Opinion: Paper or eBook?

[MyNameDidntFit]

In a world where Netbooks, smartphones, tablets, eReaders and all manner of eBook-compatible gizmos are as common as Call of Duty titles, the eBook has manage to creep into the market of books and take hold of a rather large share of it--with Amazon announcing just last month (http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=176060&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1521090&highlight=) that Kindle book sales have overtaken those of paperbacks.

Now, I don't think anyone believes that eBooks are about to replace physical books, but they're definitely a big, permanent part of the landscape of the book market... which brings me to a question; what do you folks prefer? Does the smell of paper and the traditional feel of a solid book in your hand hold sway in your heart, or do the backlights of a screen and the prospect of thousands of books in your hand take precedence for you?

[Daggers]

I'd rather something tangible in the traditional paper format. Reading on a backlit screen gives me a headache after a while.

[Archangel]

... or do the backlights of a screen and the prospect of thousands of books in your hand take precedence for you?

I'd rather something tangible in the traditional paper format. Reading on a backlit screen gives me a headache after a while.

Just so we're all clear... most ebook readers are not backlit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epaper). These days, eReaders are equatable--if not easier to read than--typical paper-based print. Now if you were saying to read books on an LCD, then no, LCDs are terrible, terrible things. OLEDs? Better, and I am quite guilty of reading off of the OLED display on my mp3 player, to reasonably good effect. When I go outside, I have to crank up the brightness of the light emitted from the screen, and there's a decent bit of glare off the screen, but it's dandy for reading indoors and at night, as OLEDs organically emit light rather than being as dependent upon backlighting like LCDs are, thus causing less squinting at a bright screen in the dark, less difficulty focusing on words, and a far grander viewing angle.

But, these are not things that eReaders use. Kindle, for example, uses the proprietary eInk electronic paper. Barnes & Noble's Nook, also, uses eInk. Foxit Software's eSlick... uses eInk. Sony readers, also, use eInk. So on.

To be honest, I haven't read from a proper eReader, or from electronic paper before. But I know what electronic paper is, I understand the fundamental concept behind it (particles dispersed in an opaque fluid have a charge given to them, and an electronic charge is applied to a series of plates on top and below the film of particles, causing some particles to rise above the fluid and thus reflect light, or to be submerged to the backplate, where light is absorbed by the fluid) , and as such, the only difference to be had between a book and an eReader is the feel and smell of what you're holding; plastic/metal housings typical of recent-generation smartphones, or paper? (though bear in mind that electronic paper, by itself, actually feels kind of like paper, and approximately the same thickness; that plastic/metallic housing is all for the rest of the gadgetry like the CPU and whatnot powering the device).

Personally, I don't really mind. They say the smell and feel of a book is important and so on, but having now read 8-odd books off of a portable display screen, it really doesn't bother me that I'm not holding a book, because at some point while reading--crazy as it may be--you start to care more about what you're reading rather than whether what you're reading smells nice.

[Jason]

I'm curious to try a Kindle. In reality, I don't really read enough to justify in excess of £100 for one, and I don't know anyone that's got one, but I'm certainly intrigued by the idea. If/when prices come down, I could well be convinced to give one a whirl.

[Daggers]

Just FYI... most ebook readers are not backlit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epaper).

Well I don't have one, but I have an app on my droid phone which lets me read ebooks...

[Archangel]

Alright, I'll stop editing and geekifying my post now. Back to traditional discussion it is.

I'm curious to try a Kindle. In reality, I don't really read enough to justify in excess of £100 for one, and I don't know anyone that's got one, but I'm certainly intrigued by the idea. If/when prices come down, I could well be convinced to give one a whirl.

Kindle 3's are something like $150 when last I checked, which is a considerable decline from the time I checked before that. In reality, I think that, just like the case is with iPods and iPhones, there are better alternatives around than the popular 'mainstream' trends. To be fair, I, personally, haven't looked into it, but where I have my shortcomings, I have a brother who makes up for them. And I'm reasonably assured that he said something about the Sony readers being pretty good, that one time.

Well I don't have one, but I have an app on my droid phone which lets me read ebooks...

Well yeah, just sayin'... it's unfair to disqualify eBooks when they're being read on a non-standard platform. Especially when most backlit displays aren't terrible good for reading much of anything. It is a damned bit more convenient to get books for, though.

[happysister]

i've seen a Kindel before, and while it is pretty nifty, i'd rather just use a traditional book. i stare at computer screens enough as it is.

[Konrad]

I generally much prefer real, paper books. The touch, the smell, everything about it is just more comfortable to me... or perhaps just more familiar.

That being said, this christmas I joined the eReader club with a Sony Reader. I did it more out of necessity than whim, as a way to deal with the lackluster supply of books written in English where I live now. I always prefer to read the original work than a translated one.

