On vacation: 71 percent prefer paper over e-books, survey claims

[TimW]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

I think that it would be interesting to see how many of those people who prefer paper own an ebook reader and use it regularly.

There are basically three groups of people who read - those who read for pleasure on a regular basis (.i.e. 1 or more books a week), those who read only for business and those who read mostly magazines or on vacation (i.e. beach books). If the survey was mostly from group 1, then I would find the results surprising. If the survey is mostly from the later two (as I suspect), then I don't find the results surprising at all.

Absolutely. Questions like "Do you read one book or less per year?" or "Do you read between one and five books per year?" would also be helpful. People in either of those two groups would be extremely likely to favor paper books. (Why buy a gadget for reading if you read very little?) If the majority of the people surveyed were light readers, the results are not at all surprising. Felix is correct, the results are actually encouraging for those of us who are ebook enthusiasts.

[cfrizz]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

I'd much rather risk losing/forgetting a pbook on vacation, than risk losing an ereader. I still carry pbooks with me to doctor's appointments, etc. just for that reason.

This is precisely why I use my Galaxy 5 mp player as my out and about reader. Since when I need to move it goes right back in my pocket! I can't fit my Sony in any of my pockets.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Like: "If I point a gun to your head, will you say you prefer print over ebooks?"

Maybe that's a bit too harsh. I started reading ebooks at the end of 2007, but returned to paper books in the beginning of 2008 (actually, just after joining MR), selling my e-reader, incurring a loss of €125.

Nowadays I do prefer ebooks, but some things had to happen before that became the case:

- More ebooks available, apart from the free classics.
- Better e-readers, mainly touch-screen (navigating by buttons/cursor is a pain).
- Front-light, to offset the brightness disadvantage the reader still has.
- Better software. Calibre has matured, allowing near-perfect e-book management, de-DRM-ing and conversion. Also, Sigil appeared and matured, which allows me to fix ebooks where necessary. (And it still often is necessary to meet my standards, but the needed fixes get smaller as publications become more recent.)

All of this except the front-light happened somewhere between 2009 and 2011, and therefore 2011 the point where I jumped in again with the Kindle Touch.

When the Paperwhite appeared, that was icing on the cake, and I think that from now on, it can only get better still.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by Alexander Turcic

As the saying goes, the only statistics you can trust are those you falsified yourself. That said, according to a survey conducted by Heathrow Airport, seven out of ten people going on vacation would rather schlep paper books than opt for a slim e-reader.

Heathrow Airport Retail Director Muriel Zingraff-Shariff said: "There’s no doubt that the popularity of eBooks has boomed in recent years, but when it comes to relaxing on holiday it seems you just can’t beat a good book. People want a break from technology whilst they’re abroad, so it’s understandable that people would rather swap their Blackberry for Malorie Blackman."

Which makes sense of course since the retail director of an airport would much rather have you buy paper books from the local WHSmith bookstore than buy them online, let's say via Amazon Whispernet.

The survey also found that people worry about e-readers not coping well with sun, sea, and sand, which is true, I suppose, especially if you run out of ziplock bags.

Related: Taking e-books to the beach - share your tips, E-Reader on the beach

I think you have a point there Alex. You can prove just about anything via statistics if you pick and choose them the right way. And since it's human beings who do the statistical information gathering in this case you have to figure that there is some unconscious bias involved as well. i.e. why do they stop and talk to this person but not that one etc.

[pidgeon92]

Several years ago I was going on a cruise, and stopped at the library to pick up enough books to get me through the week. I found a series in paperback on the shelf, and grabbed all five books and stuffed them in my suitcase. I started reading the first in the series on the plane only to find that, while no where in the book descriptions did it mention these were Christian novels, they were in fact heavily so in the content. I didn't end up reading any of them. I wish I'd had an ereader back then.

[Yolina]

I have no qualms using an ereader on the beach, and I am just *so* glad that I no longer need to cart a pile of pbooks with me.

I'm another person who doesn't see those results as suspect. There are a bunch of reasons for that.

- Some people do most, if not all, of their reading on vacation. For them, an ereader may be an unjustified expense.
- Many people who do read ebooks use their phone or tablet. That will work out in transit, but it won't work out on the beach.
- Light readers won't see much of a benefit to travelling with an ereader. One book is only slightly bulkier than an ereader.
- There are certain points on the flight where you cannot use an ereader. You may disagree with that, but rules are rules.
- Books create less hassle with airport security and customs since they'll be ignored in most cases. Ereaders will probably be ignored, but may not be.
- Certain people are in the habit of reading ebooks while travelling, others are not. As such, a frequent traveller may reach for their ereader while someone who only flies on vacation may only think of a pbook.
- Risk of loss or damage is also a concern. Even a cheap ereader costs as much as two or three newly published novels (and more, if you're happy reading older titles). Since you're moving around there's a risk of loss. Since you're stuffing things into bags, there is a risk of damage.

Oh, and some people just don't know about baggie trick.

I'm sure there are more reasons too.

