Ebooks vs. Real Books

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  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    I travel for work. I like reading a real book, but I will probably never go back. It's nice to carry the Kindle and not worry about what will happen if I finish the book I'm reading while I'm on the road.

    What would happen if you did? You either wait to get home or find a book store and buy a new one.

    I get the convenience, but it's not like there's a tragedy if you finish a book while on the road and don't have a new one immediately. Even airports have book stores, so if you're waiting for a flight and need a new book, no problem!
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    Silver -- While no dictator can burn an e-reader, a dictator CAN reach into it with his own technology and erase it. And he can do that to every single e-reader that has that book on it in a matter of seconds.

    Which is one more reason those things scare me.

    all you have to do is turn off wifi, 3g....and the Dear Leader wont be able to touch your stuff.


    ebooks are better in every way i'll never buy a paper book again.

    And when you turn them back on to download a new one?

    And when only five copies remain on e-readers in the entire world, how will you pass them on to later generations? It isn't that easy.

    I'm glad you like your e-reader but I vehemently disagree that "they're better in every way."
  • dls06
    dls06 Posts: 6,774 Member
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    I am an avid reader. I recently purchased a kindle and love it. The only books I will buy now are very young childrens books.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    I never thought I would enjoy reading on an eReader but when my mom got me a Kindle, I was hooked. They are much easier to acclimate to than most people think.
  • Drunkadelic
    Drunkadelic Posts: 948 Member
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    I love my Kindle. The paper-looking display doesn't hurt my eyes like a normal screen and I can have almost all my books with me. Also, all the classics (well most of them anyway) are free :)
  • DieVixen
    DieVixen Posts: 790 Member
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    I travel for work. I like reading a real book, but I will probably never go back. It's nice to carry the Kindle and not worry about what will happen if I finish the book I'm reading while I'm on the road.

    What would happen if you did? You either wait to get home or find a book store and buy a new one.

    I get the convenience, but it's not like there's a tragedy if you finish a book while on the road and don't have a new one immediately. Even airports have book stores, so if you're waiting for a flight and need a new book, no problem!

    Some people do not like a bunch of books cluttering up everything
  • JustJennie1
    JustJennie1 Posts: 3,843 Member
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    I don't think e-readers will replace real books. I have the kindle app on my iPad and I love the fact that if I want to read a book RIGHT NOW I can order it and instantly have it. It's also great if I have some vacation reads that I want to take with me because I don't have to worry about the added weight from actual books.

    However I still like to read "old school" LOL. There is just something to be said about holding an actual book and curling up with it on the couch or in bed. I will order "real" books when I'm not in a hurry and don't need instant gratification. Plus I like getting packages in the mail. It's like my birthday and Christmas when they arrive.
  • toomanycurves
    toomanycurves Posts: 110 Member
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    Ebooks except for art books. With 540 linear feet of book shelves crammed to their limits in my little apartment and two basement storage rooms full of books, my Kindle is my treasure. Last night when I couldn't sleep, I decided that I felt like reading Faulkner. I went to the Amazon site and downloaded a novel and was reading it within one minute. Of course, I then got so into it that I stayed up reading all night . . . :huh:
  • Mustangsally1000
    Mustangsally1000 Posts: 860 Member
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    I like the feel, the weight, the smell of an actual paperback. I love cracking the spine of a new book when I'm turning page after page and the look of a well worn book on my shelf cannot be replaced.

    ^^THIS^^^
  • doorki
    doorki Posts: 2,611 Member
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    For novels and such that I will read once and never again, I will get them on my kindle so I can read it home, on my phone, on my work PC while pretending to work. For books that I want to keep, pour through, research and write in the margins, I will buy the book.
  • ashreynolds09
    ashreynolds09 Posts: 257 Member
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    I don't have a kindle or nook but I have a small tablet with the Kindle app that I love to read on. It's so convenient for me because I read before I go to sleep so with the tablet the light doesn't bother my husband while he tries to go to sleep before me. I just started reading a new book -- a real book -- and I do find joy in reading an actual book, seeing the pages pile up to the left as I get further into the book but it is such a pain to try to keep the reading light out of my husband's eyes every time I turn a page. (although, sometimes it is a nice torture device when he's been a real *kitten*)
  • Laces_0ut
    Laces_0ut Posts: 3,750 Member
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    I agree with both of these. I have actually been wanting a kindle for a while to see if I would like it, and that way I could get books I wanted instantaneously and a little cheaper, but it is something about physically having something. Just like DVD's....I am a huge movie collector and now everyone is buying them and saving them to a device.

    I can throw a book in my purse and I can read it until I am done with it. A kindle, you will eventually lose battery life.

