Books: Digital or physical?

[lvxandlight]

Preferably old and used. I support the digitalization of books, but I wouldn't buy a Kindle till there's a better market for it. A good portion of the formats for some of these e-books is just horrid. I know it may be cheaper, but it's not even worth that price.

[blu333y3s]

I'm old school.   I prefer physical books, CDs, DVDs etc.   I also like browsing in stores, I think you can stumble across things whilst browsing, online also usually requires searches so you might miss out on something because you didn't know it existed to search for it :)

Plus there is nothing like the smell of a book :)

I agree about browsing and the smell of books... i have a romantic connection wuth physical books and will always continue to love a hard copy, particularly second hand book stores. However i think the convenience of digital books cannot be ignored. 

[DarkGentleman]

Definately physical. I don't know what it is about books, but reading text on a screen doesn't feel as good as reading a book.

[Mettis]

Definitely physical. I like having a book in my hands, smell the pages and turn them.

[Daedalus]

I definitely understand the convenience of an e-reader but nothing can beat the feel of a physical book. The smell, the sound of the pages turning, and you can practically feel the weight of the words in your hands.

[Viking80]

Maybe I am oldschool but for me it is definitely physical. There is something special with holding the book in your hands. And I find it better to read paper versus reading on a screen. And my shelves looks much better with physical books

[VandyFan08]

As a counterpoint to all the recent "physical is better" posts, I am a whole-hearted convert to digital books.  Convenient, built-in light (so I can read in the dark without disturbing my wife), and I can carry 10-15 books with me on vacation.  Try lugging 4-5 heavy books in your luggage on vacation and you will change your mind quickly!

[Dan]

Wow! I just learned a whole lot. I never knew the real difference. When I replace my current printer I am making that switch to laser printer. I'll have to check out that Calibre site. Does it convert to PDF for printing when I want physical pages?

To PDF, easily. But no tool can yet do a good job of converting *from* PDF.

Also, @Dan , which ereader do you recommend? I have one of the very early kindles without the QWERTY pad, and for that reason I hated it. How are the new ones? Or maybe some other brand is better?

Do you mean with the QWERTY pad? The first kindle looks like this:



I had an early Kindle too.

I have a Kindle Paperwhite and I like it much better. The lack of a hard keyboard and side buttons makes it way more comfortable to hold without pressing anything by accident. The integrated backlight makes reading comfortable on the eyes no matter how bright or dark it is. The soft keyboard is a pain to use because it doesn't react nearly as quickly as a tablet and of course can't support sliding motions. That said, if you aren't taking much notes, it's not really a problem.

The only thing that I'd love that would really improve it is if the backlight could somehow set its own level due to ambiant light rather than have to set it to a comfy level every time you pick the kindle.

I also had a Kobo but it choked on many books (the device just crashed randomly every few pages), they refused to take bug reports (with details instructions to reproduce and the book as an attachement) and generally had a quite terrible support that invented excuses out of thin air. I hate that company and wish never to deal with it again.

Can't comment on nooks and others.

Also, e-ink devices are terrible with PDFs, you need a tablet for those.

[Norternmike24]

I'm definitely a physical book person. I like the idea of using less paper,(especially since I  worked in a bookstore once, and books that didn't sell we're eventually destroyed. It was kind of heartbreaking)but you just can't beat the feel if a good book.

[Dan]

The newer kindles are touch for note taking but the screen isn't as responsive as a tablet.

[8pointhunter]

I prefer physical books, I don't know how to work an Ipad

[J.]

I prefer the physical. There's nothing quite like sitting down and cracking open a book, thumbing through the pages, etc. There's a whole universe of sensations (tactile, auditory, olfactory (sometimes)) that you miss with a digital book. Of course, a single Kindle is a lot lighter than a library of paper books, but still.

[INnudeguy]

I prefer the physical. There's nothing quite like sitting down and cracking open a book, thumbing through the pages, etc. There's a whole universe of sensations (tactile, auditory, olfactory (sometimes)) that you miss with a digital book. Of course, a single Kindle is a lot lighter than a library of paper books, but still.

[raud]

I prefer the physical. There's nothing quite like sitting down and cracking open a book, thumbing through the pages, etc. There's a whole universe of sensations (tactile, auditory, olfactory (sometimes)) that you miss with a digital book.

Me as well!
The pleasure of opening a new book is incomparable :)

[Dan]

Me as well!
The pleasure of opening a new book is incomparable :)

I'm currently opening a new book I acquired so I can't argue that physical books are great. However, I think they are only so in the comfort of your own home. On the go, they can be quite annoying and that's where e-reader with e-ink shine.