Why e-books? - Page 4

kacir · 03-15-2016, 05:27 PM

Started on an old notebook, later upgraded to a very crappy PDA.

I wanted to read in English and I exhausted all affordable sources for books in English here. Discovered ebooks, took that very obsolete notebook I salvaged from a trash some time before and started reading. Baen free stuff, lots of other reading material.

Much later purchased Sony PRS-500 - the first e-ink reader available to the general public outside Japan and under 800Euro.

Cinisajoy · 03-15-2016, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crane3

I had a Tungsten E 2 which I used to hold a couple of dictionaries & reference books for school; still got into ereaders late as the 1st one was the Nook 1st gen.

Reasons to remain on ebooks have the listed by others with the exception of one big one for single people: housekeeping. Ever checked the dust accumulation on the top of the printed books sitting on the shelves, especially the books that haven't been touch for a long time......I sometimes make an attempt but it appears to me that the dust have been embedded onto the paper. Has anyone made an attempt to dust the shelves? I know, I flunked the housekeeping class like failing the cooking class as well........

I was taught that dust is a protective coating.
Oh in high school, we had to dust two sections of books a day when I worked in the library.

BeccaAnn · 03-15-2016, 06:20 PM

1. Storage space in my apartment.
2. Less space/weight to travel with = more souvenirs.
3. Could add fanfiction to reader.

NNolan · 03-15-2016, 06:38 PM

I switched to ebooks when the arthritis in my thumbs made it difficult to hold anything bigger than a 250 page paperback.

Conan46 · 03-15-2016, 06:44 PM

Because Large Print books are really really expensive and they weigh a ton.

Ripplinger · 03-15-2016, 07:20 PM

Like others, I also have many reasons that I switched and even more for staying with ebooks, listed in what's most important to me for order.

Poor eyesight - ebooks let me adjust the font where it's comfortable for me and reading became enjoyable again. I hadn't been reading much because of suffering trying to read the tiny type in paperbacks.

There was nothing worse than finishing a book on my way to work, which meant I'd have nothing to read the rest of the way and on the way home. With an ereader, I can just open another book, since you can have hundreds (even thousands) with you at all times.

Ereaders are more comfortable to sit and hold for long periods of time, rather than trying to keep a book open.

Now that ereaders have also improved and include front lights, I no longer have to worry about having any light source with me. Instead of dreading power failures, I actually get a little bit giddy when there's one now since I can do nothing but sit and read in complete darkness for the duration.

No fiddling with bookmarks and losing them, ereaders open back to where you left off.

Built in dictionaries.

A huge library of public domain books for free, more discounts on ebooks than you'd ever see for the same paperbacks, and that means the ereader basically paid for itself on money saved.

I pretty much stuck to paperbacks since I always read on the subways and trains, and then the books would often get loaned out to family, so I wasn't really bursting at the seams needing more space, but it was still a clutter that I've now been able to get rid of and wouldn't think of going back.

I've always got a huge to-be-read list, so I'm one that really doesn't take advantage of being able to instantly download and read a book, but it's nice to have the option and know I'll never be stuck without something to read.

There's absolutely no going back to paper books for me ever.

murg · 03-15-2016, 07:38 PM

Not living in the US, many physical books were simply not available.

FizzyWater · 03-15-2016, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

um....no. That's sacrilege.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apache

I consider dog earing a book or placing it face down while open sacrilege.

Quote:

Originally Posted by copyrite

Did I just hear someone's nails on a chalkboard?

As I slowly replaced my print books with eBooks, I found it easier and easier to give away or sell my old print copies.

And yet I still cringe at the thought of dog-earring a page!

Everyone's pretty much covered my reasons....even down to the fact that it was the geek factor that got me started reading on my PDA. Everything else was justification - at least until I hit about 45 or so, and my eyes were no longer willing to deal with small print.

Dazrin · 03-15-2016, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issybird

Bookmarks, feh, why use a bookmark when you can dogear your page and/or break the spine by leaving the book open and facedown?

LOL, lots of bites for that one.

I loaned one book to a friend in high school, I saw him walking around with it stuffed in his back pocket the next day and when I got it back it seemed like half the pages were dog-eared.

Somehow I misplaced the second book of that series before I could loan it to him...

cfrizz · 03-15-2016, 08:28 PM

Storage space, adjustable fonts, endless selection of books to read.

tubemonkey · 03-15-2016, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

And yet I still cringe at the thought of dog-earring a page!

Gets rather messy, eh?

pwalker8 · 03-15-2016, 08:59 PM

Storage space and the ability to carry all my books with me.

VeggieCat · 03-15-2016, 09:29 PM

I work the night shift so getting to my public library can be somewhat of a hassle for me. Ebooks give me the ability to check out books when it's convenient for me. Heck, I don't even have to be wearing pants

Phogg · 03-15-2016, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Storage space. My house had double-stacked bookcases on every available wall. Ebooks use no (physical) storage space.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fjtorres

I started in the PDA era. So: a library in my pocket.

