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On the Southern Literary Trail discussion
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eReaders vs. Bound Books
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Larry
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Mar 13, 2012 09:18AM
With the advent of iPods and iPads and iPhones and eReaders, I have officially moved into the Old Dog or Geezer generation so I don't do those things. I like old fashioned hardcover books and I like them used. And I don't text, either!
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Well I'm a collector so I like the bound books. Last night I put my books in the hands of T. C. Boyle and had him sign them. I didn't see anyone in line waiting to have their ereader signed. I like knowing that my books have actually been in the hands of the writer. I like reading hardbound books and I like collecting signatures so my relationship goes beyond just "renting". The book is a piece of artwork for me. Now that all said. If I were not a collector I would jump on the ereader band wagon with both feet. Next trip to Europe I will have an ereader of some kind loaded with free classics. If I don't take books I will have more room in my luggage to bring books back.
I have noticed among my friends that having a shiny accessory ereader has turned many of them into readers. Books were too uncool to carry around with them, but getting to be seen with an electronic gizmo is definitely cool. Now I don't care why they read I'm just glad they read because now they help support writers. ereaders are an important evolution for books and for future readers.
The iPod changed my life and I now listen to more music than I ever have before. When driving, and I drive a lot of miles, I can now listen to the Jeff Keeten radio station via my iPod.
My cell phone is not only an important business tool, but now I can even check my goodreads feed on my Blackberry. Now even when I am at a farm show in Iowa or Texas or Wyoming I can still read my friends reviews and press the like button.
I have a nasty form of arthritis and gnarled painful hands. I can't hold tree books for as long a time as I can hold my Kindle, and the either-side button to move forward or back in the book is easier on me than is the page-turn. I can't hand-write letters, either, so email et alii are the same level of godsend for me to remain social and informed as the ereader is for me to remain sane and entertained. (Not a big TV watcher, me.)YET! BUT! HOWSOMEVER! The fact that the file is theirs, and they can take it back at any time, and they can *edit*the*work* that YOU BOUGHT (well, rented) should they so desire, and they can decide to retroactively raise the price and *charge*you*again*!!!! makes me view the entire proceedings with a very jaundiced viewpoint.
I split my reading into fluffy who-cares titles (on the Kindle) and books I would like to own (tree books only).
Very good points! I have learned a new expression too - "tree books" - I like it.
I have and read only bound books but I may get a Nook for reference materials. I take my books everywhere but carrying an English dictionary, a Spanish dictionary, an Ido dictionary, a thesaurus (I write a lot) etc. is too much. I generally use the dictionary.com application on my cell phone but I often don't have reception (I'm usually in country settings) and that application has too many limitations. Reading in different languages necessitates have a range of dictionaries.
Consequently, I can imagine reading my bound book and pulling out the Nook from time to time for a reference of one kind or another. I will get a Nook because I think it is simply better than a kindle (I have played with both) and, more importantly, I do not want to support Amazon.com - a company that is putting brick and mortar book stores out of business at breakneck speed.
I also think it's important to have traditional books around because the electronic books are battery driven. This means in times of natural disaster or political upheaval - both are inevitable with the increasing population - the electronic afficionado will be left with nothing to do save survive the immediate disaster. I have a friend, whom I admire greatly for environmentalist activism, she uses on the the Nook to be 'green' but she recently discovered that the battery wears out when she goes to the mountains and is left with nothing more than a paperweight in her backpack after the battery has said ciao.
I don't read books on e-readers. I like the feeling of books in my hands, turning the pages. Often I check how much I've read (a third or a fifth of the book) by guessing and putting a finger between the pages. that's something I would miss with e-books, even though it's something little. I'm not good with technic at all. Every single cable runs away from me. screaming. What would happen to a Kindle or something... I'd probably accidentally sit on it...
