Kindle/ipad/tablet or real book

[KeeperofDragons]

I love both, there are some books that you can't get on Kindle (some history & politics) but I love my kindle for when I'm travelling or if I'm reading a long novel as I find holding a large book a strain because my hands get crampy if I hold it for too long.

I also download books to my tablet (art & photography) which solves the picture quality problem with the kindle which is very handy if I want to check something when I'm on holiday particularly with techniques I don't use that often.

 

[danny la rouge]

Reading anything longer than a couple of paragraphs in one sitting I much prefer paper.

 

[billy_bob]

Hard copy sales surging, Kindles selling so 'pitifully' that Waterstones are going to stop stocking them.

Good.

Before the Luddites among us start partying, this is more to do with the novelty-factor wearing off and the capabilities of the current technology plateau-ing, than a Return Of The Book. Readers have found their 'natural' share of the market for now, but each successive new generation in future will continue to push that share up slightly.

I'm very committed to actual books, but increasingly see the point of having a Kindle for holidays rather than carting six to eight books along for a two-week stay.

 

[Cid]

Before the Luddites among us start partying, this is more to do with the novelty-factor wearing off and the capabilities of the current technology plateau-ing, than a Return Of The Book. Readers have found their 'natural' share of the market for now, but each successive new generation in future will continue to push that share up slightly.

I'm very committed to actual books, but increasingly see the point of having a Kindle for holidays rather than carting six to eight books along for a two-week stay.

The article does, of course, also show a rise in sales of ebooks and a steady, if fairly small, decline in physical book sales. I'd agree on the tech plateau, more difficult to keep people buying new versions, less wear on devices and less desire for the slickest apps and interfaces. Phone and tablets have OS updates, faster apps, much more extreme drop-offs as batteries get old, more chance of being dropped in the loo etc.

 

[Hollis]

Anyone noticed how kindle books seem increasingly to be at or more expensive than the paperbacks?

Don't really understand why they'd be priced higher given I imagine they cost nothing to produce and you don't even own them.

 

[scifisam]

Anyone noticed how kindle books seem increasingly to be at or more expensive than the paperbacks?

Don't really understand why they'd be priced higher given I imagine they cost nothing to produce and you don't even own them.

A small part of it is that they're taxed, and paper books aren't (in the UK). But I guess they charge what people will pay, and the convenience makes it easy. I get most of mine on special offer though - no way am I paying £11.99 for the latest Richard Osman.

 

[Throbbing Angel]

A small part of it is that they're taxed, and paper books aren't (in the UK). But I guess they charge what people will pay, and the convenience makes it easy. I get most of mine on special offer though - no way am I paying £11.99 for the latest Richard Osman.

Same - Kindle Daily Deal FTW!

 

[BigMoaner]

Kindle for some genres, irl book for others.

 

[BigMoaner]

Quick dopamine true crime which I read a lot of on kindle, the rest in paper

 

[kalidarkone]

I used a kindle when I was doing a health care degree because some of the text books were huge and heavy and it was impractical to lug them about.

I definitely prefer an actual book.

 

[Hollis]

In theory I prefer real books... in practice often I seem to end up buying them again on kindle - mainly because I find it easier to read them - both because I can adjust the font size, and it's lighter and easier to carry around. I also seem to have some thing about highlighting things.. totally pointless, but I do it.. Also I have a storage problem at home with books.. So kindle wins for me.

 

[Silas Loom]

Ipad mini every time. Real books are too heavy, too awkward to hold open, and the print is too small. Also, they are expensive, while epubs are all free from zlib.

 

[Chilli.s]

Audiobooks on the phone every time, no book to store, no pages to hold up, dont even have to open eyes. (does require headphones sometimes)

 

[Chz]

In theory I prefer real books... in practice often I seem to end up buying them again on kindle - mainly because I find it easier to read them - both because I can adjust the font size, and it's lighter and easier to carry around. I also seem to have some thing about highlighting things.. totally pointless, but I do it.. Also I have a storage problem at home with books.. So kindle wins for me.

I love a real book, but the fact is that the bookshelves are full and having a light built in along with taking a dozen different things to read sort of makes the Kindle a must for me.

Still have printed page now and again, but most of it ends up at the railway station's bookshelf because there's nowhere to put it on mine!

 

[marty21]

Still doing real books - hardback and paperback - but also read a lot of books on my phone - my kindle gave up the ghost and I couldn't be bothered replacing it.

 

[magneze]

Anyone noticed how kindle books seem increasingly to be at or more expensive than the paperbacks?

Don't really understand why they'd be priced higher given I imagine they cost nothing to produce and you don't even own them.

Monopoly power.