Personally, I have travelled with my only electronics being an ereader (not even a phone). But I'm unique. I'm sure that a lot of people here are unique too, since most MR participants seem to be heavy readers or technology obsessed.

[danskmacabre]

Hmm, from my POV, since I've owned an ereader, I've not brought paper books on holidays.
As part of my normal daily life, I go through probably 1 book a week on the average.

On a holiday, especially a holiday to visit relatives (say the kids grandparents overseas), we let the kids play with the grandparents all the time (who don't see them very often).
With these visits, I will spend most of the holiday sitting around reading, so could go through a book a day easily.
I'm not keen on lugging a stack of books with me to cover that for a couple of weeks, so I just load up my Kobo Glo with lots of epubs and I'm good to go.

As for take off and landing with flights where you can't use electronic devices, it's not very long, so I won't die if I can't read for 20 minutes.
I suppose I could bring one small paperback for those times if it really bothered me (it doesn't), then
there's magazines and papers provided on flights anyway.

I have to admit, I bring a few electronic devices on holidays anyway, such as:

Mobile phone for calls, texts, light browsing, email, games.
Tablet for reading PDFs, movies, music, browsing.
ereader, for reading, I also end up carrying my Wife's ereader and one of my kid's ereaders.

I have this nifty solar charger as well, which is very handy to keep the tablet and mobile charged up. The ereader charge lasts for ages.

[LovesMacs]

Originally Posted by Pulpmeister

I can't really grasp the idea that what I should do on a holiday is sit in a chair and read a book.

Even on holiday there is a lot of downtime for reading: waiting for a plane, waiting on a plane, before you fall asleep, etc. I strongly prefer active vacations (hiking, seeing the sights) as opposed to passive ones (sitting on a beach) but I still find time to read.

I bring both an e-reader and a paper book to be prepared for any eventuality.

[Kai Winters]

I used to take two books on vacation. The one currently being read and the next in line.
Stopped doing that years ago when I bought my first ereader. Now I carry my Sammy Player 5.
As cfrizz says it fits easily in a pocket and easy to carry.

Regarding survey's: I really don't care what others take with them. I only care about what makes my vacation more enjoyable and taking my reader is one of them. Let the rest take what they please.

I am an active vacationer, but even so, I find plenty of downtime to read (waiting in a public area to meet friends; waiting for an aeroplane; the duration of a flight; waiting for a shuttle bus or taxi; winding down for half an hour before sleeping). In addition to this, I love e-readers and use them heavily (since switching to the Nexus 7, I'm most especially using it for comics). However, when I go on vacation, I bring both paper and an ereader.

I'll plan enough time in a holiday to be active and to spend one or two days on the beach. I don't want to leave my expensive tablet (or even a cheaper reader) in my bag, on my towel, or even in a locker; especially not in a foreign country. I'd prefer to take a paperback with me when I'm going to relax at the beach (I'm a swimmer - I'll spend 80% of the day with my head under the waves). However, at most other times I'm content with an ereader.

Further, Internet access is not as prevalent as some tend to make it out to be. What if I'm dying to read a new book, and there's a book store, but no wireless internet access? I'm a "budget" traveller and I don't like being overly wired when I'm trying to relax and escape the daily grind. It's easier to wander into a bookstore and pick something up when I'm somewhere away from home or McDonald's. I'm not bothered by paper. I read both formats in equal measure, so it's just not an either-or situation.

Finally, the most important part of the equation for myself: regardless of whether you agree or disagree, Australian airlines require that all electronic devices are switching off during takeoff and landing. I cannot psychologically handle takeoff and landing; I become anxious to such a degree that my doctor has attempted to prescribe me valium in the past, to be taken on the plane. As I don't wish to fill my system with opioids, I need to distract myself. Gripping the ever-loving hell out of a book, bending the spine to pieces, and mouthing the words of the story to myself as I read are the only way that I can cope with both takeoff and landing. Without paper books, I wouldn't be able to fly at all.

[piper28]

Vacationing is probably one of the biggest reasons for me to actually have moved to ebooks. It's just so much more convenient. Heck, I'm even the type that basically wants to forget technology exists when I'm on vacation (exposed to it way too much at work), but I still prefer my kindle over schlepping a bunch of books around, especially now that the limits on luggage have gotten so strict.

That said, I don't tend to bring the kindle to the beach. Between the sand and not necessarily wanting to have to keep an eye on it all day, I tend to leave it behind, and I'll bring a paper kakuro book with me.

[QuantumIguana]

I wonder of those who actually read on vacation, how many prefer paper? Some people like to sit on the beach and read a book, but I don't have the patience to just sit in the beach.

[copyrite]

Clearly I'm in the 29%. In the last couple of days I've had to look for a hotspot to download a couple of books to my Kindle.

(listening to the sound of the ocean as I type.....)

[meeera]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

I wonder of those who actually read on vacation, how many prefer paper? Some people like to sit on the beach and read a book, but I don't have the patience to just sit in the beach.

I'm just all: "Why would I go on holiday to sit on a lovely beach? I could do that at home."