Like most everyone else in this thread, I also prefer "tree books". It's going to be really sad in the next decades when you go to a twenty-something's house and there's no bookshelf to study. However, ebooks are obviously the way the world is going.I have a Kindle, which I like, but I only use it to read public domain (aka free) books. If I'm going to spend any money, I'm going to spend it on a tangible object. I also like the Kindle better than the iPad, because there's less to distract me... How do they expect me to read when Angry Birds wants me to kill pigs?!
Mod
Sometimes I think Jeff and I are twin sons of different mothers. I agree there is a place for e-readers in the world. I also agree that e-readers have created more readers.
I have both a Kindle and Nook. They are ideal for travel. And for those reads I don't find essential to my shelves that groan under the weight of my library, an e-reader is the solution.
But in addition to the love of my signed copies are the memories generated by the books that were gifts to me from my mother and grandparents. They provide a link between me and them, whose loss I feel each and every day.
Below is the link to a review I wrote of A Christmas Memory that describes the magic of memory and how special gifts keep our loved ones with us forever. http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
That feeling can never be replaced by an e-reader.
As Everitt mentioned, it will be interesting to see how the Justice Department weighs in on price fixing on e-books. Yes, I believe that Apple has been responsible for price fixing. What was normally a competitive market before iBooks, was forever changed by Steve Jobs, may he rest in peace. However, Mr. Jobs did no favor to readers when he lured publishers to iBooks with the bait of higher prices for e-books. The wheels of justice grind slow, but they do grind exceedingly small.
Laywer Stevens
Everitt, I shopped a bit and strongly preferred the basic Kindle for its absence of fancy-schmancy touch screen shenanigans and its low price. $80 can't be beat! Five years ago the same object was $400!Further to the library topic, The Brooklyn Library has added a service described in this article from The Atlantic about the Espresso Book Machine.
Everitt, just a thought - another good thing about ereaders for older folks (or any folks) is the fact that you can enlarge the size of the text greatly. I know two wonderful folks with early eye degeneration who are so thankful for their ereaders so they can adjust the text making it possible for them to enjoy many books as well. Yes, I still love my hard books...just love my ereader for convenience! I appreciate all the thoughts here.
Mod
Ah, why Kindle and Nook? Interesting point. There are particular works available through Amazon not available through Barnes & Noble. Again this is a matter of deals cut through publishers. A primary example is that Amazon recently "bought" the entire catalog of Donald Harington which was published by the Toby Press. They are not available through Nook. Kindle has a lending library which allows one to borrow a book at the rate of one a month. That is the way I'm reading Harington, although I have a few hard copies on the shelves. I don't have them all.
Nook offers the ability to go to a brick and mortar Barnes and Noble and read a book for an hour for free. It's a pleasant way to spend an hour, sipping on a cup of coffee and enjoying an hour of free reading.
I sprung for a Kindle as Amazon has a deal with AMERICAN EXPRESS that allows full purchase with the use of AMEX award points. My Kindle cost me "nothing"--HAH--in the grand scheme of things. The lure of Harington prompted my use of points to get the Kindle.
Each device does have its advantages and disadvantages.
During her last illness my mother who was a constant reader was no longer able to hold a tree book. She turned to her Nook and was still reading it the evening before she died. So, in that regard, e-readers are in fact a blessing.
Lawyer Stevens
Mod
Well, count me on the tree book side of the ledger. I have no beef with the ereaders (my son got one for Christmas and seemed tickled with it), but it just isn't for me. I am a huge library fan and haunt the one here with embarrassing regularity (I am basically Norm at Cheers at our local library). I like cracking a book open, the sound the pages make, the smell of it on my face when I fall asleep (yeah, this is a bad habit I have gotten into since getting a divorce, the old fall asleep with a book for an eye mask, turn off light in the wee hours), etc. I have played with various ereaders a number of times (I remember Mike pratically forcing me at gunpoint to read a chapter of something on his Nook when it was a brand new thingie). For whatever reason, I just don't care for it. I guess I am joining Larry in the Old Dog/Dinosaur club. I will begin inserting whippersnapper into my conversations with more regularity in order to fit the part.I am not saying I will never use one or never own one (apparently there is a kindle app on my phone, THAT I feel secure in saying I will never use). I can see that there would be times it might be handy. Heaven knows, I am getting blind as a bat, so the idea of giant letters is appealing, as is taking a business trip of more than a few days without a significant portion of my suitcase being taken up with books (well, I might finish these, what if I don't like that one, this one is too heavy to carry on a plane, etc.). That said, one big plus is how nice a barrier a tree book is on a plane. Looking at a little screen, total strangers want to strike up a conversation with you. But, hold a book up near your face (preferably with earbuds in as well) and you can happily fly to Timbuktu without anyone bothering you. I am only anti-social on airplanes, who knows why. All that said, as the technology improves, the price drops and the stigma of being an old dog increases, we may all at least add ebooks to our repertoire.
