The Perks Of Being A Book Addict discussion

I love real books so much I had to purge my house of over 10,000 of them. I could not walk in some rooms! I had to use an e-reader or get another house for storage.

So I read both e-books and real books:

~ Reference: I have an extensive real book library, however, I bought the e-book version of some just so I can copy and paste quotes with citations (super neat for authors).

~ Bed Reading: I am more comfortable with Kindle for PC that my hand held Kindle for bedtime. I have my computer on a TB tray that slides the computer over the edge of my bed and can read very well before going to sleep. (due to eye surgery I no longer need glasses to read the computer distance but need reading glasses for a book distance).

~ Car Reading: I read a lot in the car so I love the Kindle for it.

~ Plane Travel: Now that you have to pay for carry on and extra suitcases it makes MUCH more sense to use an ereader over brining a dozen books.

~ Stationary Bike Reading: where I park my Kindle.

~ Bath or Pool Reading: Only read paperbacks. I have a LOT of books with water stained corners. I tried the Kindle with a baggie over it and did not like it.

~ Read Aloud: I read to my children daily. At times I use the audio version with Kindle for them to follow along to help them read faster. Last week I bought the e-book "Sign of the Beaver" because we lost our paper back (somewhere in the stacks) and wanted to finish the book. INSTANT GRADIFICATION for $3.99 so worth it!

I have used my Kindle so long that when I read a paper book I "click" on a word I want to look up in the dictionary--does not work. :(

Got to mention FREEBIES!! I get free ebooks every week with Kindle. What's not to love. Found super new authors this way (usually at 1am, when no libraries are open).

Patricia, some say there will eventually be no paper options. There is a film called "Out of Print" about the imminent death of the written word in print books and the industry. http://outofprintthemovie.com/

You can share books on a Kindle. You can loan and borrow one book at a time. You can also check ebooks from the library.

NEATEST GIFT EVER:

I have over 500 books on my Kindle, when I updated to a better reader I gave my mom my old Kindle with access to all my books. She was thrilled, she hasn't had to go to the library in months.

and she has access to every book I purchase. She can't buy a book but I can buy it for her.

yes i have well over 1000 books on my kindle. for me the best part is when i finish one book in the series and it is late nothing opened i can get the next book easily on my kindle. i still go to the library once a week, and also get library books on my kindle. i think it is fantastic to be able to borrow books right off the computer. now they have all the kindle apps so u can download it on ur phone,computer, laptop, everywhere. and look at all the trees we are saving!!! i don't know why people get all upset and mad about the kindle. or any e=read for that matter. yes and i do share books with others on my kindle. in this economy it is much cheaper to be able to do this plus may apt. is getting really filled with what we are calling "real" books. i am running out of room until i get someone here to put up more shelves. this is only my opinion and you know what they say about that- everybody has one !!! lol here's to reading a great book. i am going back to my library "real" book now. Peace A

Speaking of the VW Beetle in 1950s, young Les Nesman said, "It's just a fad, like television."

Both. Like many other people have said, I thought I would never want an ereader because I love holding a book. I found myself drawn to them and thinking about them and a year ago I finally bought my kindle. I love, love, love it. I find that I read much faster with my Kindle. There are many ebooks available for free or really cheap. Some books are cheaper as an ebook and some are cheaper as a paper book. You have to know your prices. I will always buy real books but I more often buy ebooks right now. I just don't have the space in my place for all of my paper books.

e-Readers will eventially replace books just like CDs replaced cassettes and computers replaced antiquated card catalogs. eBooks will keeping improving over time.

We may miss the "feel" of a book and the habit of turning pages etc. (does anyone miss the feel of an 8 track tape deck?) but the conveniences outweighed the breaking of a few traditional habits.

Many of the schools are using tablets instead of making kids carry heavy backpacks.

Cost wise you can simply get more for your buck with e-readers. Thousands of books are free including all the classics and most library books.

