Digital or Paper?

With all of the Kindles, Nooks, and various other devices, one has to wonder. Do you prefer reading on a Kindle or reading paper books?

There will never be a better feeling than that of opening a brand new book for the first time, ever.

I am a bit torn between the two.

I have a huge library of paper books. I love holding the corners of the pages and making dog ears to hold my place. I also love the weight when you carry it around and the smells that come with reading from paper. I also like that there is no glare from lights because, obviously, there is no screen and that I don't have to charge it every night.

But at the same time, a Kindle/Nook is good for (like myself) when you have no where else to hold more paper books or carrying a thick book is too much trouble for your current situation. It is also good for learning new words as with my Kindle, I can hold my finger over a word I am unfamiliar with and get the definition. Plus, it is easy to purchase books and get them instantly to read instead of wasting gas and time to go up to a bookstore and get it.

Books, but then I'm a very backwards person. It is much easier for me to have pages to turn than to read a long article/story on the internet. And books are a mite harder to lose than those teeny-tiny electronic readers.

When it comes to books, I am an impulse shopper, but it only works when I can touch, smell, and read some of the book. I NEVER go onto Amazon with the intention of stumbling across a new book. Most of my books come from me going to the shops and deciding to pop into the book store too. And frankly, all the books on my Kindle are ones I have read the paper version of first, or sequels to series' I avidly follow.

I got a Nook as a gift, and was obsessed with it for a while. I like it because it can hold a lot of books in a compact space, which is good since I moved several states away from home (where my paper books are). However, it is a bummer when it's not charged and you want to read. And I do still enjoy paper books (when I can read for fun at all). Hm...this makes me want to charge up my Nook and read something.

But I have to say, reading "Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norrell" was much easier on the Nook than the hardcover would have been.

So...both, I'd say.

Uh. I really need to get a picture of my bookshelves, but: I've bought more books since I got my kindle than I did before I had it. Of course, we also won't talk about me and my issue with kindle freebies (but zomg, kindle library books? Best. Thing. EVAR!).

But seriously, I use both. To an alarming degree. In terms of preference, however, I refuse to read textbooks on a kindle/online unless forced; for fiction, it's a toss up, usually ending with what copy I can acquire the easiest. Generally, anything that could be a reference material, I want in print. Fiction I like on my kindle, though I'll often go buy a copy (if it was free/a library book) if I want my own copy.

Plus... nothing beats old book smell. Nothing.

Paper, still.

I feel the same way as Zyphlid. I've also noticed that I wouldn't have found most of the books on my Kindle if I didn't have one.
Also with a kindle, if you have a sudden urge to read a certain book, then you can if it's on your kindle, which you can't necessarily do if you have just paper.
(remarque (yes that was french) I'm one of those people who have over 150 books on my kindle and 130 on paper...)

I'd say digital, because 1) Physical books get damaged very easily, and if you're like me, and have to cram a bunch of stuff in your backpack, along with a paperback version of your favorite book, you'll end up bending the book out of shape if you aren't too careful. Also, Ebooks are cheaper than their printed, bookstore sold counterparts (however, Amazon seems to be selling paperbacks and hardcovers for a pretty cheap price).

I'm hopelessly old fashioned. I love the smell of a book, and the hiss of the page as you turn it. I definitely prefer paper, but I also have an eReader. Generally I buy hard copies for stories I really like, and then stick to electronic for books that are okay, but I'd only read once.

Paper is so overrated. Digital gives me adjustable brightness, size, font, color, everything. It's much more portable, especially for transporting large amounts of books. It has a built-in dictionary. You don't need a pen to take notes or a highlighter to highlight stuff. It gives you a massive selection of completely free, public access books, as well as generally lower prices for the ones you have to pay for. It's much easier to read in awkward positions (ie in bed) because you don't have to prop open the page. You can keep it in more than one location via the Cloud. There is no risk of losing your bookmark. There are many, many platforms to read on if you aren't satisfied with one. You can even rent digital books from digital libraries. And, digital books don't wear.

So, digital is better in just about every imaginable way.

Kafkaescence wrote:Paper is so overrated. Digital gives me adjustable brightness, size, font, color, everything. It's much more portable, especially for transporting large amounts of books. It has a built-in dictionary. You don't need a pen to take notes or a highlighter to highlight stuff. It gives you a massive selection of completely free, public access books, as well as generally lower prices for the ones you have to pay for. It's much easier to read in awkward positions (ie in bed) because you don't have to prop open the page. You can keep it in more than one location via the Cloud. There is no risk of losing your bookmark. There are many, many platforms to read on if you aren't satisfied with one. You can even rent digital books from digital libraries. And, digital books don't wear.

So, digital is better in just about every imaginable way.

Not to mention the spell-check. (I always need it)

There is nothing better than reading in a book. I had to do an entire class with a kindle once, and it was one of the worst experiences ever. If you're not good at typing it's the biggest pain ever, also I write my essays by highlighting the page numbers of pages that I find are essay topic material and than go back to read those. Cannot do that on kindles and what not. Also, I mean come on... I just got this massive huge book of the complete tales and poems of Edgar Allan Poe, and it looks just flipping awesome. It's fun to show off, and the coolness of your books lose their value if you can carry them all around in a kindle.

Digital just hurts my eyes :/ I find myself periodically turning the brightness down and down and down... Plus, I have a big old clunky laptop, and it's unwieldy. I love the feeling of holding a book, the smell, it's just nostalgia and the desire to possess.

BUT I can't really write anything with pen and paper. I make a mess and feel like I've wasted the notebook. I prefer the unlimited space and cleaner editing of digital writing.