My love/hate affair with my Ebook

11 years ago

My husband bought one for me for Christmas last year because he was tired of us travelling and me carrying a mini library in a backpack. It weighed a lot.

I went to my local library and learned how to access the library ebooks which saved me a lot of money but there were still times that I had to buy the books. They arent exactly cheap yet. But they were wonderful on plane trips or travelling ..I had one of those mini lights you attach to it. You can also change those font sizes which I needed to do in the gloom when my eyes went fuzzy. (I am not a spring chicken anymore)

However, I don't like paying for a book and not being able to pass it on to a friend to read and then talking to them about it after. I don't like tapping the page to turn, and not knowing how much more til the book ends. I am also afraid to read it in the bathtub which is a guilty pleasure of mine, in case I accidentally electrocute the ebook.

But for travelling, yes, yes, yes!
The rest of the time, I like the smell, feel and weight of a REAL book. I will always prefer it, even if this makes me an official OLD FART.

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Comments (23)

rosefolly
11 years ago
My reaction is exactly the same. An ebook reader is a truly marvelous tool for travel, releasing me from the 12-books-in-my-suitcase syndrome, and the panic-at-no-local-English-language-bookstores-if-I-run-out problem. But at home, I want my books to be printed on paper. I am hoping that books last as long as I do. I suspect they will, and even longer, but will become a specialty product for true aficianados. Think digital music downloads vs CDs, or even more to the point, vinyl. I think that hard copy in some form will be given up slowly and reluctantly.

Rosefolly
sheriz6
11 years ago
Janalyn, welcome back, it's good to see you posting again! I agree with you and Rosefolly completely, the ebook reader is sometimes useful, but nothing will match a real book.

I've had a Kindle for a couple of years, and really only use it when traveling. I still don't love it, but I do enjoy the thrill of the hunt on Amazon for free downloads, and I did actually find one or two new authors I like who can only be had via ebooks at the moment. I was also able to download free out-of-copyright classics, including Jane Austen and Arthur Conan Doyle, so that's been a nice bonus, too.

May there always be print on paper!
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sherwood38
11 years ago
Janalyn-I love my kindle! I have had mine nearly 3years. It really comes in handy with the huge & heavy books books written by the likes of Nelson DeMille, or Tom Clancy and I have taken it on vacations & cruises which is so much better than hauling around books, or having to pay top dollar for some pback 'cos I read everything I took with me!
I subscribe to eReader email and it sends out daily lists of freebies, some are good-others not, but heck free!
I also ck in daily with Amazon's listing of kindle books, they often offer reduced prices on books for a short time-I sure would hate ot miss a good deal!

I do still read 'real' books, but use the library, I don't buy them anymore as we are trying to reduce the piles of books around the house-not add to them.

Welcome back!

Pat
vtchewbecca
11 years ago
I prefer my Kindle (also own a 1st gen Nook) to regular books...it is so comfortable to read. My only thing is the bathtub, as I like to read in the bathtub, but am afraid to take it there. Otherwise, I read on the Kindle for hours at a time and don't notice that I'm not holding a physical book.
janalyn
Original Author
11 years ago
Do you know that we can't use Kindles in Canada to access library ebooks? Apparently there is some royalty or legal thing that Kindle needs to negotiate here and until they do, its Kobo for us.
janalyn
Original Author
11 years ago
Oh almost forgot another thing which I find very disturbing about my Kobo. There is this feature which gives you little "awards" and they blink on my screen, unsolicited. Like "You are a bedtime reader. You have spent over x hours reading after 10 pm." I am waiting for, "You enjoy eating while reading. There are numerous crumbs on your Kobo Screen."
Ack, its like a Big Brother watching over me. And then it sends me book recommendations based on my so called reading tastes.
I am embarrassed to admit that I bought Fifty Shades of Grey because I wanted to see what the fuss was all I about. I don't mind well written sex in a book but this was Terrible, with that capital T. The writing made me cringe and so did the characters. And now I get all these ridiculous copycat Fifty Shades of Garbage showing up on recommendation lists.
dido1
11 years ago
Well of course kindles have their very well-deserved place but will never replace 'real' books. I've got a Kindle app on my ibook so that if I'm out and find myself at a loss, I can read on that. I use that ibook kindle for my work which is alway reading when it's not writing.
sherwood38
11 years ago
Janalyn-I participate in a Delphi Forums web site called Kindle Lovers! There are several Canadians that regularly participate there, but I haven't heard them complain about Kobo?

