Tangible physical paper and ink books vs e-Book readers like Kindle and Nook
By sharone74
@sharone74 (4837)
United States
January 17, 2012 1:51pm CST
I have been a staunch bookworm supporter of the printed word, or at least the printed novel ( I am not a huge fan of non fiction, especially not contemporary non fiction.) But much like religion, even if you are lapsed in your faith and a rare visitor to your regular church, if someone or something were to threaten to destroy that church, you would rally the troops and defend what is yours! The same goes for books with me. Hearing it spouted all over radio, tv, and print that" the printed book or printed word media is DEAD DEAD DEAD." I dunno, a vast sweeping technocratic statement like that just really REALLY bugs me on a gut level! Ever since I was 4 and old enough,not to mention coordinated to hold a book and read it myself, throughout the years of being a virtually friendless an somewhat unpopular nerdy kid, books have been my friends, my saviors, my comforters, and my informants. There is something definitely to be said however for a book that holds hundeds of books, always weighs the same no matter how many you have in it, and which allows you to download hundreds of thousands of books free of charge or on the cheap!
I am a virtual Kindle newbie this being the 21st day that I have owned a Kindle. I got my Touch for Christmas. LOVE IT! I especially love that I can use my incentivized search engine bucks to buy $5 and $10 Amazon cards so that I can read some of the premium stories too, without breaking the bank! (I do quite a bit of reading 32 books and counting so far.)
I love the free library and the facebook Kindle freebies from Pixels of Ink and E-reader news today. Both free to join and get multi book offers for free, no obligations, no requirement or even a request to buy anything NOW OR EVER AND THAT IS IMPORTANT TO ME!, just like em on facebook and get free premium stories. I will warn you though, if you see a title that you want, do not hesitate to add it to your kindle library as soon as you can because they are only free to users and only on the day that they are offered. You can leave them in your library as long as you like you just have to click em and own em.
Have I been converted to an e-reading, technocrat, wishing death on the traditional printed word book format. Not as long as I am both black and breathing! Books don't need to be charged for you to open one and read it, and any book that does hold an electrical charge cannot be enjoyed in a nice hot bath, which is my preferred reading spot.
How about you? Paper or plastic?
Nice to meet you all!
10 responses
@Lannielui (83)
• United States
18 Jan 12
I'm in somewhat of a different category. Used to be an avid book reader, reading up to six books a week. The bathtub was also one of my favorite spots to read. However, due to circumstances beyond my control, I lost a significant amount of my vision and with it the ability to read books. I mourned the loss of my ability to read more than not being able to drive a car. I then discovered audio books and trained myself to enjoy books through my hearing verses vision. I do not know if a kindle would fit my vision needs as I've not checked it out, but its an idea I've been considering. Personally, I don't see why both formats can't be kept. Paper and plastic!
@Mistin (8)
• Philippines
19 Jan 12
The Kindle has this feature wherein the font can be made bigger so I think that it can definitely fit your vision needs. :)
Like you, I also don't see why both formats can be kept.
I like both physical books and my Kindle, it's just that I'm an avid reader and collecting books can really be expensive and I don't enough money to sustain such an expensive habit.
I can save much more money with the Kindle.
@Mistin (8)
• Philippines
19 Jan 12
Oh, and since I'm from a city where I can't really find the books I want for sale, I just prefer to get my books from the Kindle store instead of having them shipped from the US as the shipping fee is usually more expensive than the book itself..lol.
Sorry for the double post, I just remembered this after I posted my first post and I can't really find the edit button.
If this isn't allowed, then this post can be deleted, sorry.
@Lannielui (83)
• United States
19 Jan 12
Thanks Mistin! Guess I will have to go and check out Kindle at a place where I can see how large the font can get. Sometimes the font is large, but it cuts off and simply will not work for easy scrolling. I tried a kindle app for my iphone and it is useless. Right now I can get all my audio books for free, as part of a service for the blind. However, I have found that there are some books I want to read that havent been added to the database, or worse yet, have a horrid narrator, which really does kill a book. So, looking into an non-expensive alternative as Kindle, sounds like a good idea.
@moneywinner (1864)
• Brazil
24 Jan 12
I think that the paper books will always exist, because kindle and similar help us a lot if I we want to read books in a bus or in class, but there some type of books that I need to read in paper. I study Medicine and I really prefer to study with the paper books than reading them on kindle.
@soulist (2985)
• United States
24 Jan 12
I am the kind of person who loves to have a book in my hand. It is hard for me to read from a screen. I love turning the pages and the feel of paper. I love putting a bookmark in my boks to mark my pages. I love everything about having a tangible book in my hand.
@asyria51 (2861)
• United States
24 Jan 12
I got a hand me down first generation Kindle just a few weeks ago. Along with that I got about $200 in amazon credit between my birthday and Christmas. I have downloaded a bunch of free books, and have bought many of the books that are 99 cents each. While I do love the fact that I can have several dozen books all in one device, I still prefer my paperback books while I am sitting on the couch. I am using my kindle at work and when I am on the go.
I do have to agree about the bath comment. I will not bring my Kindle anywhere near the tub. I got to my exhaustive collection of old fashion paper backs when I decide I need some bubble therapy.
@thresholdofreality (119)
• Philippines
20 Jan 12
Nice to meet you as well!
I use both books and ebooks, but I have to say, I prefer books. There's just the feeling I get when I actually hold the thick book in my hands, you know? And I really like the smell of book paper, as weird as that may sound.
Most of all, I have to say that I like displaying my books in my bookshelf, and also, the thrill of finding marked-down books is a pretty amazing feeling too!
@peavey (16936)
• United States
17 Jan 12
I don't have a Kindle yet, but I read quite a bit on the computer. When I want to relax, though, I want a paper book in my hands. There's nothing like turning the pages of a real book. They even smell good - paper and ink. Heaven forbid that they ever go away. Our world is too far removed from reality the way it is.
@maybebaby (1230)
• Canada
18 Jan 12
I use to be a paper kind of girl, and then I got a Kindle and my whole world changed! I've had one for almost 2 years now and I don't think I could go back to reading a real book again. The Kindle is just so lightweight and you can carry a huge number of books with you and not have the bulk. And really, it's the only way to travel if you're a reader. I always use to have to bring a few books with me and now I just bring the Kindle. So much more convenient. Also, the price of ebooks is great. It's win win however I look at it.
@megamatt (14291)
• United States
18 Jan 12
I tend to rather stick rather tightly to my actual books until the very end. Perhaps I am going to be one of those bitter old people who are ranting about how things used to be better before this dang fangled technology but I have my way of doing things. I hate e-readers, Kindles they just take all of the enjoyment that I personally have out of reading.
I just feel the need to actually feel the paper right in my hand. To smell the paper, to hear the paper turning, to see the pages turn from my hands. To actually taste the paper...okay perhaps I'm not tasting the paper. Funnily enough, everything else, I seem to be mostly progressive about technology wise, but I'd rather read an actual book. It just seems cold and sterile to see it on the computer screen. Unless it is a textbook for a class for school, which makes it easier on my sanity to look up information. For pleasure, traditional, for for research, the technological capabilities cannot be beaten.
@Sebastion1234 (293)
•
18 Jan 12
i worki in book store trust me books sales are bad these days i wonder went it is going to wipe out
