Is anyone else a fan of traditional paper books?

[Narma]

I do not hate technology. In fact, I'm pretty good with it, but I absolutely cannot get myself to read books on an LED screen.

I'm running into this problem here. For next week, the topic is a newly published book, but no paper copies will arrive on time for the books I want to read, and many are unavailable in my local library.

I found electronic copies for the books for the titles I want to read, but I just cannot get myself to the read books in electronic form. I'm really thinking of just reading any random book from last year, as long as it's available in paper form.

[Sara]

Honestly, nothing will ever compare to the smell and feel of a paper book but a few years back I gave in to the evil of the eletronic versions as my bookshelf was getting overloaded. Plus it can be really hard to carry your book in your purse AND have your other essentials in there as well. lol Good luck!

[Peter]

I don't have an e-reader and very much prefer a real book. I stare at a computer screen all day at work, if I'm reading I don't want to be looking at another screen. I would just find another book published in the last year and slot the ones soon to be released in for a different topic later on.

[Ashleigh]

I have a Kindle Fire. I got one the year they were released in the UK and while I love it, nothing, nothing will replace my love of a real book. The problem I have is that I love the physical act of owning a book as well as the act of reading an actual, physical, nice-smelling book. That's the primary reason I don't really use my kindle much any more. Second is I do most of my reading on public transport and, oddly enough, I actually can't read from an electronic screen (phone included) while travelling yet a paperback I can read fine!

There are some books I don't mind reading on my kindle, books I'm unsure of or book that aren't really in my 'safe zone'. For example I have the Lunar Chronicles on my kindle because it's not something I would ordinarily pick up and I'm reading on recommendation, I wasn't going to spend around £8 one book when I could get the series so far on kindle for £10!

Truthfully though, I use my kindle more for reading fanfiction than an actual novel.

[Adriana]

I don't own a e-reader but I do read a lot of short stories on my laptop or iPod. At some point I downloaded tons of free books to my laptop but I gave up reading them after reading 1984 on my laptop. I can't read anything over 30 pages on my laptop or iPod, it's very uncomfortable, the laptop is too big and the iPod too small.

I can see a lot of advantages of owning an e-reader specially, as Ashleigh said, purchasing books for smaller prices and also having access to more books. I often struggle with those two problems: I don't know if I'm going to appreciate a book enough to spend a lot of money on it and I can't find books I want in the bookstores near me. I've also come across books that I would like to read but are only available for e-readers.

I think I will eventually buy one but my love for paperbacks will always prevail!

[Laura, Mod]

I think it's important to differentiate between tablets and e-readers. I could never sit down and read a book on my iPad. But I absolutely love my kindle. Part of me misses paper books but there's just so many benefits to my Paperwhite. One of my favorite times to read is before bed and my fiancé is always already asleep. So my Paperwhite lets me read without messing with a book light, which was also too bright to him (he's a tad dramatic). My kindle also has x-Ray that allows me to click on a name and see who they are and all past mentions. It's good for my awful memory :)

[Allie]

I couldn't read a novel on a retina-searing LED screen either, but I love e-readers with e-ink (like Paperwhite) technology. I forget I'm not holding a "real" book. Features like being able to change the font and highlight without digging for a pen more than make up for a lack of book smell. Best of all, I'm able to afford so many more books in ebook format, and I don't have to worry about where to store them in a house where every bookshelf is already filled to overflowing.

I've gone from saying I'll never switch to ebooks to saying I'll never go back.

[Megan]

I'm anti- ebook too. However, my boyfriend got me a Kobo touch and I must admit I kind of love it. After trying to read on various tablets and screens there were a few things I realised about tablets and e-readers when it comes to reading on them. 1) anything with a backlit screen is probably going to hurt your eyes after a while and that will lead to a headache and no one wants to read with one of those. 2) Anything with a glossy screen is going to make your eyes hurt after a while because you're trying to read through the glare of light on the screen constantly.

my e-reader has a matte finish screen, no backlight,it's a decent size for your hands, you can change your fonts and everything still, highlight and all kinds of things on it. No it's not colour, and it's definitely not a paper book but it's easy for me to read on. I use mine for travel mostly because I don't find a huge difference in price between e-books and real books.

Where do you all buy your e-books from?

[Narma]

Apparently the blue light emitted from computer and kindle screens interfere with one's circadian rhythm. http://io9.com/your-tablet-computer-i...

[Michelle, Mod Assistant]

Narma, for challenge purposes (as far as our group is concerned), the task for next week was modified to include books from January 2014 forward. Some are choosing to read 2015 books for the extra challenge, but that isn't required. You may have more luck finding a book from 2014.

[Nicole]

I agree with most comments. I love books & I love going into book stores to browse, but I use my iPad to read using the Kindle app. I have no room to store books, and I use public transport so for me it's too much to carry a handbag, gym bag & book!
Plus it's cheaper to buy them electronically & it only takes a minute or so to download. You can change the font size & the colour of the background to what suits you, plus if there's a word you're not sure of the meaning you can select it & it will bring up the dictionary.
Reading on the iPad tends to make me sleepy though!

[Laura, Mod]

Megan: I get all my books from the Ohio Digital Library. I know some systems are better than others but that one is amazing. I occasionally find out that they don't have a book I'm interested in but there's so many that it doesn't bother me (and sometimes they get it later). I used to get a lot of books through the BookGorilla newsletter, which sends out free books but haven't really used it since finding the library option.

