Poll: E-Book vs Paperback
- Thread starter ToysforGuns
- Start date
Funnily enough, I just did an assignment on this very topic. For me, the size, shape, artwork, weight, and every other property of physical books informs me to the content of the book. A digital copy cannot do the same as it can be altered at any time while this cannot happen to a physical copy. You generally know content wise what you're getting when you pick up a book
Paperback.. for pretty much all the reasons already stated. Feel nice, can collect them, display them, smell them... *sniff*, etc.
Also, you can lose all your books at once with an e-reader, the providing company can also remove books from your account without your consent. They can also edit/revise books without your knowledge... aaand you can't lend out e-books or spark a conversation with someone by looking at the cover of a book they're reading, because they're using an e-reader.
Also, you can lose all your books at once with an e-reader, the providing company can also remove books from your account without your consent. They can also edit/revise books without your knowledge... aaand you can't lend out e-books or spark a conversation with someone by looking at the cover of a book they're reading, because they're using an e-reader.
For years, I thought I'd always have room in my life for hard copy books, and that e-books wouldn't really have a place for me. Then I got an android smart phone and loaded up Moon+ reader (an e-reader app that reads basically every format and is insanely customizable), and long story short, I haven't read a real book since. Eye strain just isn't an issue, since not only is the backlight fully adjustable, but you can change the theme to various combinations of background color/texture and text color, effectively giving you the perfect level of visibility for any conceivable lighting situation. Add that to the fact that I basically always have my phone in my pocket -- and therefore a library of books -- and I've gotten more reading done in the last year than I had in the previous five. It's that big of a difference.
I prefer ebooks for my books, comics and magazines because I don't have to worry about all the physical paper that used to fill up my house, and it's much easier to search my library now than it was when I had all the books. I had a room filled with bookcases with books stacked two and three deep on the shelves, so it was hard to find anything. I have my kindle organized into folders by topic and then inside the folders by author, so it's very easy to find any book I need.
Hardcovers all day every day.
For a gamer and internet denizen, I have a hard time staring at screen-words for hours. A couple hours on the forums every now and again is all I can take.
For a gamer and internet denizen, I have a hard time staring at screen-words for hours. A couple hours on the forums every now and again is all I can take.
Paperback will always trump e-books for me. I like reading something physical and not worrying about battery life. 
My Kindle 3G, which is, imo, the best e-reader you can get, has absolutely no DRM whatsoever. Honestly, I was of the same fold as you once before, all into the physical object and that nothing was more satisfying than, for instance, the smell of a brand new book freshly bought.ToysforGuns said:
But then I started to really use my Kindle and haven't picked up a paperback book in over two years. There's simply too much convenience in them and I don't even know if paperbacks have any pros over e-books at this point.
Paper books are nice and regal and all that, but, I'm running out of room for them all, and it's also a pain to find the right angle to read them on and also I dislike having to use both hands. Ereaders don't have that problem, and I can attach a light to it on the side and this is easier than getting one to work on a physical copy. With a physical copy, I have to attach the light to my shirt - I've found this works best. I like the concept of ereaders... although I haven't got a good one, so I've gone back to paper.
Of course, paper doesn't run out of battery life. But there's pros and cons to each.
Of course, paper doesn't run out of battery life. But there's pros and cons to each.
As an avowed luddite and fearer of change (being an old fart and all that), I will state my love of the physical book. Plus, most forms of electronics hurt my eyes after a while and I personally HATE reading long blocks of text off of a screen.
However, I fully realize that the problems I have with reading electronic-based material is being overcome with newer e-readers and that the simple cost of printing/shipping/storing physical books means that more and more pressure will be put towards the electronic side of things.
I fear the time will come that I get some sort of electronic reader, but I will hold out for as long as possible (just out of obstinate stubbornness if nothing else)
However, I fully realize that the problems I have with reading electronic-based material is being overcome with newer e-readers and that the simple cost of printing/shipping/storing physical books means that more and more pressure will be put towards the electronic side of things.
I fear the time will come that I get some sort of electronic reader, but I will hold out for as long as possible (just out of obstinate stubbornness if nothing else)
My huge library of books are almost all signed by the author. The author can't sign and personalize an e-book.
