My sister loves her Kindle and reads on it more often than she reads actual books. I'm the exact opposite. While I do read books on my Kindle Fire, I tend to use it more to check email, surf the internet, check Facebook, and play a couple of games.
I find that I prefer the paper version of a book versus reading on my Kindle. I think my main reason for this is because I love to read in bed and I'm afraid I'll fall asleep with the Kindle. I can't tell you how many times I've fallen asleep reading only to have the book fall to the floor sometime during the night. I worry that I'll do the same thing with the Kindle and it'll end up breaking.
Just because I'm curious, I thought I'd conduct a poll - Which do you prefer? Physical books or an E-Reader? Why?
I actually use my iPhone. I can use it to borrow books from the library, and I can purchase books from Amazon. (You need a free app for this.) I love the fact that I always have me phone with me, so I always have a book with me.
ReplyDeleteI give you a lot of credit. I don't think I could read on my phone. I hate even looking anything up on the internet on it because I have to enlarge the page and then scroll back and forth just to read what I'm looking for.
DeletePhysical books. I had a tablet for a short while, and found I didn't really use it for reading. Like you, I played games and checked e-mail. Guess I'm just old-fashioned, but I like the feel of a book in my hands.
ReplyDeleteI like the feel of a book in my hands too. Also I don't have to worry about the battery dying while I'm in the doctor's waiting room for what seems like forever. :)
DeleteI prefer a paper book for most purposes; it's easier to go back if I want to check something, see what a character did or didn't do and so on. However, my bookshelves are bulging and an eReader has stopped the necessity to toss things out. It's also the way I travel with books--we can no longer throw 9 books in a suitcase with weight restrictions on planes.
ReplyDeleteGood point. I never thought about the weight restrictions. (Probably because the last time I flew anywhere was about 20 years ago. We drive as much as we can when we go on vacation.) I like having a book when I want to go back and check something too. I find it harder to do that on an e-reader.
DeleteThe only time I read ebooks is when I travel. Then they are wonderfully convenient. And I do like that I can synch them from my tablet to my phone and read on it when I have time. (Although I use my phone very little unless I'm traveling as well.) The rest of the time I prefer paper books. They are so much more satisfying to hold and to read and take less effort. And somehow I seem to get involved in the stories more. And I work in a library, so I obviously love print books because they're so much a part of my world.
ReplyDeleteI'm jealous. I'd love to work in a library. But then I'd probably get in trouble for doing more reading than working. I worked for a chocolatier when I was in high school and she encouraged tasting. I gained 20 pounds in 6 months which just goes to show I have no self control around the things I love most - Books and Chocolate. :o)
DeleteBoth for different occasions. Kindle when reading with the kids--my son is visually impaired and large print books are extra expensive--physical book so I can scribble in the margins--yes, I'm one of those hooligans.
ReplyDeleteMadeline, I have to ask. Are you one of those "hooligans" who write grammar or spelling corrections in the margins? I've gotten a few books out of the library with those types of corrections. They always make me laugh.
DeleteI go back and forth. I love the Kindle for traveling, though. Takes up less space than the usual 10 books I take when I'm on vacation.
ReplyDeleteI go back and forth too. I tend to read more paperbacks/hard covers though because it's easier to get those out of the library. While my local library does have some digital copies of books, they're usually harder to borrow because the wait list is so long. Also their inventory of e-books is very limited.
DeleteHi Katherine
ReplyDeletegreat topic you've picked.
I hope you're surviving the endless cold and snow and yuck on the streets!
I'm a paperback reader for all the same reasons you cited.
I use my Kindle for downloading audio books--what a savings of both cost and storage space.
Best to you
Veronica Lynch
I never thought about using my kindle for audio books. What a great idea! I'm going to start doing that.
DeleteAs for the endless cold and snow - let's just say I'm definitely ready for spring.
Kindle all the way! The only reason I buy hardcopies now is to finish out a collection. The kindle is so convenient & light weight, lets me carry multiple books at once and syncs with my iphone. And right now, as I read thu the Outlander series in hardcopy, I wish it was on my kindle because the paperback version is huge and a pain to try to parts folding in upon itself in the spine.
ReplyDeleteGood point. I buy hard copies to finish collections too. There are also a few authors who are my must reads that I buy in hard copy no matter what. I have to admit I'm probably one of the few romance readers who hasn't read the Outlander series. I've heard they are beyond wonderful, but I'm not a big fan of time travel books.
DeleteI'm a Kindle 95 percent of the time since my husband and I travel a lot and I'm an avid reader. I only read paperback books if I'm at the beach or in a sunny spot where my Kindle doesn't work as well. Kindle books are so much cheaper, especially if you have the patience to wait a year when most authors drop their prices for certain periods or for promotions. Oh, and my Kindle is in a special protected, padded and zippered cover that opens like a book cover. It has taken heroic falls and survived.
ReplyDeleteGood to know that your Kindle has survived falls - Not that it's fallen, just that knowing yours has done so without breaking, maybe I'll stop being so paranoid of knocking mine out of bed. I sometimes read two books at a time, one in paperback that I read in bed and one on my Kindle that I'll read at other times.
DeleteAnd adding to Judy Ann's comment about kindle books being cheaper, there are also a few wonderful sites where they announce kindle books that are free (digitalbooktoday.com one of my favourites) As an author, I recognize that means the author isn't making money, but the point is to expose me to new authors I wouldn't have read before...and it has worked a couple of times.
DeleteThanks for the heads up. I'll have to check that site out. I like finding new authors too but hate spending money for a book that I once I start reading I don't like for whatever reason.
DeleteI prefer an ereader. I have both an original Kindle (now an antique) but full of folders with books. LOL I also have a new Nook. I used to collect books when we lived in the big house where we raised our kiddos. But since we've downsized, it's tough to keep so many printed books hanging around. When we downsized, I got rid of a small truckload of books. Hard to envision but true.
ReplyDeleteI believe it. The library in a nearby town suffered a devastating fire and asked people to donate new or gently used books to help the replace some of the books they lost. I donated ten boxes of paperback books that I'd collected over the years. They were just taking up space in my attic so I was happy to donate them.
ReplyDeleteI have to say, I'm still a physical book advocate, although I do use my Kindle for all the titles that aren't convenient to pick up in paper. I get irritated at the Kindle for not being as simple as a paper book. If I want to check on something, I can easily leaf behind to quickly verify; on n an ereader, it's a chore to do that. Maybe if I used it more I'd be better adjusted :)
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way about my Kindle. I find it hard to go back to look for something. It's much easier to with a physical book.
DeleteFor research and historical content, I still prefer physical books. For pleasure reading, I like e-readers, because I can take them just about anywhere, and when I finish one, I can just load the next one without going on a search to find it.
ReplyDelete