I do prefer reading physical books, but I almost exclusively read on my ereader because of easy availability of whatever I want, and it doesn’t take up tons of space like books do.
Yeah pretty much my thinking as well. Almost all my physical books are in a box in a wardrobe cause I have nowhere else to put them. It’s a sad state to end in for a piece of literature, isn’t it?
Give them away! I have a bunch of books on my shelf, my friend asked me, “how many of those have you even read?” And I said, probably around half of them. He scoffed. As if I were just buying books…for the look? I dunno. But all of my previously read books get “loaned out” and never return. Which is fine! Plenty of people have lent me books that I never returned. It’s the circle of life.
My whole family has tried getting me on e-readers because I’ve always been the reader of the family, but…I read a few books on it and then never used it again. It was fine, but I love my physical books. When I was traveling overseas for a few years, I had like six books in my bag. Which, yeah, maybe an e-reader would’ve been smarter at that point, but every single book I was reading I gave to someone to enjoy when I finished. And people gave me books when I finished mine! It’s such a great system. I also love shopping for used books…that part may be a bit of an addiction lol
Actually, it’s a great suggestion. However that small box I’m left with is that post-donation elite group, the ones that have sentimental value. I haven’t bought physical books in years, I borrow at the library. I don’t read fiction nearly as much as I used to, sadly… Teenage me, who read anywhere from 1-3 novels a week, would be ashamed.
Edit: Now that I think of it, I do have some books that are loaners and others I’ve loaned and never saw again. My copy of The Hobbit was my godfather’s when he was in university.
Compared to my kindle, I hate real books. No worries about lighting. Page always flat. Lighter. Never lose what page you’re on. Less space and hundreds of books can be kept right there. Still looks like real paper. Font and size to your own preference.
There’s really no downside at all for me. I never cared how a book “smelled”. That’s for sure.
If you have an ereader with an eink screen… it’s a no-brainer. Digital books are soooo good.
- virtually no weight
- virtually no space
- waaaaay cheaper
- your local library has probably a way bigger and more accessible catalogue of ebooks than physical ones
- tap and hold a word and get an automatic definition/translation
- adjust text size or font
- dark mode, if you into that (in some models)
- Text-to-speech (in some models)
- highlight text and write notes without f-ing up pages
- literally translate entire phrases or look particular information from Wikipedia or similar with a simple gesture.
- backup all of those and do crazy stuff like an automatic daily email to yourself with cool notes you took months/years ago.
Physical books nowadays are like vynil music… it’s for the artwork and having a physical “certificate” of something you love. Like… if I discover a book I really enjoy, I’ll probably buy a physical version so I can, you know, have it there on the shelf, like you have family pics or something.
Just got a kobo libra 2 a couple of weeks ago and I’m loving it. You forgot to mention the dictionary native to most e-readers too!
I’ve been eying up this one. Have you used other ereaders before? Have you got anything to compare it to?
I hear that having a screen that isn’t flush with the touch surface really improves the word clarity. I’m not really enjoying my paperwhite 5 because it’s has a weird blurred effect on the screen because it’s flush
This was my first e-reader, but I played around with my mom’s Paperwhite 5 for a bit before deciding against it. The UI on the paperwhite is better but you don’t really interact with it much for it to be a big problem. I also patched mine using calibre to add some features that aren’t present on the stock UI. I’m not sure about the particulars with the display but text and images are fairly crisp. All in all, I’m pretty happy with it
I dunno about the vinyl parallel. I’m a physical book reader myself—I’ve tried an ebook, I read a few books on there. But it didn’t hold me the way books know how to. Just right.
Not to mention, I’m trying everything I can to realistically separate myself from the “internet of things.” I use the internet, but I try to achieve as private of an experience as I can manage. I’m wary of cameras these days. I never used social media. I cover any camera pointed at me that I can…my point is, a book doesn’t know I’m reading it or how long I’ve read it. Buying used books, no one knows who I am, how long I’ve spent reading, WHAT I’m reading, etc.
I can’t say the same about these e-readers. I don’t need ANOTHER device I’m constantly worried is stealing every single metric it can possibly gather about me.
Depends. Digital is usually best for me since I can read on my phone pretty much anytime anywhere.
That said, some books feel like they work best in your hand, like The Book of Disquiet, which has so many notes at the end and I haven’t found a comfortable enough way to skip back on forth without having to scroll through a lot to get to where I was, or House of Leaves, which is more like a fun hands-on puzzle to play with.
I think e-ink readers are incredible. My eyes feel like they’re reading a normal book, but it’s got a backlight, doesn’t take up a bunch of physical space I don’t have, and it’s a lot easier to read using only one hand at a time (even turning pages).
