Book Snails Book Group discussion

Everyone has their favorite format to read in (hardcover, paperback, Kindle, other e-readers, even audiobooks). Tell us about yours!

Hardcovers and paperbacks because:

1. I like to sniff the pages.
2. I like to have the physical book in my hand and for my collections. Seeing rows of books on my personal library shelves gives me a thrill like no other.
3. They will never run out of battery.
4. They are my best friends, and I can't hug one through a tablet screen.
5. Buying the physical book feels more substantial whereas buying it for an e-reader would feel so empty and insignificant. Plus, you can lose your ebooks at the press of a button or electronic glitch, more likely to happen than a fire or flood that could destroy the physical ones.

:)

I held out for quite a while, but I've fully embraced eBooks. They are so much more convenient! I can read while nursing, while waiting for my number to come up at the deli counter, while pushing my son in his stroller around the neighborhood. And when I travel, all I need is my phone and I have access to a multitude of books!

Paperbacks are my favorite! I generally carry around a book with me wherever I go (unless it's like, shopping or something), and I agree with Ev. I love the smell! I also annotate and dog ear pages, too, and for some reason, I love to see my paperbacks get beat up with use. Call it my vintage aesthetic, I guess?

I've tried eBooks, but they aren't the same. I miss the feeling of a physical book, and if I stare at a screen for too long, I can start to feel nauseous :/

Kelsey wrote: "Paperbacks are my favorite! I generally carry around a book with me wherever I go (unless it's like, shopping or something), and I agree with Ev. I love the smell! I also annotate and dog ear pages..."

Amen! Staring at a screen for so long would give me a headache. That never happens with a paperback or hardcover. :)

While I've also embraced e-books the past couple years (mostly out of convenience), paperback is still my number one favorite format when it comes to books. Nothing beats feeling those pages of paper in your fingers as you turn them! I also have this thing about keeping my paperbacks looking brand new (don't ask me why because I truly don't know, lol) so I'm very careful when I'm handling them, sometimes not even opening the book all the way so as not to damage the binding. Of course, this also means that I don't like to fold down the pages but I also don't like using bookmarks either because I feel that they fall out too easily. I actually use a Post-it note as a bookmark whenever I read physical books (paperbacks or otherwise).

Bkwmlee wrote: "While I've also embraced e-books the past couple years (mostly out of convenience), paperback is still my number one favorite format when it comes to books. Nothing beats feeling those pages of pap..."

I too am hesitant about spine damage when opening a new paperback. But I also like getting used books where someone else has enjoyed it. I just hate when I get a book that falls apart by the pages.

Ev wrote: "Hardcovers and paperbacks because:

1. I like to sniff the pages.
2. I like to have the physical book in my hand and for my collections. Seeing rows of books on my personal library shelves gives me..."

I enjoy sniffing books too, esp. new ones! This element is very important to enjoying a physical book! ;-)

Kelsey wrote: "Paperbacks are my favorite! I generally carry around a book with me wherever I go (unless it's like, shopping or something), and I agree with Ev. I love the smell! I also annotate and dog ear pages..."

Technology really can't compete for me, either.

Bkwmlee wrote: "While I've also embraced e-books the past couple years (mostly out of convenience), paperback is still my number one favorite format when it comes to books. Nothing beats feeling those pages of pap..."

The feel of a paperback in one's hands...one of the best feelings!

In order of preference:

1) Paperbacks or hardcover.
2) eBooks (but only on e-ink screens)
3) Everything else (computer screen, etc.) I don't like reading long on LCD/LED screens.

eBooks have grown on me a little. If I can't find a hardcopy, I'll settle for the eBook, if reasonably priced.

I much prefer paperbacks and hardcovers. I will use my eReader occasionally, but nothing can beat the experience of an actual physical book. I hate reading on my iPhone or my computer. I find the screen difficult to focus on.

I really like paper-books, paperbacks and hardbacks. My eyes dry out on tablets (old age) and I like to look at the covers on my shelves, my books are a part of my decor.
Because of the eye situation I have listened to more audios the past years, but I prefere paper and my own voice in the head lol

I love holding a physical copy in my hands, nothing beats that feeling. And, like Aya, I enjoy seeing them on my shelves.😊 I used to be so against ebooks, but have come to accept and like them as well. For me, they have their place... which is convenience. I always have my phone with me, therefore, I always have a book with me if I find myself bored or needing something to do, say, at an appointment with my kids or just driving in the car with hubby. I do try to take my physical book with me, but well... you know this getting older thing... tend to forget.🙄😉 An ebook is also very convenient for me while exercising on a machine like an elliptical. Hard to hold an actual book on that thing, lol.

lol Vicky, I have to say you are a brave woman to exercise on a maschine and reading at the same time 👍🏻

Aya wrote: "lol Vicky, I have to say you are a brave woman to exercise on a maschine and reading at the same time 👍🏻"

Thanks!😆 Cardio machines are rather boring, so I would go crazy if I couldn't read.😉

How about an audiobook then? You don’t have to hold those :-)
I don’t like audiobooks very much myself though, they are slower and my mind tends to wander off...
And I do agree, as someone wrote, that the voice isn’t always right (and my own is, somehow)
One exception: (Back to -) Cliffrock Castle, because the writer reads it herself and is so great at the high class English and the Scottish accent of the people living there.
Hearing her telling the story really brought it to life.
It might be only in Dutch now I’m thinking of it... Josephine Rombouts wrote it, about her work for an English family living in a Scottish castle.

Nope, not big on audiobooks. Just not my cup of tea.🤷🏼‍♀️

I'll read any format. It all started with cereal boxes...

hah..me too, and Walt Disney series, Donald Duck and co. I had to wait in line, my mom always read them first

Aya wrote: "hah..me too, and Walt Disney series, Donald Duck and co. I had to wait in line, my mom always read them first"

LOL!!