Print vs. Ebook: Which Do You Use?

[Tracey]

Hardback, beautifully bound, lovely, paper and print, old school, real books all the way for me. :)

[Leslie]

I love paper books, especially lovely old hardcover editions with nice paper, but I find the convenience of the ebooks have been a boon for me. I love the fact that I have over 500 books, almost all free, on my Kindle - I have something to read no matter what my mood... And much easier to hold than the mammoth hardcover editions of some of the classics (War and Peace for example).

[Erica]

I'm a paper book reader through and through. I do see the convenience of both kindles and audio books but I prefer the book in its classic form haha

[LauraT]

Leslie wrote: "I love paper books, especially lovely old hardcover editions with nice paper, but I find the convenience of the ebooks have been a boon for me. I love the fact that I have over 500 books, almost a..."

Same here. Especially now that I had to move all my 7.500 books from one house to the other I find that some books need to be on paper - yesterday for istance I bought La Divina Commedia: Paradiso
La Divina Commedia: Purgatorio La Divina Commedia: Inferno because I think that in each italian house you HAVE to have it, but The Hunger Games or similar things can easily read and forgotten in ebbok

[Jackie]

I like paper books. Definitely prefer paperbacks, some of the hardbacks are so heavy it's lifting weights!

[Marian]

Paper books!! Although most of my peers at uni seem to prefer kindle...it's very cost-effective especially for us English students where it's more than four novels/play or poem a week

[Leslie]

Marian wrote: "Paper books!! Although most of my peers at uni seem to prefer kindle...it's very cost-effective especially for us English students where it's more than four novels/play or poem a week"

I remember lugging around a pretty heavy backpack of books during college - I would have loved a Kindle! Although I am glad to own all those books now :)

[Marian]

Exactly! I love my collection of books...I happy spending a money on books that I can own/annotate on and cherish in the future

[GeneralTHC]

I read eBooks exclusively and I have for about 10 years. The ironic thing is I've never owned an eReader. I have a laptop connected to an external monitor that sits at eye level. I love it! I don't crane my neck at all. I use FBReader--can't stand the Kindle App--and Calibre. I'm just SO in love with eBooks. I love that you can make the font HUGE, and I customize the font as well. I like reading on a black background with white text. The ability to search the text is great. Also, I often copy and paste an eBook to my text-to-speech software and I can just kick back and listen and/or read. The font is so large I can walk around the room and stretch (while it auto scrolls) and never stop reading.

I'm also real big on audiobooks. When I can't read I always have my iPod going. I fall asleep listening to it every night without fail. I don't think I could ever go back to paper books unless the Zombie Apocalypse or something happened.

[LauraT]

Glad to see i'm not the only absolute fan of ebooks and abooks - as I call audiobooks!
But some paper books still longer on my bedside, just for Auld Lang Syne ...

[EleonoraF]

LauraT wrote: "yesterday for istance I bought La Divina Commedia: Paradiso
La Divina Commedia: Purgatorio La Divina Commedia: Inferno ..."

I don't remember where is the thread it had been told, but if in the next few months a readalong of Commedia will be done, perhaps I attend it.

[B the BookAddict]

I love all the physical aspects of a real book; the look, the feel, turning the pages, the smell. I don't think I'll ever be an e-reader.

[Jenny]

Eleonora wrote: "LauraT wrote: "yesterday for istance I bought La Divina Commedia: Paradiso
La Divina Commedia: Purgatorio La Divina Commedia: Inferno ..."

I don't remember where is the thread it had been told, bu..."

You are very welcome to Eleonora, we haven't opened the readalong thread yet, but will soon!

[EleonoraF]

Jenny wrote: "Eleonora wrote: "LauraT wrote: "yesterday for istance I bought La Divina Commedia: Paradiso
La Divina Commedia: Purgatorio La Divina Commedia: Inferno ..."

I don't remember where is the thread it ..."

Good! Then I will check the threads of readalong. Tuesday or Wednesday I'll buy a copy of Inferno

[Susan]

My heart will always belong to print editions, but I'm having a torrid love affair with my Kindle reader at the moment.