I love books, I adore books. Beyond the gratification of the experience of holding and reading a paper book, I love making my favorite books part of the decor in our house.
I love walking through a room and the title of a favorite book on the shelf catches my eye, and the memory of the book brings a smile to my face and makes my day a little brighter.
I love going through the shelf and finding and book that I read ages ago and forgot about, pulling it out and rediscovering it again.
I keep baskets of kids books throughout our house at all different levels and it is so gratifying to see one of the kids wander over( we have six, ranging from 11years-9months), pull something out and sit down to read it just because. It's exciting to see them making the choice to challenge themselves and pick books that are a little bit hard.
And then there are the demands for trips to the library and requests to earn money to buy more books because they've found something they love so much they've fallen in love with it and need to own their own copy, something they can hold in their hands and display in their own space...
All of which drive us out of the house and bring us into contact with others who share this love to varying degrees and force us to take our noses out of our books momentarily and interact with other flesh and blood people.
I have books that contain precious memories because of the person who gave them to me, or someone I read i with, or the person who introduced me to a new book or new author. With our children I see them holding on to books they don't particularly like because someone special gave it to them and the book reminds them of that person and that loving memory makes that book precious and makes them want to read it even though it's not something they normally enjoy. In our family, books are our favorite heirlooms.
An electronic device can not replicate these experiences, and even if it could, I'm prone to migraines and my eyes can not tolerate electronic screens for very long. Even if I could though, I can not imagine ever getting a warm happy feeling from seeing an electronic device (admittedly I'm not a huge devotee of electronic devices anyway; I downgraded to a plain cell because more often then not I don't know where my phone is, usually the battery is dead too so it's hard to find, and most people have realized they're better off trying a land line to reach me), I can not imagine anything electronic ever feeling like a dear friend.

I prefer books but due to being banned from buying them ebooks are my only way into escaping this reality into the next however i find it harder to zone out with ebooks. i miss the smell of the pages

I used to feel a romance with real books until some of my books got wet. Then I got my first ereader. I never got it wet. Many of my books are available on kindle. it takes up less space. I still have books in produce boxes from when I moved a yfear ago. I cant wait to get them on my bookshelves.

Kyle ~Special K: Rebel Leader~ wrote: "Yes, to each their own. Peace, Cheers and Happy Reading!!"

I don't think you are close minded. You just have a preference. Nothing wrong with that. E-readers does take the personal feel and effect away from books. But I do have an e-reader and hooked on it. Not good. LOL. IMO, it doesnt matter the vehicle, as long as you are reading your mind is open.

Last I recall, this was a discussion and not an argument, Kyle. Nor was this an intervention to try and convince others to do something they don't believe in. On se calme.

Thank goodness for my KINDLE. With it I was able to buy 2 new books from new authors I met here at Goodreads. I am very happy to help support these writers. As soon as I saw that they both had books that sounded interesting I immediately went to my KINDLE and found their books and brought them. I could not have done that without an e-book!! So...JUST SAYING...
A

These are 2 of the new books from our very own authors and
if you hurry and write a review you may be able to get Maggie's book for free!! enjoy A

I prefered real books until this deployment, when I realized I can't possibly find the space to transport them. Just for the sake of convenience for a reluctant traveler, ebooks for me. Battery life remains a persistent issue, though.

For me real books are better though, but when you travel an ebook is practical so you don't have to carry a lot of books.

Nothing can beat a real book. Not the film, not an e-book.

If an e-book gets broken, then you can't read anything out of it, whereas if a real book gets broken, it's a bit of a shame, but you can still read it. Plus two people can read one book at different speeds, by holding a set of pages between them, but this is made impossible by e-books, for only one person can read at one time. Also, I personally like turning the pages on a real book, whereas on an e-book, you can only scroll.

I personally prefer real books over e-books. I have an ipad and read some of my books on it, but I find more joy in reading "real" books. I also love the aspect of bookshelves in my room, they make everything look nicer. Nevertheless ebooks can be quite practical and also the fact that some books like classics are free on an e-reader is quite amazing. Therefore I use both and it depends on the book if a buy a "real" one or just an e-book.

I actually like the feel of real books. I don't know why, but I do. I guess maybe because they're tangible, I don't know.

But if someone were to get me a Kindle or something, I would probably accept the gift in respect to the person who purchased it for me. It's not really that big of a deal, if you love an amazing book in actual "book" form, you'll love it on screen too (that is...if you're not picky)

But I do prefer real books if I had to choose.

I use both to compliment my reading. I'll get a physical book over an ebook if the prices are similar however some physical books cost ALOT more than an ebook.

For example, classics. If I were to purchase all of the books on my Kindle in a book store I'll be spending hundreds of pounds. Instead, they were all for free. In that respect its a no brainer. But if a physical book cost say £5 and the ebook was £4.50 I'd just get the physical one.

There are both pros and cons. I tend to prefer a hard copy, which doesn't get lost if my reader or service provider forget what they're supposed to be doing. On the other hand, if I stumble across a likely-looking book, I can download it a lot faster than I can run up to the book store, hope they have it in stock, order it from online or off and have it delivered...

Veronica wrote: "Kyle ~Special K: Rebel Leader~ wrote: "Yes, to each their own. Peace, Cheers and Happy Reading!!"

I don't think you are close minded. You just have a preference. Nothing wrong with that. E-reader..."

