I love my e-book no question.
There is no contest with a real book.
A real book is more cumbersome, heavier, thicker.
You can’t read it at night without some external light source which invariably annoys your partner who is trying to sleep.
Clipping lamps to the book is simply a “Heath Robinson” solution. Just ridiculous in the face of an e-book with illumination.
I can hold an e-book in one hand very comfortably and easily. I can flick to the next or previous page with that same one hand. You can not do that with a real book.
When I travel, I carry 100s of books with me in that one small device which I can choose from and read at my leisure. Those with real books need tons of space in their suitcases and all that extra weight. Just silly TBH.
Notions of having something real and tangible in the form of a real book are entirely valid I feel the same way about music.
HOWEVER . . . .
If you are savvy then this isn’t actually a problem.
Like Bruce, I too immediately convert all the books I buy from Amazon and strip away the DRM. The book is then MINE and mine for perpetuity. It IS at that point a real tangible thing that belongs to me and which if I chose I could give to anyone else, just like giving them a real book.
Point of fact, I don’t do that, but I strip the DRM and convert all books to ePub format nevertheless because I deem it sensible and right to do so. If I buy a book, regardless of who I buy it from, then it should become mine to do as I please.
With the dire reputation that Kindles have these days, I instead opted for a Kobo for my second e-Reader purchase when my original Kindle gave up the ghost. It’s a super portable and brilliant device. Backlit of course and adjustable so I can read at night with minimal illumination without affecting my partner’s sleep.
The battery lasts months, yes months ! And the device can hold 1000s of books.
It’s a no brainer.
It looks and reads the same as any book. Black and white, same font and the font size is of course adjustable. Something a real book doesn’t offer !
For those that read this is one of those areas where being a dinosaur is seriously limiting.
An e-Reader is a really really good investment.