Mod
I'm crushed. Absolutely crushed. Basically, I'm a pacifist. I never pulled a gun on you. Course, there was the time an ex-Marine officer police investigator handed me a shotgun to back him up. He said, "If that guy comes out of there, I'm dead. Kill him." True story, but I never pulled a gun on you. Nope. Well, I was kinda' pushy about the Nook. It was new and all shiny and it was like the first show and tell going back to school after Christmas break. I promise I'll never make you read another chapter on my Nook. Wanna try the Kindle???? Sorry. Just too hard to resist...Never figured you for a tree killer, Connolly. Whoa! Where did I put down my transistor radio?*laughing*
Mike
Lawyer Stevens
Mod
*AHEM* Coffee at B&N is full price less your B&N Member discount. The hour's free reading is the lure. Actually, I've been stubborn enough to return each day until i completed a book for free. The coffee, I gladly paid for, for I would have had it anyway. Starbucks doesn't offer an hour of free reading. The books eligible for free reading used to be limitless. It has narrowed. It has seemed to be targeting the bestseller types, in the hopes that you'll be irresistibly drawn to purchase the book.
Lawyer Stevens
Mike wrote: "there was the time an ex-Marine officer police investigator handed me a shotgun to back him up. He said, "If that guy comes out of there, I'm dead. Kill him." True story"I seriously hope he didn't come out. Just asking: Did he?
Kathy wrote: "Well, count me on the tree book side of the ledger. I have no beef with the ereaders (my son got one for Christmas and seemed tickled with it), but it just isn't for me. I am a huge library fan and..."
That's exactly what I'm thinking! You just said it better than me.
One of the things on my To-Do-List for life: When I have a flat or a house, have one room just for books. Shelves that go up to the ceiling, a fireplace and one of those comfortable armchairs you can sink into, tuck your legs to your body and read. Imagine the same room with bare shelves and me with an e-book. That somehow ruins the atmosphere.
Mod
I seriously ..."
Thank goodness, the Investigator came out. The man wasn't there. He had killed his parents that morning, for money to support his drug habit. He was arrested in Birmingham, Alabama about a week later after he was shot during his robbery attempt of a store. He's now serving life without the possibility of parole in the state penitentiary.
The investigator is now retired. Unfortunately he was involved in a motorcycle wreck, off-duty. He loved to ride. He was seriously injured to the degree he was unable to return to investigation. He remains a fast friend of mine. We will always have one another's respect.
Lawyer Stevens
When he trusted you to have his back, you sure respect each other. Wow. I won't ask what you did there in the first place.
Mod
Wow. I won't ask what you did there in the first place."
