First up. This post is Meg’s fault. 🙂 Write Meg wrote earlier this week about her Kindle Vs. the paperbacks. It is a good post. Read it.
I know the discussion is not a new one, in fact I am pretty sure somewhere in my archives among the cobwebs deep within this blog shoved in a corner box marked Old Posts, I have talked about this as well…. however… I think my opinion has slightly changed.
In response to Meg’s post I wrote:
I am with you. I “kindled up” a couple years ago myself and I go in spurts of using it and then not… now it sits on my end table in the living so it at least has been upgraded out of a corner in the book room wondering where its charger is. 🙂 Like you, I enjoy the look and feel of a real book. Like you, I also find myself appreciating the Kindle more than I used to…. I can accept a Netgalley read right away as opposed to waiting for it to be sent to me. It obviously takes up less space…
One fun fact I learned from our library board is that e book check outs have plateaued. Interesting. I wonder what that means?
SO what has changed for me… and for possibly you… and maybe the world as opinions on e readers?
For me…
E Reader +
Honestly…. the e reader, a Kindle in my instance, is convenient. It is small, I can slip it in my purse and take it with me. For traveling it is wonderful… I can take with me a mystery, a non fiction, a literary, classic, best seller, and a Chunkster *cough cough Harry Potter*, all in the space of smaller than a paperback.
I like highlighting passages I plan to go back to for quoting purposes to friends, or at book club. I like to put my finger on a word and have a dictionary pop up and tell me what it means.
E Reader –
Sometimes my e reader does not hold my page. I may go out of that book to start another one on the e reader and when I come back, it has started over. Flip flip flip through the screen trying to find where I was…. annoying.
Charge it! Not always convenient. Granted the battery lasts for quite a while, but thinking ahead to having a full battery before I take off is not always on the agenda. Nothing worse than you are in a good part of a book and suddenly you can not read it.
Books +
Lets be honest…. I LOVE books. I love the look, the smell, the weight. I love the covers. I love it when the covers have a texture to them, I love the pages when they are beveled, or off white, or white, or have words on them.
I love the look of books in a home… they tell me something about the person.
I love being able to see what people are reading when I pass them in waiting rooms, on a plane, in a library, anywhere…
Books are conversation starters.
I love book rooms and book shelves. I love books in piles… on tables, end tables, coffee tables, counter tops, in rooms… on beds…. wherever.
A book does not need to be plugged in. In a power outage, I can still read by candle light. In a dystopian world of no electricity, my book still works… and if the new world is bad enough, it is also a weapon. 😉
Book –
It is hard to travel with books. If you are like me, you never know what you are going to want to read. That means when I traveled, I would take about 4 or 5 books of different genres. Notoriously, I would purchase book(s!) wherever I traveled to and add them to the 4 or 5. Basically – I take a carry on a plane for my books. It is a bit ridiculous. (I have since went to using my Kindle for travel and perhaps one real paper book).
They do take up A LOT of space. I have a room in my house for my books. I LOVE that room. I love the look and feel of it but quite honestly… it is a lot of books. It is like a page out of hoarders, except in my defense they are in alphabetical order by author and I think my case will stand up in court. 😀
I think what I am getting at here is there is a place in my world for both the paper book and the e reader. They can work together harmoniously.
What are your thoughts on books and e readers? Do you favor one over the other?
Book Journey 
I used to think I only loved my Kindle Paperwhite….as you said…it’s great for Edelweiss and NetGalley, night time reading and of course travel…I love instant gratification. But I love reading a real book too…the smell and feel are what I love…so…it’s both for me at different times and places…
I have started using my library…Overdrive…for certain books that I don’t get sent or don’t want to buy…I am #154 for Girl On Zthe Train! Lol!
I should get a card from your library! Would I have a better chance?