There is a sci-fi series that I enjoyed called WOOL by Hugh Howey. It is only available for the kindle and was originally writen in serial forum. Wool is now sold parts 1-5. I bought Part 6 recently and Part 7 is due out soon-I really enjoyed the series-Check it out on Amazon!

Pat
carolyn_ky
11 years ago
I am with those who agree that ebooks are good for travel but "real" books are good for loving.
ccrdmrbks
11 years ago
I have completely converted, to my family's astonishment. I love my Kindle and have not read a "real" book now since I took it traveling cross-country in September. The adjustable font is wonderful, the little rechargeable LED light built into my case is grand at night, the library books available from a huge urban library in-state but too far for a real visit have kept me going all autumn, and the daily deals and freebies have allowed me to create a TBR shelf on the Kindle that is just as stocked as the real one.
I do plan to read some real books-I had to stop myself from buying the Kindle version of Wolf Hall since I do own the hardback, and of course not everything is even Kindleized or available through the library in that format. But I have certainly gone over to the e-side, which I did not think I would ever do. The only thing I do find frustrating is that it is hard to "ruffle back through the pages to refresh a memory" when reading a book filled with many characters or clues.
It is possible to lend purchased Kindle books-DD and I have done it.
Kath
11 years ago
I quite like my Kindle and know it will be wonderful when travelling. However, it annoys me that I can't easily flip back to check on things. I know I can search for words and so on, but with a real book I often go back a bit to check something out.
I also feel like I am turning pages more often, and sometimes have to wait a bit for the page to load, which is annoying.
Pat, Wool has just been released here in Australia as a 'real' book.
sherwood38
11 years ago
Kath-we usually like the same books-will you read Wool?

Pat
janalyn
Original Author
11 years ago
I bought it Pat :) and its on my ebook. I have a couple of books to read before I get to it, but will post once I do.
socks
11 years ago
I enjoy both the Kindle and "real" books, but Kindle is great for travel or big books like "East of Eden," which I just finished. I actually read on my ipad on a recent vacation because I didn't want to take both K and ipad too. I look back in books to refresh myself or re-read a passage and often have trouble getting back to where I was in the K. I buy from a used bookstore, newer books go for $2-3, so I cannot justify buying those on Kindle.
twobigdogs
11 years ago
Love my Kindle but do NOT like the fact that others can track what I am reading. Then again, the library knows what I have been reading for years, as does the bank if I use a card for a purchase.

Like many of you, I have a hard time paying REAL money for a VIRTUAL book that I cannot physically touch or share with others. In my mind, if I paid for it, I should have the right to email it to anyone else's kindle once I have read it. It states right on the screen that I am PURCHASING, not RENTING, therefore, I should have the right to give away something that I bought in the manner in which I chose.

Just my ranting two pennies.

If I had to pick ONE format to use forever and ever, real books win, hands down.
PAM
Sarah79
11 years ago
I like that my Kindle looks all sleek and modern and I think maybe some of that might rub off on me. However...

I do not have WiFi in my house (no internet at all, for that matter) so I have to go somewhere else to download the books. Then something went blooey in my device, and now I can no longer connect to the WiFi at work either. That makes it too much of a hassle to go through, especially when I have shelves and shelves of books ready at hand.

Furthermore, I like to be able to flip ahead and back while I'm reading, and on the device I feel like I am adrift in the midst of a fog.

Plus, I find it disconcerting that when you check out a library book on your Kindle, you are taken to the Amazon site, where they can advertise to you and try to get you to buy similar titles and whatnot.

But...to each his (or her) own!

Sarah
dedtired
11 years ago
Here's what I don't like about an e-reader. You can't leave them on your beach chair while you go for a walk. You can't fall asleep with it on your face. You don't find funny old papers in copies from the library. If it falls out of your canoe into the lake, it's a big deal not a little one. If you sit on it, it breaks. If you fall asleep while reading and it slides on the floor, it breaks. They don't smell good.

