Kindle v Book

[writerken]

Has anyone moved into ebooks or are paperbacks still your thing. Do you read papers online rather than buy them. One Kindle/ereader in your flat or shelves of dusty books. What is your reading future?

[marshlander]

I'm a sucker for books. I have always had hundreds of them. I have a great stack in the to-be-read pile. An impending change of circumstances might force me to consider an e-book reader. I don't care for the idea of living without my books. There is nothing like the smell and feel of a new book, or the fragility of a very, very old one.

[Yuki]

A bit of both (paperback and online)

[matty7]

books for me , i would buy kindle if my job or holidays meant i was away alot and could'nt take a few books along - they can live in harmony though
im sure

[sweetlad2010]

Books as they dont stop working when it rains or if you are sat in the bath, plus you look such a twat in a coffee shop with an ebook or reading from a phone!!!

[BYoNexus]

Books FTW. I considered an ebook for a while, but I just love paperbacks. The only reason I'd consider an Ebook would be because I'm running out of shelf space. Ive got a 400-ish book personal library on two floor-to-ceiling shelves, so Im pretty much out of space.

[hinsonba]

For the vast majority of the books I read, I can check them out at my local library - which saves tons of money and space when I'm probably only ever going to read it once!

For most everything else, I get it all online. I read all of the blogs I enjoy through Google Reader, download podcasts on iTunes, and listen to audiobooks (I do enjoy reading, but sometimes it's quite nice to be read to - especially while I'm knitting, haha) via LibriVox and iTunes U (University of South Florida has a decent selection of books from the public domain - right now I'm listening to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain) - all for FREE.

As I get older, as the technology gets better, and as the prices go down, I can definitely see myself investing in either a Kindle, a Nook, or some other e-reader. For both the Kindle and the Nook, there is a lot in the public domain that can be downloaded and read for free - which is a big plus for me. But for right now, I'm sticking with my current method.

Edit: I actually just checked out four books today from the library: Writing Smart: Your Guide to Great Writing by Marcia Lerner, The Writer's Handbooks: A Guide to the Essentials of Good Writing by John Karls and Ronald Szymanski, Criticism & Ideology: A Study in Marxist Literary Theory by Terry Eagleton, and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. Aside from the last book, none of these are books that I'd actually want to buy except for maybe the last two, and the last one, Brave New World, is in the public domain and can be accessed online for free.

[azulai]

I don't care for the idea of living without my books. There is nothing like the smell and feel of a new book, or the fragility of a very, very old one.

I agree. And, there is nothing like hunting for certain editions.
The bookshelves in my room go from my big hardcover of Thomas the Tank Engine (which I will not part with--I still have my trains, too) to two different translations of Tao Te Ching. :tongue: I got a WWII Jewish Prayer Book that was issued to soldiers off ebay! For me it's a treasured piece of history!

I remember as a kid just laying on the floor studying the artwork in my Thomas book, reading the stories and then reenacting them with my trains. And, crying when one of my sisters ripped a page. :redface:

And, where do you make notes in the margins on an ebook? I just find them impersonal. I feel like you lose a little personal history, I guess.

[BYoNexus]

And, where do you make notes in the margins on an ebook? I just find them impersonal. I feel like you lose a little personal history, I guess.

What, WHAT!! You write in your books! Defiler! >Hisssssss<
Just kidding, although I do prefer to keep my books pristine.

I also like hunting for 1st editions of my favourite books.
Im a bit to addicted to reading i think (Ive read every book i have at LEAST twice. Some 4 or 5 times)

[azulai]

What, WHAT!! You write in your books! Defiler! >Hisssssss<
Just kidding, although I do prefer to keep my books pristine.

I'm improving!
Or maybe I can even argue with a book?