Which is the preferred way of reading?

I like reading on my kindle. It is much easier to carry around and even to hold in my hands while reading than a large book would be. There is something sentimental about physical books, but the kindle is highly convenient for me.

Real books. I recently got a table that fits across the bath tub the has a built in book rest and love to read and soak in the tub. I now have to watch how much bubble bath I mix in the water!

I was reading mainly on my iPad mini for a time but now have gone back to preferring “real” books. I just find I enjoy the book more. However, I still use the iPad at times; when I want to get hold of a book fast or when I’m traveling. There’s a place for each.

I can’t get used to reading from a computer. I recently bought a book stand, which I find useful, especially for large books.

I love the kindle for reading books. I don’t have to worry about lighting or the size of the print or where I left off. It just makes it so much easier to read in any environment or lighting conditions. Of course if the battery goes dead, it’s a pain in the arse.

I generally prefer the experience of reading paperbacks, but I absolutely love the features that my Nook offers (similar to Kindle, I’m sure) to look up words in the text without having to pick up another book, to automatically bookmark when I put the book down and to do word / name searches when I sometimes lose track of “who said that?” or “when did I see that expression before?” or “who is that character, again?”

I also like that I can carry literally hundreds of books in the form factor of a single paperback, and turning pages only takes one hand, so I don’t need to have both hands on the book at all time.

I absolutely do not like reading hardcover books, but for the right book, I won’t kick it out of bed.

From left to right, left page before right page. I prefer reading a printed book rather than a display.

I like the Nook for all the reasons the @CWOTUS mentioned, I still like paper, but mostly I like it when I’m not aware of the format. I cannot for the life of me remember where I first heard this, but, roughly paraphrased, it says: “The book itself it just a pound of paper. But, if at any time during the story you become aware of that, then the author hasn’t done their job well enough.”

Ultimately, I prefer to read, however the words are delivered.

I experimented with a Kindle and quite liked it for a time but I have gone back to reading paperbacks. The Kindle is on my bedside table but the batteries are flat.

Oh, I also forgot quite possibly the most important reason why I adore my kindle – digital books are cheaper, and also I’ve run out of bookshelf space for physical books in my apartment.

I have not tried a Kindle for reading. I still use the hard copy version. I like the feel of the pages and the ability to flip back and forth between them. I still get frustrated reading a multi-page website where I have to scroll down to get a page read,

I hate reading things on a screen. I prefer reading it on paper. I feel more organized that way—I can quickly go back to pages and not get lost as easily.

It depends mostly on lighting conditions. Overall, I prefer paper, but the backlighting is nice, as is not lugging around a couple hundred pounds of 8½“x11” hardcover books for tabletop gaming. But flipping back and forth to find something is easier than scrolling, and I am so accustomed to using a bookmark that I do it automatically and losing my place is rarely a concern.

I like both. I tend to read novels on my Kindle. I can carry it easily. I have lots of reading at my disposal. I can read at night without putting the light on.

For textbooks, I need to flick through the index, skim read etc. So I find paper books more useful.

If I’m reading about photography or books with visual content, I prefer a hard copy book too. I want to dip in and out of it.

I prefer to read paperbacks, or with any screen that displays all lines in a single page. I don’t like swipping around, it strains my eyes easily. I don’t want an enjoyable experience to turn into a struggle.

The thing is, I often feel more motivated to read an ebook, and it costs money to read real books. Even if I have an ebook, it still costs money to print it. I can get tough to choose which kind of books to read.

I should add that if you have a picture in a book and it is printed sideways, it is a pain in the arse. Turn the kindle on it’s side and the picture rotates. I hate that.

In addition, I look at the price of a Kindle and find myself imagining how many actual books I could be buying at a ½ price book store.

@Jaxk As one who has a ton of PDFs on my Nook, I can say that I am glad that I have the ability to lock out screen rotation. It can be done at either the system level or, with the better PDF readers, within the application. However, since you’re probably not running a Nook Color reflashed with CyanogenMod running ezPDF Reader, I’m not sure where you would find those settings, only that it’s something that can be changed.

@rojo I paid less for my Nook Color than I did for the bookshelves that hold all me dead-tree books, though I (okay, my wife) also shopped wisely and paid less than retail for it. Then again, the books I like tend to run $30–60 and are obscure enough to never be found in a used book store anyways. In the end, we must each decide what a tablet/e-reader is worth to us, and we won’t all have the same answer.

@rojo, having a Kindle saves me a fortune. I have to buy a lot of books and the Kindle versions are often a third of the price of the hard copy (sometimes the price difference is much more than a third).

I don’t read much in the way of fiction these days. Would it still be worth my while?

Yes @rojo. I buy a lot of scholarly, academic texts for my Kindle. I use software so I can print them off (or the specific parts I need). I might pay $10 for a Kindle copy, compared to $40 for a hard copy plus shipping. I’m in Australia so the shipping is expensive. I find my Kindle great for travelling because I’ve got a lot of my books with me (I still buy a lot of print books). I do prefer to read texts I’m using for work in a print format. However, the cost of books and shipping means Kindle versions are a better option often. I can also get the book immediately.

What non-fiction topics do you particularly like to read?

Mostly anthro/archeo and history texts

@jerv – You’re right, I’m not running all that stuff. I fix the problem the old fashion way. I lay the kindle flat on a table and walk around to see the illustration.

I only read books that I own. I buy books and they are mine….........not just digital signals. I won’t ever change.

@MollyMcGuire Since you seem to be of the opinion that paying for a book entitles you to ownership over it rather than merely licensing you to read it until the seller decides on a whim to revoke that license, I’m a little surprised that you aren’t already aware of how to get DRM-free eBooks. Then again, you don’t seem “geeky” enough to really follow groups like the EFF or FSF. Still, every single one of the PDFs on my tablet is owned outright just like the books on my shelves, and groups like those two want to keep it that way. So if owning what you pay for is important to you, it may interest you to see what they’re about.

@jerv. I love books and would never do this ebook thing. I like to hold books, the smell of books, making notes in the margins, and having them on my bookshelves. I’m not geeky but I’m a big of a nerd I guess. You misunderstood what I meant by buying books and owning them…......I mean owning a tangible book with paper pages and usually a hard cover. :)

@MollyMcGuire Ah, well, that’s different.

Real books. Screens don’t look right, don’t feel right, don’t smell right. They also hurt my eyes after too much reading in a sitting. I can read a lot more with an actual book.