I do, however, "see" a e-book differently than its print twin. Part of that, I suspect, is the editor in me; I appreciate the layout and overall design of a page in print.

[Leslie]

Susan wrote: "My heart will always belong to print editions, but I'm having a torrid love affair with my Kindle reader at the moment.

I do, however, "see" a e-book differently than its print twin. Part of that..."

So true - and I hate some of the Kindle books with poor and/or strange formatting. I read a mystery recently which had line and a half spacing, as if it was a school term paper! Drove me nuts.

[Diane S ☔]

I use both, some books I have trouble getting into on my kindle, so I grab the book and it makes all the difference. I read a survey that said 80% of the people that use E-readers still read the print v3rsion as well.

[Susan]

Leslie wrote: "Susan wrote: "My heart will always belong to print editions, but I'm having a torrid love affair with my Kindle reader at the moment.

I do, however, "see" a e-book differently than its print twin..."

Leslie, that would irritate me, too! I know you can change the font size, but have you tried changing the spacing? (Disclaimer: I have one of the first Kindle models, so I'm guessing here about the new fancy versions...)

[Leslie]

Susan wrote: "Leslie wrote: "Susan wrote: "My heart will always belong to print editions, but I'm having a torrid love affair with my Kindle reader at the moment.

I do, however, "see" a e-book differently than..."

No this spacing was "nonnegotiable"! I tried all the options available to see if I could make it better to no avail. I remember thinking at the time whether the author didn't quite have enough material for a novel and was trying to pad it in this way...

[GeneralTHC]

Are y'all referring to the space between the lines? If so you can adjust that with FBReader. Heck, you can customize everything with FBReader. Any element that appears in a written work. I don't know about the Kindle, though. I know the Kindle App is absolutely awful IMO. I wouldn't want one that couldn't run FBReader.

[Hot Mess Sommelière ~ Caro]

On my darling Kindle everything about the typeface can be adjusted.
I read romances and really short books as well as most serieses and most indie books on my Kindle, while I read my favorites in Hardcover or Mass Market Paperback (I hate big paperbacks - it's one of my pet peeves. So if there's a choice between a big paperback and the ebook, I choose ebook all the way!).

[Debs]

I utilize all formats, but my true love is still a hardback physical book. While at home in bath, camping, or any trip that involves me being on the water I read physical books. I use my kindle at home and for traveling. I listen to audio books in my car I drive an average of 6000 miles per month. I have made an effort that any new book purchase is done with my kindle or audible with the exception that I know I want to add to my library of physical books at home.

[Kalena]

All of the above! I love my Kindle, but just cannot give up physical books. I also listen to quite a few audiobooks.

[LauraT]

Kalena wrote: "All of the above! I love my Kindle, but just cannot give up physical books. I also listen to quite a few audiobooks."

More and more common this both ways to reading!

[Kalena]

LauraT wrote: "Kalena wrote: "All of the above! I love my Kindle, but just cannot give up physical books. I also listen to quite a few audiobooks."

More and more common this both ways to reading!"

A true book addict just wants a book in any form at any time. That's me. I am working on saying no to free books. What a trial.

[LauraT]

;-)

[Lucia]

I used to like e-books a lot. I remember when I bought my first Kindle from Amazon. I was so excited. It's really convenient if you travel. But I found it broken just a week ago. But I must say I'm not going to buy another one because I kind of miss the normal books and I would like to have one day my own small library at home.I always liked that at other peoples houses it's kinda relaxing don't you agree? So no more e-books for me. I actually found a great website to buy cheap books - www.librarist.com. You can choose there from which country you are and it will find for you the cheapest book from an online store that will delivery the books for you including shipping. I find it so easy that way. Anybody else thinking about having their own library at home?

[Bionic Jean]

This argument will run and run...

[Jenny]

LOL Jean!

[Kelly]

Hi, I'm new in here and in GR. I'm a firm devotee of printed books. I don't purchase or download any e-books. However, I do have a handful of friends who would email me links and send e-book files if they find a book interesting enough to spark my interest in reading it but that rarely happens. My main reason of choosing printed books is because I tend to drop most of my gadgets occasionally, therefore I do not trust my butter fingers and the idea of running low on battery while reading sounds like a buzz kill.
Maybe the smell of new and old books, the sound of pages turning and the physical feel of literally holding a book play a role in my preference too. I don't know, it's a habit of wanting printed books instead of e-books and I know I'm on the losing end because printed books cost more. (I think) :(

[LauraT]

Great strip Jean!

