The Perks Of Being A Book Addict discussion

Why not enjoy both pizza and pasta? :)
If I had to pick, I'd go with pizza, but sometimes I need a break from pizza and go for pasta instead.

I absoultly love a real book.. I tried using an e-reader because I thought I would love it, but I hated it and only used it once...

I prefer a real book, reading on ebooks my eyes tired faster.

Real books. With an ebook, you lose that gratification of finishing an actual book. Plus the smell. ebooks, you have to charge up when the battery dies. Books don't have batteries. That and you're not turning an actual page with an ebook. I mean sure, ebooks dont take up that much space, but nothing is sexier than an overly stuffed bookshelf.

That is just my opinion. Anyone agree? :)

I prefer the real thing, but sometimes (like when I'm at the library) they don't have the book I'm looking for. If I can get it in ebook format, I'd rather read it that way than not be able to read it at all.

I felt the same way until I actually got my Nook. I was very resistant to the whole e-reader idea. I always loved holding a book in my hand and wondering through the library carrying a stack of books that I was going to check out and take home. I absolutely love my Nook. With carrying all my stuff for work and textbooks for school, having an e-reader is perfect. It doesn't weigh my bag down like a regular book does, it is so much easier to pack when I go on vacation due to the fact that I don't have to make room for the seven books that I try to fit in my suitcase, not to mention the fact that it is so much lighter.

I do still go to the library and I still checkout books every once in a while, plus my daughter loves the library, but I have to say I am a convert.

I mean I've never tried a kindle nor an ipad but I do enjoy a real novel! I'd say I like having the real novel to read!

I use both to be honest. I got a kindle as a present off my mom if I remember correctly (it's been a few years!) but she admitted she felt hesitant buying it me because she knew how much I loved books themselves and I do.

I'd take a proper book over an ebook anyday if I had to make that choice but as I don't, I use both, and both experiences work for me. Holidays and commutes are much better without having to lug a heavy book around. When I'm home, no issues with the real thing.

Eek this is a tough one. I love books, love the paper, turning the pages and I love libraries and books stores the entire experience. The smell, cracking the book open - all that good stuff. That being said I am also thrifty and on the move often so - in January I bought the mini Kobo and I thought I would hate it. I love it! It does not have the screen glare of iPads and other readers it has paper technology that was designed at MIT and it doesn't strain your eyes at all. That and I can get almost 90% of my ebooks for free through our Canadian Library system. So I have to say the switch has come easier than I thought and now that I have published my first ebook I see how the options could be endless. So I'm a fan. I will still buy real paper books for experiences I want to savour and books I want to keep forever.

i prefer real books, i dont know why but it seems i cant read ebooks as well as how i read real books.. and it feels somehow real if you just read directly from the book :)

I honestly thought when ebooks came out that they were going to be a fad and never catch on. Now I have one. I love real books, I really do, but I would like to point out the benefits of the ebook, and play devils advocate:

1) It's so much easier to carry around. I currently have a 600 page book my friend has lent me, and I wish I got it on my kindle, as I commute everyday and its such a pain to lug around.
2) It's better for the environment - a kindle's battery lasts for at least a month, so doesn't require recharging that much, compared to the mountains of trees that are cut down.
3) You can carry a library around with you if you go on holiday and want some reading.
4) Books are easier to destroy with spilt food and drink etc. Having said that I wouldn't recommend spilling a cup of coffee on your kindle.
5) Books tend to be cheaper, and classics are free.
6) As for the traditional element, stories are always the same: in the times before books and where everyone could read, they would be told and acted out. Ebooks are just a new evolution in the process of storytelling.

Downsides to kindles:
1) You can't share, taking away some of the experience of reading.
2) Contradicting my traditional point, who doesn't love the feel of paper and the smell of new books?
3) No good library system (with the exception of Amazon Prime which you have to pay for)

E-books are never going to replace books in my opinion. As Stephen Fry said: 'Books are no more threatened by the Kindle than stairs by escalators'

I love real books but I also love my nook. My family and I travel a lot for my husbands work and sometimes we only stay in one place for six months so packing up a hundred or so books is a pain. My husband got me a nook and now I carry most of my books on there. I have packed about 20 of my favorite novels though and I always bring them with us to our new home just so if the moment strikes and I want to feel an actual book, I have a few great selections :)

Cassie wrote: "I love real books but I also love my nook. My family and I travel a lot for my husbands work and sometimes we only stay in one place for six months so packing up a hundred or so books is a pain. My..."

