The Reading Challenge Group discussion
A Quest for Answers
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Question 5 - Paperback, Hardcover or E-Book?
For me it has to be a paperback... I carry a book in my bag everywhere I go so I go for the lightweight option! Saying that I could go for an e reader as it would be even lighter but I just love the feel of a book in my hands so will stick with the old PB for now!
Of course I read all forms but my preference is ebook. I love having a whole library at my disposal everywhere I go.
Paperback probably if I had my druthers, but I have some books/authors that I simply cannot wait for the paperback to come out and will spring for the hardcover. I usually prefer the physical book - it's nice to be able to swap with friends and it's hard to do that with an e-book. Yes it is nice to carry a bunch of books in your hand, but I like the feel of a "real" book.
I love hardcovers, softcovers, leather is just yummy, ebooks have great advantages, for one I can get on Goodreads! :) I take some kind of book where ever I go, so there is always something to read. And I'm with Cindy, sometimes you need the hardcover because you just cannot wait. And a real book doesn't run out of batteries. :) It's nice to see your bookshelves fill up and turn into your own library!
I love the convenience of ebooks. If I want to read a book at midnight, I don't have to wait for the bookstore to open. However, I will buy my favorites in hardback.
If I am heading out, I prefer the hardcover. If I am reading in bed, then I prefer the E-book. If I give a book 5 stars (and don't already own it), I will buy the hardcover version.
I'm not a fan of hardcover. If there is a book from one of my favourite authors that I can't wait to read, I'll buy it in hardcover but otherwise, I'm a paperback kind of gal. I love the way they look on my bookshelf! I got an iPad mini for Christmas and I have really been enjoying reading on it but I'll stay loyal to a physical book for life :)
The last time I moved house, I had 50+ boxes of books (2 cu.ft. boxes). I love reading real books. (It was necessary to downsize and I now own about 7 boxes of books.) I prefer hardcover books for the feel and smell. Fortunately a lot of library books are hardcover. I avoid the tiny paperbacks with the even tinier print but will read the larger paperbacks. I read e-books a lot and love the fact that they can hold a whole library in very little space, and that I can make the print as large as necessary (for my poor eyesight).
Ideally, I would have a library composed of beautiful hardcovers, all of which books I love and re-read all the time - and I'd keep everything else in digital format.Reality is not quite as perfect, so I own a great amount of paperbacks, a few hardcovers, and a growing collection of ebooks.
Hardcovers look nice on a shelf but for practicality, ease of reading, and price I prefer paperbacks. Ereaders have their uses but nothing beats the look and feel of physical books, whether hard bound or paperback. I have a mix of hardcovers and paperbacks, small sized and large sized books. I do have a Kindle for so far there are less than thirty books on it.
I read all types. If it's an author I really love I'll buy the first edition available, usually hardback. I'm a recent convert to ebooks and am finding I download more books now than physically buy.
It used to be paperback but in the last year for convenience I've switched to ebooks.
Hardcover is so lovely, but I don't get them so often because they tend to cost more, take up more space, and I'd feel bad for ruining them.I love having a kindle for the overdrive library because I can rent e-books at my fingertips when I know I won't care if I have a physical copy. I'll get the paperback when I think I'm going to enjoy the book enough to want a copy of it.
I'm a total convert to e-books. I love being able to search the book for the first instance of a character's name, particularly in complex novels. The only thing that bothers me slightly is that I have some bought through Google Play, some through Amazon and elsewhere, so I miss the feeling of having a physical book collection.
Tom wrote: "I'm a total convert to e-books. I love being able to search the book for the first instance of a character's name, particularly in complex novels. The only thing that bothers me slightly is that I ..."Tom wrote: "I miss the feeling of having a physical book collection."
I'm with you on that, Tom. I love being surrounded by bookshelves loaded with books. Unfortunately, we moved to smaller quarters and we had to unload hundreds of books, so now I try to buy only e-books (not always possible either). But scrolling through the shelves on iBooks or Overdrive just isn't the same.
I don't really mind much between e-books and physical copies, however, something that might be interesting to investigate would be how people feel about audiobooks?I tend to get quite motion sick when I read on the tube, busses, and such. And, being a commuter, I spend upwards of 3 hours a day travelling. So far I've stuck with physical books because my motion sickness isn't so bad on trains (which is where I spend the bulk of my journey). But, I'm starting to think the audiobook world might really be something worth venturing!