I have to say, I don't mind reading that way one bit. The advantages are obvious, it's smaller and more "portable" than a book. Or a stack of books. For example, I just finished reading the Ultimate Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy... A compilation of, 5 novels? This would have been an absolute bitch to carry around in my little baggie, but here it was, all of it - less than 2-3 centimeters thick. The actual display really doesn't differ much from a book. It does seem a bit harder to read in now-light conditions, but a neat little lamp attatchment I have for it resolves the problem completely. My main gripe with it at first was the absolutely butt-ugly page turning transition which essentially means the screen goes inverted, then black, then inverted again with the new page and finally appears. This seems to be a technical limitation of the eInk, a way to sort of purge the traces of the last page. I almost didn't get one because I couldn't bear to look at it but a few books later I don't even notice the transition.

The battery lasts a few weeks depending on how much you read, so that is hardly a problem ever.

I'd absolutely highlight one thing: This is nothing like looking at your standard monitor. It's nothing like reading on your computer, or your phone - both things I completely despise. If you're sitting here thinking "Man, I'd like one but I'm sick of staring at a computer screen all day". Well, stop it - and get one. Or at least try it out at a store or something.

Ill take a printed copy of a book over the digital edition anyday. But if compact size, or having a library in your pocket appeals to you - it's a fantastic purchase.

And on a side note, since I did do considerable research on this - I'd advise against getting a Kindle. It is the most popular one, but this is mainly because it was the first one that did it well and it had the power of Amazon behind it. Unfortunately, it lacks so many features of similarly priced ones nowadays - the main one being lack of support for the most popular eBook format "EPUB", that it's worth looking at alternatives.

[Sharky]

I'd rather something tangible in the traditional paper format. Reading on a backlit screen gives me a headache after a while.

Pretty much this. Not that I read a whole lot for recreation, though I wish I did because it feels good on my brain.

[Lance]

Paper - no doubt. I have 2-3 bookcases full of books and I just love the feel, the smell and look of a paper-back.

But it's funny - even though that's what I'd prefer, as a wanna-be writer, I know that e-books are far easier to get your work out there (little overhead, no need for a publisher etc) and is probably what I'll work with until (fingers crossed) I get noticed

But I defineately prefer Paper books over Ebooks

[Archangel]

*stuff*

^ True. Pretty sums up what I was saying earlier.

So, would that imply you believe the Sony Reader to be one of (if not) the best? 'Cos that'd pretty much be confirming what I've been led to believe. I'm also led to believe that Sony (I think it's Sony, anyhow) have/are working on a new display to remove that 'screen refresh' issue. Presently to 'wipe' a page from the display, it'd have to send a voltage through the back plates to electrophoretically submerge all the particles into the opaque fluid, and then apply the charge to the frontal electrode/plate/whatevers to resurface the desired particles for the new page.

Point is, refresh rate is not amazing with Electronic Paper, but it's a damn lot easier to read than any display screen, simply because IT'S NOT A DISPLAY SCREEN. Either way, as I was saying, I THINK (maybe) Sony (or mebbe someone else) are doing something to remove/decrease that problem with their newer eReaders, possibly hybridising eInk with something else, though I don't quite recall fully what their process is.

[socko25]

Definitely prefer physical books. Me being the clumsy, forgetful person that I am, I feel better about misplacing/dropping physical books as oppose to electronic ones.

[MyNameDidntFit]

Just so we're all clear...
In my defence: I know all that (the technical bit aside). It was 4:36am and I was going for a way to describe screens that sounded nice and that was what my mind gave me.


Personally... I'm on a precipice when it comes to this. I actually have both copies of several books I own--paperback and eBook. While I love the feel of a thousand pages in my hand, the smell of new and old book alike and the stirring feeling I get when I glance over at a bookcase full of novels... there's an admittedly quite large part of my mind telling me that if I would only come over to the eBook side, I could wield the powers of the gods--to hold thousands of books in the palm of my hand! An entire library in my pocket! ...and all this power for the meager price of my soul.

Now, I've never used a proper eReader, but my iPhone does a tremendous job of it: it doesn't hurt my eyes or give me a headache* and the text is so deliciously smooth and free of any hint of pixelisation. On top of that, with a couple taps, I can move instantly to any chapter--provided the publisher of the eBook has embedded the markers for that sort of business, I suppose--and flick through pages with a speed and accuracy a book would not dream of... and my book plays music for me!

And... yet... for all the shiny features, the nuggets of temptation... all the god-like powers promise to me by eBooks and their dark masters, the eReaders, I find myself just now flicking the pagers of a thousand-page book and thinking to myself about how I will never let it go... drinking deep of the heady scent of paper as it wafts in the gentle breeze flowing out from the pages as I flick my thumb across the breadth of this wondrous creation.