It's classified. *laughing* No, seriously, as I became a "senior" lawyer in the District Attorney's Office, I routinely went to crime scenes. In homicide cases, I attended the autopsies conducted by the Medical Examiner. It was where I began my preparation for trial. Most Assistant DA's did their jobs from behind their desks. That didn't cut it for me. I wanted in on the case at the beginning. I was very good at my job. The police appreciated the fact that I was not a desk jockey. It was tough work. It took a lot out of me, but I've never regretted anything I did. It was a good feeling to wake up in the morning and know you were going to a job just to do the right thing. I had an open file policy. I reserved nothing in my file when providing discovery to the Defense. My approach was, "Here it is, take your best shot." Some ADA's set their offers of settlement unrealistically high and then bargained the cases down. The Defense lawyers knew when I made an offer it was the bottom line. I respected the defense attorneys. They respected me. It went past respect. I had and still have very good friends among the defense bar. And I have practiced as a defense lawyer, as well. One of my mentors was a former DA whose motto was "Be firm, but fair." He taught me well. He took the edge off of my arrogance as a young lawyer who thought everything was a war to be fought and won. It is not a prosecutor's job to just win a case, but to see that justice is done. I always took that seriously. I've never admired John Grisham's works because he always made the DA look like an idiot. Of course there are those who don't see the big picture, but they're not the idiots Grisham repeatedly represented them to be. But, he certainly sold a lot of books in the process. I just wish he got it right. His books are nowhere close to reality.
Atticus
From what I hear, you sound like the kind of lawyer I would like to have if I ever got into the situation to need one. I admire you for not wanting to just sit behind the desk. When you want to do something right, you have to see all aspects, from all perspectives. Hiding behind a desk doesn't help. I'd rather trust somebody like you, than one of said desk jockeys.
Mod
Atticus
It depends on the book. I do have a Kindle and I read books on it, but then I have to "cleanse" myself by reading a couple tree books before I can pick up the Kindle again. lol. A lot of that stems from the fact that I have a shelf full of real books to read.I like that a lot of the classics are free for Kindle so I have re-read several of them. If a bound book is only a dollar or 2 more than the Kindle book, I'll buy the bound book. If the Kindle book is cheap, I'll get it - especially if it's not something I'm going to keep forever (I keep very few books anymore).
My husband has a Nook Color that I can put kids books on and they read aloud to the kid - my daughter likes that. I'm sure the Kindle Fire will do it too, but I just have the original Kindle.
As an engineer, I am opposed to anything that would suppress the salaries of engineers. lol.
Larry wrote: "With the advent of iPods and iPads and iPhones and eReaders, I have officially moved into the Old Dog or Geezer generation so I don't do those things. I like old fashioned hardcover books and I lik..."Yay! I don't text either! But I'm only 33 so I catch a lot of flak for it. lol.
I absolutely love my Kindle. Like the I-pod before it, I was a late adopter to e-books. I was perfectly satisfied with what I had. Then, my husband bought a Kindle and I learned how great electronics can be! The kindle is easy to carry in your purse and mine comes with its own light source. Now I can read in the car without bothering other people. The adjustable font has allowed me to postpone bifocals, too! I love being able to hear a book review on NPR and order a sample right then. On the other side, I do worry about the ability of the industry to sustain itself. Much of what we all enjoy reading owes a lot to good editors. If profit margins are continually squeezed, will the next generation of great editors be laid off? I don't always trust the market to adjust quickly enough to new business models!
Oh yes, how could I forget the "sample" option? I love that about the Kindle!
My main issue with ereaders is the potential for abuse. It's extremely easy to illegally download music online, which has sent record sales to all time lows. BUT, musicians still have tours and sell tickets and other merchandise. Musicians have that other form of income.When books are illegally download online, which is also exceedingly simple, that prevents the sale of the author's main form of income.
Everitt, I am an old, gray-bearded man. Occasionally, I am impelled by good reviews to check out from my liberry YA titles. I have learned, after many a hairy eyeball and even three separate scoldings from angry women, to send a circulation desk employee to fetch the books for me. CLEARLY a man without a child/grandchild in tow in the YA area is a pedophile.I shudder to think what the women in the kiddie rooms would do should I dare to poke my nose in there! The Kindle is my only good option for borrowing those titles.
Everitt wrote: "Mary wrote: "As an engineer, I am opposed to anything that would suppress the salaries of engineers. lol."As a former scientist I support the suppression of engineers! Revolution!! ;)
On a slig..."