Wow sounds we've lived similar lifestyles and all the moving for a book lover can be challenging. That's why now even my children have Kobos. So much easier.

I love my Nook, Kindle, and IPAD. I used to always carry a book on me and in my car, now I have one of my devices. I do still love real books, the whole sensory journey. Life would be easier if I just went with the technology and was able to get rid of the precarious stack on my nightstand. For some reason having a real book waiting brings so much more anticipation.

Real books, no doubt about it. However, I've been thinking about buying an ereader because my house is getting too small for all the books I've got.

I prefer real books. I love its smell and I also enjoy turning the pages. Meanwhile, reading e-books make my eyes hurt.

Rachael wrote: "I honestly thought when ebooks came out that they were going to be a fad and never catch on. Now I have one. I love real books, I really do, but I would like to point out the benefits of the ebook,..."

Ebooks AREN'T cheaper though from experience. For example if a new book comes out, I find (UK), it's slightly pricier on the Kindle which is ridiculous given like you say, no paper etc. But that's what I've found. Classics are great and you get indie authors cheap but well established tend to be the same if not a bit more which annoys me, I'm not going to spend £10 on a kindle version when I could get the hardcopy for the same price!

I have a Kindle and when I got it I thought it was the best way to read. I could bring a lot of books with me. Then I found myself missing a real book in my hands. It's been collecting dust ever since.

I love real books and hated the thought of e-readers but I recently bought a Kobo Glo and I love it! I can read at night when my boyfriend's asleep without disturbing him and it's perfect for taking loads of books on holiday without using all your baggage allowance! A couple of years ago I went travelling for a year and most of my suitcase was taken up with books (it kills me to part with them once I've read them). I wish I had a Kobo when I was travelling. I still prefer actual books, but there are so many benefits to e-readers that I highly recommend them to anyone who loves to read.

I have had my kindle for 18 months and love, love LOVE it!

I like how I can go straight to where I was last reading, how light it is (especially when you get older and have arthritis in your hands), that I can carry a library around with me (I read more than one book at a time) and if I forget my kindle I can continue to read on my iphone.

The things I miss about a book is the smell and feel of a book - nothing smells as good as a new book.

I belong to a book club (for the company and wine) and library (to borrow books I'm happy to read, but not own) and still read real books.

Books that I will read more than once I buy as a hard cover. Is the best of both worlds.

Rachael said: As Stephen Fry said: 'Books are no more threatened by the Kindle than stairs by escalators'

I have had Kindles since 2008, and I will only read a physical book, if a book I desparately want to read isn't available. I fell in love with the Kindle, as soon as I saw it. I am a librarian, and I have worked for years in a bookstore, so of course I love books! It has never been the physical book that mattered to me. I didn't care if the book was used or new, it is the actual writing that maeans the most.

One of the great things about the Kindle is finding new authors, and new-to-me titles of old authors. I had no idea that Arthur Conan Doyle wrote anything but Sherlock Holmes stories, until I downloaded his complete works. An amazing find for me.

I have read more books and more widely, since purchasing the Kindle. Of course my favorite thing is having my entire library with me, wherever I go.

I have so many e-books that are on my iPad that I have not read. My 4 year old has been holding my iPad hostage and refuses to share believing that somehow the power rangers are more important. When he's through it goes to the next kid. Buying a mini pad means that my 13 year old takes the darn thing and I don't get crap until 11 pm when the batteries are dead and charging. Blah....I'm buying a kindle.

Batteries last longer in kindle and nook than IPAD, plus they aren't as heavy to hold.

Karen wrote: "I have had Kindles since 2008, and I will only read a physical book, if a book I desparately want to read isn't available. I fell in love with the Kindle, as soon as I saw it. I am a librarian, ..."

