Paper Or Electronic?

[naomi24]

Physical book sales have rocketed by four million this year, fighting back against the digital revolution. Good news for book lovers.

http://news.sky.com/story/physical-book-sales-rocket-as-digital-dips-10510980

I love my kindle – but I love my real books too. What about you?

[murraymints]

paper

[Islay]

Both, Kindle when I go on holiday and paper when at home.

[Tilly2]

A real book for me. Now, I buy most of mine from the Salvation Army charity shop, in town. I take the books back when I've read them unless they're something really special which I want to keep.

[douglas9401]

Paper every time.

[ethandron]

Kindle. The only physical book I've picked up since I started using my kindle is 'mindfulness', which I dip in and out of, and that was a gift from someone, I didn't buy it.
It's made me think actually, I really can't remember how long I've had my kindle, definitely more than five years..

[Tilly2]

I spend too much time staring at a screen.

Sitting with my feet up on the sofa, reading a book, is much more relaxing.

[vulcan42]

Both, a kindle is so convenient, especially in bed on a winters night when only one hand gets cold, but it cannot replace the feel and smell of a real book.

[ethandron]

My kindle pages are just like book pages to look at, nothing like an electronic screen.
It means when we go away, which we do frequently, I don't have to cart tons of books with me, just pick up my kindle with its 100s of books and less heavy than one paperback.

[Gromit]

I have been reading ebooks since I got the first iPad in 2010.
On a whim waiting at the airport I purchased a physical book to read on holiday.
I had really forgotten how many bad things you have to put up with buying a physical book. Ended up buying the e-version and giving the book away to a fellow holidaymaker.

[Tilly2]

What bad things, Gromit?

[Gromit]

- Bulky
- Heavy
- Paper glare
- Small fixed print
- Need for lighting at night
- Easily damaged

[Tilly2]

Oh, right. Thank you.

[Old_Geezer]

Interesting. I'd find much of that list to be benefits.

Most books aren't bulky & heavy, and substantial would be a more apt description. Paper doesn't glare half as much as staring at a lit screen. One can get large print books if needed. IMO one should have ambient lighting at night rather than sit in the dark. And books are not that easily damaged, they survive a fall better than electronic equipment.

My issue is my eyes and attention span now I am older. Maybe it is the lack of a decent 8 hour sleep period; but I buy books and then are always either too tired to read them or never find the time. But screens are for surfing, not relaxing.

[woofgang]

Both, but I rarely buy a new book as a book. The books I do buy are either lavish or out of print or not available on kindle and I really want it. This usually means I buy an old copy. Used books are available on Abe and Amazon for peanuts.

[Tilly2]

OG, you are very patient.

I couldn't be bothered to type all that in response to Gromit. I agree with every word you have written there.^

[bednobs]

kindle all the way - if i could id marry it and have it's kindle babies

[Cloverjo]

My house is filled with paper books, and I love them. I also adore second hand bookshops. But I've been buying a lot on my Kindle over the last year or so, as OH threatens to chuck some books out if I keep buying more.
I do like my Kindle. So I think there's a place for both. I get a bit annoyed when it tells me it needs recharging, though.
I also like being able to buy an ebook on Amazon and having it delivered straight to my Kindle instead of waiting for the post or going out.

[Old_Geezer]

Oh Tilly, I just don't have the patience to be succinct. :-)

[pastafreak]

Both. For cookbooks and anything illustrated, it has to be a physical book. I read a fair amount of books on nutrition,and like them in both forms. Fiction is almost always in ebook form. I read at home,on the bus,on my lunch break,in the park...etc. I've gotten to the stage in life where I don't want to carry anymore than I have to...and adding a book to already bulky/heavy shopping,etc would put me off reading.
I still love physical books and love seeing them in my huge bookcase...finding what I want quickly though,can be an issue.

[Pete65]

I do not have an electronic book reader.
The vast majority of my books are used books from Amazon, costing a penny plus P&P..
As far as I know, there is not a way of purchasing used books for Kindle, say?
i like physical books and there is no reason for me to change to electronic books, that I can think of.