I agree with Veronica it doesn't matter what you read on be it a real book or an E-reader the important thing is that you are reading.

I like real books better. I can't exactly take my iPad to school to read. Plus I like the feel of an actual book in my hands and flipping pages on a screen isn't as fun as flipping pages of a real book.

Reading a real book is much better than an electronic one. I like the feeling of holding the book that I just got. And cracking the spine, the smell of new book when you crack it open. I don't know if that's weird or anything..

A book without a crack on the spine is a body without scars - it's never lived.
E books are what they are and liked for what they are by those who like them.

Created by...deleted user...wray happened?

I love the convenience of my kindle. It has a ton of books on it! I love organizing my books into different folders as well. Being that you only pay for a digital version of a book, it's so much cheaper that I find I'll purchase some books that I normally would not otherwise. Or, when Amazon has those great deals they always do, I'll find a book for free then end up purchasing the rest in the series. Now, this doesn't mean I don't have hundreds of physical books in every nook and cranny in my house. I still plan on having a room as a dedicated library in my home and I still buy books I really enjoyed in the kindle version. I will always need physical books in my life! Ultimately, I have a physical book and my kindle in my bag most places I go! Just so long as people read, it doesn't really matter how they do it ^^

eReader Stats Graphic. VERY interesting
http://ebook-fieber.de/e-reader/eread...

I am a fan of both. I Love real books but the convenience of my kindle is awesome. When I go on vacation I don't have to pack a whole bunch of books. Plus my husband hates when I leave the lamp on until all hours of the night reading but with my new kindle(thanks to hubby for Xmas) I can and do read until all hours of the night! I will say though my all time favorite smell is old books. Nothing smells quite as good as aging paper!

I need a real book for instructionals.

When e-readers first came out I was totally against them on principle. I loved the smell of books. The weight in my hands and the feel of progression as the thickness of the pages move from the right side to the left side.

Then I hit a point that I couldn't fit anymore books into my house. Literally. I have boxes upon boxes of books in storage and bookshelves full all over the house. I needed some way to keep devouring books without turning them into furniture.

I bought my Kindle 3 or 4 years ago. Yes, I am still using my original Kindle Keyboard! It was the best purchase I ever made. I can continue reading 3-6 books a week and not have to worry about tunneling out of the piles.

Currently, every person in my house has a Kindle of one kind or another. The kids still read paper books, but when I buy a book, it is on Kindle. I won't go back to regular books. (You can't adjust the size of the text on paper... :P )

Both books and ebooks have their pros and cons..
books are like the real thing.. And it has that unique smell which is really amazing. I really enjoy receiving books as presents. I am proud of all the books adorning my shelf. Even when the books get old and pages get frayed , it feels good to take them down and turn the pages to reread the story. However being an avid reader i like to read books often.. And it can get kind of expensive to buy books..
ebooks provide instant gratification. They are usually cheaper or even free.. You can finish an ebook and start the next one instantly without having to wait to go to the library (incase your a member) .. And if you are a "night" person.. You can read the ebook with the lights off.. :)
however ebooks should never replace books. Holding a book in your hand and actually turning the pages have an entirely different feel which can never be replaced.
P.S:it even lets you buy cute bookmarks to mark the page where u stopped

Robin~ Plane Travel: Now that you have to pay for carry on and extra suitcases it makes MUCH more sense to use an ereader over brining a dozen books.

1) Why are you brining your books? Does it preserve them?
2)You don't take a heap of books with you when you travel...the world is full of bookshops, buy as you go, or stand up on the bus and ask anyone if they have a book to swap. Makes you read outside your genre and find new favourites.

I prefer real books, I love their smell and it's easy and classy.
I'm not against 'e-book' it's cool but it can't compete with real book.

Jacklyn wrote: "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..."

Same experience... :/

I prefer the feel and smell of real books, but ebooks and ereaders are handy for instant gratification, and it means you can carry a lot of books with you when you travel, without having to bring an extra suitcase just for your books haha.

You get some bargains on ebooks too, Amazon's daily deal and stuff can be great sometimes. Ereaders will never match real books, but sometimes they're just handier or more convenient, in my opinion.

To be honest, I would love a Kindle. I love the idea of tossing that into my bag and having my book collection with me while not feeling like i'm lugging around blocks of cement, not to mention damaging my books from being inside a bag with my phone, keys etc. But, I just can't imagine reading my favorites without the smell and feel that i've come to associate with them. Or hearing that creaking sound when opening a new book for the first time.

I love love love my kindle. It saves space and like someone said it saves the environment. I am in the process of putting all of my books on my kindle.