You don't buy cds anymore, what about books?

I either buy my books or get them from the library. That won’t change for me. I love having bookshelves filled with books in my house and being able to share them with friends. That and reading a book on the computer or listening to it just isn’t the same for me. I prefer hearing the voices of the characters in my own way rather than hearing one guy do voices for everyone. That and I tend to zone out during audio books and miss stuff.

I still buy physical books but I also download from audible.

Can’t be bothered with ebooks though as it gives me a headache.

I still much prefer books. I stare at my computer all day long, I wouldn’t want to read books on it, too. (General reading books at least)

I do download books. All about computer stuff. Around 50% suck. I buy the other 50%. I really love books. I can’t read them on a computer screen. And I love the smell of books. They should turn that into a perfume and make librarians were it.

As it happens, I do still buy some CD’s.

As for books, I prefer written form to audio, because with audio my attention will drift more.

Reading online is horrible. It’s books all the way for me.

Books. No doubt about it. I also buy CD’s sometimes.

@johnpowell I totally agree, there’s nothing better than the smell of a book whether old or new.

Sometimes when I come across an old book for the library I sit and imagine those that have read the book before me. It’s part of the mystery and fun for me.

As much as we’re transitioning to digital media, I highly doubt that books will disappear. Lots of people are true bibliophiles, in that nothing can replace the weight, feeling, look, smell, or presence on a shelf of an actual book. I fall into this category and if it weren’t for my million moves, I’d have a rather amazing library by now. :)

I’ve only read two books online and that was for preservation purposes. One is by my great great grandfather and his voyage around the horn to California in 1849 and his adventures once he got here. The Library of Congress has the entire book online, and I read it there because the copy I have would cost a great deal to replace. I have another relative that was an Irish novelist and poet. I also read his works online, but mostly because I can’t find print copies of all of them.

I love books and always will. My son inherited my dad’s library, merely because he was the only grandchild who thought to ask for it.

I do listen to audiobooks on my iPod, from a free site librivox. I don’t like any kind of condensed book, just like I don’t like walking into a movie that has already started. It’s all or nothing.

I still buy books. I hate staring at a screen that long, plus I would like to have them around for my kids. Oh, and I still buy cds

@Seesul – What’s the name of the book? I’d be interested in reading it.. how awesome!

I like to hold a book in my hand (sometimes in the tub) – I keep them, trade them, sell them, and give them away.

One of the greatest things that I ever ran into while traveling as a kid (my dad worked for an airline) was when we diverted to Thailand because of fog on the west coast of the US, and a curfew in Hong Kong (so that we couldn’t land). We basically were under house arrest at the hotel, since we didn’t have visas, and I couldn’t sleep. I had already finished the book that I had brought with me, (1984—don’t EVER read that on a plane of sleeping passengers, I let out a loud gasp at one point) and had nothing to read.

I went down into the lobby of the hotel and on one of the tables was a used paperback. Inside the cover it said the book was to share, and the only thing asked was to read it sign it with a comment and leave it somewhere for another to enjoy. I did the same thing and left my book with the same comment. The book had already been halfway around the world, so I sent it on its way when I was finished with it.

@Aleena. I’ll answer later, have to go out now.

@seesul That’s a great idea!

@dragonflyfaith – Check out BookCrossing.

It’s a really cool idea and I’ve ‘released’ some books, myself.

@AlenaD Hey thanks! I’m terrible about not being able to reread a book. Once I know the ending I can just never go back. Once in a great while I can but it’s rare. So something like that would be great for me. Thanks again.

@dragonflyfaith – Me too.. only very special books am I able to read more than once. I’d much rather pass them on to people who will enjoy them and what I like about BookCrossing is you can track the progress of your book around the country (potentially the world, too!).

I guess I am stuck in the dark ages. I don’t download any media. maybe one day I can get my daughter to teach me about all those new fangled gadgets, ha ha! I still buy books and CDs

Oh, I love to reread favorite books. I find things that I missed the first time ( or two or three). Rereading favorite characters is like visiting with friends.

@syz DH is like that too. He’ll reread a book until it falls apart and then buy a new copy. It makes me jealous.

Books and cds will always be part of my life, for me are very important as each one symbolizes something, let’s say, the way I grew up and I need to see them, and touch them and clean them from time to time, just to remember who I was and the man I’m becoming after the rain has fallen, and to be able to pass such wisdom to my kids (if I ever have the chance to be a dad)

@flameboi good point! I loved sharing my childhood books with my daughter.

I love books. I love their heft, and I love touching and turning pages. They smell wonderful. Books are comforting. I could lose myself in a book all day long and never look up. Written narrative is the fabric of thought and imagination.

Compters and laptops are uncomfortable, hot, cranky and dumb. This one stinks. I’m going to turn it off and go read a book.

Good night, all.

I’ve been reading a lot more lately since I bought my iPod touch. It’s more like holding a book than staring at a computer screen and is very useful when waiting somewhere or in bed with the lights out. Simply set the screen at whatever brightness setting is easiest on the eyes. I’ve been using http://www.textonphone.com—over 20,000 free books, mostly classics, but several more recent books uploaded by members. You can download entire books, chunks at a time, directly from your iPod touch or iPhone, and read them offline. I usually have 4 or 5 books stored on the touch. You can also download any printer-friendly book text from any website with the free webapp iwebsaverapplet available on the Apple webapp page—no computer required. Although books are still the preferred choice, the touch is the best electronic pocket book I’ve seen. After reading a couple books this way, you don’t find it awkward at all.

Correction: the applet is called iwebsaverfavelet. Once you are on the site there is a link to use it to directly download web pages to your device. You simply navigate to your desired page, then open the iwebsaver bookmark. A data-URL version of your webpage appears as a new page which you then save as a bookmark. This bookmark will open your entire page offline. Works great if there are not many graphics on the page. The textonphone site and wikipedia webapp have this whole process built in, so simpler. You can also

Sorry. I was saying… You can also use your computer to convert online books to text-only with the textedit program and then email them to your iPod touch. You can change the text size with your email settings, but unfortunately can only read with the device vertical, making for short lines of text. When connected to wifi, textonphone books make for very easy reading—you hold the iPod horizontally and simply click anywhere on the screen to advance to the next page. You can adjust antiglare and background paper and text colour. The site also remembers where you are in each book. Sorry to ramble on like this, but I’ve always been into reading, and the touch is actually a great go-anywhere ereader. I’ve been pumped about it for awhile now.

@ Scamp
Yep, nothing like your kids asking you “Dad, can’t believe you liked that kind of music” :)

@flameboi I know what you mean! My daughter likes alot of what I listened to, but she thinks I am a flake!! ( I bet alot of people here would agreee with her, ha ha!!)

As soon as someone can give me the “iPod-level” experience with an ebook, I’m so there. I don’t need the paper for any particular reason, but I can’t stand the reading experience on these modern ebook reader devices.

I shudder at the thought of downloading books or listening to audio books. I purchase all of the books I read, with the exception of a few taken out of the library.

There’s just nothing like turning the pages of a new book, and the feeling of not being able to set a great one down. Audio books and podcast books are just another two things to add to the list of how our society is constantly growing lazier and less-appreciative of a fantastic read.

I like to read books, although I also use ‘Audible’ too. I find them both as equally enjoyable.