Paper or computer for reading?

With all the environmental issues I finally decided to contribute towards reducing carbon footprint and thus reduced my expenditure on paper books and started switching to ebooks (pdf books) from the normal paper books. This is good option irrespective there are greater chances of getting distracted while reading on a laptop. Also their is strain on eyes while reading on laptop. So optimize the brightness and contrast of your screen and I use a mixed reading approach by reading some books on paper and other on laptop....

helllo albto, I like reading in books. I am always tired of reading by computer just like you, especially my eyes.

Paper books definitely. It's just not in me to read word from word, paragraph from paragraph on a computer screen. It actually frustrates me, to say the least. Reading from the computer can cause a lot of eye strain and other problems. All in all, some reading from the computer is good, but not a lot. But definitely I prefer paper books, it keeps me sane.

Both are good, but I usually prefer paper books. Even though I have a laptop, I feel that you can bring a book anywhere. And sometimes I just like reading a book! Books tend to have a smell to them and I love that smell :)

I enjoy reading in Papers not in computer. its to hard to read in computer. Difficult to read on the computer because eyesore fatigue quickly tired my eyes when I read in the computer.

You know,if I have enough money to buy every book I like,I would definetly go for paper.It provides the most reading pleasure while computer just can't.And yes,it hurts your eyes if you reading too long in front of a computer.

Hi albto_568! This is a very nice topic! I have a lot of books in my house that I haven't read yet. I'm not a big reader of "physical" books. I prefer more reading online news from local and international ones, or reviews about movies, albums, and I love "how to" documents. With internet is more fast to look what you're looking for and we've a big source of information that is Wikipedia. I will read a book only if I have to, or if I have to read a book with a lot of pages, that on my computer I can't read 300 pages because after my eyes will hurt. So I'm reading more and I prefer online reading but only quite short articles or ebook. Have a nice day!

I don't really mind. But I do prefer reading paper books. I have an easier time reading paper books. I don't mind either way, but I have a slight preference for paper books rather than computer.

There's nothing like the experience of reading a good book and I'm referring to a physical book, something you can hold in your hands and slowly turn the pages, that's an experience in itself! You cannot do this when you read a book online. I love technology and all things computer but when it comes to reading I have to have a new book that I can add to my bookshelf, slowly building up my collection! That's another thing about reading online it may be detrimental to the eyes and could eventually cause eyestrain! I know that amazon are selling this new gadget now called kindle and you can purchase and download books on to this device and I suppose it's very handy and convenient if this takes your fancy but I would probably use it as a dinner tray or something! Reading is my life and it gives me so much pleasure so I want to make sure that nothing pulls me away from that experience and reading online will definitely do this! Andrew

For me it depends. If I read on notes for my studies i usually prefer the paper one so that I could highlight,underline and do some markings so that I can retain the informations and easier for me to remember the key things. But if I'm just reading novels or interesting topics i'd prefer online.

Do you guys know you can turn down the brightness and contrast of your computer monitors to have it better suited for reading???? I do this sometimes when I am reading a lengthy piece online. It makes a huge difference when you switch the settings- much more relaxing on the eyes/ and the words seem to stand out more than usual. I prefer books for longer reading, but like using the computer to read short pieces better(usually because I can keep my place easier/even on specific sentences by using the highlight function and what not...

I am still the old-fashioned reader...paper anytime. I like to be able to flip the pages and mark them with dog-ears, scribble on them or even doodle ideas. What about you?

I tend to look throught news or entertain in my computer.When I'm learning or reading a lot,I constantly turn to books printed on paper.I am 26 years old and I start to use computer when I was 15.So I think my preference arises from my experience.However,there are plenty of valuable resources in syberspace,so we all need to make better use of them.:)

I prefer paper book. Because using my laptop for long time makes my eyes watering, it hurt. So I can't use an IPAD 2 read And 4 paper books, I like the feeling of holding a book in hands

I always prefer reading a real book that I can hold in my hands. Reading too much on a computer screen hurts my eyes.

With all the environmental issues I finally decided to spend less on the paper books and rather switch to ebooks i.e the pdf books. reading on laptop has some problems like I get diverted and is not able to concentrate on the book. Also the screen reading puts a great strain on eyes. So i am using a mixed approach by reading books made by recycled paper and read from an ebook where I have to read some parts of the books and try to increase concentration by taking notes of the ebook.

I grew up reading books and perhaps even in the technological advances in reading, I'll continue to stick to the paper bound or hardbound version of stories. Don't get me wrong, I also read some electronic material especially if the book is out of print and I cannot find it in my trusty bookstore. However, I have a lot of reasons why I still prefer the paper over the computer. My first consideration is my eye condition which sometimes requires me to stay away from my computer monitor. Another consideration is the psychology of turning the page. I feel that I miss turning the pages of a book after spending a lot of time reading something in a computer. Lastly, the paper gives me the comfort of a body position. I have the habit of reading even in my bed and my computer sometimes makes it uncomfortable and a source of worry. I also have the concern of wasting paper but I make up for that for participating in tree planting activities in our town.

For me it's a mixture of both. I usually have a computer/digital version and a print version of whatever it is I am reading. It's for the reasons you mentioned and a few others. The bright does tired my eyes as well. Also, I tend to do a lot of bathtub reading so the computer...yeah...not a good idea for that lol. So for me it's a mix but I could honestly do with or without the digital reading.

i love reading and i more enjoyed my reading on an old paper book.i also do reading on computer sometimes but i cant stay long i feel tired fast,my eyes start watering and make me feel sleep.i can stay long reading on an old paper books,i can read on it all day but not on the computer.so me,i choose reading on an old paper books.

I prefer reading from paper books. For one, the screen's glare begins irritating my eyes with prolonged exposure. When reading a textbook, I like to make notes in the margins also for example. I can't really do that on the computer. Lastly, there is no substitute to the smell of a good book (for me at least)! :)