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
Lobbing in other devices with a Kindle...blegh. Kindle is definitely the way to go, so much better than wrangling a book's spine, or having to deal with it physically afterwards.

SauRoNZA said:
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.
Click to expand...

There are downsides to Kindle. For example with books you constantly see the cover and/or the author's name, whereas with a Kindle that disappears. As a result you never remember who wrote what, or even if you've read something before just by looking at it.
 
SauRoNZA said:
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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Noted. Working on a computer or tablet screen for hours on end has never bothered me though, even with 'interruptions' (which can be managed), and in the Epub app I use screen settings are easy to change. I did get a Kindle as a present some years back, but gave it away as it simply made no sense to me as I already had a very good tablet which imho did a better job in any case.

I never had any inclination to swim with my tablet, so waterproof was never a consideration, and 10hours reading on a single battery charge certainly meet my requirements.

Te each his own though.
 
I love books as objects and collect them, but how I choose to read something depends on the circumstances and the book. Going away? Kindle. If it is a big boy or stupid edition, I'll also double dip to get it on Kindle to rather read there. But my default is print.
 
SauRoNZA said:
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.
Click to expand...
Indeed there's no denying that the Kindle is the more efficient format for reading. The majority of the books I read are on my Kindle. This isn't about what format is most convenient. It's about, if you had your way, which one you prefer. Which gives you the most satisfying experience.

I'm talking more about the feeling of the pages in your fingers. The act of turning the page. Putting the bookmark in so you can start off where you left off. There's a ritual to reading a paper book that you lose with the Kindle.
 
animal531 said:
There are downsides to Kindle. For example with books you constantly see the cover and/or the author's name, whereas with a Kindle that disappears. As a result you never remember who wrote what, or even if you've read something before just by looking at it.
Click to expand...

Not quite understanding your meaning here.
 
porchrat said:
I'm talking more about the feeling of the pages in your fingers. The act of turning the page. Putting the bookmark in so you can start off where you left off. There's a ritual to reading a paper book that you lose with the Kindle.
Click to expand...

Nee wat, couldn’t care less about any of that. Nothing at all lost for me.

And none of the sneezing and hey fever I get from most books that have been around a little while.
 
Pax said:
Noted. Working on a computer or tablet screen for hours on end has never bothered me though, even with 'interruptions' (which can be managed), and in the Epub app I use screen settings are easy to change. I did get a Kindle as a present some years back, but gave it away as it simply made no sense to me as I already had a very good tablet which imho did a better job in any case.

I never had any inclination to swim with my tablet, so waterproof was never a consideration, and 10hours reading on a single battery charge certainly meet my requirements.

Te each his own though.
Click to expand...

I was in the same camp and slugged it out with the iPad at first for a long while.

Took the plunge on a Kindle some years ago and immediately the amount of reading I did increased exponentially. Especially bed time reading as the tablet is simply too big and if the backlight doesn’t bother you personally it bothers your partner.

Waterproof is not really a big thing for me either but a lot of people like to read in the bath/pool.

I can do short bursts on normal screens as I’ll often read a bit on my phone while in a queue and so on, but when it comes to extended reading the Kindle is definitely the one for the job.

I guess it really depends how much you are reading. And by reading I don’t mean websites or the odd white paper or training doc. For those kinds of things a tablet can be better especially if you want to take notes and so on.
 
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SauRoNZA said:
Nee wat, couldn’t care less about any of that. Nothing at all lost for me.

And none of the sneezing and hey fever I get from most books that have been around a little while.
Click to expand...
To each their own. I can relate to the hay fever angle for sure. I suffer too.

My favourite book series are all still sitting on my shelf as physical copies. I'll pull them down from time to time and reread them.

Must admit can't remember when last I actually read a physical book that wasn't an established member of my physical collection already from years ago. It's all Kindle these days. It's just more convenient.
 
Books, by far. Have a kindle but I use it more to test some stuff out and if it looks good I get the actual book.
 
porchrat said:
To each their own. I can relate to the hay fever angle for sure. I suffer too.

My favourite book series are all still sitting on my shelf as physical copies. I'll pull them down from time to time and reread them.

Must admit can't remember when last I actually read a physical book that wasn't an established member of my physical collection already from years ago. It's all Kindle these days. It's just more convenient.
Click to expand...

Yeah I still have a large physical book collection and want to actually build a bookshelf when we renovate just to show them off but that is something entirely different to the reading experience itself.

Haven’t bought any new real books in over a decade though. If it comes to the collective factor whose would probably get picked up second hand and never touched just to go on a shelf…which thinking about it is frankly ridiculous.

Can say the same for my CD collection though, some of which have literally never been listened to but opened once and never touched again.
 
SauRoNZA said:
Took the plunge on a Kindle some years ago and immediately the amount of reading I did increased exponentially.
Click to expand...
It's also frustrating recommending books to people who read physical, mostly because they're not likely to go through the chore of buying / ordering another physical book they might / might not enjoy. With kindle I can get a sample, decide if it's for me then get the book.
 
saor said:
It's also frustrating recommending books to people who read physical, mostly because they're not likely to go through the chore of buying / ordering another physical book they might / might not enjoy. With kindle I can get a sample, decide if it's for me then get the book.
Click to expand...

I mean they could in theory read the samples on Amazon’s website but I get your meaning.

I’ve been far more inclined to roll the dice on $2 from an author I’ve never heard of than paying many times that for a real book.
 
I love a physical book or physical device manual. I tried reading books on my tablet but it started getting heavy on the wrist.

Lately I have been listening to audio books more while traveling. I have been listening to the books on our bookshelf and ones in series that I don't have, like the Lucas Davenport and Harry Bosch series of books.

When I get around to it, I pop by our local Hospice shop to buy books. Something about a pre-owned book appeals to me.

Edit:
Books don't run out of battery... And hitting a spider with an eReader can be expensive.
 
I have both - but you just can't beat the feel of a real book.
One of the biggest drawbacks of an electronic reader, for me is that you can't stick your nose between the pages and inhale.:laugh:
 
Ereader like Kindle or Kobo. On Amazon I've got 185 books I purchased for $2 per book or thereabouts thanks to ereaderiq. That's only in the last two years or so. You can also just pirate the books and send it to yourself like if you can't find the book elsewhere. No brainer. Much cheaper to start up a decent collection than with physical books and I don't have to bother with pirating.
 
I prefer reading a physical book, but I mostly read on my tablet or phone. Reading a physical book at night bothers the wife.

Another thing that bothers the wife is me buying a buttload of books every year and not getting around to reading them. And when she wants to donate my books, I refuse.
 
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