I dont know if you would have a better chance at the book but I would say yes to a library card 🙂 I am always surprised they go so high on reserving. Our library lets a new release like this go out for 3 weeks… if everyone keeps it that long you are on a wait list to read this book in about 3+ years. Chances are you will find it on sale somewhere, borrow it from a friend, or give up on it before then. 😀
I am #470 on hold for that book in our library system lol. But our library does something where if our copy of the book comes in it goes to a patron from our library versus being sent to a patron at a different library. So I may get it sooner than that. But like Sheila said, it’ll probably be on sale at some point.
LOL Thanks Brooke. Our library does it too and I wonder why they just dont cap it at like 20)? That is still a long wait, but at least you can move on if it is a long wait.
I’ve been trying to use my iPad to read more but, for some reason, it just doesn’t give me the same satisfaction as reading an actual book.
I agree with you there Kathy. I do love a real book and I can not talk to people about what they are reading when they use an e reader because I can not tell what they are reading! 😆
I have Kindles (yes, more than one) and at least a thousand physical books just in my house. There are books on every surface, in every room, and even some in storage. I love my Kindle. It is so awesome to be able to take a huge library of books with me wherever I go and it fits anywhere. I love being able to borrow ebooks from the library. I love being able to instantly read a book, rather than waiting for it to come in the mail. But I also love physical books. The smell, the weight, the feel of them in my hands – there are times when I just can’t get into a book because the ebook just doesn’t feel ‘real’ to me, but then I can pick up a physical copy and love it. I don’t think I could go back to a time when I didn’t have a Kindle – there are so many good things about it. But I could never, ever live somewhere without at least some books. There is something magical about seeing books on the shelves. 🙂
You are just like me Brooke. A real book is amazing. When I see them on shelves they tell me a bit about a person.
If you want to experience the next generation of ebooks then check out my new multi-touch iBook The Sword of Air at http://www.swordofair.net. Unfortunately the technology is so cutting edge the book can only be read on Mac or iPad. Includes stunning photography, cinematic soundtrack and HD video. Like you I love physical books and own many beautiful editions. But none of us can hold back the new wave of technology that will change the publishing world forever. My latest post ‘The Future of Books’ looks at this subject more closely. It’s worth a read. Take care. Rae.
Wow! That sounds pretty amazing! I will check out your post.
Enjoy! I really love reading your blog by the way. I am a big fan. Rae.
http://swordofair.net/2015/02/12/the-future-of-books/ This is the link to the post I thought you would find interesting! Rae.
I have had a Nook (well several, but that’s another story. One example, my Nook fell off a moving car.) I love my Nook! Medical issues which lead to sleepless nights + my brain speed reads = 35 books already for 2015. With my Nook I will never run out of something to read. I quit getting books from the library many, many years ago because I had read all of the mysteries they had. Nook prices are a little lower than bookstore prices, so it didn’t take long for my Nook to pay for itself.
I started with a NOOK, still have it but switched to Kindle as it worked better with my Amazon Prime. Holy cow… 35 books already this year??? That is amazing!
Before I got my Kindle, I went on vacation for a week and took two bags of books…and then finished them all, which necessitated looking for something to read.
Now, multitudes of books fit into my Kindle…and I love the ease of downloading…no waiting! And I have a library available for traveling.
I am considering upgrading to a Paperwhite…I need something a little more advanced, that can take NetGalleys…they don’t work on my old Kindle.
My bookshelves (physical books) are so full, and even after purging for a while, I still had 1435 books, at last count.
I will not buy more shelves! I will purge to allow for any new physical books.
That was me too Laurel… books lots of books, hauled all over the country 🙂
Im all for technology but when it comes to reading I love a good book. I love being able to hold it and turn the pages. Its just not the same with an e-book.
About two years ago I thought it would be a good idea to buy a kindle, I think I’ve read maybe 4 book on it… I begrudge buying books on my kindle because if im going to buy a book the I want a physical book!
