Honestly, it depends on my preference and the price. If I bought an ebook, it sometimes doesn't seem real. Yet, when it comes to buying textbooks, I have gone through Nook and Kindle (apps on the PC, although I have a textbook that's supposed to be readable on my Kindle device) simply because they're cheaper. I have also bought a couple of other Kindle books, partly to support my device that I got as a holiday present. I do also make use of the free Kindle books (not so much for Nook, but I have some Nook freebies).
I'm behind eBooks all the way, as an environmental issue as much as anything. I don't have an eReader myself but I do read a decent amount on my phone (mostly articles or short stories) and would love to get one eventually.
Sure, it's not quite the same as reading an actual book, but we all make compromises and, in time, adapt as technology advances and I don't think flicking through pages is something the loss of which a future generation will mourn. I don't believe we'll ever lose books altogether but, as the whole world goes electronic, they will go the same way. Already this is opening up previously unimaginable opportunities for amateur writers like you and me.
Is it a shame for the book shop industry? Of course it is. But they're not the first to be taken down by technology, e.g., record stores, and they won't be the last. Times change and we should change with them.
Sorry. Hit the wrong button and double posted.
SAVE THE TREES!
I like both options, but sometimes a hard copy is needed. I usually use a book or magazine to save a lounger at a choice spot by the pool or on the beach when at a resort before I go for breakfast. You wouldn't want to leave an e-Reader behind. Plus sticky pina-colada fingers and sand and water... nope, you gotta have a disposable paperback for those moments.
The benefits of e-Readers are so numerous though. My favourite is that it's a huge space-saver - especially if you live in an apartment/condo and are limited for space in terms of bookshelves and storage.
I'll read anything. But it is easier to move when you don't have large boxes of physical books.
I love reading and I love books. There is something special about walking the isles of a book store.. the smell, the feel... But having said that.. I have a kindle and have probably five hundred or so books on it. Its a huge space saver. I have books under beds, in my closet.. everywhere..
"I'd much rather be a woman than a man. Women can cry, they can wear cute clothes, and they are the first to be rescued off of sinking ships."
— Gilda Radner
At least with an e-book you can carry a lot more to read and keep it totally kid proof.
I buy nothing but hard copies. I love nothing more than the tactile nature of a book: the look of it, the smell, the feel of the paper. It's what I love most about reading. There's a wee second hand bookshop a few miles from where I live and I frequent it quite often, even though I don't like the place that it's in.
The experience of buying a hard copy is just as much a part of the experience as it actually reading it. You never know what kind of conversation you might end up having with the sales person.
Even though reading itself is a solitary experience, buying a hard copy can be quite a social experience.
E-books do have their advantages, but I'm a fan of hard copies. They just sit better with me. I think if I saw a hard copy of a Lush book, I'd buy it.
I read stuff on-line but no e-book. The environmental argument is interesting but keep in mind that eventually all those kindles are going into landfill and a lot of nasty chemicals are used in the production of electronics. Is the paper/book industry chemical free? Hardly, but a lot better than it was and books are easily recycled.
As for me personally, I love a physical book and book shops. God knows how many I have but a good foundation for a small library for sure. In recent years I've focused on buying hardcover classics...there is just something about a physical book...I often buy old books in strange little shops...the books always seem to have names, dates or other writing in the front pages....it makes me wonder where they have been....
Nothing beats a real book, although I only hold onto reference books and valuable old books. Libraries are the go for me when I want a novel.
The oldest book I own is leather bound with gold tooling, illustrated with engravings and mesotints, it contains notes and appendices in tiny type on all manner of things. Here and there between its pages are traces of tobacco left by some or other of its previous owners.
It's the complete works of Lord Byron, compiled in 1840 as only the 19th century could. It cost me a mere $60, I've owned it for 30 years and, to this day, remains a font of beauty and wisdom, sensuality and inspiration. I've nothing against E-books but how could they ever compare to a treasure like my Byron?
I love hard copies and one of my biggest fears is that libraries are going to start closing down (in fact, they already have) if books are too widely available online. I love the feel of a book and I would hate for them to get unpopular.
Like what the rest said, nothing beats turning each page as you read a book. I have books that fill all cormers of the house too and still have my Famous Fives, Secret Sevens, Nancy Drews, Hardy Boys and even Sweet Dreams from my childhood. Now, most physical books I buy are reference books and recipe books, although I still get an occassional novel here and there. Ebooks do save space especially when I go through my novels by the authors or series and they are much cheaper compared to novels.
Liking the smell, feel and look of a book are such superficial and, dare I say it, selfish reasons to want to preserve them. Similarly, the fact that eBooks save a lot of space isn't, for me, a good enough argument for us to go that direction either.
I don't mean to offend anyone, and maybe I'm taking this topic more seriously than other, but we should really be looking at the bigger picture with respect to the publishing industry. If we move to using eBooks almost exclusively, that could have a seriously positive impact on the environment. As I said before, it's also opening up more opportunities for amateurs to break into the writing market (Lush Publishing is living proof).
On the other side of the coin, we are losing book stores and libraries. However, our attachment to these is largely sentimental and, in relative terms, won't cost that many jobs. I don't mean to belittle the value of sentiment but, let's be honest, we will get by. I imagine libraries will become archives, dedicated to preserving the history of the printed word, rather more similar to a museum.
I'm happy to listen to both sides of the argument but saying things like, "I love the feel of flicking pages," does nothing to persuade me that we should stick with printed books.
I respect that opinion Clum.
And like the rest I love the feel of my book in my hand. Also add to it that I have big time vision problems and no matter what I just can't see any those Kindle things to read them well enough and to get it big enough I have to change pages and scroll so much.
I love reading and just having the book there in my hand to relax with is just a more comfortable option.
And I understand the environment option, but I also have to think about if we quit publishing books what about all the jobs out there that will eventually be lost. Another whole industry gone?
I love my hard copies of books, I must confess, but I own an eReader simply so I can buy books on there - and if I like them - I go out and purchase a hard copy. I just don't want to spend so much money on books I don't enjoy, so I'd rather get them cheaply before I go running into a bookstore to buy it for my shelf.
I have learned to shop at Goodwill or we have a book exchange store here now. Both are kind of like recycling. I buy books from there and then take them back. I donate them to Goodwill for them to resell or I take them to the book trade store and exchange them for credit. The credit is usually pretty good and all the books are in good shape too. And I usually spend no more than a 1 or 2 per book and most times they look brand new.
