Real books vs e books?

[Ffosse]

I uploaded all my 1000 plus books to Google Play; this means that I can read them on any device; laptop, iPad, phones etc.

Reading them on the 10.5" iPad is best but the 5.8" phone makes a good substitute for when the iPad is too big. I think I had about 50 books downloaded onto my iPhone when I was in hospital although I could browse my entire collection and download anything.

I think services like Audible are a waste of money when it comes to books as you can only download 1 book a month for £9.99 - it should be as many books as you like - as in a streaming service. Not that I could get used to having a book read to me, anyway.

[Ffosse]

I tried reading a normal paperback in bed recently and it was such a cumbersome process. The book was too heavy; I had to place it face down to keep my place and it was just too big. Plus I had to have a lamp on. With my phone I can adjust the brightness to the minimum, have the text white on black etc.

I don’t know how places like Waterstones are still in business.

[Emjay]

Pay for ebooks? Never.
I get daily free books from amazon and most days there is something that interests me. You can ‘look inside’ to read the first couple of pages to see if it is readable.
A few weeks ago my son in law gave me a thick heavy paperback. I did read it and also at times in bed. It was so awkward and I had to have a light on. Not so when reading with the paper lite kindle.
Before the kindle I had different devices that I could read ebooks on. I found a site on line that contained many current titles. Also they were free. I also have a few CDs that contain thousands of ebooks that can be downloaded to my kindle.

[Ffosse]

Yup, it’s safe to say that I have more books than I’ll ever read. It’s the choice though, like with music.

[tarantula]

I love my Kindle, I read so quickly I would need a library to stock my reading material if they were ordinary books.

[Rehab44]

Same here, I still have loads of books, I find it painful getting rid of them, I do hang on to all the classics.

[Yolande]

I couldn’t enjoy a book on a device, makes my eyes funny. I still read normal books, from the library or charity hops.

[deylon]

I love to go to the library and browse through the books. I know they are not new but most books in librarys these days are kept in good condition or removed,There is so much to choose from

[Mel15]

I love second hand book shops

Was at a vintage car show on Sunday and I wandered off to. find a second hand book shop where I whiled away an hour or so chatting to the owner, getting new recommendations

Came away with three new to me books, new to me Authors and once they are read I donate to the charity shop so they get read again

[Psmith]

I love the feel of proper books.I was given a Kindle but gave it back after a few days.

[DaveA]

I have tried to read from my laptop or tablet and am not happy with either. I’d like to join the trend as my wife and most of our kids and grandkids use their electronic “books”, but I guess I’m like the “old dog and new tricks”.

As I’m 85, I’m puzzled by the apparent difficulty some people have, of holding a book while reading? I read every evening, without fail, lying in bed with a reading light clipped to my book. I do understand if one has a crippling problem with their hands or arms, but holding a book for the average person??

[Rehab44]

I suppose it depends on the book, one of my photography books is so large that it can’t be read in bed, my casual reading is done on my kindle, but ‘proper’ books are in softback or hardback

[Donkeyman]

Wading through amozon

@Longdogs

I prefer real books but I do think e books are useful when travelling etc. Sometimes I download several free books on Kindle most of which are not very good and I give up after a few chapters but I do wonder if I would make more effort had I bought the proper book. Having said that, I have read some excellent free books and there is the advantage of being able to read the reviews.

My biggest gripe with Amazon is having to sift through all those ‘Billionaire and his lover’ type books.

Surely,  only  if  you  choose  the  erotica  section  LG, it  is  a  matter
of  choice?
Not  so?

  Best  Regards.     Donkeyman.

[Donkeyman]

Solution

@Rehab44

I suppose it depends on the book, one of my photography books is so large that it can’t be read in bed, my casual reading is done on my kindle, but ‘proper’ books are in softback or hardback

You seem to have found the solution,rehab, scout for new
Stuff to read on kindle, do the real reading with real books

 Best  regards     Donkeyman .

[Tachyon]

I like books and e-books, but e-books take up less room in the house and in my holiday luggage and don’t need to be tidied up or dusted. They’re a lot cheaper than the same version in paperback and I can get them “delivered” instantly. E-books mean nobody has to cut down trees to make the paper for my books, too.

[Donkeyman]

Cut trees

@Tachyon

I like books and e-books, but e-books take up less room in the house and in my holiday luggage and don’t need to be tidied up or dusted. They’re a lot cheaper than the same version in paperback and I can get them “delivered” instantly. E-books mean nobody has to cut down trees to make the paper for my books, too.

All very true, Tachyon, but the fact that we use trees to make
paper does not mean we are destroying forests, the trees
we use are 90 % pine trees, which grow very quickly and
are grown specifically for making paper, and are grown in
plantations in a sustainable manner, and so never deplete.
lf we utilised our other natural resources in a similar manner
the world would be a better place.

 Best   Regards           Donkeyman

[Senex]

Real books. The e-books you rent. The minute I heard Amazon (and other purveyors) was surreptitiously deleting paid for books from those readers, I wanted no part of that scam. If I want to ‘borrow’ a book, that’s what a library is for. If I want to pay a fee to borrow a book, that is what ILL is for.

[Bruce]

@Senex

Real books. The e-books you rent. The minute I heard Amazon (and other purveyors) was surreptitiously deleting paid for books from those readers, I wanted no part of that scam. If I want to ‘borrow’ a book, that’s what a library is for. If I want to pay a fee to borrow a book, that is what ILL is for.

First thing I do when I buy an ebook is rip out the DRM so the book is mine but also my Sony ebook is not part of the Kindle (attempted) monopoly

[Emjay]

I have never paid for an ebook. In the days gone by before the Kindle I was finding free books from various online sites and reading them on a Psion.
Even now with the free daily offers from Amazon and the CDs that I was given that contain thousands of titles. There is no need for me to spend for my reading.
But saying that, I did buy 3 tree books recently from a charity shop that still gave me change from a £1.

[Rox]

Like Emjay I go for the free ebooks and download them. I still have a lot of actual books that I’d not part with. But my real love these days are Audio Books, I also download free ones to my desk computer. In the Winter I like to do online jigsaws and listen to a book at the same time.