Book vs Electronic

[Androxine Vortex]

Do you prefer to hold a book and read it or do you prefer to use tablets or kindles or as my grandmother calls every electronic device, a Nintendo.

I have used a kindle before and even though i like how the screen isn't as harsh on my eyes i don't think i could replace holding actual pages in my hand. It's more authentic and in a weird way seems more real to me.

What about you?

 

[Incanus]

E-readers have all kinds of obvious advantages and features. And yet, for reasons I'm not quite sure about, I prefer paper and ink. Books are just magical. Actually, I can't be entirely certain because I've only looked at e-readers--haven't actually read a novel or even a short story on one.

 

[Russ]

For pleasure reading, regular books by a mile.

For travel, e-books. Nothing beats being able to pack hundreds of books and access to bookstores if you run out in your carry on.

 

[MineOwnKing]

Print books have really started to strain my vision now that I'm over 40.

Luckily the back light on electronic devices really helps me avoid eye strain and or headaches.

My ereader is made by Asus and has a large screen, which is great for reading inside but completely useless outside.

I also plug an extra large screen into laptop for word documents. Much easier to edit with a large screen.

Less stress equals more productive writing.

 

[BWFoster78]

The more I read on a screen, the more I prefer the screen over paper.

 

[thecoldembrace]

I can't stand reading books through a screen. I spend enough time typing my own story and living regular life with a screen not far away. Nothing will ever come between me and my paper. I feel there is more life to the story with physical pages beneath my fingers, with the smell allowing my mind to detach from the world and move to another.
Add to that I have my own library of some thirteen thousand books at last count years ago in a room devoted to itself. There is a presence there you cannot get from a glaring screen.

-Cold

 

[acapes]

Paper for me too. I spend too much time before a screen as it is

 

[SugoiMe]

I love paper, but ebooks are just so much more convenient. And cheaper! Yet there's something about print books, like the physical act of turning the pages, the smell of new books, and the texture of paper, that make the reading experience so much more rewarding. It makes it, well, an experience rather than just a book to get through.

 

[Penpilot]

I used to like physical books. Now, I prefer screens. It makes reading so much easier. The ability to change text size has made it easier on the eyes and easier to read. You can read faster when the text is in narrow columns like in a newspaper. That's why they're formatted like that.

And I don't miss the days of trying to read books like this with one hand.

 

[kennyc]

Both. I often like having my poetry books and non-fiction as paper books, but ideally having both.
My preference is ebook for many reasons - easy to carry hundreds of books in my e-reader, easy to search and to copy passages/quotes for reference.

Certain things about paper books though -- easier to flip thorough and browse -- easier in some ways to mark/tag certain poems, stories, sections (though you can do this with ebooks as well, it doesn't work for my mindset quite as well).

 

[CupofJoe]

When I travel I take a Tablet with 200+ books [and 100s more PDFs] and one hardback book.
It will be the Hardback that I read. The Tablet is great for "information" but I can't read from it for any length of time. I can sit down with a printed book for hours at a time.

 

[Cambra]

E-books were made for me, I bought a Kindle almost as soon as they came out. So easy to read everywhere bedroom, bath, backroom… Holiday home, whatever. Plus I've always been slightly shortsighted but I can read an e-book without wearing glasses because I can adjust the script and the backlight to what I want. In addition, it is much easier to look up words background details, merely by running your finger across the screen. For thrillers especially, x-ray is a real advantage, given that it allows you to look up at a touch the whole history of a certain character that you been introduced to chapters ago but whom you may have forgotten.

Finally, my house is full of hundreds of mouldering paperbacks. No Kindle is best. I do still buy the occasional book but it's mostly for the illustrations.

 

[Incanus]

Add to that I have my own library of some thirteen thousand books at last count years ago in a room devoted to itself. There is a presence there you cannot get from a glaring screen.

-Cold

Wow! Have you read all those? I'm not sure how many books I own; a rough, rough guess--maybe around 1000. Now I'm curious to know--

 

[Chessie]

Finally, my house is full of hundreds of moldering paperbacks. No Kindle is best. I do still buy the occasional book but it's mostly for the illustrations.

Same here. I pretty much only read on my tablet. Not only is it cheaper and more convenient, but we live in a tiny cabin with limited space. Since books get read once in our home unless they are manuals of some sort, it's pointless for us to buy books that will crowd up our space. To each their own, but I prefer saving money and room. And as far as texture and the smell of books go...I seriously don't care about that if it means I can afford a latte to drink while I read my e-book. So...go, Kindle!

 

[SeverinR]

I prefer screens.
My eyes aren't as good as they use to be, I can adjust the size of the words so I don't have to wear glasses.
Also I can carry all the books I have to read in a small kindle.

 

[thecoldembrace]

Wow! Have you read all those? I'm not sure how many books I own; a rough, rough guess--maybe around 1000. Now I'm curious to know--

I have read about half of them all the way through, but I have read parts of each of the books. I've collected them from when I was about eight till now and continuing, so the number will grow.

 

[Kobun]

Do you prefer to hold a book and read it or do you prefer to use tablets or kindles or as my grandmother calls every electronic device, a Nintendo.

I have used a kindle before and even though i like how the screen isn't as harsh on my eyes i don't think i could replace holding actual pages in my hand. It's more authentic and in a weird way seems more real to me.

What about you?

I prefer to get stories any way I can. Ebooks and print books both have their pros and cons, but ultimately it's the book contained within the paper or device that matters.

 

[Barian Bedrich]

I realy love books, but a e-ink e-reader is practical. You can read your own written books without the need of printining or the use of a computer. You can download books from your puplic library.

 

[Miskatonic]

The one thing that really sells me on e-readers, besides having a bunch of books all in one lightweight gadget, is the screen. If eyestrain was ever an issue I'd read only the real thing.

When I'm at home and my library is right there I'd rather just grab a regular book.

 

[Gospodin]

Both, but for different reasons. Books in English are hard to come by where I live so the convenience of an ebook magically showing up in my Kindle seconds after purchase is, well, magical. It's at least a small part of the Science Fiction future I was promised as a kid in the 1970's.

I do also collect vintage paperbacks (old Ace and Ace Doubles), but I collect them for the cover art, not so much for the story (braces for the brick-bats) and those, obviously, are original print copies in as pristine a condition as I can find. I'm very finicky. I don't chase examples that are less than "very fine" in condition.