Goodjer Recommends discussion

I will always prefer paper. Something about holding a book, the physicality of it, makes it special.

I do read some on my phone for those times when I am somewhere and need to kill some time - and I hate phone games so I read instead.

For a while I was using my hacked nook tablet to read from and that was pretty good. I didn't really like the brightness of the screen though so I recently bought a proper e-ink kindle. Much better on my eyes than the tablet screen. Still keep the tablet around for reading RPG pdf's though.

I'm a total convert to e-readers. I love paper books, and will buy them if it's an author I'm really in to for a signed copy, but it's pretty rare that I'll read a paperback these days. They just feel so cumbersome by comparison now.

I like having the physical book in my hands but only if it's around 500 pages or less. For something like a massive Sanderson epic, I would jump over to e-books.

I thought I am a lifelong paper guy. Then I found out that e-reading is not that bad (I really wanted to read On Food and Cooking - a huge tome - on vacation, but couldn't fit it into our luggage. So I read it on iPhone). Then I bought Kindle and ever since then I am 99% electronic. I read in English most of the time (it's not my native tongue, but I use it for over 20 years, so no big obstacle), which makes the books both affordable and available (not everything I'd like to read is either translated or imported to my country). I even got rid of a lot of paperbacks I knew I am not going to re-read again.

Also, I can finally read Stephenson's Anathem. I have the great-looking hardback edition, but it's literally painful to carry it around.

I pick both.

Physical books -- best for finding books by browsing at the library, getting as gifts, or for some large-format books where resolution and layout count a lot.

Ebooks -- best for portability, multitasking (I knit and read, and ebooks don't fall shut or need to be held open), and checking books out of distant libraries.

Everyone in the house has an e-ink Kindle (we share one account, which may make things interesting once the kids move out, since "their" books are on the shared account.), and the kids like them especially for the backlight and portability, since they're already loaded down with binders and textbooks for school.

Regarding the distant libraries thing -- if you live anywhere in New York State, you can get a free library card for the NYPL, and they have a huge ebook collection. It's come in very handy.

I pick both as well. I still have a ton of physical books that I bought before the Kindle was big, and it would be a hassle to sell them then buy their digital version. I also like having bookshelves with tons of nice books to look at it, touch, etc.

However, my Kindle is very handy to read in bed while my girlfriend is sleeping, plus when on a roadtrip or whatnot.

Pros and cons to both, and I doubt I'll ever change.

Complete Kindle convert. Donated all my dead tree books. Buy/rebuy/borrow from online library depending.

Coldforged wrote: "Complete Kindle convert. Donated all my dead tree books. Buy/rebuy/borrow from online library depending."

This is me as well. I'll pick up a physical book from the library but I stopped buying them. I work right down the road from the New York Public Library and the Mid-Manhattan branch + NYPL online has a godlike selection of books.

Definitely all Kindle for me. I have had eReaders since the original Sony PRS500 and I just can't read paper books any more. They are just so inconvenient. They weigh more, take two hands, need light, limit your sitting/laying position, either must remember your place or use a bookmark, etc... the Kindles with lit screens are just so much easier to use. Also I don't miss having multiple bookcases and many many boxes of books when I move. Also a lot better to travel with.

Like Coldforged, I sold or donated all of paperbooks a few years ago. The only books we still have are some college textbooks and cookbooks.

I do miss going to used bookstores and digging through the stacks and finding gems that look interesting, or paying the cheap prices, but I reconciled a couple of years ago and came to accept it. On the plus side I use the library now much more for ebooks than I ever did for paper books, so I think moneywise I still come out ahead.