Mayme wrote: "I don't really mind much between e-books and physical copies, however, something that might be interesting to investigate would be how people feel about audiobooks?I tend to get quite motion sick..."
It's interesting that the topic of audiobooks has come up recently in several different threads. It seems like quite a few people want to try them. Maybe a separate thread would be a good idea?
It would seem like a good solution to your motion sickness, Mayme. I started "reading" audiobooks while recovering from surgery and now I use them when I'm knitting and don't want to hear the television. One of my personal goals now is to listen to audiobooks instead of the radio when I am doing chores at home and unable to sit down with a book. I think they are terrific!
Hardcover--easier for these old eyes to read and old hands to hold. Trade size paperbacks are okay. I cannot do an e-reader--gives me headaches. I guess I'm just a Luddite.
I like being able to store so many on my Kindle, but I prefer reading a physical book. I just don't have the room for them all.
I personally prefer physical books. However, I recently got a nook and am slowly coming round to its advantages
Sandy wrote: "It's interesting that the topic of audiobooks has come up recently in several different threads. It seems like quite a few people want to try them. Maybe a separate thread would be a good idea?"I think I'm gonna get on that right now (:
All book types I am happy to have, but when it comes down to it I am sucker for a nice leather or cloth bound hardback. I would dearly love have my favourite books bound into a binding just for me like a coat of arms for my books.
I prefer hardbacks. I like the physical feel of the books the sturdiness of the hardbacks. I tend to buy used books, borrow from library and swap with friends. I can handle some of mostly the chick-lit that comes in a wider paperback format.
I'm fine with paperbacks, unless I am just in such a hurry I can't wait. In reality, though, I read mostly e-books these days. I suppose I am all about instant gratification! On a more practical note, I live in the Caribbean and it is sometimes hard to find paper copies of books that I may want. One-click purchases and instant delivery save the day for me. That said, on each of my (frequent) trips to the US I pick up physical copies of books that I really want, particularly classic sci/fantasy.
I'm another who doesn't like hardbacks. I have a few, usually old books or a few favourites. They have a shelf of their own, in my dining room. All the paperbacks are upstairs but I'm moving - if not moved - to preferring ebooks. I just don't have the room for paperbacks, so we keep our very favourites, but on my computer (and backed up on the cloud) I have literally thousands of ebooks. (over 10,000!). And they take up NO SPACE! (well, very little). I can change the covers to one I prefer thanks to calibre, and I can convert to whichever format I want it in. I don't have to decide which books to take on holiday and make room for them tricky when you're camping abroad for 2 weeks and so need 7 or so books). I can give or lend them (some of them, not all, admittedly) without worrying about getting it back or forgetting who I lend it to, as I'll still have the original. It can be 1,000 pages or 200, but the book weighs next to nothing either way, and lastly - most of my books now cost me 99p, or at very least £3-£4. I rarely pay full price, but when I do pre-order, I can do it from my sofa, and on day of release, it arrives on my e-reader the minute I turn it on in the morning.
Ideal world: I would buy them first on ebook or read on loan from library and if I love the book, buy it in hardback so it can sit on my bookshelf and be read over and over again without the worry that the cover will fall off from "overuse", cannot tell you how many Stephen King and Dean Koontz books that happened to when I was in high school! Between my sister, mom, stepdad, and I those poor paperbacks were read SO many times! By the end of summer, what started out as brand new was falling apart by the end.
I love hardcovers, especially leather ones. They look and feel lovely when on your shelf in your bookcase. However, that is an ideal situation. In reality my library is a mix of several paperbacks and now since I have my kindle (which is a real favorite) a whole host of ebooks. Simply find the kindle easy to carry and store several books and read them wherever and whenever.
combination really. I like "proper books" when I am in the bath reading (after dropping my phone a few years ago!)and when I go on holiday, but if I am reading downstairs or on the bus I tend to use my phone with kindle and ebooks.
I really love my kindle, but I've recently decided to stop buying books, so I read free books on my kindle and get hardbacks from the library. Paperbacks seem to start falling apart after a few reads, and I like to pass books on to others once I finish them.
