Books vs E-Readers

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by FireWat

Ereaders is great but I still prefer book much more

The book you read with a Reader is still a book. I think what you mean is you prefer paper books.

[rem736]

why does this debate keep coming up? one's preference is as legit as another's. there are advantages on each side and there are disadvantages as well. that's going the be the case for all this vs. that.

for me it's the content that matters most. and to be able to carry enough books in a single device (that weighs less than a single paper book) to last years (if not my entire lifetime) is the primary advantage of the ebook medium. others prefer paper books for its tactile (and maybe olfactory) properties, trading off convenience in the process.

whatever floats your boat.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by rem736

why does this debate keep coming up? one's preference is as legit as another's. there are advantages on each side and there are disadvantages as well. that's going the be the case for all this vs. that.

for me it's the content that matters most. and to be able to carry enough books in a single device (that weighs less than a single paper book) to last years (if not my entire lifetime) is the primary advantage of the ebook medium. others prefer paper books for its tactile (and maybe olfactory) properties, trading off convenience in the process.

whatever floats your boat.

Because physical books get heavy in a hurry when one decides to reorganize the darn things.

[rem736]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Because physical books get heavy in a hurry when one decides to reorganize the darn things.

quite correct. when i last moved to a new residence, my paper books were a burden. i was a subscriber of the Library of America. this orginization sends me a premium hard cover book with acid free (and really thin) paper once a month. each volume also comes in its own box sleeve, making it even heavier. each cost about $20. when i moved, i was able to sell them in mint condition to a local book store for $3 each.

and i still have a number of paper books left over (recipes, university text books, medical books, references). i would like to digitize some of these before donating them. and speaking of donating paper books, i found out that A LOT of organizations (including public libraries) wouldn't even accept them. only Good Will stores that specialize in carrying books would accept what i had to offer.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by rem736

quite correct. when i last moved to a new residence, my paper books were a burden. i was a subscriber of the Library of America. this orginization sends me a premium hard cover book with acid free (and really thin) paper once a month. each volume also comes in its own box sleeve, making it even heavier. each cost about $20. when i moved, i was able to sell them in mint condition to a local book store for $3 each.

and i still have a number of paper books left over (recipes, university text books, medical books, references). i would like to digitize some of these before donating them. and speaking of donating paper books, i found out that A LOT of organizations (including public libraries) wouldn't even accept them. only Good Will stores that specialize in carrying books would accept what i had to offer.

I was halfway teasing. I am in the process of making my cookbook collection more user friendly. Even 25-30 books get heavy at moving them 1 at a time.
All the Goodwills around here have books. (This is not such a good thing if one collects cookbooks. At $1 or less each, great prices but now I need to revamp so I can actually find a book.)

[JSWolf]

No matter your preferences, I do feel that eBooks/Reader is better for things like going on vacation where you only have to take just the Reader and not a heavy pile of pBooks. So in that case, eBooks clearly are better. But at home, it's whatever you prefer.

[carld]

As someone with much less than perfect vision, it's really either e-readers or nothing for me.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by barryem

I live in a retirement home in a small town of 3,000 people. Until very recently we haven't had a bookstore here. In Houston, where I lived most of my life, we had bookstores all around us; used bookstores, new ones, big ones, small ones, all over the place.

Yesterday I found that we have a bookstore in town now. It's a fairly conventional small new book store and it seems they're doing well enough that they've bought a larger store across the street and are decorating it to move in there to have more room and even serve coffee and put in easy chairs.

Unfortunately it's about a mile and a half away, mostly uphill from me, and at 76 walking there is unrealistic. I don't have a car. None of my neighbors with cars care about bookstores.

But I do have a Kindle so I'm still okay.

I read ebooks exclusively now because it's convenient and inexpensive and my old eyes need a slightly larger font. I suspect if that bookstore was a block away I'd make it a regular destination just because I like bookstores but I doubt I'd buy anything there other than coffee. It really would be nice to have a quiet place like that to sit and read if they didn't mind me reading my Kindle.

Still, I'm pretty excited that this thing is here and doing well. The fact is that I love to read and bookstores used to be a very nice part of the reading experience. I feel a lot of sentimental attachment to them.