*except that one time I was reading in a pitch dark room for about an hour, focusing intently on the screen when, rather by accident, I slid the brightness setting to full and almost destroyed my eyes.



For those of you too sane, or simply lazy, to read through my clearly mad rantings here's the TL;DR: eBooks are great, the offer amazing features and convenience, but I'm one man who will never lose his deep-seated love of paper novels slip away--though I read eBook when I must, or when it is vastly more convenient, I will always remain a paper man.

[Lance]

For those of you too sane, or simply lazy, to read through my clearly mad rantings here's the TL;DR: eBooks are great, the offer amazing features and convenience, but I'm one man who will never lose his deep-seated love of paper novels slip away--though I read eBook when I must, or when it is vastly more convenient, I will always remain a paper man.

^ This pretty much sum it up yup

[Daggers]

Well yeah, just sayin'... it's unfair to disqualify eBooks when they're being read on a non-standard platform. Especially when most backlit displays aren't terrible good for reading much of anything. It is a damned bit more convenient to get books for, though.

I'm not saying they are necessarily bad, but the question is to do with personal preference, and personally I will always prefer to read from a book than an electronic device no matter how good an imitation it is.

[Br1ckt0p]

I have a kindle. It does exactly what it says on the tin. It felt unusual to hold and read at first, but actually I've grown very fond of its tactile, textured feel. The battery life is super amazing, and reading is as comfortable on the eye as if reading off paper. It's replaced paper books for me. Except cookery books. I'm a messy cook.

[Steph]

The prospect of having thousands of ebooks at my finger tips is very, very tempting.

I think I'd prefer reading an actual book though.

But God ebooks are so tempting at the moment ...

Need to try it.

[AzH]

I Love my Kindle. Best purchase I have made in a long time.

But, hey, guess what, I still read books too! People think this is an either/or situation, when it's not. I'm not going to read Kindle in the bath. I still like books, but I will do most of my reading on the Kindle because it's cheaper.

[Steph]

I Love my Kindle. Best purchase I have made in a long time.

But, hey, guess what, I still read books too! People think this is an either/or situation, when it's not. I'm not going to read Kindle in the bath. I still like books, but I will do most of my reading on the Kindle because it's cheaper.
Yerr I was wondering if it was cheaper than buying the actual books.

[Konrad]

If we're talking American dollars, then eBooks will extremely rarely cost more than $10, whereas print editions can run for about 15-20 for paperback, and a crapton more for hardcover.

[Zaborg]

eBook.

Obvious reasons ;P
But mainly because I fall asleep if I read paper-books. :(

[Altered Formula]

I read quite a lot, and spend a lot of my working day going through whitepapers / project plans and other tech docs via my PC, so when I read for enjoyment I prefer to get away from any tech and have the smell of paper and print.

I wouldn't rule out a kindle, I just personally have no need for one at present.

[Diachron]

I work in the book industry, so I can't be objective on this one. It's no secret that publishers and booksellers are facing a very real existential threat from digital penetration.

I'll be very brief, and won't reprise most of the observations already made.

What most people overlook when considering the ebook question is this: For most of the subjects in a bookstore, the book itself was not always the optimal technology.

The book is a good medium for prose-- fiction, poetry, biography, etc. Once you go down the list of extended subjects, a different picture emerges.

Consider: Cooking, Travel, Maps, Computers, Reference, Sports, Language, Education, [etc]..

In those and other subjects, portable applications and portable web browsing pose a greater threat to pbooks than ebooks. The fight for relevance is being fought on multiple fronts. You can't remove these subjects from the industry without cataclysmic consequences.

[But to answer the original question-- Personally: I love both paper and digital books. I have over 14,000 paper books, and at least 5 e-readers. They both have have their place, but the long-term dominant format will be determined by the generation that is now just learning to read.]

[MyNameDidntFit]

14,000 paper books
And four TARDISes to store them in?

Seriously, that is impressive.

[Diachron]

They're a real albatross when it comes to moving or rearranging. Some days, they feel like old friends. Other days, they feel like overwhelming relics. For the moment, they dominate my office.

On the subject of TARDISes (and holding onto old things), I still also have the foundation of a 1:1 scale TARDIS I once started with a friend. We were interrupted by some happening I no longer recall, but we never did get back to it. Perhaps it's time to finish it, or reclaim the lumber for more shelves!

[Devis]

I prefer both. Because having ebook is easy to keep and it doesn’t need space in your room. In other hand ebooks are so hard to read for many hours because of pc screen. So having a copy in both format is better.

[Kozahk]

I can't read manga on an E-reader or the internets, something about it just doesn't seem right.

[MetalBalloon]

Ebooks are convenient but I do prefer to have a hard copy of what I read.