Nothing can beat the appeal to read a book on paper!

[trocchietto]

Originally Posted by dickloraine

Just to clarify, I am not allergic to paper. But to dust etc. that sits in old books. They don't "smell good", they make your eyes tear and your nose snot. These books were of course not well handled and not of good quality, but nonetheless I encountered quite a few of them.

I know what you mean, I studied for a number of days in a greek/roman classical litterature library and the dust was unbreathable.
Still is a great reply to say: I am kinda allergic to the paper,
I will avoid any discussion and zac will know immediately that I am speaking with somebody won't be a long term friend.
in Italy we have some special books really elegant with a super thin paper that are so beautiful that i put on my cheeks sometimes to caress my self, they are called meridiani http://www.puntoeinaudibrescia.it/us...idiani%201.jpg and are inspired to the beautiful french Pleiades
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...%C3%A9iade.jpg it is just my dream to live in a big house and have a 300 square meters room with high ceiling where i can put all my books, not only on the walls but all around the room with shelves as Umberto Eco has it. thousands and thousand of my favorite books, looking at them taking some and put back on the shelves...
But unfortunately I have to work so stop dream, i believe we have to found books inside ourselves also, otherwise reading is sterile

[GA Russell]

A number of friends said this to me when I bought my jetBook Lite in 2009.

Rather than argue preferences, I would point out that virtually all the books that we had heard of which were in the public domain were available to download off the internet for free.

So I said, "Wouldn't you like to have every book written before 1923 for the price of one eBook reader?"

They always immediately conceded the point. Without giving an inch regarding their preference for paper, they could see the appeal of free books.

[BookCat]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned all the clutter in the houses of those who prefer paper books! Ebooks save space. Before I had my first ereader my house was full of books, often piled on the floor. When I moved house I gave all the books in the public domain to a local charity and got rid of so much clutter.
Also, if I want something to read I just have to stretch out my arm, pick up one of my ereaders and select a book from the many which are on them. Convenient and tidy.

I still sometimes buy paper books such as reference books, but never novels unless they are unavailable in ebook form.

[patrickt]

I had a stack of books waiting to be donated to the library and as I headed to the bathroom I grabbed a book off the stack. When I opened the book I thought, oh, I need to enlarge the font a bit. Foolish me.

I still by books of photographs on paper and I honestly think travel guides are better on paper. Other than that, I'll stick with e-readers.

[loco]

a have been fortunate enough to buy an ebook and a paper copy/hardcover of every book i read. i ave always had a dream of building a grand library of my own as shown in movies. but if you ask my reading habit, i read english ebooks 90% of the time and paper books 10% of the times. for books in indian languages, its kindle 1% of the time and paper 99% of the time.

even amazon has mocro etching on kindle screens to imitate the feel of paper.

it is a huge shame though that kindle is not supporting oriental languages the way they should be. even the indian language books that are there on the kindle are wayyyyyyyyyyy poor. i hope this gets better in future.

[BearMountainBooks]

Writings on cave walls is the ONLY way to go. Nothing beats the tactile sensation of braining yourself on a low ceiling as you read along about the antelope hunt and the fall festival. And for accuracy, it can't be beat!!! Typos are hard to get rid of, but the true talent of the writer can only be seen and felt on cave walls. Paper can be torn! Pages can be lost!! If the story is long enough, you get exercise as you read along the wall. It's the only way to read; the best!

Too bad the selection is so limited and requires travel...

[Apache]

As someone who is a readaholic I thought the that nothing could replace paper. I felt that way until I got my first eReader.
Apache

[murg]

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

Writings on cave walls is the ONLY way to go. Nothing beats the tactile sensation of braining yourself on a low ceiling as you read along about the antelope hunt and the fall festival. And for accuracy, it can't be beat!!! Typos are hard to get rid of, but the true talent of the writer can only be seen and felt on cave walls. Paper can be torn! Pages can be lost!! If the story is long enough, you get exercise as you read along the wall. It's the only way to read; the best!

Too bad the selection is so limited and requires travel...

As an added bonus, the walls are front-lit.

[thewitt]

All my books are available in paper... not a barrier.

