E-reader vs. Book
In today’s day and age, books are available to readers 24 hours a day. A reader has access to thousands of books on your phone, you can pre-order favorites online and have them delivered, and you can visit your local library or book store. I for one love this!
What I also love is the rise of the ebook. Thanks to the giants like Kindle and Nook, e-readers are a common gadget in our electronic arsenal. I myself have been reading via a Kindle (or the Kindle app) since late 2008. The first appeal was that I could get a book whenever I wanted. I was like a kid in a candy store. I also liked that I could easily look up words I didn’t know instead of reading over them. But I still preferred the feel of a paperback in my hands.
It wasn’t until I began to review books in early 2010 that I fell completely in love with reading on a Kindle. First – I love that I can take notes and highlight passages right within the text. GENIUS! I also love the “cloud” feature – so if I forget and leave my Kindle at home, I can still read on my phone!
But best of all is the search/look up function. When I started writing reviews, I no longer was able to read books within a series back-to-back, and my memory of characters and events was a little shoddy. If I had the previous book on my Kindle, I could look up events and characters using keywords. This is such an important feature for me now – I use it within books and not just looking up old books. For example, when I’m halfway through a book and “Mrs. Brown” enters the room (and I don’t remember something about her), I can look up to see what we have been told about her. If I can’t recall the hero’s favorite flavor of ice cream (because it is critical!), I can type in a couple keywords and voila!
So now, although I still read a paperback when tossed my way, I prefer to read on my Kindle. How about you? Do you prefer an e-reader or a book when reading? What are your pros and cons?
Thanks for stopping by to chat!
I have to agree with you on this. I love paperbacks, but my Kindle is so much easier and faster to read on. Also, it helps that my 2 year old cannot rip the pages. 😉
I adore my Kindle and the associated app on my phone! At first, I went Kindle because I ran out of shelf space. Now, hubby has gone Kindle, and DDs 2 & 3 have gone digital. What I love the most about reading digitally is that no one knows what I’m reading. I can read smut with racy covers & not have to endure the disapproving glances and eyerolling from onlookers. If I synck my Kindle all the time, I can read via phone when I didnt expect to have time to read. Seriously. It’s da bomb!
I use the Kindle app for PC and love getting my books instantly downloaded. I can read when I want. Bookmark. Highlight and so much more. As much as I adore my paperbacks, I LOVE my kindle app.
I still like paperbacks where my favorite series are concerned, especially. I love going to bookstores, and walking out with books in my hands, in general. But, I’m a big fan of ebooks, too. I have both formats of some of my VERY favorite books (some obsessions ARE healthy!!). I use my rooted Nook Color a lot more these days, though, and absolutely LOVE an app called Moon Reader. It’s a fantastic reading app, which I use alongside Calibre on my computer. Calibre rocks! So, since I guess I walk the line right down the middle, I’ll have to say both!
I find that I read them differently. I tend to read e-formats much faster than paper books. E-books are like one long document to me despite chapter headings and if the story is good at all, I’m likely to finish within 48 hours. I also like that I can read in bed without the light on and never have to worry about embarrassing cover art. Paper books, however, seem to inspire slower, more digestive reading. I can’t change the font, I need good lighting, I have to find my reading glasses. These I tend to want on rainy days in my favorite reading corner. They don’t have to be plugged in and charged. They’re happy under the seat of my car until I get stuck waiting to pick up a child from soccer. Like Rory Gilmore, I am a bit of a book nerd and enjoy the smell of old books. It’s like inhaling ancient knowledge and secrets. My father collects antique books. I think I love the concept that something was important enough to write down by hand and sew the pages, then create the cover…all labor intensive. In an age when ideas are bandied about the blog-o-sphere like tissues, what idea is important enough to garner that kind of commitment? If I really love a book, the highest compliment I pay to it is to go find it in hardback.
Tina: Excellent point! I hope you got the protection plan on your Kindle!
Vampbard: Having the phone app and sync feature has helped me out so many times when I’ve left the Kindle someplace!
Angela: Do you use the Kindle app other than the PC? I find it difficult to read with such a large screen. I like the have the “book” in my hands. Well, except when eating!
B: Tell me more about Moon Reader!!
Jules: I agree – If I love a book, if it’s a “favorite,” I will buy hard cover – or if it’s not in hard cover, I’ll get the paperback. I do display some of my books.
Though I have a Kindle and do love the convenience of ordering & receiving immediately, I am still very attached to both hardcover & paperback books. I like seeing them on my shelf waiting for me to get to them. For all the series that I read and have purchased in book form over the years, I feel the need to continue buying the books to have them all on my shelves together. I absolutely see the merits of e-readers but I doubt I will ever prefer them to physical books.
I love my Kindle! I love mine for many of the same reasons vampard does. However, I have arthritis and holding a print book open for long periods of time has become painful. It’s such a blessing!
Penny: I used to be the same way about books in a series. I held out for a couple years – continuing to purchase the books in the series. But I finally gave in and gave up on that practice about a year plus ago. Now I just get the book in whatever format I can. There are exceptions – series I want to display…
Marianne: Great point about arthritis. Glad you can keep reading!