Real Books VS E-Readers
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I never liked the idea of an E-reader, in fact it was kind of funny when I moved from Michigan to New Mexico a year and a half ago. My friends were all going to chip in and buy me one, but my two besties were like "she would hate that!" So they used the money to buy me a boat load of Barnes and Nobles gift cards (awesome present). But now I'm starting to see the appeal. I mean I love actual books and always will, but my suitcase would me so much lighter when I went home to visit if I didn't have 20 books crammed into it lol. We actually have an awesome library here in Albuquerque so it's not so much the money that bothers me, but I do know that they have e-books to borrow from the library system as well.0
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I love my nook color. I can keep the books I purchase and not feel like I am cluttering the house. The nook color is easy to carry around too. I can even loan books out to other people. However, I have certain books that I still read regularly that are hard bound.0
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When e-readers first came out, I vowed I would never get one because I love the feel of a real book. I love the feel of turning the pages. I love the smell of an old book. I love pretty bookmarks. I said I never wanted an e-reader, no way, no how.
But we moved to the boonies, and the local library is crap and there aren't any bookstores within a 30-mile radius. So my husband surprised me with a Nook for my birthday. At first I was so irritated because he KNEW my feelings on the subject, and I felt like he'd wasted the money. But within a week, I was hooked. I've read so many more books on my Nook than I used to, just because it's so convenient. I can buy a new book at midnight if I can't sleep. I can carry my entire library in my purse when we go cross-country to visit family. And since the Nook offers a free book every Friday, I've been able to get a lot more books than I would normally. So while I still do prefer books in the moment, overall I'm thrilled to have my Nook. Plus, I set the touch screen so that I swipe it to turn the page, so it *almost* feels like the real thing.
I will say that I have no interest in the Nook Color or the Kindle one that does color. I can't read on a backlit screen. The appeal of the regular Nook and Kindle is that it doesn't hurt your eyes and you can read it in sunlight. I like to be able to read at the park or whatever, so the backlit screens just don't appeal to me.0 -
Have book will travel. That's why I love my Kindle and my Kindle apps (iPhone, Chrome browser). That's why I never need be without a book again, except maybe in the shower.0
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i spend eight and a half hours in front of a computer for work the ;ast think i ant to do is read on a screen. You cant get better than a real book !0
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I too am a recent Nook convert. I will NEVER give up my "real" books. I absolutely love them. However -- here is why I caved and got a Nook in addition:
1. I can borrow books from the library. I am a TERRIBLE library user and always rack up fines. (Good thing I work for one and can't right now. Haha.) I'm loving checking out eBooks and then they just go away when my time is up!
2. Both my parents have Nooks, so we can loan books between us. They are in Michigan, and I'm in Colorado - so it is awesome that my mom can lend me a book, and 2 minutes later, it's on my Nook. Brilliant!
3. I literally have no more room for books at my house. All my shelves are full right now, and since I share my house, I don't think my housemates would appreciate me buying more bookshelves.
4. I don't travel a lot, maybe 2 or 3 times a year. But, I read quickly and would have to bring several books on a plane to keep me busy. A Nook takes up far less space.
Now, here is a funny story. The first book I bought for my Nook was Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus. I finished the book in one day, and then thought... "Well, shoot. I need to buy an actual hardback of this book." HAHAHA. Other books though - that I don't mind not having a physical copy of - well, the Nook is perfect for that. 0 -
i spend eight and a half hours in front of a computer for work the ;ast think i ant to do is read on a screen. You cant get better than a real book !
That's what I thought at first too but then I got my nook color and even though the screen is backlit it doesn't bother my eyes at all, and you can change the font size, background color, and brightness all to make it easy to read for you 0 -
I love real books. I love the smell. I love the feeling the paper. I can sit in the library for hours With that being said I also read books around 1000 pages and they are heavy! I have an iPad2 and Nook. I take the subway to work and it's nice to not have to lug a super heavy book and worry about damaging the binding or cover. I love the e-ink on my Nook. I'm not crazy about the e-reader on the iPad, but it is super convienent for me to grab the iPad and have everything accessible to me. Also, I can sneak in some reading at work by using the Nook for PC app which is neat. 0
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i spend eight and a half hours in front of a computer for work the ;ast think i ant to do is read on a screen. You cant get better than a real book !
