Book Lair discussion

I simply can not surrender to electronic readers. Up until now, I could not properly explain why. Today I found this article, which pretty much summarizes why I still prefer paper books and I can completely relate to everything being said there.

Amongst other things, I find I can not remember books I have read in an electronical format as well as a physical page turning book.

Take a look, it's worth it:

http://mic.com/articles/99408/science...

Thanks for the article, it's really interesting and explains a lot of things I've noticed myself.

I prefer reading paper books. I like to feel it, smell it, listen to the pages turn. But mostly, I feel the flow of the story better. That's something I can't get with an ebook.
With the ebook, I don't know where I am in the story, which I find very unsettling. I am kind of compensating this fact with the GR status bar when you are currently reading a book. I can "see" where I am even if it's an electronic book, and see how I progress in my reading. It's not the same as the feel of the book in your hand and directly seeing your advance, but it's better than nothing.
Also, it's difficult with ebooks to just quickly go back in your book if you want to check something, or go to the end to check a note. Fantasy books are especially awful, since there's always a map of some kind that you can't easily consult in an ebook.

But ebooks also have their advantages.
I live abroad, so it's quite difficult for me to find the exact book I want. I don't have that much of choice in English/French books (especially not in French), so ebooks come in very handy here.
Also, I travel a lot. And when I'm travelling, I read a lot, since it's when I have the most time for it (urghhh, plane delays... Chinese airports are especially bad on this point). So having just one e-reader instead of several paper books really helps. My back and shoulders thank the inventor of ebooks each time I am picking up my bags and suitcase.

I love paper books and will never stop buying them, but my trouble with my eyes makes large print paper books almost necessary. An e-reader allows me to make the font any style/size I want and my options are almost limitless.

When my favorite authors publish new books, I buy them in hardback, but I also buy the e-book and usually end up reading that. I avoid the headache, get a new book on my shelf to pet, but still get to actually READ it. :)

I'll stick with paper. I do, rarely, read on ebooks, but they feel so lifeless to me compared to having a physical copy in my hands that I just can't imagine ebooks as my primary format for my reading.
That's quite an interesting article, Ana. Didn't know there was research on the effects of e-readers on memorization and things like that.

I agree, I also feel the flow of the story better, I remember each part better and, as the article said, I can empathize more. Ever since I started reading books on electronical formats all the characters seem the same to me. I cannot relate to any of them, except rare occasions. And I thoroughly miss that ability to flip through the pages. As the article hints, paper book sort of develop our photographic memory. I often remember which part of the page a certain description was and when I want to go back I'd say 9 times out of 10 I find that. Both because of that and because I can see the page number in the upper corner, most frequently. I can't do that on e-readers and I miss it. The fact is paper books are designed to give us an experience that electronical ones don't. I just didn't know it actually affected our brain. Makes sense though. I feel a lot more relaxed when and after reading a real paper book.

I can relate to the eye issue but on the other hand if you increase the font size that means even less text will fit in the page, which, to me at least, makes it even harder to focus on the story and to remember it.

I didn't know that either Gavin, it just appeared on my facebook news feed, one of the rare times I open it these days. I was very surprised to hear there was such a study but the fact is it makes perfect sense!

I appreciate paper books, but I have come to prefer ebooks for numerous reasons:

1) Portability. This is the #1 advantage in my mind. I can have my entire library with me wherever I am.

2) Instant Downloads. No more running to the bookstore or ordering and waiting for delivery. When I find something interesting to read, I can have it in seconds.

3) Font size control. Wow, my vision at 46 is considerably worse than it was at 43 or 44. With my Kindle, I can set the font to the 4th or 5th choice and read comfortably without reading glasses.

I agree! Don't get me wrong, I adore "real" books and still buy them, but e - books have all those advantages and the more you read them, the more you get used to them, the disadvantages fall away.

An advantage to e-books that hasn't been mentioned is the ability to not only look up definitions, synonyms and antonyms with a swipe, but also (depending on your device) to hear the correct pronunciation of a word. I read a lot and so have a large vocabulary, but can't tell you how many times I have heard a word and not recognized it because I have been mispronouncing it in my head. Embarrassing!

Until the first Harry Potter movie came out I though Hermione's name was Her-Me-Own. Talk about a surprise!

Kandice wrote: "An advantage to e-books that hasn't been mentioned is the ability to not only look up definitions, synonyms and antonyms with a swipe, but also (depending on your device) to hear the correct pronun..."


This is an outstanding point. My vocabulary as an author increased immeasurably due to this ability. Particularly when reading someone like Dean Koontz, I am always learning new words and interesting alternate meanings of known words because of the Kindle swipe function.

I do agree and enjoy all the advantages mentioned, but don't you feel at least some of the effects that the article mentions? For instance, being harder to focus on the story and remembering it?

Ana wrote: "I do agree and enjoy all the advantages mentioned, but don't you feel at least some of the effects that the article mentions? For instance, being harder to focus on the story and remembering it?"

When you first start reading ebooks, but if it becomes a necessity as it has with me you quickly get used to it and the issues fall away. If my choice is to read an ebook or only read the very limited number of big print books I can obtain I am going to go with the ebook every time.

We all adapt and get used to things, some of us just do so reluctantly.

I have tried to adapt but I am just not succeeding. I just can't seem to able to get into the story as much. It probably has to do with the fact I have to read on my phone, as I don't own an e-reader or a tablet. I don't know if I would experience it the same way with either one.

Nolan wrote: "As a side note: I find it interesting that our 'physical book lovers' check their mail, engage in text messages, and read worldly news all through digital format on a daily basis. But when it comes to books, they balk at the idea"
Apples and oranges. And for a lot of paper book lovers, this may be exactly why they like paper books. It gives them an escape for their day to day looking at screens,, be it either for work or leisure.