Quote:

Originally Posted by silverraven

Eyes. I have bad eyes, I've worn glasses since I was 5. Being able to increase the font size is a godsend!!
S

All of these for me.

And before I even had a PDA I had managed to fill in the holes in my Shadow and Doc Savage collections with ebooks. Even though I had to read them on my PC at least I could finally get to read them.

4691mls · 03-15-2016, 11:55 PM

The ability to read library books without having to actually go to the physical library was the main reason for me. Also, the digital library is a consortium of 20+ counties so I get access to books that might not be available in my local library.

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03-15-2016, 05:27 PM	#46
kacir Wizard Posts: 3,450 Karma: 10484861 Join Date: May 2006 Device: PocketBook 360, before it was Sony Reader, cassiopeia A-20	Started on an old notebook, later upgraded to a very crappy PDA. I wanted to read in English and I exhausted all affordable sources for books in English here. Discovered ebooks, took that very obsolete notebook I salvaged from a trash some time before and started reading. Baen free stuff, lots of other reading material. Much later purchased Sony PRS-500 - the first e-ink reader available to the general public outside Japan and under 800Euro.

03-15-2016, 06:20 PM	#48
BeccaAnn Groupie Posts: 188 Karma: 660 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Spearfish, SD, USA Device: Sony PRS-505	1. Storage space in my apartment. 2. Less space/weight to travel with = more souvenirs. 3. Could add fanfiction to reader.

03-15-2016, 06:38 PM	#49
NNolan Compulsive Gadget Geek Posts: 395 Karma: 4219324 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Almost Canada Device: One of each, and two in some cases	I switched to ebooks when the arthritis in my thumbs made it difficult to hold anything bigger than a 250 page paperback.

03-15-2016, 06:44 PM	#50
Conan46 Fanatic Posts: 575 Karma: 3400000 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: Paperwhite 3	Because Large Print books are really really expensive and they weigh a ton.

03-15-2016, 07:20 PM	#51
Ripplinger 350 Hoarder Posts: 3,574 Karma: 8281267 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Midwest USA Device: Sony PRS-350, Kobo Glo & Glo HD, PW2	Like others, I also have many reasons that I switched and even more for staying with ebooks, listed in what's most important to me for order. Poor eyesight - ebooks let me adjust the font where it's comfortable for me and reading became enjoyable again. I hadn't been reading much because of suffering trying to read the tiny type in paperbacks. There was nothing worse than finishing a book on my way to work, which meant I'd have nothing to read the rest of the way and on the way home. With an ereader, I can just open another book, since you can have hundreds (even thousands) with you at all times. Ereaders are more comfortable to sit and hold for long periods of time, rather than trying to keep a book open. Now that ereaders have also improved and include front lights, I no longer have to worry about having any light source with me. Instead of dreading power failures, I actually get a little bit giddy when there's one now since I can do nothing but sit and read in complete darkness for the duration. No fiddling with bookmarks and losing them, ereaders open back to where you left off. Built in dictionaries. A huge library of public domain books for free, more discounts on ebooks than you'd ever see for the same paperbacks, and that means the ereader basically paid for itself on money saved. I pretty much stuck to paperbacks since I always read on the subways and trains, and then the books would often get loaned out to family, so I wasn't really bursting at the seams needing more space, but it was still a clutter that I've now been able to get rid of and wouldn't think of going back. I've always got a huge to-be-read list, so I'm one that really doesn't take advantage of being able to instantly download and read a book, but it's nice to have the option and know I'll never be stuck without something to read. There's absolutely no going back to paper books for me ever.

03-15-2016, 07:38 PM	#52
murg No Comment Posts: 3,238 Karma: 23878043 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Australia Device: Kobo: Not just an eReader, it's an adventure!	Not living in the US, many physical books were simply not available.

03-15-2016, 08:28 PM	#55
cfrizz Wizard Posts: 1,531 Karma: 34583358 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Quincy, MA Device: Samsung 54A, Kobo Libra H2O, Samsung S6 Lite	Storage space, adjustable fonts, endless selection of books to read.

03-15-2016, 08:59 PM	#57
pwalker8 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,195 Karma: 70314280 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Device: iPad Pro, iPad mini, Kobo Aura, Amazon paperwhite, Sony PRS-T2	Storage space and the ability to carry all my books with me.

03-15-2016, 09:29 PM	#58
VeggieCat Bacon Enthusiast Posts: 39 Karma: 559834 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Southwest USA Device: Kindle Fire 10, Kindle Voyage, iPod Nano 7th gen (for audiobooks)	I work the night shift so getting to my public library can be somewhat of a hassle for me. Ebooks give me the ability to check out books when it's convenient for me. Heck, I don't even have to be wearing pants

03-15-2016, 11:55 PM	#60
4691mls Wizard Posts: 2,776 Karma: 30081762 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: US Device: ALL DEVICES ARE STOCK: Kobo Clara, Tolino Shine 2, Sony PRS-T3, T1	The ability to read library books without having to actually go to the physical library was the main reason for me. Also, the digital library is a consortium of 20+ counties so I get access to books that might not be available in my local library.

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