I prefer to carry 100 books with me at all times though, and my porter quit a decade ago, so eBooks are my only real option these days.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by BookCat

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned all the clutter in the houses of those who prefer paper books! Ebooks save space. Before I had my first ereader my house was full of books, often piled on the floor. When I moved house I gave all the books in the public domain to a local charity and got rid of so much clutter.
Also, if I want something to read I just have to stretch out my arm, pick up one of my ereaders and select a book from the many which are on them. Convenient and tidy.

I still sometimes buy paper books such as reference books, but never novels unless they are unavailable in ebook form.

I moved twice because my library was full. And I still have not done away a single book. I want my paper library even though I don't really read from paper anymore. So that wasn't a reason for me to go electronic...

But the response I gave, is generally the response I always give: "Whatever you say, I still prefer ebooks" and then continue reading from whatever reader I'm reading from at that very moment...

[trocchietto]

as follow up,so we have 21 things to say now:
1) I sincerely agree with you paper is charmer, but of course old incunables where even better than pale books, aren't they?
2) if you read no fiction bring your library with you then
3) ok nice freudian fetish habit
4) no trees has been pulled on the ground with my action
5) you right but can you search how many times is repeated this word?
6) nothing can beat the appeal to not turn pages if you are lazy as me
7) my doctor say that I have to save my wrist
8) my doctor say I have to use bigger fonts and realize that every day there are milion of sales of ebooks.
9)nothing can beat the appeal to hear this question ten times per week
10)...nothing can beat the appeal, but everyone can beat you
11) Sure, but I still prefer my ebooks, but I am crazy!
12)I am allergic to paper
13)I know what you mean, I prefer a fine meal on a paper plate with a paper napkin. Don't let the snobs change you
14)Wouldn't you like to have every book written before 1923 for the price of one eBook reader?"
15)Ebooks save space
16)if I want something to read I just have to stretch out my arm, pick up one of my ereaders and select a book from the many which are on them. Convenient and tidy.
17)Writings on cave walls is the ONLY way to go. Nothing beats the tactile sensation of braining yourself on a low ceiling as you read along about the antelope hunt and the fall festival. And for accuracy, it can't be beat!!!
18)As someone who is a readaholic I thought the that nothing could replace paper. I felt that way until I got my first eReader.
19)As an added bonus, the walls are front-lit
20)I prefer to carry 100 books with me at all times though, and my porter quit a decade ago, so eBooks are my only real option these days
21)Whatever you say, I still prefer ebooks

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by dickloraine

And third, about what type of book are we speaking? An expansive well crafted hardcover or a cheap tiny written paperback? Books are not all equally desined and most fiction books I have read weren't something special...

This. Because of all the advantages of the newer e-readers (touch screen, searching, resizable text, frontlight, small size, light weight, indeed, no clutter in the house, instant availability), I don't even *want* to read a paper book anymore if I can help it.

The only time I still read paper books is if the paper book provides something the e-book can't: large (color) illustrations, maps, diagrams, fold-out pieces, special layout, that sort of thing.

Now, when I read books in paper it's because I want the experience of reading *that particular book*, and not only to read the text. If a book is just text, I'd rather take the e-book.

So, I do have a few paper books (I actually am still waiting for some), and they are all huge, fat, illustrated hardcovers (or at least, books with a layout that is necessary to make the book readable, and which can't be reproduced by an e-reader at this time).

Oh, and as soon as someone ever says "A Kindle in a cover is heavy" again, I'm going to brain him with my (illustrated) copy of Le Morte D'Arthur. That thing is HUGE.

[Sonist]

Nothing beats a good stone tablet. It's durable, the letters are generally larger, plus you can defend your home with it during an enemy invasion. You can even build a house with the already read tablets. If it was good enough for Moses, it's good enough for me.

If you have to go portable, parchment has a much better feel than this paper stuff. No paper cuts with parchment, you can scrape the silly Greek writing and reuse it for a psalm or two. And if cold, you can make some nice undergarments out of parchment.

Paper is only good for a paper hat, at best.

[LadyKate]

Originally Posted by trocchietto

good one
12) I am allergic to paper

(also if personally speaking I salivate when I feel that smell: best insights, enlightining encounters, best dates or istant girls pick up, relaxing moments, exciting discoveries all stem from the smell of paper, both in old small libraries, that new big bookshops!)

and dog Barcey

superb!

Actually it isn't usually the paper that will bug me but older books often have dust or mold which will cause my allergies to go wild. I used to have that problem with books from second hand book stores a lot.