I am getting a little better at using my Kindle, mainly due to Netgalley. I like the instant gratification of requesting a book and “POOF” there it is! 😀
Great break down and I pretty much agree with all your points – especially the travel. I was always scared I was going to finish all the books I brought with me and ended up packing half my suitcase with books. With the Kindle it’s so much easier. I pack my Kindle and a paperback and that’s about it. In general I read more on my Kindle but that’s because of reviews. I think I like the Kindle for paperback type books and the actual book for anything with charts or pictures or any kind of illustration. They both have their selling points and I doubt I’ll ever use one or the other exclusively!
Pretty much spot on with how I feel Katherine 😉
I love real books that I can hold, pile on the shelf or desk, or wherever. I like the way the smell and feel. I have a kindle and a mini-ipad with a kindle app. They are loaded with so many books, II will N-E-V-E-R run out of something to read. I love that they are relatively lightweight, especially when compared to a stack of books, and can be carried everywhere. I haven’t had trouble with books on them, but reading pdf copies is nearly impossible. They float around the page, and I have to keep adjusting the position of the text to read. I like my knidle on the treadmill, because reading makes the time fly by. I’ve tried books, but the pages keep flopping back and forth.
I can go either way, as both an e-book and a real book, meet different needs.
Happy reading!
I haven’t tried Kindle on the treadmill…. maybe I should. I never thought I could read and move. 🙂
And what’s great is no one interrupts me on the treadmill.
That is true 😉
For my eyesight doe not let me read many books. If not for my Kindle I would not be reading many books. I can there is a place for both. If you are depending on hardback books you are limited what is published. There many more books by authors not well known that you can find to read. Some of them have made to my must read authors. I would not find their books locally.
Great thoughts Betty!
Hi Sheila,
Call me old fashion, but I love books. Like you I love the smell, holding it in my hands and examining the cover. I also have a library/reading room at home and it is peaceful to me. No offense to those who love their Kindles etc, but to me it would be like reading at book on my computer. Would not work. Books bring back memories of my Grandmother taking me to the library and introducing me to her passion, which is now mine.
That is where I was too Joan. There was a time I would have never owned an e reader. I made fun of those who did 😉 Now, due to traveling mainly, but occasionally convenience too, I found a place for the Kindle to work in my life – yet books still rule in my home 😀
I use my kindle more for playing Candy Crush and checking FB than for reading.
LOL – now that I need to do!!! Surprisingly, I do not really go beyond books on my Kindle Fire although I know I can.
I’m in the print book camp. Like the feel of it somehow. I do use an e-reader for the NY Times though. Go figure.
LOL, well newspapers are HUGE! I get that, we get the Sunday paper and I could bury myself in it! 😆
I love a good old fashioned book. Though I weirdly read on my phone a lot (it has a pretty big screen). The problem with books is that Ive moved a lot in the past 10 years and they are really heavy and awful to pack up and carry ❤ Bee @ Bee Reads Books
I would be in trouble if we moved… I literally have a library :). Never tried reading on my phone.
awesome post. I give a + to both formats (as well as to audiobooks by the way).
2 other things you didn’t mention: sometimes when I feel tired, I can increase the font size on my ereader and reading gets easier on my eyes.
Also, when reading a long book, or a mystery, I have often experienced that I didn’t pay too much attention to a character at the beginning of a book, and he/she ends up coming back and being a possible key for the plot.
In a print book, I can spend a long time trying to see what was said originally about that character, and sometimes can’t even find it. with an ereader I do a search and here I have all the passages where that character was mentioned!
Good additional points! It is interesting you mention the wanting to go back and look at something in a book as I prefer book books to do that – I find an e reader harder to go back and look at how something was said unless I had marked it.
well depends on the size of the book and when you look for something very specific
There was a time when I thought I would NEVER want to use an e-reader. No way! Now, I’m almost completely changed to an e-reader. One very important thing – I can change the font size. As I get older, I realize I need the larger size. So, that’s a big plus. I can’t change the size of a print book, but I’d have to get a larger print book and I don’t want to do that.
The first reason I changed over was that all my print books actually took up an entire room in my house that really should be a guest room. Not a TBR room that I couldn’t even walk in. That’s why I originally got my first e-reader. I needed space.