    So I am torn. I think they should offer books with a digital copy, just like DVD's.

    the e ink kindle is not back lit so it hardly uses any power. ive never had an issue with battery life.
  • DieVixen
    DieVixen Posts: 790 Member
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    I agree with both of these. I have actually been wanting a kindle for a while to see if I would like it, and that way I could get books I wanted instantaneously and a little cheaper, but it is something about physically having something. Just like DVD's....I am a huge movie collector and now everyone is buying them and saving them to a device.

    I can throw a book in my purse and I can read it until I am done with it. A kindle, you will eventually lose battery life.

    So I am torn. I think they should offer books with a digital copy, just like DVD's.

    the e ink kindle is not back lit so it hardly uses any power. ive never had an issue with battery life.

    I havent charged my kindle in over a week and I read on it daily
  • kitkatkmt
    kitkatkmt Posts: 178 Member
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    I use both. I have a Kindle (and LOVE it!), but also still buy books and borrow them from the library. Actually, I have 3 books going now - one on my Kindle, one on CD in the car (I have a long commute), and one physical, paperback book. I love all versions too much to give up any one of them completely.
  • thetrishwarp
    thetrishwarp Posts: 838 Member
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    I wrote an essay on this topic in first year university. I argued for books. I like the way they smell, the way they feel, the satisfying feeling I get when I flip a page, or finish a book and can return it to the shelf. Also, you can read books in the rain and they won't break. Books don't need to be charged.

    Yeah, if you want to have a lot of books, carrying them all around can be a pain, but we're all becoming strong, fit, people- we can carry 'em ;)
  • TinkrBelz
    TinkrBelz Posts: 888 Member
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    I love my Nook Color because I live in a small town, so it is difficult for me to find the books that I want to read. So, I can order them online and have them shipped OR, I can go on my Nook and have the book in less than a minute! I like to read out by my pool and the heat usually messes up paperback books, so it is nice to read on the Nook.
  • DieVixen
    DieVixen Posts: 790 Member
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    I wrote an essay on this topic in first year university. I argued for books. I like the way they smell, the way they feel, the satisfying feeling I get when I flip a page, or finish a book and can return it to the shelf. Also, you can read books in the rain and they won't break. Books don't need to be charged.

    Yeah, if you want to have a lot of books, carrying them all around can be a pain, but we're all becoming strong, fit, people- we can carry 'em ;)


    If a book gets wet its ruined and will milldew,and e reader in a freezer bag would be fine. I can live with having to charge my book once every week or so.
  • Laces_0ut
    Laces_0ut Posts: 3,750 Member
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    Silver -- While no dictator can burn an e-reader, a dictator CAN reach into it with his own technology and erase it. And he can do that to every single e-reader that has that book on it in a matter of seconds.

    Which is one more reason those things scare me.

    all you have to do is turn off wifi, 3g....and the Dear Leader wont be able to touch your stuff.


    ebooks are better in every way i'll never buy a paper book again.

    And when you turn them back on to download a new one?

    And when only five copies remain on e-readers in the entire world, how will you pass them on to later generations? It isn't that easy.

    I'm glad you like your e-reader but I vehemently disagree that "they're better in every way."

    i guess i'm not worried that a dictator is going to take over my country. :) and if by magic they did i would know not to turn it on to buy a new book. but to even worry about something like that is silly.
  • nevertoolate2
    nevertoolate2 Posts: 309 Member
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    Real books every time but I am a bibliophile! The feel of a book and the smell, especially really old ones. You can reproduce the text of a book but the the feel and look of my 300 year old book on poisons is what makes it special.

    Read books lined up on the bookshelves, evoking memories when I glance over their spines. Unread ones lined up on another bookshelf, calling out to be read next, competing.

    I like to look after my books but if I drop one I won't curse that I need to replace it (or an ereader). I don't worry about my book on a boat, on a beach, by the pool, on a heaving rush hour tube or with the kids running around. I don't need to worry if I have enough charge. I can read multiple books at once, flitting between reference books with multiple bookmarks, a novel I'm not enjoying but don't want to give up on and my current fancy. I can pass a book along, share the love, or can receive a recommended book passed along.

    Oh and I can treasure my autographed first editions and limited editions knowing that I can pass them down, even sell them (Heaven forbid that should be necessary or that my kids would want to :noway: )


    And of course, if my kids need to dip into a book for pleasure or homework, they can look and see if I have something that fits the bill, they know where to find them, on the bookshelf, not electronically stored away, out of sight and mind.

    I know you can probably do a lot of that with an ereader too but I'm with TheRoadDog (and many more before him).

    Oh and besides, if you don't buy books, the cost of your houses will increase. Honestly. Trees are cut down for timber and pulp. If the forests cannot sell both they don't fell the trees and so the wood just gets more expensive. So keep housing affordable and buy books!
  • Firefighter_Jay
    Firefighter_Jay Posts: 426 Member
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    Books smell like magic. Kindles smell like iPad knock offs :)

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