I absolutely agree with you. In the past I was also so devoted to the books that I never wanted to give up. However, as I moved to live in a different continent I ended up buying Sony Ereader and re-purchasing most of my books. But what a miracle is the e-format! I read much more and my choice of books is so much more diverse. MObility is also a super important factor of why I always recommend e-books (and I have been buying e-readers as presents to most of my family and close friends - welcome to the new world :) )

@Raiitsa,

I do the same thing. I buy extra e-readers, so that I can lend books to friends and family, since you can have multiple Kindles on one account. I don't have to worry about books not being returned, I will always have my copy.

I would have to go for real books as my favorite but saying that I have noticed some books are only coming out in e-format so it might be something we will have to get used to in the future.

Stephen wrote: "Avery wrote: "Real books. With an ebook, you lose that gratification of finishing an actual book. Plus the smell. ebooks, you have to charge up when the battery dies. Books don't have batteries. Th..."

I agree too! The charging makes me crazy! Love that you can read a book during a power outage without concern that you might not have enough battery power to finish a book!

I am Team Book. I love real books and for me an e-reader is out of the equation entirely. Yes, I have tried them, but they are certainly not for me.
As a bookseller at Waterstones, part of my job was to be knowledgable on Kindles and sell them. Now I don't have anythig against other people using ereaders, but they are not for me. I know a lot about them, I am more than competant at using them and fixing technical issues with them, I just don't want one.

I love real books, I love their smell and the feeling of the pages. Yes, e-readers are more pratical, they don't occupy space or anything and they're good for the environment, once paper is not used. But still, I couldn't spent an entire day looking at a bright screen, I prefer real books by far! Besides, having a real book collection is much cooler than an e-reader book collection!

Real books, of course.

I like them both, although my Kindle reader symbolizes a major revolution in the publishing industry to me. The ease with which I can reach books with the Kindle and the savings in purchase price meaning that I can afford more to read are both major incentives, but you lose the artwork that comes with reading a book in its original cover. Since I do my covers, too, I like knowing my readers get the visual presentation and book covers are more instrumental that you ever would think in choosing a book. In the end, a good book is a good book no matter how you read it.

E-readers vs. Real books (as opposed to fake books? Lol)

I use my nook when I travel, because otherwise I have to take 3 or 4 books with me and then there is no room for my alcohol! I mean clothes!
Other wise, I'd rather have a physical book.

Real books for me - but it's amazing the free material, especially those old public domain books that I would have to go back to school to find a paper copy of, that I can read an mark up and not damage on my iPad. Pretty cool!

All that said...paper all the way!

i love reading ebooks on my galaxy tab because the kindle app for android is just awesome and there is no strain on eyes. I read all my books in sepia color and it is just awesome although i want to purchase real kindle because it is light and battery backup is also great. But it is twice costly in INDIA compared to US. And i think maybe i can save one or two trees.

I love my Kindle, but I will say that some books I really want in hard copy and I make sure I get them. For instance, there was some wonderful font and formatting in "The Book Thief" and I would have missed much of it. So, if I'm not familiar with the book or suspect something cool may be done with the format, I'll opt for hard copy every time.

I like both. I really don't have a preference as long as I can read it. I have a Nook and an Ipad2. I love my Ipad for so many reasons. One of them is for the Nook and Kindle app. For me its my agenda, tv, ereader, camera, etc all in one.

I prefer reading the worthy of being reread books like the classics in real books, so I really spend for those. But, I've read a lot of ebooks too. Nonetheless, in both forms, the essence of reading is still there.

...now I want pizza.


I was tempted to buy a Kindle but then I went all scrooge and continued to horde money. An e-book would come in handy on those long, long flights though.

I borrowed my dad's kindle when I went on holiday a few weeks ago to save on luggage space.

To be honest I thought I would absolutely hate it but I was mildy surprised. Yes, it doesn't have the gratification finishing a real life book can give you yet it is so much easier to travel with. I ended up reading approximately 10 books whilst away and I would never have fit 10 books in my luggage so that was awesome!

I'm still umming about spending money on a kindle, I've just joined my local library and having a huge range of free books on my doorstop kind of stops me from spending a lot of money! Maybe for a birthday present?