 

[PTK]

I have never used a Kindle or similar device.
I was shocked to learn some years ago that the company can delete the books on your Kindle if it chooses to do so. It did so in a case where it turned out that it had a copyright problem with one of the books.
Apparently, it can even change the version of the book on your device.
You do not own the books that you think that you have bought for your kindle.
I am ignorant. Could you not take your device off line once you have downloaded the book?

 

[Chz]

I am ignorant. Could you not take your device off line once you have downloaded the book?

Yes, but it makes it a PITA to get more books. You can connect it via USB to your PC and manage things, but it sort of kills the convenience aspect of it. Even managing it with Calibre, it's easiest to email the books to your Amazon account and have them sync to the Kindle.

All those things you say are certainly possible, but they're also exceedingly rare. The vast majority of people would never encounter such an issue.

Mind you, I'm not that fussed about not owning things. I'm playing nice for the sake of the authors, but I wouldn't hesitate a nanosecond to just pirate a title if that sort of nonsense happened.

 

[PTK]

Yes, but it makes it a PITA to get more books. You can connect it via USB to your PC and manage things, but it sort of kills the convenience aspect of it. Even managing it with Calibre, it's easiest to email the books to your Amazon account and have them sync to the Kindle.

All those things you say are certainly possible, but they're also exceedingly rare. The vast majority of people would never encounter such an issue.

Mind you, I'm not that fussed about not owning things. I'm playing nice for the sake of the authors, but I wouldn't hesitate a nanosecond to just pirate a title if that sort of nonsense happened.

You don't mind the book on your Kindle being altered?

 

[nogojones]

I have never used a Kindle or similar device.
I was shocked to learn some years ago that the company can delete the books on your Kindle if it chooses to do so. It did so in a case where it turned out that it had a copyright problem with one of the books.
Apparently, it can even change the version of the book on your device.
You do not own the books that you think that you have bought for your kindle.
I am ignorant. Could you not take your device off line once you have downloaded the book?

You could use an e-reader app for a tablet instead of kindle and download books legit or pirate them and they're all yours on whatever storage device you save them to.

 

[Chz]

You don't mind the book on your Kindle being altered?

Why should I care? It would mainly be for correcting errors in print. I'm not mad enough to think "Well, that's the original typo as the author's intent!"

 

[philosophical]

I have a kindle and love it.
What I haven’t sussed is how you can flick back to earlier in the story like you could with a book in order to check something out.

 

[Chz]

I have a kindle and love it.
What I haven’t sussed is how you can flick back to earlier in the story like you could with a book in order to check something out.

Depends on the book. Some have a great chapter/subchapter index on them, others are lazy as fuck and you'd have to bookmark your current page and go back page by page.
I have a great collection I downloaded (because short stories are still hard to find on Amazon) of all the winners and (crucially, for interest's sake) nominees for the Hugos in the 2000s. It's got a wonderful index to flip between stories in the 1000+ page collection because it was someone's labour of love to put it together.

 

[BristolEcho]

You could use an e-reader app for a tablet instead of kindle and download books legit or pirate them and they're all yours on whatever storage device you save them to.

I have a Kobo and download from ebooks.com/anywhere then I transfer it over. I am pretty sure once I've downloaded off ebooks.com on to my PC that they can't touch it. I think they are independent too and meant to be one of the better sellers, but not sure.

It's the same for games, movies etc that you buy online. You buy the right to the licence, but it can be removed any time. Bit shit really as there have been games that were actively being used that have then been removed to force people on to the newest edition.

I love ebook readers though and I read more as a result. I find books hard to hold and I don't have the space for them unfortunately.

 

[nogojones]

It's the same for games, movies etc that you buy online. You buy the right to the licence, but it can be removed any time. Bit shit really as there have been games that were actively being used that have then been removed to force people on to the newest edition.

This is why I'm totally cool with using soulseek, piratebay or whatever to download your books from. The authors were never going to get my money anyway as 90% of the real books I used to buy were 2nd hand anyway

 

[nogojones]

I'm currently using ReadEra as my e-book reader app and I love it.

 

[Chz]

This is why I'm totally cool with using soulseek, piratebay or whatever to download your books from. The authors were never going to get my money anyway as 90% of the real books I used to buy were 2nd hand anyway

I'm trying to play nice, since I can afford it and it's convenient to me. The moment it's inconvenient...

Sort of like my attitude to TV/movies. I have Netflix and Prime. I get Apple and Disney for a couple months a year when they're on discount. I even used to have a DVD rental before the Post Office started losing all the discs. But because I've made an effort to play nice, I have no hesitation whatsoever to just download something that I can't get through all of those things. Because before this I just pirated fucking everything, so the artists/companies are at least getting something out of me now and they should be happy with it.