[Jenni]

I love being able to actually hold a book. I even enjoy the smell of books. However, I tend to use the kindle app on my iPad more just because the kindle books are cheaper and I can get them right away. Most book stores have closed around me anyways so it stinks not being able to have the whole book browsing and buying experience.

[Megan]

Laura: Maybe I'll have to do some more searching then because I looked on the Kobo store and my paperback copy of the novel Horns is cheaper than the e-book copy... I found the same sort of thing when I searched iTunes too they all seem to be about the same price and then I just think I might as well have the version I like better - paper. lol

[Maria]

I also love to hold a book so I read only paper books. However, the obvious downside is that there are much more books available online than in the library. Just yesterday I found that my library has the book I wanted to read for a long time now, but only in e-book format :(

[Anja]

I have an ebook reader but I haven't used it in more than a year, definitely prefer real paper books! For me they are also easier to hold because they are thicker than the slim reader and I've got slightly overflexible joints that start to hurt after a while holding something thin all the time

[Marah]

I prefer paperback books over hardcover and e-readers. I have SO many books though that I can't bear to part with that I read on my e-reader. If I truly love the book, I will buy it for myself later.

Haha my closet is full of books and no clothes. Oh well. :)

[Laura, Mod]

Megan: if I didn't have a great library for ebooks then I would definitely buy more paper. It might be silly but I can't get myself to spend money on ebooks. It just feels too intangible, like I'm not spending my money on anything. Girl on a Train is my Week 4 book but it has about 400 holds through my ebook library. I'm considering getting the print copy. But it's $14 more than kindle edition. Oh, dilemmas... :)

[Marina H]

I definitely prefer real books over e-readers. I love to look at my books, and I hate the fact that I don't have a big enough bookcase, so I have the books in two rows and you can't see the ones in the back row.

I even have an e-reader but I haven't used it for ages. But I also think the possibility to get books for an e-reader is more limited here in Denmark than for example in UK or USA.
And I have this thing with buying books. I love to snoop around in bookstores, and it's just not the same to go home and order them online. And if I pay money for a book I prefer to have an actual copy to hold in my hands.

I also remember books much better, when I read the paper version. After reading a book I can often find specific passages easy, whereas if it's an ebook I don't have the same feeling of how far along in the book this or that happened.

[Victoria]

I love REAL books, too. As an author, I can't wait until my finished project arrives in the mail. However, I have health issues that make it difficult to hold a book, so I appreciate my Kindle as I can just lay it on a pillow across my lap and only have to touch it to turn pages.

[Zaz, Mood Minion]

I never was a fan of paper books so it was easy to jump on the ebook train. However, I like collecting beautiful editions for the stories I love and I have a huge collection of children picture books :)
I just received The Annotated Peter Pan (The Centennial Edition) and spent some time just looking at the pages and the cover (thinking "my preciiiouuuuuus" :D).

[Jessica]

I've gotten really used to reading on a screen. I used to have a Kindle, but I got an iPad later and now I use that. Oddly, the backlit screen has never bothered me, but then I tend to read a lot in darkened rooms, where the kindle (even with a booklight) wasn't ideal. I love being able to change the font size and brightness, and to highlight passages without searching for a pen. I do love paper books, but I fear I can't go back to them. The only problem is that I bought a house with giant floor to ceiling bookshelves... maybe I will have to read paper books for a bit in order to fill them!

[Cait]

I resisted getting a Kindle for ages because I was convinced that I wouldn't like it. But then I caved and treated myself to a Touch, then I upgraded to the Fire HD after about a year.

I love that I can take hundreds of books with me at any time and that I can read at night without disturbing my husband by keeping the light on (or trying to read with my phone torch). Plus a lot of the time that I would've used my laptop (like coming on here) I can do on my Kindle since I've gotten a keyboard for it.

But there's still nothing quite like a book-book. I like the way that a new book smells, actually I like the way that old books smell too. I like the feel of it in my hand and the way that you can see your physical progress through the book, rather than just as a percentage on a screen.

That said, I do quite like the feature where it tells you how long you have left in a book or chapter. It helps me to figure out how late I should stay up reading.

I tend to buy books I'm not sure if I'll enjoy on my Kindle, then I'll 'upgrade' them to book-books if I enjoy them. Special books (like anything by Tolkien or Pratchett) will be bought in book-book format. I also get the free classics, though the ones I like I intend to get in book copy when I have more space for them,

For the time being, like several others, my Kindle helps me not fill my house up with more books than I have room for. ;-)

[.•*¨`*•✿ ✿•*¨`*•. Christine .•*¨`*•✿ ✿•*¨`*•]

Laura wrote: "I think it's important to differentiate between tablets and e-readers. I could never sit down and read a book on my iPad. But I absolutely love my kindle. Part of me misses paper books but there's ..."

I so agree Laura. E-readers are completely different from tablets. I'll probably never read on a back lit screen but the e-ink screens are great. I've had my Sony for close to 4 years and the only books I read in paper are ones I can't get on e-book (usually from the library). I was actually surprised the other day when I opened up my reader and looked at the number of books I had accumulated (unread). I was at 669. I think I'll get through some before I load many more on.