But it's not books or bookstores or Kindles or Kobos that are truly important to me. It's reading and all of these things are just ways to read. They're really nice in and of themselves but it's reading that matters; not books or devices or stores. Not Paper or e-ink. Not stores or websites. It's words moving into my brain. It's the story, the absorption, the fun that matters. It's the communication from the author to me.

Barry

What's your favorite thing to read Barry? I agree that the media isn't the important part. The reading itself is its own reward.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

No matter your preferences, I do feel that eBooks/Reader is better for things like going on vacation where you only have to take just the Reader and not a heavy pile of pBooks. So in that case, eBooks clearly are better. But at home, it's whatever you prefer.

And what you have room for. I mean if you live in a big house where you have room you can have a lot of paper books if you wish, but if you live in a small apt for example then ebooks are far easier to store when not being read.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by JustinThought

Then you'll probably recognize this: "You are standing in a large room. You see something shining on the floor next to you..."

or...

Leisure Suit Larry anyone?

You can still find text adventure games if you know where to look. You can even find the tools to write them online for free. They aren't as popular as graphic games but they are still out there.

[JustinThought]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Because physical books get heavy in a hurry when one decides to reorganize the darn things.

---and, since I often read myself to sleep, beating myself severely about the head and shoulders with an e-reader as I nod off is much safer than using the equivalent paper book.

[charis9]

I think it is really difficult to choose between ebook or paper version. Depends on the situation. Even in a case of studying it is difficult to decide. From one side, I like e book. Easier to find information. From the other, side it is easier to learn something from a paper book.
if we speak about simple reading also depends. Reading in a transport is usually more convenient with e book but reading outside is more relaxing with a paper book. Well, this is a really subjective view but that how it works for me.

[barryem]

Originally Posted by crich70

What's your favorite thing to read Barry? I agree that the media isn't the important part. The reading itself is its own reward.

I'm not sure I have a favorite thing to read. I grew up long before bookstores had genres. Every book store had a section for fiction, a section for non-fiction, a section for periodicals and way off in a corner, hidden away, often behind the adult book section, was the science fiction. That was really the only genre.

I think it was in the mid 1980s that genre began to be a thing. Until that fiction, except for science fiction, could be found in the fiction section, displayed in order by author, with no concern for the type of book.

Even fantasy books were listed under fiction. If they'd tried something insulting like putting fantasy books in the SF section they'd lose all their SF customers.

Anyway for most of my earlier life I never really thought about types of books. I'd walk through the fiction area looking at books when the cover or title or author caught my attention and if if seemed interesting I might read it.

Later, after genre became a thing, I found that I read a lot of mysteries and a lot of historical fiction and a lot of what today is called mainstream fiction. Also I've always read more than a few classics. I pick books I think will be fun to read. I'll listen to people's opinions and they'll sometimes guide me to things but I'll never let someone tell me I have to read a certain book. My friends know if they want me to read it that's not the way to get me to.

Today I read more mainstream and still a lot of historical fiction and fewer mysteries. I also read a lot of other stuff. I avoid romance novels written by romance writers because I've tried enough of them to have learned that they're gimmicky and dishonest. I like a western now and then. I still read some classics although at my age a lot of what I used to think of as normal every day books have now become classics. I'm always amazed to hear John Steinbeck called a classical writer. I used to wait eagerly for his books to become available in paperback so I could read them. The same for Pearl S Buck. Those were a couple of my favorite current writers and then they went and won Nobel prizes and got genred.

Barry

[Katsunami]

There is one thing I've noticed that I really like in a paper book, and that is the sense of progression you get from turning the page. On the KA1, in full screen mode (normal mode just wastes too much space), you don't get any hint of where you are in the book; you just read, and read, and read, without knowing if you still have 50 pages to go, or 975. You'll have to tap the screen to get an indication of percentage or 'page number'.

The page number displayed on the KPW1 helped somewhat, but the paper book is still better in this regard.

[barryem]

I set my Kindle to show me how much time left I have in the chapter. I also watch the percentage through the book but I monitor the time left in the chapter more closely.

I think the best system I've seen for this is in the Moon+ app. It shows the number of pages in the chapter and the number of pages I've read. In this case pages are defined as screens full of text so it's a good indication of what I'm doing and where I am that's related to the way I'm actually reading. It also gives a percentage in the book.

Oh how I wish I had an e-ink Kindle that let me use Moon+.

Barry