E-books or Real Books? E-paper or Newspaper?
By Rachiel
@funkeyguhl (1743)
Philippines
January 4, 2010 6:21am CST
With technology thinking of ways to deliver the news and literature in different mediums, the publishing and media industry have dived in to the demand.
E-books and e-paper has been made available for public consumption.
I have been collecting e-books but does not have the chance to read them because I still like the idea of reading a book while maybe having coffee or on my balcony. This is the same thing with newspapers.
What about you? Do you like the electronic version more rather than the hard copy?
3 people like this
15 responses
@nijolechu (1842)
• Canada
5 Jan 10
I would rather just read the books on real paper because I don't want to get eye strain from having to read it on the computer screen. But I still do like to get my news online from online news sites because I don't like how the ink of the newspapers gets smudged on my fingers.
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
5 Jan 10
That's why I am tempted to get one of those new ebook readers like kindle...
@funkeyguhl (1743)
• Philippines
5 Jan 10
Same here! I thought I can still enjoy technology via these e-book readers. =)
It's a bit expensive but will see... I think the prices will go down if more companies will be introducing their version of e-book readers.
@cyberfluf (4996)
• Netherlands
10 Jan 10
I haven't been able to try out an e-reader just yet, so I have only read e-books on my pc. Unfortunatly it tires my eyes pretty fast and for that reason I rather would have a hard copy. Also, if your pc or laptop crashes all your books would be gone (yes, you can back up...) and with a hard copy you don't have this problem.
E-readers are more portable but most of the time you carry just one book.
For students it can be ideal though as heavy schoolbags can cause serious back problems later on. I would suggest a hard copy with a validation key or something that can give access to the download of the same book in e-book format.
@funkeyguhl (1743)
• Philippines
10 Jan 10
I have not tried an e-reader yet. Though I thought getting a mobile phone with a touch screen display will solve it but it did not so I am now in a lookout for a cheap but dependable e-reader.
I do like the smell of books and is fond of carrying them around as well (like while waiting for my plane to arrive, waiting for a friend, etc) but I would also like to have the convenience of bring a couple of books to read. This becomes difficult with a hard copy because you can only bring one and two becomes bulky.
Hmm... an e-book reader for the students is an excellent idea because at least they will not have backaches carrying their books all around campus!
@funkeyguhl (1743)
• Philippines
4 Jan 10
Same here. I like reading books while having my coffee sometimes when I'm lying down and I do not feel comfortable with that when I read an e-book over the computer.
For the news, I wanted it to be like a hard copy newspaper wherein you get to look at the news page by page. Maybe it's me but I find it hard to try reading a news website. I know it's good because it gives suggestions on what is related to the article I'm reading.
@sahsports4883 (441)
• United States
5 Jan 10
Hi,
I prefer to actually read the newspaper but I've read it online before as well but as far as books go I'd rather read real books rather than a book on the Internet or listen to an audio book. Audio books are too slow for me and I end up finishing two or three pages before the voice on the tape is done with one page lol. I tend to read quite a bit of my news on the Internet because as far as that goes it's easier but I have bought the newspaper from time to time when I could afford it.
@funkeyguhl (1743)
• Philippines
6 Jan 10
Hi
I have not tried audiobooks though I did download one. I do also read online news but it's like I do not know which section should go next... unlike in the newspapers, you know that after National is World News, etc.
or I am resisting change?
@ankit08 (25)
• India
5 Jan 10
well friend i also prefer the hardcopy to e-books, its quite simple that u cant carry ur pc to every where or in case of laptop we feel bored after some time so its better to carry a book and read it any time.......
same is the case with news paper they are very cheap and its nice to read newspaper in its actual form but not on the pc.
@andryan7legends (1297)
• Indonesia
4 Jan 10
I love Real Books and NewsPaper. First, it is so flexible and It's not hurt my eyes. You know, reading in front of the monitor just like burn my eyes. That's why I prefer to real books and newsPaper. Happy Mylotting!
@funkeyguhl (1743)
• Philippines
4 Jan 10
Sure does the same thing to me! I find it very hard to concentrate most especially when you feel your eyes is already burning and they you start to get teary eyed because of staring too long on the monitor.
For this case, I usually lower the brightness of my monitor so that it doesn't hurt my eyes.
Try it... it might work for you :)
@lordwarwizard (35747)
• Singapore
5 Jan 10
Same here funkeyguhl,
I guess perhaps I like the idea of getting close to nature... you know... books... trees...
For me, I read a lot of books but I seldom read ebooks. I just don't like reading them off the screen. It just ruins the enjoyment somewhat for me.
As for papers, I read 2 newspapers everyday but I do glance around online news too. That's okay because the articles are shorter and more easily "consumable". 
@jahernandezrivas (11288)
• United States
4 Jan 10
I prefer real books cause starting at the screen too long hurts my eyes, but for news I just watch that on television unless there's something in the newspaper I really need (COUPONS! lol).
@buckiem (129)
•
5 Jan 10
I prefer talking books because I have problems with my eyes so I cannot read for long periods, so now I am looking for sites that do the talking books with the newer versions on them. I do enjoy reading newspapers and can manage that but the electronic books are of no interest to me I think the writing would be even smaller than some books.
@chriszh22 (432)
• China
4 Jan 10
I would prefer real books and newspapers. It's good for your eyes, you can read them everywhere and anytime. It's more relax to read the real books, more enjoy.
@lahari (133)
• India
4 Jan 10
E-books are easy to obtain and the best part about them is that you can have most of them free of cost. Whereas for the hard bound books you have to go out of your home to the bookshop and purchase it(and most of the good books don't come that cheap!). But still I would prefer a hard bound book over an e-book because you can read them very comfortably and carry them with you everywhere you go. So given a same book in two versions I will defintely go for the hard copy instead of the electronic one!
@SkiBabe1814 (109)
• United States
5 Jan 10
I definitely prefer to read regular plain old books. I do most of my reading at work, Im a lunchtime hostess so I read in between seating people. I also read on the bus or while sitting outside a lot. so I guess it would not be practical for me to read e books. When I am on the computer I prefer to do things like check my email and go on mylot! I also watch tv while I am on the computer. I don't think i could sit long enough without getting distracted on the computer to read an e book.
@saikuzu (10)
• Chile
4 Jan 10
hi there. well i'd say i like both ways of reading. e-books are very useful, because i can find almost any book in the net, and besides i can read them on my cellphone (se w200) without any problem. i usually read in the night before sleeping, though it's not really good for the eyes. in other hand, reading phisical books has its poetry and beautifulness. it's like the classical thing. i'd say that nowadays, both methods are very popular.
newspaper or e-paper? no, i don't read those...
@megamatt (14292)
• United States
4 Jan 10
For school purposes, I like the e books much better. Its much easier to look up information for research projects and the like. Going back and forth from a hard book to the computer when I am typing can be a bit awkward. For actual reading purposes, I prefer the actual hard back books.
