So do you also buy Hbooks and Pbooks?

[hgwlackey]

I add books that aren't available as ebooks to my Amazon Wish List, and at holidays I'll usually receive a few of those as gifts. Every other book I read anymore is an ebook.

[ATDrake]

Yup, and because.

Some things aren't available as e-books (older backlist stuff I can only find used, more recent titles which haven't come out yet and may never, things with Canadian e-rights in limbo or by an author that may not be able to afford/convince a publisher to do the e-conversion, plenty of specialized non-fiction outside the "popular reading" lists).

Some things just don't work nearly as well in e-book format (artbooks, graphic novels, certain forms of non-fiction, especially reference works).

Some things I'm not willing to pay the asking e-book price compared to the paper price for (Suzanne Arruda's Jade del Cameron series only ever comes out in HC/TPB. The TPBs cost me roughly $12-14 CAD, the e-books are priced at $11. Guess which I buy?)

I see both formats as having their own inherent advantages and disadvantages, but have no particular preference for either format (barring egregious errors in either like horrible OCR/layout or tiny squinty ugly fonts/poor binding), so I'm willing to get whatever works for me.

Use the right tool for the right job, and all that.

[HamsterRage]

No.

I could see potentially buying some kind of book with charts and illustration in paper form, but I don't have any on my radar now.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

All I've read the past few weeks are e-books, either ones I scanned from p-books or legally downloaded free (I've bought only one so far). I still buy p-backs because they are DRM free (I will not buy a book with DRM) and often cheaper than e-books, especially used books. With the exception of the last few Harry Potter books (I would have waited for the paperback but I didn't want the plot spoiled for me) and an occasional one that never came out in paperback, the only h-books I ever buy are used ones (and only if a paperback version isn't readily available). While it is true h-books are usually better constructed using more durable paper, they are grossly overpriced compared to how much more it actually costs to produce them. They were harder to lug around and took up too much room. And now that I'm digitizing, they are a bigger pain to cut apart prior to digitizing.

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by tiniree

I am really curious to find out how many of you continue to purchase "physical" books?? And if you do, why?

Marie

Of course. Quilting books or cookbooks don't 'translate' well to ebooks....the content is there, but the color pictures aren't.

Trying to read instructions isn't nearly as easy.

For me, there will always be room for "shelf worthy" authors...Agatha Christie, James Michener, early Stephen King.

Just seeing a wall of paper books makes me feel good all over!

[Fbone]

A few paperbacks if my library doesnt stock it. I would estimate 95% of my reading material is library borrowed in print form. The rest I purchase then throw away.

I dont own an ebook reader since there is currently none that suits me.

[SensualPoet]

Fiction? I certainly don't intend to buy another ever again in physical format -- I am sold, hook, link and sinker on the merits of e-books.

Reference books? And especially photographic books (like a history of Toronto architecture with lots of photos) ... at the present time I'd opt for physical. Having said that, I'd prefer NEVER to buy a physical book again, certainly not for consumption in my household.

Next gen e-readers will likely erase this last category for good (for me) -- although we'd be back to the dearth of some category titles.

[GraceKrispy]

I buy the same amount of pbooks now as I did before.

Virtually none.

[Clancy_s]

Hardback books, not since I got the ereader. However it was a very rare event before hand (hard back fiction isn't a big thing in Aus, afaik) - textbooks only, and I've now got past that stage in my life.

Pbooks - occasionally. The last one being a Lonely Planet guide. You can get them as pdfs, but they don't reflow all that well, especially the maps, and a quick flip to the language section is much easier in paper.

No to both for straight prose.

[Sweetpea]

Hardcovers, can't remember when I last bought one. Paper books, must be over 4 years ago (I know I didn't buy one book since we moved and we moved 4 years ago)

[Quake1028]

I haven't bought one in the (admittedley) short time I've had my Kindles. I don't plan on it, either. There are enough ebooks to keep me busy for a lifetime.

[FlorenceArt]

I still read a lot of pbooks.

When looking for a book, I first try to find it as an e-book. If I can't, I look for it at the public library (in fact I might borrow it as a pbook from the library, even if it is available as an e-book, if i'm not sure it's really worth buying).

If I can't find another solution I may buy it as a pbook, but only if it's a book I really, really want to read.

[charleski]

Yes, but mainly for books in which the visual element is critical (mostly art books). I expect ereaders to take another 5-10 years to get to the stage where they are capable of displaying high-resolution imagery as well as paper.

[GhostHawk]

Once I started reading ebooks I made the switch, I'll never go back.

Now my wife manages to switch back and forth, depending on what she can find that interests her at reasonable prices.

The vast majority of Hardcovers in my collection came from the Science Fiction book club, it was the only way I could afford them. And while I treasure the ones I have I just can not justify spending the money to aquire more.

I much prefer ebooks for ease of reading and portability.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Some things I'm not willing to pay the asking e-book price compared to the paper price for (Suzanne Arruda's Jade del Cameron series only ever comes out in HC/TPB. The TPBs cost me roughly $12-14 CAD, the e-books are priced at $11. Guess which I buy?)

The eBook, since it requires no physical storage space.