Do you prefer reading on a device or a physical book?

Do you prefer reading on a device or a physical book?

  • Device (Kindle, smartphone, tablet, etc)

    Votes: 67 38.3%

  • Physical book

    Votes: 90 51.4%

  • I don't read

    Votes: 11 6.3%

  • Other

    Votes: 7 4.0%
  • Total voters
    175
Cray said:
Also really like the idea that with e-books, they don't go out of print. I remember some old titles, mostly South African books go out of print because there is just do demand for a full print run, e-books solve that problem.
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Not to mention ebooks get updates and fixes.

Spelling mistakes and new edition updates on printed books are so…banal.
 
Also for long flights / holidays can take a whole library with you. Even two physical books on a flight is a bit much.
 
I thought my wife is one of the very few preferring a paper book! It makes no sense to me as I read only on my tablet. No additional lighting required, no matter how many pages, it stays the same size. Fonts, background etc can be changed, words looked up etc.

I do not get the Kindle phenomenon though. It cannot even do 10% of what a tablet can do, yet costs as much, while a tablet can do everything a Kindle can do and a lot more. What is the allure?
 
Pax said:
I thought my wife is one of the very few preferring a paper book! It makes no sense to me as I read only on my tablet. No additional lighting required, no matter how many pages, it stays the same size. Fonts, background etc can be changed, words looked up etc.

I do not get the Kindle phenomenon though. It cannot even do 10% of what a tablet can do, yet costs as much, while a tablet can do everything a Kindle can do and a lot more. What is the allure?
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E-ink tech does it for me.
 
Kindle most definitively. Sync between devices means I can read on my phone when I am waiting for some thing to happen doctors room, bank, in the bog at work...and resume at night on tablet.
 
On an iPad for work. Leisure reading is 100% on paper. Only read on the kindle app if I just can’t get the physical book anywhere.
 
Honestly, my phone is just lighter to hold. I decided a while back that I'm going go back to physical books and bought the at-the-time Brandon Sanderson The Way of Kings book instead of the eBook (like I did before).

Turns out the book is so bloody massive I couldn't read in bed as I used to. Downloaded the eBook and read it from there.

I literally tried to do the whole "sit in a comfy armchair reading by the fire" but my neck got tired :P
Also turns out if I have a good book on my phone I may actually pick up my phone, open the book and read rather than pick up my phone and open up Youtube and waste time.

Then there's the whole "oooh new book is out but waiting time is 6 - 7 days" and I end up buying the eBook.
 
paul5186 said:
I only really read at night, so the kindle paperwhite with the led makes sense to me. Easy to read and easy to get books and recommendations for new books from the kindle store.
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I’m also mostly a bed time reader and the ability to dim the background is great when my wife is asleep.

But last year I was in the UK and for some reason never took my kindle with me. So I was missing a read and went to a book shop and bought a book. That night, got into bed, opened the book, couldn’t see a thing.

So used to the Kindle it never crossed my mind that I had to get my light from another source :ROFL:
 
One thing I've noticed with kindle though are the authors taking you for a ride with their book series.

Aah, the book is only $1 . Click buy, 90 minutes later I'm done, and I have to buy book nr 2 in what turns out to be a 10 book series. Where each 'book' is more like a chapter.
 
Pax said:
I thought my wife is one of the very few preferring a paper book! It makes no sense to me as I read only on my tablet. No additional lighting required, no matter how many pages, it stays the same size. Fonts, background etc can be changed, words looked up etc.

I do not get the Kindle phenomenon though. It cannot even do 10% of what a tablet can do, yet costs as much, while a tablet can do everything a Kindle can do and a lot more. What is the allure?
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The screen.

You simply cannot read on a tablet for extended periods, even the OLED varieties because you constantly have a light projected into your eyes.

The Kindle is intentionally for reading only. Battery is also a solid month between charges and has none of the distractions of a tablet.

Also, only **** tablets are in the same price range. Cheapest iPad is double the price of a top end Kindle Paperwhite and still even more expensive than the Colorsoft by a large margin.

Then there is size. Even the smallest of tablets is not a comfortable reading size. I’ve been hit in the face plenty by my Kindle falling asleep while reading…can’t imagine that with a tablet.

They are waterproof as well, tablets are not.
 
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porchrat said:
Kindles are great, I use mine frequently. There's still nothing like a physical book though.
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Why? Qualify it for me please.

It’s just nostalgia, nothing else.

Like people claiming vinyl is “better” when it’s objectively not.

You aren’t consuming the book, but the content.

The only win for real books is lending them to others, but at the same time with digital and family sharing you have far more access to one single book to start with.
 
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