# e-books or the real mccoy (real book)



## debbie in seattle (Jun 17, 2015)

I have always been an avid reader, so much so, still own the original Nook e-reader (though I don't use it any longer) and have found myself wanting to read a 'real book' nowadays instead of ebooks.   Is anyone else finding this?


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## jujube (Jun 17, 2015)

I'm a bit of a Luddite and still love the feel of a "real" book.  I got a Kindle for a going away present when I retired, but I have never used it.


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## Ameriscot (Jun 18, 2015)

I travel a lot and my kindle is a blessing. My eyes don't get nearly as tired and I can choose the text size. Ever try lugging around a 1,000 page book in your backpack on a plane?


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## hollydolly (Jun 18, 2015)

Yes I have regularly carried a tome around on a Plane...I actually love the feel of Real Books, I find it difficult to read a kindle, it's like reading text on my phone, not at all restful on my eyes.. not comfortable holding the thing in one hand either ...I so much prefer my Hardbacks.


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## chic (Jun 18, 2015)

Real books for me too. I enjoy reading and love everything about an Old Skool book, the cover art, the new book smell, turning pages and using bookmarks. There's nothing like it. I always have a book in my backpack and and carry it around everywhere in case an opportunity to read presents itself. :love_heart:


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## Ameriscot (Jun 18, 2015)

hollydolly said:


> Yes I have regularly carried a tome around on a Plane...I actually love the feel of Real Books, I find it difficult to read a kindle, it's like reading text on my phone, not at all restful on my eyes.. not comfortable holding the thing in one hand either ...I so much prefer my Hardbacks.



When I've read real books on planes my eyes get tired very quickly.  On my kindle I have read for 7 hours before without a problem.  When we go on long trips I can bring an endless number of books on my kindle, not so for real books.  I resisted getting a kindle for a long time, but so glad I finally got one.  Husband downloads his Guardian newspaper to his every morning.


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## Ameriscot (Jun 18, 2015)

I still have plenty of 'real' books in the house which I am going to read.  Kindle is no good for drawings or photos and I have many, many history and mythology books that I've yet to read.  But I will read them at home.  I also have a big collection of bookmarks from various places I've visited.


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## Glinda (Jun 18, 2015)

For travel my Kindle is by far my favorite.  When I'm at home, I prefer a real book.  But then, of course, there's the cost factor.  Kindle is cheaper, sometimes free, and I don't need to find space for new books on a shelf.


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## SifuPhil (Jun 18, 2015)

Before the advent of e-readers I had quite a library - so big in fact that when I moved (and I moved many times) I had to plan on one full day just to pack them up into their 40-some-odd boxes. 

The advantages? Many were specialty texts and old out-of-print volumes that haven't yet appeared in e-versions. And they looked good all stacked on the shelves around the fireplace. 

The disadvantages? The chiropractor bills for my back whenever I moved and having to worry about water leakage/floods/bugs/stains and rips.


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## Ameriscot (Jun 18, 2015)

I had to get rid of most of my books when I moved to the UK as they were just too expensive to ship.  Had to get rid of all my books when we left Uganda as well as our huge suitcases had no room for them with 2 years worth of stuff.  I've replaced a lot of those books on my kindle, but still have a big collection on my bookshelves.


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## Jackie22 (Jun 18, 2015)

I use my Tab 3 tablet as an e reader, don't have room for real books, I really don't see the need for keeping books, myself, as I don't read them twice and with computers, do not need reference books....jmho.


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## Cookie (Jun 18, 2015)

I just use the e-reader now. I found books to be getting heavy to hold and my hands and thumb would get sore, the e-reader is much lighter and takes up much less space. I purged a lot of books last summer along with lots of other stuff, so nice to have space in my shelves again.But I still have most of my art and cooking books.


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## JustBonee (Jun 19, 2015)

Lately I've been torn between my Kindle,  and books from the library and also a book club I belong to. 
 I don't like to collect books,  so it's read and return always when I read hard copies. 

My Kindle is my nightstand choice.  But it's summer school vacation time now and I take my granddaughter to the public library for her summertime reads ... and I can't seem to get away from there without a few for myself.


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## SifuPhil (Jun 19, 2015)

Bonnie said:


> ... But it's summer school vacation time now and I take my granddaughter to the public library for her summertime reads ... and I can't seem to get away from there without a few for myself.



That is still one of the fondest memories of my youth - spending hours in the library during the summer. It's what made me aware of all the opportunities in life and fed the fires of my interests in science and nature. 

You just can't replicate that on a Kindle.


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## JustBonee (Jun 19, 2015)

SifuPhil said:


> That is still one of the fondest memories of my youth - spending hours in the library during the summer. It's what made me aware of all the opportunities in life and fed the fires of my interests in science and nature.
> 
> You just can't replicate that on a Kindle.



You got that right Phil. ..


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## Cookie (Jun 19, 2015)

Real paper books are nice, but unfortunately cost a fortune nowadays,  I don't like throwing out $45.00 on a fiction book I will only read once, or not at all if I don't like it, and waiting for something to come out in paperback takes forever. Borrowing public library e-books is the answer for me - it's free and no storage issues either. I used to borrow 'real' books, but now I prefer not to lug piles of books back and forth.


