A Question For The Readers Out There

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Raida

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Although I imagine most of us writers are also readers. ;)

Just out of curiousity...

What is it about reading a book, hardcover or paperback, that appeals more to you than reading a book via e-book? What, besides the passion to read and the obvious interest in the story that makes you pick up a book?

What are your likes/dislikes between the two?

In a thinking mood,
Raida
 

louisgodwin

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I can carry a paperback book anywhere, and I can't afford to buy a laptop.
 

TwentyFour

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I love both, but prefer a paperback in bed and a hardcover in well light areas. The book presses into my belly in bed...so softcover works best there.
 

BardSkye

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Books work better while standing around waiting for buses or riding on buses. They're also much easier to stash in a drawer at work if the boss walks in the front door. They don't need batteries and are a lot cheaper to replace if you get caught in a downpour.
 

alleycat

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Besides agreeing with some of the other replies, what is more perfect that a book? It's relatively permanent, easily transported, and convenient (and batteries are not required). Personally, I prefer to print out even articles or stories that I get off the Internet rather than read them online.

ac
 

PenelopePitstop

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The smell of a book, curling up with it, holding it, breaking the spine, page turning!

Couldn't imagine sitting at a computer reading.
 

aadams73

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I love everything about books, and have done ever since I can remember. The feel of the slightly-rough paper under my fingertips; the faintly inkish smell of new print; and the thrill of picking up a new title in the bookstore.

E-books are just too sterile for me. They drain all the mood out of the experience. Unless the publishing world stops printing on paper, it'll be a frosty day in hell before I purchase an e-book.

That's not to say there aren't lots of wonderful e-books out there, but they're just not for me.
 

Little Red Barn

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The mobility of a real book! kimmi
 

Bmwhtly

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There's all the tactile things but the biggest advantage of Real books is, sad to say, Money.

Lets say you buy a paperback for £4.99. You're reading it in the bath and you drop it. It gets wet. You can replace it.
Or you sneeze while smoking and set it on fire (don't laugh, I did it once). You can replace it.

If you destroy your laptop, or e-reader. It'll cost (probably) 100 times more to replace it. Crazy.
 

SC Harrison

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With e-books, you can't tilt your head back, run your fingers along them, and then say, "Ah. Here it is." Well, I guess you could, but it wouldn't be the same.

If you come across a poorly-written e-book, you can't drop it on the floor in disgust, or cut out the center of the pages to make a secret compartment.

If you come across a typo in an e-book, you can't scribble, "Dumb@ss" with an arrow pointing to the discrepancy.

If someone you've recently met comes to visit, and you don't have any real books on the shelf, how are they supposed to make a casual yet subjective assessment of your intelligence?
 

Carrie in PA

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I can't think of one single advantage of an e-book over a paper book. I love regular books.

Oh wait! I did think of *one* advantage of e-books. No danger of papercuts. :D
 

ChaosTitan

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I read books in bed, in cars, on my lunch break, in the bath, at the beach, on the sofa, in a chair, I will read them anywhere (anyone else getting a Dr. Suess vibe?). My laptop can't go all of these places.

The one advantage I can think of for ebooks is the instant availability. If you want a new book, pull up a webpage, click a few times, and viola! You've got a new book to read. Paper/hardbacks either require a trip to the bookstore, or a few days for UPS.
 

SpookyWriter

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I was thinking along similar lines lately and wonder if at some point in the near future that there won't be electronic books that have the look and feel of a real hard copy? I envision something that takes the mechanical form of a book with pages made from a celluloid type material that has the words etched in like a digital medium, but only visible with an electrical source (DC -- lithium battery).

The technology isn't too far out into the future because MIT invented a material years ago that has some of the basic characteristics of what I am thinking about. However, the last time I talked with them they were more involved with finding entities interested in licensing the materials then pursuing various uses.

Who knows what science will come about in the future.
 

Vescoiya

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That a real book is a physical object. You can be wandering around your home, spy a title or a familiar cover and think, yes it has been awhile, I’ll read that again. To me it feels more special than just looking up a website.

I like hard covers as the edges of a best beloved book ends up less frayed. However they are more inconvenient to read, as I prefer to read lying down. I like paperbacks for the feel, permanence of them and that each of them contains good memories of where it was I last read that particular book.
 

askeladd

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The portability of books gives them a huge advantage over e-books, as well as the "no batteries needed" factor. But for me, the biggest advantage is probably that I think books are far easier to skim - I can flip quickly back and forth through a book looking for certain information, knowing only that it was located on a certain part of the page. E-books may be searchable, but it's only helpful if you know the exact phrase or can guess which tags the indexer used.

For this reason, I positively hate :mad: electronic versions of user manuals. Give me a hardcopy any day - then I'll actually be able to find what I'm looking for.
 

TrainofThought

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I buy hardcover if I can’t wait to read it and paperback. I wouldn’t read a book on a computer. It just doesn’t have the same effect, plus I make markings in the books and give them my seal of approval.
 

CBeasy

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I real book is way more durable than a laptop or an e-reader. Plus, it's a whole lot easier to replace. Outside of simply it being an issue of cost, I just love a real book! Not only is it easier on the eyes, there's just something about it that irreplaceable in a digital medium.
 

Annabella5780

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I like the physicality of books. I'm very obsessive and possessive of my books. I don't lend them out; I don't like to borrow. I have to own. So, the appeal of "real" books allows me to feed that little weirdness. Plus, well, there's nothing like holding an actual book in your hand, the eyestrain tends to be less, and I can snuggle with it in bed. Snuggling with a computer, even a laptop, is a bit hard.
 

smf222

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It's curling up in my own little corner of the world, on my couch, with just a reading light and all other lights off, with my crinkled receipt as a bookmark; it's turning each page with antipication (or dread, depending). There's something about staring at a computer screen and scrolling with your mouse that will never be able to compare to an actual, in your hands, BOOK.
 

Jongfan

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Raida said:
Although I imagine most of us writers are also readers. ;)

Just out of curiousity...

What is it about reading a book, hardcover or paperback, that appeals more to you than reading a book via e-book? What, besides the passion to read and the obvious interest in the story that makes you pick up a book?

What are your likes/dislikes between the two?

In a thinking mood,
Raida

I enjoy all books. Paperback when traveling, hardcover when I can relax at home and ebooks are great anytime.

I tend to read all works by an author I have enjoyed in the past but love to read almost anything. If I do not enjoy one or two by a specific writer, I tend to stay away from future works.

As far as what makes me pick up a book in the first place, there is not really any one thing in particular. Many subjects interest me.
 

KiwiChick

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I'm a spatial kind of person. I like to feel how far through a book I am as I go, and feel where on the page events happen. Is a kiss in the top right corner a centimetre in really the same as a kiss in the middle of the left hand page two inches in?

KiwiChick
 
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