That's what I thought at first too but then I got my nook color and even though the screen is backlit it doesn't bother my eyes at all, and you can change the font size, background color, and brightness all to make it easy to read for you
This post just sold me. We only have a ceiling light in our bedroom, and sometimes I like to stay up reeeaaallllyyy late into the night/next morning reading, but I can't, since I refuse to make my boyfriend sleep uncomfortably just because I don't wanna lay on the couch to read.
I think an E-Reader would be great for that! 0 -
i spend eight and a half hours in front of a computer for work the ;ast think i ant to do is read on a screen. You cant get better than a real book !
That's what I thought at first too but then I got my nook color and even though the screen is backlit it doesn't bother my eyes at all, and you can change the font size, background color, and brightness all to make it easy to read for you
This post just sold me. We only have a ceiling light in our bedroom, and sometimes I like to stay up reeeaaallllyyy late into the night/next morning reading, but I can't, since I refuse to make my boyfriend sleep uncomfortably just because I don't wanna lay on the couch to read. I think an E-Reader would be great for that!
I love the Kindle's E-ink. It is not backlit, but this review settled my mind if I ever decided to upgrade. Thanks!0 -
Must have the real thing! There are so many reasons paper is better than the electronic stuff.
1) E-readers don't have that new-book smell.
2) E-readers never have the old book smell.
3) If you drop a book in water, it gets more personality. If you drop an e-reader in water you get electrocuted.
4) You can read a book on the beach and not worry about getting sand in it.
5) You don't get the satisfaction of seeing, at a glance, how much of a book you've read at a given point of your reading.
etc.
Completely agree with you! And LOL at the electrocution ;-) I just like looking at my bookshelves and seeing how many I have. They are like my children. I don't want to look at files on a computer screen :-)
I agree with you on the smell, but I will have to disagree with you on being electrocuted. It just is not possible.
Also, I would think that sand would be more apt to get into the crevices of the bind in a real book. The buttons are not raised enough in a Kindle for sand to be an issue.
I never notice the progress bar while reading. But isn't the progress bar just the same as holding the book in your hands and feeling how far along you have read?0 -
i spend eight and a half hours in front of a computer for work the ;ast think i ant to do is read on a screen. You cant get better than a real book !
That's what I thought at first too but then I got my nook color and even though the screen is backlit it doesn't bother my eyes at all, and you can change the font size, background color, and brightness all to make it easy to read for you
This post just sold me. We only have a ceiling light in our bedroom, and sometimes I like to stay up reeeaaallllyyy late into the night/next morning reading, but I can't, since I refuse to make my boyfriend sleep uncomfortably just because I don't wanna lay on the couch to read. I think an E-Reader would be great for that!
it is perfect for that!!! especially with all the different settings! I do the same thing lol and hated not being able to lay in bed and read until I wanted to quit. The nook-color even has an option called night where it inverts the colors - black background, white letters - which keeps the light down even more and is easier on your eyes0 -
i spend eight and a half hours in front of a computer for work the ;ast think i ant to do is read on a screen. You cant get better than a real book !
That's what I thought at first too but then I got my nook color and even though the screen is backlit it doesn't bother my eyes at all, and you can change the font size, background color, and brightness all to make it easy to read for you
This post just sold me. We only have a ceiling light in our bedroom, and sometimes I like to stay up reeeaaallllyyy late into the night/next morning reading, but I can't, since I refuse to make my boyfriend sleep uncomfortably just because I don't wanna lay on the couch to read. I think an E-Reader would be great for that!
it is perfect for that!!! especially with all the different settings! I do the same thing lol and hated not being able to lay in bed and read until I wanted to quit. The nook-color even has an option called night where it inverts the colors - black background, white letters - which keeps the light down even more and is easier on your eyes
I'm definitely gonna check out the Nook next time I go to B&N to play around on it. And look at stuff online. Might be an "after Christmas" treat to myself. I know everyone raves about the Kindle, but I heard that you can access more books on the Nook...anyone know if that's true or not? 0 -
I get so much crap from my friends for having a Kindle..but I don't care..I love it!0
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I love my Kindle,its easy to take to the gym and anywhere else. I also dont have real books cluttering up my house anymore. The books are usally cheaper which makes a big differance to me since I can easly read 5 books a week0
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i spend eight and a half hours in front of a computer for work the ;ast think i ant to do is read on a screen. You cant get better than a real book !