I do think e-readers are wonderful for travel (unless you're going to the beach), but in my mind they will never replace paper books.
J C
11 years ago
I hate that it is hard to look back in an ebook. I hate that the battery runs out and there I am at the car dealer with another hour to wait and no book.

I love that I can have lots of stuff on a little device that fits in my handbag. I love being able to change the font. I love that I can read a really big book and not have to hold it.

Actually, I think that real books are just too good of a format to disappear.
netla
11 years ago
Happy New Year, folks.

I enjoy both physical books and ebooks. My sight is changing and is at the point where I have to hold some books at a really inconvenient half an arm's length in order to read them. The "change font size" feature of the Kindle really comes in handy when I want to read while I am eating, with the eReader propped up on a bookstand. I also like being able to change the font - I have limited affection for sans serif fonts. The weight issue has already been mentioned. I use my smartphone as a back-up eReader, but when travelling I do bring one physical book, just in case of battery drain, electronics ban on flights or device theft.

Would I let my books go and use the Kindle exclusively?
Never.
--

Janalyn, I keep my Kindle permanently offline. Amazon can gather all kinds of information about you based on reading habits and I really hate their misguided recommendation system, because all they ever come up with is either books I own (often bought from them) or books I'm not interested in. When I buy ebooks, I buy them elsewhere (because they cost $ 2 more to buy from Amazon when you live outside the USA), download them into my laptop, break the DRM and then use the Calibre software to upload them to the Kindle. I am even considering jailbreaking the Kindle in order to be able to use my own screensaver art.
sherwood38
11 years ago
Netla I too keep my kindle off line-I only turn it on when I have purchased a book-sometimes I wait til I have bought several over a a few days or even a week. I turn it on-wait & when I see my new purchaes ( or freebies!) have downloaded I turn it back off.

I have over 400 books yet to read on my kindle & sometimes when I am looking for something new to read I forget what the book is about-but then I ck with my Kindle Fire which shows the book cover and that reminds me. I do not read books on the Fire as my eyes like the 'ink' better on the K2, the Fire is great for some things, games or checking emails, or going on the web, but for 'book reading' I prefer the regular kindle.

Pat
kathy9norcal
11 years ago
Mine has been a love affair for the most part. What I love about my Paperwhite is:

*I can press down on a word and get an immediate definition.

*I can buy a book in bed! Some days, I have to check out the daily deals before I get out of bed. They are so cheap that I have tried out authors I have been curious about but never wanted to invest big bucks on. This is huge. I discovered Dorothy Sayers (Nine Tailors) and am currently reading Georgette Heyer's, These Old Shades. I have also found some great sci-fi for a couple of dollars.

*I can read in darkened rooms and don't have to be right by a lamp.

*I love knowing how many minutes are left in a chapter and what percentage of a book is left.

*I really appreciate being able to change the font size. Previous to getting my Paperwhite, I read a great book with tiny font size that strained my eyes at night. Also, I read one of those tall, narrow paperbacks that was so difficult to hold open and even so, I couldn't read the print in the middle at the center of the book.

*I can return to previous chapters or pages with little difficulty.

*We found that my hubby could download a free Kindle app to his Nexus pad and register on my account. He can access all my books. Actually, his app is much prettier than what I have but he has to charge his pad daily. I, only once a week or so.

*I love reading the magazine, Science News, on my Paperwhite.

I am sold, and I was a real resister, too. Paper books still have a place. Some books are so good you want a physical copy on your shelf. I haven't paid more than $3.99 for a book yet. For a newer book that I really want to read, I will get it on audio at Audible.

Over all, I am so glad my family got me this device for my birthday.
twobigdogs
11 years ago
An apropos editorial from the Wall Street Journal.

PAM

Here is a link that might be useful: Don't Burn Your Books, Print is Here to Stay
argumentative
11 years ago
Hi All,
Its great to see so many avid readers. I would like to offer you all free membership to a new type of social networking site www.bookood.com.Its based on matching people through their top ten choice of books of all time.If you go to the become a member section and fill in the form using my name as the person who invited you, in the next week you can get completely free membership.The interesting thing is that we have decided to support the romance of print publishing and not e-readers. Its just not the same. Either way please take a look. I would be interested in your feedback on the idea. Kindest regards Sarah

My love/hate affair with my Ebook

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