I had the same sort of experience with Tropic of Cancer, but one day in my friendly local used bookstore I found a copy with just a crab on the cover as opposed to the myriad of naked women at Barnes & Noble.
I love going to the bookstore or getting books in the mail. I read some stuff on my laptop, but not even close to what I read in paperback or hardcover.
Hi I am new here and a late-comer to this discussion. I was slow to join the e reader crowd, but very enthusiastic now that I have one. I got a basic bottom of the line Kindle about 9 months ago. I use it everyday, although sometimes for playing scrabble which I consider an alternate source of brain food.
Here is what I like about my basic kindle: it is lightweight, stores several books, the size of the font can be enlarged. I often doze when reading in the eve. My kindle knows exactly where I left off. When I fall asleep, it goes into sleep mode. When I wake up, it is exactly where I stopped reading. I like the very basic black and white text. It is easier on my eyes.
Here is what I dislike: it shows progress in terms of % read vs. page #. I miss the cover art and reading inside the jacket cover. Sometimes when I come to the end of the book, I am surprised to notice discussion questions and/or an interview with the author. Typically, it is my habit to read those sections before the book.
My friends have a variety of e readers. Each person seems happy with whatever kind they have.
As for tree books, I like tree books but do not care to own them. They take up a lot of space. I have never been able to have enough bookshelves. They fill my books shelves and are in piles throughout my house. When I relocated, I trimmed down the inventory. They are heavy to move and costly to move.
We have an excellent public library system that stocks multiple copies of new releases through a lease program. I can take out several new releases for a 3 week loan period and renew each book three times, unless there is a Hold on a book (rare).
I am not a person who re-reads books, so I don't have any particular need for them.
In defense of tree books, I enjoy flipping through a book, checking how many pages til the end of a chapter, and I like being able to flip back a few pages or a chapter to get up to speed after taking a break. I also tend to refer to the cover art and info on the jacket several times during the course of reading a book.
In summary, I like both and read both. At this point, I do not have a strong preference.
Janet B
VERY FUNNY, Everitt. lol. Why kind of science did you practice? I'm a civil engineer, but I really only do structural/construction engineering; heavy civil work would bore me to tears. haha.
I use both a Nook and tree books. I am a disabled attorney who got trained in both traditional legal research and computer research. I took some kind of on-line courses, and stopped enjoying the Nook. At this point, I have downloaded a sample of Absalom, Absalom, but I should be receiving the hardbound version in a day or so. . . depending about snow.
I would have to say that I am on the side of "tree books" and not the Kindle or nook. For me reading has always been more than the process of my eyes reading the words and the info entering my mind. The physical object, how I held it, how it feels, is a part of the experience of reading a book. I make attachments to books depending on their weight, the feel of the paper, the way the covers fall open, these things are important to me when buying and enjoying a book. I too enjoy looking at my progress in a book and gauging how much there is left. I also like to turn back to a chapter or passage that stood out to reread, this is difficult to do on a Kindle, I've tried.
I absolutely love bookstores, used ones, with small isles and stacks of books on the floors, and large velvet armchairs to sink into. If I buy books on an ereader I don't engage in this same communion. Part of a book purchase is selecting the particular package that you want a book to come in, each book is different. On an ereader, each book is the same black and white text on a silver computer screen.
As I said, I enjoy used books the most, part of this is the feeling of taking a journey that someone before me has also taken, finding their notes in the margins or a dogeared page. These little discoveries are a powerful way that the reading community is connected, I feel a tie to others who have read the book that I'm physically holding in my hands. I've also had the experience of being in a bookshop or cafe and striking up a conversation about the book someone is holding. Bookshops offer me the most satisfying retail-therapy, a book always fits.
The smell, the weight, the way the pages fall open to the passage you've read a hundred times. These would all be gone on an ereader. And that's why its not for me.
At least not while I still have my eyesight and non-arthritic hands. :)
Kelsey wrote: "The smell, the weight, the way the pages fall open to the passage you've read a hundred times. These would all be gone on an ereader. And that's why its not for me."
