices, and considering I carry a 64Gb iPod Touch (last year's Christmas present from my parents) and a 3DS in my purse everywhere I go, that is saying a LOT (I've even just bought a new purse that has its own separate compartment for each device, lol). I love how it eliminates that dry feeling paper gives me when I'm holding them, it keeps tabs on all my stories, how far I've gotten and I can switch between what I'm reading at any given moment. I can categorize the stories the way I want them to. I actually don't really use it that much for my main intended purpose (to get internet access) cause I'm too busy reading, lol.

I've put all my favorite fanfiction on the Kindle, hundreds of them (and we're talking stories 1000-2000+ pages long), I plan to buy all my favorite books for it as they become available (I'm looking at YOU J.K. Rowling), take chances on new books if the preview looks good and the price is right...

And I find the Kindle very comfortable to hold and use. Since getting it I've been reading for hours at a time, without my eyes getting tired, without any form of hand or neck cramping. I feel I can sit very comfortable with the Kindle while with a regular book I always struggled to find a comfortable position.

Simply put I'm a BIG fan of eBooks now and I never want to go back to the old ways. I used to do all my reading sitting in front of the computer, now I'm more mobile. I read during downtime at work, at the bus stop, at the bus, in bed... anywhere the lighting is decent enough to read I read.

As for the Kindle Fire - I'm not really interested in it, I already have other great resources for playing games and watching videos (my iPod touch has a ton of videos on it, plus between it and my 3DS I have more than enough games to occupy myself) and I only use the internet for my Kindle when I'm in places where I can't get regular access with my laptop and need to check in on twitter and such. I think I'd probably get an iPad 2 before getting a Kindle Fire...

 

[blue_air3]

I like holding something in my hands when I read, besides digital screens hurt my eyes. When reading an actaul book, I don't worry about pixels. But it really depends on the life you lead, whether you want to carry around books or just download them digitaly is up to anyone.

 

[Jedizora]

I'm going to have to go with Books on this one. There is just something about book...The way it feels in your hands? The way it looks? The way the old ones smell?(Disclaimer: Jedizora, is not, and never had been high off books) I love books. Electronics will never be the same to me, I guess. They just don't feel right, even if they are convenient. Ah well. Its Inevitable that they will replace books, so I say enjoy them will they last.

 

[Riken007]

It's cool that you won't ever have to worry about places "out of stock" of a particular book or the book falling apart. However, I love picking up a book every now and then.

 

[DisappearingMist]

I love both at this point. I have yet to get an e-reader, but the Kindle is definitely on my list. I have the computer version, and I have over 100 books downloaded, and I've read probably 30 of them on my computer, multitasking with other things.

On the other hand, I love physical books, and have hundreds in my house. I love buying them at thrift stores for .50 to .75 each, which is hard to beat with some e-book prices, though they are getting better. BUT I do read really fat books regularly (800-1100) and traveling with more than one of those is a real pain. A Kindle would effectively solve that problem.

I know I will have to embrace the e-reader phenomenon sooner or later, so I might as well get on with it

 

[8bubbles8joe]

I absolutely adore my Amazon Kindle. Before the Kindle, I still loved reading, and I finished quite a few physical books each month. When I got my Kindle last Christmas, I was ecstatic. I really wanted the Kindle just to carry around multiple books on one device, and not have to haul around two hardcover monsters with me everywhere I go. But I got much, much more. The eBooks are fantastic, and I like them better than real books. The e-ink is a wonderful piece of technology, and the user-interface is very friendly to the technologically impaired (a.k.a. my grandparents). Magazines, newspapers, and blogs also work very well, and the Kindle Fire adds even more to the table. Amazon is smart, and they sell their eBooks for super cheap, often 75% of the retail price. Their customer service is excellent, as well, and when I dropped my Kindle this summer, I was sent a new one free of charge.

On the topic of old v. new, I think eBooks have the chance to outdate real books, but it won't happen overnight. People still need textbooks, coffee table books, religious books, etc. and these can be hard to duplicate on a digital device. I won't see the day everyone carries around an eReader anytime soon, but, at the time, they make things a lot easier for avid readers like me. Eventually, every retail edition book will be on a Kindle, Nook, etc. and those stores might even close (a la Borders this fall), but, like many things, it takes time.

 

[misskitten]

digital screens hurt my eyes.

Trust me, the screen of a Kindle is nothing like the screen of anything else. I can understand a screen hurting your eyes, I feel it too when I read on my computer, cause it lights up, same with my ipod, my dad's ipad, the tv, etc. The Kindle screen, however, doesn't light up - so there's no strain on the eyes when you read it, because it's like reading a page in a book. There might be other brands of eReaders that offer similar technology, so not gonna claim this is just the Kindle, only that I personally have not seen other digital screens that are anything like the kindle.

 

[DJY]

Nothing... NOTHING will replace the written book. e-books are just a fad

There is nothing like actually holding the book in your hands, rather than a stupid tablet that you can switch to the internet at any moment.

 

[guapo2003]

I have to go with physical books. There's nothing better than holding in the book in your hands while reading it compared to just reading if off of a screen. It just doesn't feel the same.