Paperback or ebook: what do you prefer?

“Hello. I’m an romance writer. Yes, I have published books. You can find them at Amazon. They are cheaper as ebooks.”

When I tell people this and hand them my card, hoping they will buy a copy of one of my ebooks, I often get the standard “Oh, I don’t read ebooks. I love to feel a real book in my hands.”

How do you come down on this topic? Do you prefer real books or can you make do with the new digital books?

Scientists are beginning to weigh in on the subject, telling us “research suggests that recall of plot after using an e-reader is poorer than with traditional books.” See the article Readers absorb less on Kindles than on paper, study finds in The Guardian.

For myself, I have shelves of paperbacks and hardbacks. Over the years, I’ve culled them down, giving them to a charity book sale. But I still have hundreds. I have nearly 160 ebook downloads from Amazon. I suppose they are in the “cloud” somewhere, but when I’m waiting at a doctor’s office, it’s very convenient to open the Kindle app on my iPhone and start reading.

I like to use paperback when I’m doing research and underlining and taking notes. Often I find it’s easier to read an ebook in bed on my iPad. No trouble holding the book and turning pages.

So, I come down on both sides of the fence. Not totally for, but certainly not against. What do you think about ebooks?