Beautiful, I heartily concur.
I like the options both present. And, you can do a lot of things with both kinds of books. I guess my philosophy is, as some who lives for books and music, nothing is worse than the moving one can do in their first few years of employment. Packing a huge library of books and music across country or across a state is hugely heavy. The books I LOVE are on my Nook with highlights, notes and bookmarks. My law books, animal rights books, and Irish books, are all on shelves. . . As are my favorite writers, and all of my favorite poets. . .although I do have some mixing. . .i have all of Flannery O' Conner's books, but the best biography of her on my Nook. I have all of James Joyce's books in both formats. The other bad thing about storing books, especially in the south, and Pacific Northwest is that they can and do mold. . . And that's a book smell, no one needs to expose themselves to. . .
Kelsey, I have to agree that the experience of poking around a bookstore is excellent retail-therapy. It is oh so satisfying. A different type of retail therapy, is sitting at home and making an impulse buy on my Kindle. I love the immediate gratification. Just last night, I downloaded "Extremely Close..." based on a terrific review. 10 seconds and it was mine.
I enjoy both formats for different reasons.
Christa, good point about the mold mildew issue of tree books in humid climates. I know that I keep my books climate controlled, but any book that I check out at a garage sale, thrift store or used book store has to pass the sniff test. I have shelves of reference books related to my hobbies, such as gardening, bird watching and collectibles. For, the most part, I no longer hold onto novels. I either pass them on or donate them to our local library.
I do enjoy using my kindle at the pool after a swim. I find the black & white Kindle easy on my eyes in the bright FL sunlight.
And, Janet and Kelsey, I poke around bookstore and thrift shops, which is the best retail therapy in the world. I sometimes am surprised at how unusual the stuff I can find. I only read fiction in book groups, so. . . I did get my hardbound version of Faulkner today, and it is in beautiful condition, a Library of America edition 1936-1940. Paid a penny for it. I'm feeling a bit guilty.
Janet - does your library have restrictions on what you can donate to them? I took a stack of once-read novels that were mostly hardback with a few nice paperbacks to ours and they wouldn't take them because they weren't "library editions." And these were books that are usually not carried in the library (our library is small and mostly has stuff like Danielle Steele, Janet Evanovich, etc. They don't even have any Shelby Foote books!)I was a little shocked that a library that lacked Shelby Foote, Edward P. Jones, Donald Harington and files Ellen Degeneres next to Mark Twain would be so picky. lol.
Mary, I donate books to both our local small city library and our larger county library system. They are happy to receive both paperback and hardcover books. The small city library has a 2 room bookstore within the library, where the volunteers sell the donated books. I both buy and donate there, because the books tend to be in excellent condition.
The larger county library system has a volunteer run bookstore at the central location. At the branches, there are 1 or 2 tables of donated books that are stocked and sold by the library staff.
When I lived up north, our small city library, had very limited funds to purchase new releases. During those years, my husband routinely purchased, read and donated new releases. The books were immediately marked as library property and put into circulation.
Given fiscal restraints of libraries, I am surprised that your donations are not gratefully accepted.
Janet
Our local library accepts all kinds of books and sells them via their Library Friends store. Earlier this week, I found a 50th anniversary edition of Fahrenheit 451, and a fiction book by Joan Didion, while looking for southern literature. . . I can't imagine a library getting by without donations!
I am headed out to our local Salvation Army store to donate some items that prevent me from being able to get my car in the garage. I know that I have said that it is my goal to not own books, but let me assure you that after I drop off my donation, I will look at every book that is for sale.
It is possible that some books may need to come home with me.
