Ebooks, Kindles, and iPads...blehk?

[MystiqueRain]

Just wondering, does anyone else really hate reading from an electronic device? Like you'd buy the real paper copy of a book even though it might be much more expensive than an electronic copy? And if you're one of these people, why?

 

[Steerpike]

I love my Kindle.

I also love my physical books.

To me, they are both great. And reading on my e-ink Kindle isn't much different than reading on paper.

 

[MystiqueRain]

I think that Kindles are great for convenience--who wants to lug a pile of books on an airplane? But to me I feel that flipping pixels just doesn't give the same satisfaction as flipping a real page. Electronic books can never be a replacement for a real book in my hands, at least, that's my opinion of it.

 

[Benjamin Clayborne]

I dunno. To me, the story's the thing; the book is just a vehicle.

 

[Svrtnsse]

I'm doing most of my reading on my Kindle these days. The e-ink means there's no strain on the eye when reading. Another added benefit is that if I want to read a book I can get it right away, I don't have to wait for it to be delivered in the mail or travel to the book-store who may or may no have it available.

The main disadvantage is that my book can run out of batteries.

I'm not too fussed about not being able to flip pages. A slight finger click works just as well. The kindle also has the added advantage of your book always feeling the same. It's not too thick or too thin and I don't have to adjust my grip depending on how many pages I've read or have left.

 

[thedarknessrising]

I absolutely love my Kindle. I don't buy books on it, I just get them from the library. It's thin, it's convienent, it's portable.

however, i very much enjoy reading from a real book. I love hearing the sound of the page turning.

 

[JCFarnham]

I dunno. To me, the story's the thing; the book is just a vehicle.

Deep. That's the thing for me too though.

So far I've found ebooks cheaper, and considering I'm dirt poor at the moment, that goes a long way

 

[SeverinR]

I read a book on my laptop, my daughters like their kindles,

With my eyes getting worse, I like being able to increase the size of the words.

 

[srcroft]

I like my nook, but I love tactile paper. I collect first edition books too. But when I travel, eBooks are a nice way to carry 10000 books.

 

[yachtcaptcolby]

The thing I like best about my Kindle is that it lets me read with one hand. That may sound like a really silly thing, but it's great for reading while eating or clinging to a handhold on the subway.

I think it's time for a new one, though; it really didn't like the cold last winter. Some mornings I just couldn't get it to turn on when I reached the subway station after a ten minute walk with it in my bag. It would be fine after charging it at night, however, and it's worked without a problem since April. I'm curious to see if the problem comes back in November or December.

 

[srcroft]

I got the nook because I wanted a physical place I could go B&N, but looking back I would get the kindle. I think nook is nicer looking, but kindle is simple and light. Not the fire or nook tablet, i would just get the ipad for that.

 

[Steerpike]

iPad costs you a lot more, though (and it is an Apple product). I love my Kindle Fire, and the price was hard to beat. Might consider a Nexus 7 as well.

 

[Zero Angel]

iPad costs you a lot more, though (and it is an Apple product). I love my Kindle Fire, and the price was hard to beat. Might consider a Nexus 7 as well.

Is the Kindle Fire e-ink also? or like a normal computer/tablet screen?

I prefer books, but I like the convenience of the electronic. In the 90s I read a LOT on the computer--fanfiction and free books and the like--and never had a problem with eye strain (at least not that I noticed).

Last year I discovered this as well: Introduction - Baen Books and that was quite a nice surprise

EDIT: Ahhh! It looks like they scaled back the number of books available! But it's still nice -_- ...mostly

 

[Steerpike]

Kindle Fire has an LCD display, not an e-ink screen. There is a new e-ink Kindle with an improved e-ink screen and back-light you can turn on.

Yes - the Baen Books library is nice!

 

[Grand Lord BungleFic]

I have a Kindle and it's great but I find myself hating ebooks nonetheless. I may be showing my age here, but I like the good old fashioned feel of a book in my hands. It feels more "real" to me than just reading some text on an electronic device, which feels too much like I'm just reading a REALLY long internet post.

 

[JadedSidhe]

I love my nook as much as I love reading physical books. The thing about the nook is that it doesn't make my hands numb holding it. Unlike a physical book.

 

[Kit]

I don't have a device. I may break down and get one next summer before my yearly trip east. Carrying half a duffle bag full of books on the plane is a pain. Also, more and more things I would like to read are being offered as e-media only.

 

[icebladeaskante]

I like dead tree books (as a lot of people have taken to calling them) there's nothing quite like the smell of a good library or second-hand book store. It brings back a lot of memories of picking books off shelves and admiring the covers (I was too young to really read) as a child with my mother on her days off. Something that still continues to this day, going into somewhere like Forbidden Planet London when we travel over there, and rummaging around together finding all sorts of books.

But the kindle is convenient, and easier to travel with, esp with over-weight luggage prices. And both mum and myself tend to have a suitcase half filled with books if we're travelling anywhere for more than a couple of nights. And as I carry a book everywhere just in case it would also be handy to reduce the weight of my handbag. And the covers won't matter as mudch to me then (I have this terrible almost OCD obsession with keeping the same style of cover for books. It irritates me when I have a series of books with completely mismatched covers, written by the same author in the same world and often following the same protagonist. I literally have stopped purchasing the uk versions of certain books because of this). So the advantages are many to ebook over dead tree.

Though then the problem arises of trying to 'restock' the ebooks with what you have in dead tree books. I have purchased dead tree versions of the entire Valedmar series by Mercedes Lackey (lets say about 30 odd books), if I get an ebook do I go the legal and expensive way of buying these books twice or the illegal terrible way of simply downloading them? Unfortunately I know myself that simply because I have purchased them, the illegal and terribly immoral way of just downloading them would be too attractive a solution.

 

[Sheriff Woody]

I'm going to purchase an ereader once my car is fully fixed (priorities first). It would be much easier to move an ereader from place to place than a physical book. I like my things looking nice, and once a book's pages or cover are worn or damaged, that's how they stay. :/

 

[Sparkie]

Would I sound stupid if I said that it depends on what book I'm reading?

For instance, I'll read many things on my Kindle that I wouldn't or couldn't any other way (e-book exclusives, ect.) And I'm willing to take more chances when buying a book for my Kindle. If I don't like the story or the writing, I figure that I lose less money if I get the book electronically.

On the other hand, there are some books that, for one reason or another, simply demand a hard copy. I couldn't imagine reading Tolkien or any translation of the christian Bible on an e-reader. It wouldn't feel right.