Paper or Pixel: How do you read?

[Shorty]

I'm stingy and I torrent.

I haven't paid for any books since December And before then, I was reading them all on best-library.net.

[Freya]

I have this problem about remembering to charge things.

I prefer physical books because of this.

[blackmage_nuke]

I like to read books on my phone so I can read in the dark in bed then just put the phone aside when I want to go to sleep instead of having to get up and turn the light off. Also so I can search words in the book.

The only physical fiction books I have/read is Harry Potter

[Skyblade]

I sell both books and e-readers for a living (and I'm disappointed to see everyone going with the product of our competitors, le sigh).

I come from a family of readers, and my parents have more books than any other group of people I know. We all also have e-readers.

Most readers are apprehensive about reading on an electronic device. But, if you can get past the first half hour or so, you tend to forget that you're reading that way with an e-Ink screen.

Since their introduction, the devices have gotten incredibly smooth, and have an absolute ton of functionality, most of which is designed to make things easier on readers. Font, line spacing, margins, and text size are all adjustable. There are built in dictionaries. There are tons of ways to flip through pages from chapter jumps to bookmarking pages to searching for lines and passages.

Books still do have advantages. You can pick it up and open to a random page. You can read it without having to charge it. You can feel the pages flipping through your fingers.

Nevertheless, e-readers also have their perks. Books are usually substantially cheaper (textbooks and technical books aside), you can store more in a single location or pack them for a vacation without having to choose which ones to take or filling three suitcases.

If we're buying a book that we know we want, we'll get a physical copy. When Skin Games comes out, I'm going to pick it up in hardcover, because I want that physical copy, and I think it's worth the extra investment. But if there's a book that catches my attention and I think "oh, that might be worth a try", or if it's a book that my mom wants for her book club, why not get it on the e-reader?

I don't really see why it has to be an either-or situation. Are you forced to buy a collector's edition of every video game that comes out? Or do you pick some up from the used games rack or after price drops? Or do you download some of them? Hardcover, paperback, e-book. It's the same question.

[Calliope]

I've given my rationale on this several times, but give me paper books or give me death.

EDIT: Future librarian in training with several eBook devices and an internet addiction, if anyone cares.

[Psychotic]

I prefer paper and don't own an e-reader, but I do make use of sites like Best Library.

[Pike]

I sell both books and e-readers for a living (and I'm disappointed to see everyone going with the product of our competitors, le sigh).

I actually own more than one e-Reader, but Kindle is my favorite because of Amazon's absolutely enormous library.

[Ayen]

If you gave them a chance you might like them. I was totally against them, but then my mom got one. I got one myself and I ended up LOVING it.

The advantage is if you buy books, after the initial investment of the e-reader itself, they're all cheaper.

Plus you got troutloads of books for free on Project Gutenberg. And if you're stingy then you can torrent books. I'm pretty sure some people offer free chapters and stuff as a trial/demo too.

Sorry, guys, I may be 24 and look 18 when shaven, but I have the spirit of a 60+ year old man who's stuck in his ways. I need to be able to feel the smooth/hard surface (depending on hardback or paperback) of the cover underneath my fingertips when I have the book in my lap. The soft feel of the pages doomed to age over time and the sound of them turning as I read. I like to feel the text of the book's title on the cover as well. I still go to the library, grab a book off the shelf and checkout to take home to read when there's actually something I want to read. Can you do all that with an e-reader? If the answer is no then I'm not interested.

[Miss Mae]

I was going to say things, but everything I wanted to say has pretty much been covered. All the same...

I see the pros and cons of each. I will always prefer reading physical copies of books. I tend to scribble in my books in pencil (which I know purists will hate me for, but the literary critic in me just can't help myself) and while I know some ereaders allow for note-taking and highlighting, I miss the tactile sensation and seeing my words up the margins.

That being said, ereaders are excellent for taking on a holiday so there is always something to read or for reading demos of books to see whether or not I want to go out and buy the hardcopy. Also putting your textbooks on an ereader making going to university a significantly lighter experience.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

I can say that I prefer physical versions of books for things that I am likely to write notes in the margins. Honestly, I only do this for books I'm teaching/studying in a class. I do not like typing on a touch screen. Even things with physical keys I don't like typing on unless it's a full sized keyboard. It's much easier for me to just get out a pencil and write in the margins.

I don't do this for books I'm just reading for pleasure despite the fact that I'm still thinking about the book like a literary critic, haha.

[Calliope]

A friend of mine recently posted on FaceBook to say:

Okay I was reading an actual real life book at lunch and literally put my finger on the paper to scroll down so I could read more.

[Shorty]

Something I forgot to add about e-readers: comics. ComicRack is the greatest thing ever invented. I have Batman, Fables, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Locke & Key, Scott Pilgrim, Sin City, The Maxx, The Sandman, The Walking Dead, V for Vendetta and Watchmen all on my kindle with room for millions more and it is a thing of beauty.

[Miss Mae]

A friend of mine recently posted on FaceBook to say:

Okay I was reading an actual real life book at lunch and literally put my finger on the paper to scroll down so I could read more.

That's terrifying. Is that what our world has become?

[Flaming Ice]

Easier to remember things by paper and you don't murder your eyes~!

[Leeza]

I didn't think that I could ever read from an e-reader, but on a whim I went and bought myself one anyway and I surprised myself. I really do like it. It's great for traveling, reading in bed, reading anywhere actually because you don't have to hold the page open. All you do is hold it in one hand or just lay it down and your page is always there, unlike paperbacks that just do not stay open unless you have something holding them. However, there are a few things about it that I don't like. It's more difficult to go back to a page that you would like to reread, and the books for my e-reader are not much different in price than going out and buying the physical book at Costco. I also do not mind at all reading used books and you can get plenty of those at any garage sale or thrift store, but you can't get used books for e-readers.