Now, I find that I read faster on my e-reader. I have no idea why, but I do. I much prefer reading on my ereader than print books.
I use readers for the font “opportunities” 🙂 I find if I use the e reader then I want to turn pages on real books by touching them….lol, it has happened!
I use my iPad as my eReader, which means I can get both Kindle and Nook books. It is larger than a regular reader, so it is heavier to cart around, but I’ve got it everything I need on that one device, and like you I love being able to look things up, highlight, etc. and I can’t seem to get the bookmark function to work properly in the Kindle format.
For me, it’s all about spending money. I don’t buy books, so I get the Nook version if I can’t get it through the library and Kindle if the library has it in that format. I buy Nook over Kindle because I have hundreds of dollars in gift cards to B&N.
I like the sound of that Elizabeth!
I love both. Right now I’m reading a hardcover copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and absolutely hating it…not the story…just the physical book. I’m #2 on the holds list at the library for the eReader edition and I can’t wait for it to come available…soon I hope. This book is just too big, heavy and cumbersome to read comfortably. Another reason I like my eReader is I can read in bed without having the light on and having to listen to my husband moan about it being to bright to go to sleep. LOL. Occasionally I use my iPad to read books but find the eReader is much easier on the eyes. Is that just me?
I think I may try Kindle on the HP book, I noticed they are free with Amazon Prime. I haven’t tried the e reader at night yet. I must do that 🙂
I got a Kindle a little over a year ago and I love it for pretty much all the reasons you mentioned. Convenient to carry a bunch of books with you at all times. I also like having the lighter weight while I’m reading. Lastly, I really enjoy my Paperwhite because I can read in really low light without hurting my eyes (I know this isn’t available on all ereaders).
What I don’t like – I do like having actual books (though I’ve maxed out my space).
As for library, mine doesn’t have a great ebook selection. I do try to get ebooks over physical when I have a choice.
I haven’t looked at the e books a the library. I should 🙂
I am on my second NOOK, and I get Kindle books via the app. However, as you well know, I am a pre-internet pastor living with a former NYPL librarian who learned, taught and wrote pamphlets still in use on the first uses of the internet. Between us, we had 1/2 TON of books which in fifteen years has been culled down considerably.
I read 200+ books a year, and review most of them. For that, the eReader is amazing, and I wish it was around during my ministry. However, theology book publishers are just getting into DVDs, with multi volume tomes. Having lugged crates of books all around the country, I know just how heavy, and important it was to have them at hand.
I read all formats now. With my disabilities, the NOOK is a godsend. I do admit to loving those books though. I think that there was an uptick in paper books this year because some see eReaders as “impersonal”. Early readers do much better with paper and ink the statistics report.
A Nook, a Kindle or a paper book: a good read is a good read
I like that… a good read is a good read.
I have found I am reading more and more on the kindle because it reads to me and it seems to go faster than print book. I carry the Kindle everywhere and read in quick snatches when I can. I also love my audiobooks for that reason too. that leaves a whole lot of TBR print books in my collections!
I have not had the Kindle read to me… I need to try that.
I love having both – the flexibility is just so nice! I have a mini Kobo that I keep in my purse. To help with the charging issue, I’m considering buying one of those portable chargers. My husband has one for his phone, and I figure if I get one it could do double duty, for both my phone and my Kobo. I have a larger Kobo that’s an Android tablet, and I read most of my ebooks on that when I’m reading at home. But I also like print books, and I find they’re more restful on my eyes late at night, too. Most days I make my choice depending on whatever format the book I want to read is in, which has been working well. I do tend to forget that I have ebooks in my TBR, though. I find the harder choice is deciding between audio and print/ebook!
That is where I am, I choose by where the book is. I have many on my Kindle, in paper, and on audio. It really is a mix. 🙂
I LOVE my Kindle. I resisted it for the longest time because, like you, I love real books so much. But when I tried it, I was hooked. I am a very fast reader and have been known to read a book a day. It is awesome to take my Kindle on a long airline flight or long trip and not have to worry about finding room for all my books. I just pack my Kindle and I am good. I still read print books occasionally, but Kindle books compose most of my reading.