I have both a Nook and a Kindle, and I also read in their respective apps (and iBooks) on my iPhone. About a year ago, I moved house. I decided then that I would be e-book only. I replaced the books I wanted on digital and then donated and sold about 80% of my library. I have both devices because I like encouraging competition and spreading the wealth, as it were. My preference if definitely to Kindle, though -- I have about twice as many books there as on Nook (75:40 ~ish).Recently, I started thinking about tree books (great term), and I realized I missed them. I love their smell and feel. I love how you really know how much progress you're making just by looking at the book. So I have started buying treebooks again. Bought a bagful at B&N the other day, and I am working my way through them.
E-Readers are fantastic for traveling. They're great for disposable mass-market type books that you'll likely never read again -- action scifi, for instance, or fantasy. I expect I will keep reading Sookie Stackhouse via digital. They're great for those free classics. I'll keep buying lots of digital books.
But I miss books. And I like how they're a link to the past. People have been printing books for 600 years, and they've been hand-making them for longer.
**cough 'Dead' Tree Books cough** "Sorry, I just had to say it." I got an I-Pad when I discovered it would hold 100,000+ books. That's a lot of books. And you get 'em all. The Apps. Kindle, Nook, Kobo and Stanza, Bluefire, I-Books, Google and so on. My goal? Room to move around my house! I'm overflowing with books. Then I learned something. I love BOOKS. I love reading them, yes. I was never aware how much I loved holding them. Or how even the simple act of turning a page could be so pleasant. I hope it's never a thing not known by a future generation.I have converted maybe three or four of my physical books into e-books, but failing to do away with the hard copy kinda defeats the purpose, you know? And now I've become **I'm ashamed** a cyber-book hoarder. Is there a "group" for this affliction? CYBO-ANON? Sounds like the Terminator. : )
I'm definitely more of a bound book kind of person. Something just seems a little more personal about the reading experience for some reason. I am open to ereaders, though.
Something funny happened to me the other night, and I thought I'd share. I am a "split personality" with a love of tree books and my Kindle, both. But I was browsing through some of the books on my Kindle the other night, and I suddenly wished they were physically in front of me so I could look at the covers side-by-side and choose what a wanted to read.I also label shop for wine. ;^)
Wordsmith wrote: "**cough 'Dead' Tree Books cough** "Sorry, I just had to say it." I got an I-Pad when I discovered it would hold 100,000+ books. That's a lot of books. And you get 'em all. The Apps. Kindle, Nook..."Funny!
I have a 6000 book collection, of dead tree books... Have read most, some are reference, and yes, my "to-read" shelf has about 75 books on it... And now, since I joined goodreads, I have more books on the way for the next couple of months' reads.
I love books:the smell, the feel, the ART!
I also have an iPad, free (hand me down) and yes, over 300 books on it, a few read. I find I get eye fatigue quickly on any electronic reader. Also, there's NO WAY to truly organize the books! By author, sure, but I don't know the authors much, and on cookbooks, authors are a minor fact.. I'd like to separate fiction, non fiction, cookbooks, reference, scifi, etc. Nope. Doesn't work. That's a real problem.
And yes, my tree books don't come with batteries (or lights). The iPad is just another tool. Also, walking into my library is cool. No one asks me what books I have on my reader; but they head right for my library! (I have a loaning system.) I have books from the 1880s too...
This thread was last used in November 2012 and focused at the time on the choice between bound books and e-readers. I am sure Goodreaders still want to talk about that but I am personally more interested in hearing people with e-reader (or notebook) experience talk about the various options out there for someone (like me) who is thinking about drifting into deeper electronic water than my PC (which has Windows XL so it in line for replacement) for home and a Dell Inspiron 15 laptop for travel. I read solely from bound books at this time but am willing to think about alternatives. I am not in a rush and would like to hear what others have experienced rather than just depending on the ads and salespeople.I assume this is a rapidly changing technology and what was true a year ago might be outdated. I am interested in hearing about the small brands and not just the Nook and Kindle. I am also trying to understand how a multipurpose notebook might fill the reading task along with the variety of other computer tasks. The idea of recapturing the corner of the room that currently is taken up by the PC and printer appeals to me. And how does a Smart Phone fit into all of this?
I am all ears, as we used to say in the olden days.