[Cathie]

Thanks Jean for sharing! :)

More so now that I work in a publishing firm, print.

[Leslie]

Jean wrote: "This argument will run and run..."

LOL! Great cartoon Jean :)

[Lee]

Love the cartoon. And I totally agree with you Kelly!!

[Kelly]

Hello Lee :)

[Eric]

I use an ebook and print both

[Alice]

@Kelly, I used to feel like you, always preferring print to digital. However, since being gifted with a Kindle a couple of months ago and having got a dozen classics on Kindle for naught to 99c, I'm beginning to like the idea of e-books. My first test reading of A Room of One's Own on Kindle seemed quite OK :)

[Leslie]

Eric wrote: "I use an ebook and print both"

Me too. I still love print, but the convenience of having hundreds of books available to me with a small ereader is wonderful (especially when traveling).

[dely]

I read both too but today on the beach it was so windy that I would have liked to have my kindle and not the printed book!

[[deleted user]]

Print; I fall asleep reading and being hit in the face by a falling paperback is bad enough. Also I love selecting books in the library and sometimes in a shop, it's a treat I look forward to. I have favourite bookshops, has there been a thread on this subject?

[LauraT]

dely wrote: "I read both too but today on the beach it was so windy that I would have liked to have my kindle and not the printed book!"

Think in Sardinia!!!!
I've converted to the ereader also at the seaside for this same reason since last year; I'm always afraid someone can steel it when I'm swimming, but it's so much more comfortable!!!

[dely]

LauraT wrote: "Think in Sardinia!!!!
I've converted to the ereader also at the seaside for this same reason since last year; I'm always afraid someone can steel it when I'm swimming, but it's so much more comfortable!!! "

I'm afraid it falls in the sand and that it could be damaged by the salty air (or children who play with water but thanks God children are all far away from me). I also use to leave the book I read in my cabin and I wouldn't do it with the kindle.

[Leslie]

Jill wrote: "Print; I fall asleep reading and being hit in the face by a falling paperback is bad enough. Also I love selecting books in the library and sometimes in a shop, it's a treat I look forward to. I ha..."

I don't think so but you can always start one in General Discussion if you want.

[C.D.]

I use both.

What I like best about print books is they're simple to navigate, easy to share with other people and don't need charged.

What I like about ebooks is how I can enlarge the font. My eyes give me trouble sometimes and it's a struggle to read the small print in a paperback.

[Angie]

I love print books, but sometimes ebooks are a good option when I have to travel or when I donr have much work in my office :D

[Renato]

I use and really enjoy both print and Kindle.

Of course, I love having a beautiful book in my hands, in my shelves etc.., but I like the option of carrying my Kindle when in commute to work and when I'm traveling... or somewhere with low lightening.

In the end, it'll end up depending on the prices and the translations available for each case - as I read my books in Portuguese.

[Jkmays]

I read my Kindle almost exclusively and love it. THe only time I prefer paper is for occasional reference books when I want to flip back and forth a lot in the book. LOVE the dictionary feature in my Kindle.

[LauraT]

dely wrote: "I'm afraid it falls in the sand and that it could be damaged by the salty air (or children who play with water but thanks God children are all far away from me). I also use to leave the book I read in my cabin and I wouldn't do it with the kindle. "

I bring my very old one - he Sony which hasn't even the dictionary within - and kee it in a plastig bag!

[Son]

I LOVE my kindle, even though it doesn't have that great smell of a dusty library book, especially since it's always one weight and I can find the definition of any word at any time without having a device of some sort to look it up.

But still, sometimes I have just got to HOLD a real book!

[Melissa]

I only read books. I have never even tried a kindle. I figure I look at a computer all day long for work, that's the last thing I want to do when I get home. Plus I get almost ALL of my books from the library, so why would I want to pay for them? That's just me.