TheCuriousDeer wrote: "I borrowed my dad's kindle when I went on holiday a few weeks ago to save on luggage space.

To be honest I thought I would absolutely hate it but I was mildy surprised. Yes, it doesn't have the gr..."

I live in Southern California and have library cards to five different public library systems. Every library has it's own collection of ebooks that you can check out just like the physical books. The number of books and amount of time you can borrow varies from library to library but usually it's adequate for what I want. If you like classics, those are available all the time, no waiting. No driving to and from library to pick up and return books. There is an amazing community of kindle and nook users that share their personal libraries as well. I'm not sure what the price of a Kindle or Nook is in the UK, but if you like to read and read daily it is definitely worth the $100 +/- cost.

Kyle ~Special K: Rebel Leader~ wrote: "I read the traditional way. Book in hand. I will never get an e-reader, a nook or a kindle."

When you are a teenager you can say the word "never" as an adult you should know better. What happens when a Publishing House decides to only offer your favorite author in digital format? Just curious.

I thought I would never get a kindle but eventually I caved in as I liked the fact that I could have as many books as I like and not have to find a place to put them lol But I prefer real books as I love the feeling of starting and holding a new book, being able to flick back and forth through the pages and I like reading the covers and blurbs of real books, I also love buying books and mooching through bookshops.....My kindle does gather a bit of dust as I only tend to use it when I run out of things to read or if I cant wait for a particular book, so my verdict is that although e books are ok for convinience, you cant beat a real book x

Well, Kyle, I agree with Patricia.

I thought I'd never want an e-reader because I love the feel of a book, the smell of them fresh off the press and the sound of the pages being turned. However, I was given one as a gift and I fell in love. That's not to say that I don't buy books anymore. In fact, I still do but I'm selective of the ones I buy. For instance, I've read all the Harry Potters and wanted my own set. Recently I've read the Maze Runner series on e-reader exclusively, the I'd like to have a copy of them for my home library.
I compare it to music records. Yes, it's convenient downloading an MP3 but there's nothing greater than owning the album of an artist you truly love.
And as the saying goes, "Never say Never". :)

Patricia wrote: "Kyle ~Special K: Rebel Leader~ wrote: "I read the traditional way. Book in hand. I will never get an e-reader, a nook or a kindle."

When you are a teenager you can say the word "never" as an adul..."

i am really surprised to find you to be so close minded. i own many books, go to the library once a week and own a kindle. the kindle was given to me as a gift almost 2 years ago and i absolutely love it. the best part of the kindle is if you finish a book in the middle of the night and want to go on to the next book of the series. you don't have to wait, you can just download it and start reading again. it the instant gratification that i go for!!! everything has its place in this world. the library is still one of my favorite places in the world and i am starting my own library at home but the kindle is a great invention and i could not live with out it. have a good day. peace

dude i am not forcing anything on you. i am only telling people how i feel about books and e-readers. and yes you do sound very close minded. just saying...

i do not think everyone should have an e-reader. i am just happy that i have one!!!! and i believe you are included in "MY generation" lol have a good one. peace A

I read on my Nook I just got for Christmas, but I still go to my local library and bookstore ALL the time. Once a week at least. Nothing will ever be better then cracking a real book open for the 1st time! To each your own I say...Happy reading!

I'm in a bit of a bind about this debate, in one hand I love my real books and I have said I would never need a Kindle or anything similar but having said that lately I'm finding I might be missing out on a lot of good books (by being a bit closed minded) as there are books that are put straight on to eBook form and never printed. Maybe it's time to think about getting one.

I love real books and didn't think I could get used to ebooks but I think ebooks are great too! I read most of my books on my kindle because it's easier to carry around and great for night reading, but I still buy real books if I know it's going to be a great read that I might want to share with my sister. I also buy real books to support local book stores! I would hate to see any more disappear. You can't replace that real book smell!

I will always prefer real books to ebooks, but sometimes ebooks are cheaper and easier to read. And at the end of the day it is better for the environment. However, I don't want real books to die out. They're beautiful. The smell, the shape, the feel, everything.
So yeah. Real books are real books. Nothing can replace them. But sometimes it's easier for ebooks.