Ebooks vs paper books

[MisterLove]

I prefer everything digital usually and books are no different. Mainly because when out and about I don't have to carry two books if there's a series and I'm near the end etc. It's convenience. When I went away last year I bought, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who played with Fire, and the Girl who kicked the hornet's nest to read. All three would have taken up so much space in my luggage whereas my kindle was small and slim.

I couldn't agree more.

I have already downloaded dozens of titles, there's no way I could possibly keep so many paper books.

[Spellbound]

Always real books for me, the smell and feel of those crisp fresh pages. I have some nice large format ones, books of sailing ships and such-like, which are a pleasure to explore.

[TKC]

At the end of the day; when the internet crashes, electricity is lost to us, computers stop working, and/or the machines take over the world...
I'll still have all 5 of my copies of Alice in Wonderland.
But all you sucka's who only have it on your Kindle? You'll be screwed!! Mwahahaahaa!!

I have a 64 GB microSD in my phone that's loaded down with games, books, music, etc and a solar charger for my phone. I'll be toting around less than a pound for all the information/entertainment that I need...you'll need a cart to carry around your encyclopedia brittanica! ;0)

Actually, though, I'm pretty versatile (when it comes to books). I love a book that is tangible, especially a used one. I love seeing what other's highlighted, knowing that hundreds of hands may have graced (and grazed) the pages, that each person who read it before me learned something different than what I learned, and I love when my elbows start to hurt from holding a book in the same position for too long.

BUT, they require a lot of natural resources. AND, Kindle opened up all of their ebooks to thousands of libraries across the States, so now I can check out anything I want, have access to it for two weeks, and never worry about late fees. Plus, I can read on my phone or my computer which is less noticeable when I'm bored at work ;0). And, then there's the portability of ebooks. I can have a million ebooks and it weigh the same as having one ebook. Good luck moving 1,000,000 real books.

So, while I love the traditional book, I tend to buy way more ebooks - even if I get more distracted like someone mentioned earlier on in this conversation.

[TimeSage]

Despite being on some form of electronical device nearly 24/7 these days, I much prefer reading a real book. family members have offered to buy me ebook readers as gifts for hoildays and such but I always suggest something else. I'm apparently weird because of that.

[gregs317]

I haven't tried E-books yet, but I think I prefer paper books for the most part. I love holding a book in my hands and turning the page with anticipation of what's on the next page.

However, I am curious to try an E-reader to use in certain circumstances. For example, on the last flight that I took, I noticed quite a few travelers with E-reader devices, so I see that their popularity seems to be growing. Also it does seem more convenient to hold an E-reader while stuck in an airplane seat for several hours. And it would be nice not to have lug around paper books in your luggage, which can get heavy after a while.

As far as old and unwanted paper books, I simply donate them to our local library, since they have used book sales 2-3 times per year. The library does a lot of good for the community, so it's nice to help them raise a little extra money.