I prefer paperback books. It shows how many times you read you're favorite books and adds character.
Paperback. Easier to carry and they're cheaper. But some hardcovers are just so pretty that I buy them anyway... like Pillars of the Earth or HP 7.
Hardback, paperback, e-book in that order. There is something about the SMELL of a hardback book and the tactical realness of turning the pages...I don't buy books as a rule because I have the luxury of having a local library that is part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan library system, so I've never had trouble getting a copy of anything I wanted to read. BUT ... my elder daughter works at Barnes & Noble, and if I can't get a particular book from the library, she can usually get a copy for me if I'm desperate to read it.
I really like the "green" concept of borrowing a book though. I get to read it, return it, pick out another one, and the one I just finished can go be part of someone else's world for a few days. I don't have to store it on a shelf, and there's always something new to read.
Hardcover. I do nasty things to paperbacks.
Paperbacks, they're easier to hold than hardback and cheaper to replace - if dropped in bath, lost when out etc. but I do have a kindle and love that too.
I love all books, love the smell, love the feel. I prefer hardcover but paperbacks are cheaper however I rarely buy new books. I prefer to buy them second hand usually from charity shops. I do own a kindle and it is easier to carry than a chunky book but nothing beats a real book. :)
Faye SO I Use e-readerswrote: "Paperback, hardcover, or e-book - which do you prefer?Usually when I buy a book I go with paperback, since it's cheaper, but I loooove getting hardcovers whenever I can. I find them easier to hol..."
I don's like hard cover. I would prefer paperback if my hands didn't hurt and the font were perfect and just big enough to see but not too big l0l, SO I Use e-readers to hold and change text to readable.
I prefer hardcovers but paperbacks are more affordable .
These days I prefer ebooks and audiobooks. Real books for non-fiction.
I love hardcovers, but I mostly buy paperbacks due to the price. I also like e-books. But my favorite is hardback! :)
I normally don't purchase any book that I can get from a library unless ...! After waiting for an inter-library loan copy of The Bell for many weeks, I received a tiny paperback with even tinier print. I struggled through about one-third of it but (with a cataract in one eye and a history of two surgeries on the other) have been suffering severe eyestrain and finally broke down and bought the e-book and returned the library copy. The ability to enlarge the font is one of the reasons that I read a lot of e-books!
Mod
Mod
Leather or cloth bound, quality paperback, mass market paperback, ebooks on my Kindle, ebooks on my phone, library loans, professional audio books, Librivox audio books, short stories in magazines... To me, it's all good. Preference depends solely on where and under what circumstances I am reading.
I have loaded my Kindle. I go to the library twice a month, and to their website at least once a week. I'm addicted to Librivox. I have boxes of paperbacks in my garage. And, I own the most gorgeous, fabulous, delicious library of leather and cloth hardcovers (Aitziber, no hating) that I have been collecting with every spare dime since my babysitting days. I scoured used bookstores up and down the East Coast, and even worked part-time in a bookstore for the discount (cuz you know I didn't take my paycheck home!).
My book buying slowed down considerably, once I took on a mortgage. Lol! So that now I only buy things I've adored and will read again. Or purchased because I needed a copy quickly for a book club. Essentially, I've reconnected with my library card, and discovered free ebooks, which are two very, very good things!!!
I like paperbacks or hardcover. Either one is fine, but I like the real feel of a book, being able to feel the weight of the book, the smell of the paper and how much I have left against an ebook, but i'll read a book as a free pdf if I can't get my copy before I need (weel, want) the book.
Renee wrote: "Oh, thank God, Sandy!! I was starting to worry! Sometimes (and definitely in this case) it it totally worth the price if the book!"What was worrying you, Renee?
Mod
Oh, I see, Renee (pardon the pun). Thanks for your concern. Perhaps I should have Ben a "suspense" writer! :D
Usually when I buy a book I go with paperback, since it's cheaper, but I loooove getting hardcovers whenever I can. I find them easier to hold open beside me while I'm eating, for one thing, haha! They tend to last longer, too, and they're generally made with higher-quality materials. And I think they look better on a shelf, especially old cloth-bound classics - those look downright majestic. I never use e-books, personally.