I like the Kindle on the plane too. Often I can not get to my carry on to dig through it for other reading material so the Kindle needs to have everything I need 😉
Oh my gosh – my feelings on this topic have done a 180 in the past 5 years. I was 100% anti-ereader for awhile and then my husband forced me (he threatened to give away all my books unless I got one – we lived in a tiny NYC apt and had no more space for books!) to get a Kindle. And, I’m now 100% e-reader. You would have to actually pay me money to read a real book now (and I only accept electronic books for review)…they’re heavy and cumbersome and I can’t carry them around easily when watching the kids or working out. That being said, I do love the look and feeling of books on bookshelves in a house and love looking at other people’s shelves when I visit – it does tell you so much about a person.
So, I guess I fall in the camp of using the e-reader to actually read, but keeping real books around for aesthetics and the homey feeling?
Thats me too! There was a time I would never have owned one. Then I got curious 😉
Like so many of the commenters, I read both physical and e-books. Love the convenience of my IPad for travel and nighttime reading, but prefer “real” books when possible. I read many e-galleys, and the IPad is perfect for that. But I do have a slightly different perspective to offer: I’ve been a bookseller at an independent bookstore for most of my adult life. We have wonderful, book-loving customers, many of whom come to the store several times a week — sometimes to buy books, sometimes to attend an event, sometimes just to chat. Every now and then, I’ll be running errands in town and bump into a customer I haven’t seen for a while. That person will get a guilty look and mumble something about how he/she hasn’t been in for a while, “because I pretty much just use a Kindle now”. Then, typically, he or she will go on to say, “But don’t go away! It’s so nice to know you’re there if I really need a book.” Well, guess what, folks? It might not work that way. Bookstores need customers to survive. We can’t offer the lowest prices and we can’t offer convenience in terms of immediacy, but we can offer book recommendations and connections with real human beings. As an example, every week, I go to our local nursing home with a load of books and chat with the residents there. We totally understand the appeal of e-books — we read them too — but please keep in mind that when you purchase one from Amazon you are making a decision that may not benefit your community in the long run. (You can buy e-books from most local indies via Kobo.)
Excellent point Anne. One we definitely do not think about enough, I know I don’t, and I do need to visit my local book store more.
My eyes..it all had to do with my dang eyes. I would buy paperback and hardcover..but then 40 something happened or as I choose to believe the publishers went with a smaller font in paperbacks making it dang near impossible to read without my sexy librarian glasses. So I switched to Nook for all previous paperback purchases. While I could read with the glasses I tend to read for a long time and change my position from sitting to lying to on my back..and those glasses get uncomfortable. I can still read hardcover and my ears work wonderfully with audio so the Nook makes it easy.
I use readers almost constantly now when reading and I still have to ask myself sometimes, “when did that happen?” 🙂
I caved in and bought myself an e-Reader. I hardly ever use it. Call me old fashioned, but there’s nothing like a stack of books on a coffee table waiting to be read. You don’t get the same buzz from a Kindle.
I agree with you there, you do not get the same excitement about a book on a Kindle as you do in book format. 🙂
I still like the physicality of books, too, although the stacks and shelves of them do keep on reminding me that I haven’t read them! The e-books sit there and let me forget all about them! I still haven’t succumbed to the siren lure of Amazon Prime, but it’s probably only a matter of time as they keep signing on more and more exclusives! It’s funny, but lately I’ve been missing the e-book’s search feature in my regular print books, and in my e-reading, I miss the geographical sense of knowing whereabouts a particular passage was without having to try to remember a keyword to search for it! Each format has its advantages and disadvantages, that’s for sure!
I have been a Prime person for years, mainly because I used to use it a lot at work for the free shipping of larger items then books. I know even in books alone it pays for itself each year 🙂