That's what I thought at first too but then I got my nook color and even though the screen is backlit it doesn't bother my eyes at all, and you can change the font size, background color, and brightness all to make it easy to read for you
This post just sold me. We only have a ceiling light in our bedroom, and sometimes I like to stay up reeeaaallllyyy late into the night/next morning reading, but I can't, since I refuse to make my boyfriend sleep uncomfortably just because I don't wanna lay on the couch to read. I think an E-Reader would be great for that!
it is perfect for that!!! especially with all the different settings! I do the same thing lol and hated not being able to lay in bed and read until I wanted to quit. The nook-color even has an option called night where it inverts the colors - black background, white letters - which keeps the light down even more and is easier on your eyes
I'm definitely gonna check out the Nook next time I go to B&N to play around on it. And look at stuff online. Might be an "after Christmas" treat to myself. I know everyone raves about the Kindle, but I heard that you can access more books on the Nook...anyone know if that's true or not?
I'm not sure if that's true or not... but another plus specific to the nook color is that you can slide your finger on the screen to turn the page and it turns like a real book page and doesn't flash as it changes as both the kindle and normal nooks do which i really like... the flashing when the page changes would drive me batty!0 -
I'm definitely gonna check out the Nook next time I go to B&N to play around on it. And look at stuff online. Might be an "after Christmas" treat to myself. I know everyone raves about the Kindle, but I heard that you can access more books on the Nook...anyone know if that's true or not?
There is actually a workaround for putting epub books on the Kindle. So I would say that's not true, bc the Kindle can handle multiple platforms with a conversion program called calibre.
There are a variety of devices out there.
e-ink ereaders B/W:
Kindle touch, Kindle keyboard, Kindle DX
Nook
backlit color tablets/e-readers:
Kindle Fire
Nook Color, Nook Tablet
I have both an e-ink ereader and a tablet. I personally wouldn't use my tablet for serious extended reading. You probably haven't heard much about the Kindle Fire vs Nook Color, b/c the KF just released today whereas the NC has been around for a year now.
I don't think the Kindle and Nook Color are comparable, since they're different devices. One is a dedicated e-ink ereader and the other is a multipurpose tablet. A more apples to apples comparison would be the Kindle Fire, the Nook Color and Nook Tablet.
If you know people with one or both of the devices, consider borrowing a device from them. I feel like you really need to sit with these devices to know which one is better for you. Or purchase from stores with a generous return policy of at least 14 days with no restocking fee for opened or unopened products. I work in tech retail, so I've had a chance to play with all of them.
If you go for B&N, consider refurbs. They have the same 1 yr warranty and are probably just store returns. A lot go on sale around the holidays. The NC dropped to $140 refurb recently. It may go down some more with the release of the Nook Tablet and Kindle Fire. With an NC, you do need to buy a high quality SD card if you want to unleash its full potential as a tablet. I think they go for around $35 for preinstalled mods. Less if you can DIY. If you're just using it to read, then you'll be fine. Without the SD card mod, I feel it's too slow as a tablet for my liking.0 -
I guess I'm severely out of the tech loop. Are these like mini laptops or something? I thought you upload/buy a book for it, and read it. That's it.
I'll ask my boyfriend's stepdad about it next week when I see him. He works with computers/devices like these all day, and even has one (which one, I'm not sure)...he's our go-to guy for tech questions.0 -
I guess I'm severely out of the tech loop. Are these like mini laptops or something? I thought you upload/buy a book for it, and read it. That's it.
Try looking them up on Youtube. I don't think there will be many videos out for the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet yet though, since they are new.
The tablets (Kindle Fire, Nook Color & Nook Tablet) are yeah, like mini laptops that you can use to read books just like how you can read books on your laptop or PC. These are more portable.
The e-ink ereaders (Kindle Touch/Keyboard/DX and Nook) are the dedicated ereaders with the e-ink technology.
Any of them, you can pretty much buy a book and read on. It just depends on whether you want a tablet or an e-ink ereader.0 -
There is nothing like the feel and smell of a new book. However, I absolutely love my Nook Color. It's so much easier to travel with, check email, listen to music, surf the web, etc. I love the cheaper books and the "Free Fridays" where B&N offers a book for free. I love that I can go into the Barnes and Noble store and read any book for free for 1 hr per day, or download free samples before buying a book. I still love seeing books on my bookshelves, so if there is one that I particularly love after reading it on my Nook, I purchase a print copy to keep. Did I say how much I love my Nook Color?
I agree with you! I love my Kindle for so many reasons but I will buy books that I LOVE in hard cover to keep for my library. Case in Point - I would have never bought the classic Jane Eyre - ever...honestly never would have picked it up. However, it was free on my kindle so I read it. I now have the hardcover and have re-read it twice.0