Gavin wrote: "Nolan wrote: "As a side note: I find it interesting that our 'physical book lovers' check their mail, engage in text messages, and read worldly news all through digital format on a daily basis. Bu..."

Completely agree. It's a refuge in every possible way.

I will read a book in whatever format I can get my hands on. If they publish it on the backs of pickle jars, I'll read it. But I do like the convenience of being able to click Buy and have the book show up on my Kindle seconds later. (I am a little afraid, though, to open my Kindle these days and see all those books I bought thinking I'd get around to reading them soon. *sigh*)

Z. wrote: "I will read a book in whatever format I can get my hands on. If they publish it on the backs of pickle jars, I'll read it. But I do like the convenience of being able to click Buy and have the book..."

I could not agree more!

I love my Kindle... It has all the advantages mentioned above: easy to carry around (I spend a lot of time commuting), never finding yourself with a finished book and no new one around, looking up words I don't know (I'm not a native speaker), so easy to buy new books, classics for free, all other books often (much) cheaper than the paper version, the possibility to download samples for free...

But the thing is that I don't feel I'm reading from a screen. I think reading from a phone is really entirely different. The article says something about attention span etc but for me there is (where that is concerned) no difference with a real book.

But yes I do miss the smell, and the satisfaction of putting it on the shelf once you've finished it. And flipping through the pages (although, with an ebook if you forgot who a certain character was you can easily look it up).

So for me the Kindle is better but entirely for practicality reasons. I've been reading much more ever since I've had my Kindle.

I don't miss moving boxes (and boxes and boxes and boxes) of books when I move house. (Though somehow I'm creeping up toward boxes and boxes and boxes of books again...) I also don't miss being out someplace where I didn't think I'd have a wait, finding myself with a wait anyway...and having nothing to read. The Kindle app on my phone saves my sanity every once in awhile!

Z. wrote: "I don't miss moving boxes (and boxes and boxes and boxes) of books when I move house. (Though somehow I'm creeping up toward boxes and boxes and boxes of books again...) I also don't miss being out..."

You know what is weird... We switched from print to e-book a couple of years ago. So now we have this beautiful book case with these hundreds of books that we were always so proud of, but hardly anything gets added. Which is fine for now, but we will be moving next year and we don't know what to do with it. Put it up again? I always felt that a house without a book case wasn't 'finished'. But it feels strange to to put it back when nothing ever gets added to it anymore...

Ok, big fat minus for the e-book:-(

Ha, yes. When I got rid of most of my books in the last two moves, I felt like people who came to my house would think I'm one of those people who doesn't read! I need a digital bookshelf display on my wall or something. (Though my book collection's grown again, none of it's in the main rooms people see when they visit, so I still feel like people go home after visiting and say to each other, "I didn't see any books, did you? Isn't that odd? I guess she's one of those people who don't read.")

I didn't think I would ever want a e-reader, I love the smell feel and look of books, I also have an weird thing about book covers, really dislike the movie adaptation covers so will always seek out the original cover art. Also I like the cover I remember from my younger days so if I want a copy of that book I will try to seek it out.
However when I got my first kindle (which my husband got me cause he though this would stop me buying books, how wrong he was) it was the accessibility of books I could get one immediately and then the recommendations discovering new books. However if I really like a book on my kindle I will purchase a RL copy be that a hardback or paperback or in some cases both. Of course the cover has to be pleasing. And sometimes I do buy a book based on the cover.

I think I will do that whenever I get decent bookshelves (getting the real book too if I like it). At this point my books are piled up all over the place. I too did not stop buying them after getting a Kindle v.v

I completely agree with everything you have said, Boris.
Do you have a Kindle Paperwhite too?

I know, right? I was so clueless before I tried it and now... I am not even sure if I have read a normal book since I got it. It's just so pratical, having hundreds of books in such a thin and light device and taking it anywhere and reading with lights out and and... Well, it's just awesome.

Here is an interesting article about paper vs electronic, and how they actually do not compete:
Did technology killed the book or gave it a new life?

I read both paper and with a Kindle. The Kindle is easy to carry around when I know I'm going to be sitting around waiting for an appointment or whatever. I also use the text reading (Kindle Touch) while I cook and clean so I read faster on a Kindle because I both read and listen.

Now, I sit here looking at my bookshelves and Harry Potter whispers, Read Me Again, followed by Bilbo Baggins saying, Me First while Jack Ryan wants to relate another adventure to me. I find the books I love I buy in paper because I love the characters, the authors and I just can't enjoy unless I have the book in my hand.

I had actually never heard of text reading or Kindle Touch. Is it anything like audiobooks? But shows text along with the audio? Doesn't it get confusing? I am not sure if I could do something like that, sounds pretty confusing, reading as someone reads out loud at their own pace.

And yes, the feeling of hands on paper is something unique, almost makes things more real.

I much prefer paper books, but can definitely see the merit to electronic ones.

Ana wrote: "I had actually never heard of text reading or Kindle Touch. Is it anything like audiobooks? But shows text along with the audio? Doesn't it get confusing? I am not sure if I could do something like..."

Sorry it's taken me so long to respond to your questions. The Kindle Touch has a touch screen and since I love it of course Amazon doesn't make it anymore. It has an audio feature which you can use or not use. I don't know if the newer Kindles have audio but it reads to me and I don't read the text I just listen or I just read and have the audio off. I still read books, paper and hardcover but I do read faster with the Kindle.

Wow why would they get rid of that :S