Books: Digital or physical?

[jay_p]

I have both... And enjoyed reading my kindle. But finding hardcover books for $1.75 at the thrift store is fun. I can try new books I have not read with out feeling like I wasted money if I don't like it

[Beani123]

For travelling it's so much easier having a kindle. I'd say it's the best thing I've every bought myself, the one thing I get the most use out of.

That said, I still end up with tons of books - I just can't resist going into a book shop. And I can't resist buying. It keeps those book shops open though and I wouldn't want them to disappear.

[stevizz]

I think from a cost and storage point of view, digital is the way forward. I still like a real book now and then but mainly map/reference type books.

[DarkGentleman]

For some reason, I can't seem to absorb the information I read on a screen as well. I'd much prefer a physical book.

[Caliboy]

Digital. Even though I love the "feel" of a book in my hands, its just easier to read on my phone. Plus, I do not spend an hour looking for where I left my book, as it is always in my pocket.

[kulderb]

I prefer the paper.

[Hayley]

Will always prefer physical books. Did try reading books online, but somehow it doesn't feel the same as holding a book in your hands (like the magic is gone). Still very much love going to the library or bookstores (both new and second hand) to find books to read

[Longingtobenude]

If its just pure text like your average fiction novel, I prefer digital.  Its easier to hold a device for long periods of time in many positions than a physical book.  The physical book has never stood out to me as part of a pleasant memory.  However I have spent part of a 2 week power outage during an ice storm reading The Legend of Drizzt on my phone.  Reading on the FBReader app, under all the blankets and sleeping bags I owned, is a pleasant memory.  That I can reach out and snag almost any book I want off the internet is pretty appealing too. 

If its a book with diagrams or pictures like a shop manual or how to book of some kind, I prefer a physical copy. 

[Rafa]

I'm late to this thread, probably.
But just recently I bought a kindle, and it's definitely my favorite 'gadget' I've ever owned. Of course it's not the exact same as reading a physical book (especially because you can't hoard ebooks to keep on your shelf), however there are advantages, like being able to read before bed because of the lights, during trips because it's easy to carry, and also you can search for words and place bookmarks way more easily.
That being said, I still can't read on my phone pleasantly.

[nudistteen400]

Digital is far better to me, especially with a kindle. You can potentially take a huge amount of books with you at any time, all coming with features you couldn't get on a physical one. Only exception would be for comics, which just look better on paper.

[5Chill10]

Audible lol. Really handy for someone who drives long distances and spends a lot of time on cardio machines due to terrible drivers in my neighborhood and not wanting to blow my joints out before I'm 50.

[Cle Leftwrite]

I lean toward physical. I actually find it rather hard to read digital books. I find that the text is always smaller even on larger screens and I tend to "get lost" far more often when reading digital books. Now to be completely fair it may have to do with the fact that I'm supposed to have reading glasses and currently don't or it could be that I haven't found the right way for me to read digital books. On the note of audio books... well it's really hit or miss. I have to be doing something else while listening to an audio book or radio drama and even then if the voice acting isn't great it's gonna be a problem. Taking that into account most of the audio books I've personally listened to have been great. Overall I just prefer having having a book in my hands though.

[carbon]

I prefer physical, can't concentrate properly on a digital format, but I'm beginning to downsize, so I might have to go the ebook route out of convenience.

Still, majority of my currently owned books are art instructional books, so having physical versions are far more preferable. If only converting them to digital wasn't such a pain...

[cdw]

For travel, I use a Kindle to avoid lugging lots of books around, but otherwise I prefer a paper book. And for studying, I hate e-books because scrolling is never as easy as physically flipping back and forth, although having a search function is admittedly useful.

[Cle Leftwrite]

For travel, I use a Kindle to avoid lugging lots of books around, but otherwise I prefer a paper book. And for studying, I hate e-books because scrolling is never as easy as physically flipping back and forth, although having a search function is admittedly useful.

Right! Studying with a digital book is just painful for me and I don't think I retain the information as well.