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## Jackie22 (Jun 19, 2015)

Cookie said:


> Real paper books are nice, but unfortunately cost a fortune nowadays,  I don't like throwing out $45.00 on a fiction book I will only read once, or not at all if I don't like it, and waiting for something to come out in paperback takes forever. Borrowing public library e-books is the answer for me - it's free and no storage issues either. I used to borrow 'real' books, but now I prefer not to lug piles of books back and forth.



Me too, Cookie, I used to make a weekly trips to the library.  Now I use 'Book Bud', I get a daily list of books that I've pre picked the categories that I like, most all are under $3.00 and some are free. I also rely on the reviews a lot as to whether I'll buy a particular book for my ereader, I have not got into borrowing ebooks yet, but may check it out.


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## Ameriscot (Jun 19, 2015)

I love that I can enlarge the text on my kindle.  There was a book I really wanted to read a few months ago that wasn't available as kindle so I ordered the hardback.  I read the book but it was struggle as the print was small and am used to larger print now.


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## Butterfly (Jun 19, 2015)

I still prefer the "real book" experience.  E-books just don't feel the same.


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## debbie in seattle (Jun 20, 2015)

SifuPhil said:


> That is still one of the fondest memories of my youth - spending hours in the library during the summer. It's what made me aware of all the opportunities in life and fed the fires of my interests in science and nature.
> 
> You just can't replicate that on a Kindle.



I too have such fond memories of when I was a kid and going to the library.  Grew up in a small town in Illinois and our library was a huge old home that had been donated and turned into a library.  The floors creaking, the rich wood everywhere and dance lessons in the basement.


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## Cookie (Jun 20, 2015)

Butterfly said:


> I still prefer the "real book" experience.  E-books just don't feel the same.



I agree, of course real books don't feel the same because they are not the same - they are made of paper and printed with ink.  I too have fond memories of libraries and beautiful books in a charming old mansion that was donated to the city to use as a library.  But paper books are going the same way as the 'real' newspaper - digital. This will save some trees and lessen the environmental consequences of the publishing industry.  

There is so much garbage calling itself literature that it's literally not worth the paper its printed on. Bookstores are going out of business, they overcharge and need such large expensive spaces to function.  Real people don't have the luxury of reading these expensive heavy tomes anymore. Maybe the wealthy can but most people would rather buy food. They were nice while they lasted but sadly are going the same way as the horse and buggy.  Of course there are still plenty of second hand bookstores, if books actually find their way there, however, those in my neighborhood are gone and people are throwing them into the recycling bins.


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## oakapple (Jun 21, 2015)

I like both the Kindle and real books.Reading on the Kindle is fine, you can enlarge the print as Ameriscot says, and take it out and about with you full of books to read, eg. On holiday. I still like the look and feel of books though and have many still in the house, even though we did a cull on them a few years ago, I also like to lend them to friends and relatives.I also like riffling back to previous chapters, I know you can do this on the Kindle, but it's easier in a book.The real advantage of the Kindle though is when I want a book and it's HUGE  and heavy, I just order the Kondle copy, sorted!


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## oakapple (Jun 21, 2015)

Kondle?


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## hollydolly (Jun 21, 2015)

debbie in seattle said:


> I too have such fond memories of when I was a kid and going to the library.  Grew up in a small town in Illinois and our library was a huge old home that had been donated and turned into a library.  The floors creaking, the rich wood everywhere and dance lessons in the basement.



Ah yes and the smell of old books too...one of my all time favourite childhood memories was going to the big old fashioned library where it was all wonderfully quiet and you could sit and study at the big wooden desks, and if you needed a book from a high height the librarian would get up on the big wooden ladders that rolled along on some kind of castors....... I still go to the library now when I get the chance but it's all modern, carpeted, takes ages for them to renew stock, 3/4's of it ( a vast area) has been turned over to computer use, and now with the Silence rule relaxed it's a very noisy place with Kids running around shouting and  screaming, kids sing song corner.. and a couple of dozen keyboards clacking away ..not a peaceful retreat anymore.


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## Ralphy1 (Jun 22, 2015)

As one ages one appreciates the convenience of ereading, though I do miss perusing the shelves and checking out all of the new stuff...


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## Ameriscot (Jun 22, 2015)

My DH carries his Kindle in his jacket pocket.  Hard to do with real books. With all the traveling we do the kindle is a miracle.  I certainly can't carry a large book in my carry on when size is limited and I already have my camera and all its lenses, a change of clothes, my tablet, my netbook and anything else I don't want stolen.


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## truespock (Jun 22, 2015)

Ebooks for me!  I have Retinitis Pigmentosa and I can't read regular print books.  With an iPad, I can still simulate the cherished comfort of sitting in my favorite chair, pipe ablaze, coffee at my elbow, cats on my lap, holding a 'book'.  Of course, I only get half a dozen greatly enlarged words on the 'page' at a time, but at least I can SEE them.


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