Welcome to Bookish Blatherings, a Bad Bird Reads feature where I ramble about bookish or bloggerish things and hopefully you will join in on the discussion.
I am reading the hardcover of The Dark Days Club right now. The story is good, the book is not. By that I mean I’ve finally turned to the dark side. I no longer like hardcopies of books. I know, I’m a horrible book nerd. The ebook/book debate has been going on for some time. I’ve always been on the hardcopy book team. I loved holding an actual paperback or hardcover in my hand. The smells, the textures, and prettiness, they all appealed to me more. But no more.
First, holding a hardcover is freaking annoying as hell. They are heavy and awkward to hold. The paperback isn’t as bad but it’s still not as comfortable an e-reader. E-readers are so light and sleek. My kindle fits perfectly in my hand.
Second, where is my dictionary option on my hardcover? Oh yeah, books are technologically impaired, ergo useless. I love looking up words or highlighting while I’m reading. Without those options, I feel naked.
Third, ebooks are more portable. I was called into Jury Duty this week and had to finish a huge physical book for a blog tour. I have a big purse but it was so annoying to carry around such a big book all day. My kindle fits everywhere and in any purse. I like my shit compact!
Fourth, most e-readers come with lighting options. Mine does and I love it. I hate having my reading location options limited because of lighting. With my e-reader, I can read ANYWHERE! I could crawl in a hole and read to my heart’s content.
The best part of my e-reader is that when I’m doing my make-up or other random tasks, I can switch to text-to-speech and let my e-reader do the work for me. I know some of you hate this feature, but I love it. Audio books would work too, but then I am stuck with just audio reading. I like having the choice to either physically read or listen to my books.
Yes, I still love looking at my over-stacked bookshelves. Books are so much more mesmerizing than ebooks, obviously. But convince is slowly becoming more important. I find myself resenting when I have to read one of my physical books. Ugh, I hate myself for saying that. I will still buy physical books because relying 100% on technology makes me nervous. Technology is not reliable, but when it is, it’s fucking awesome!
Anybody else leaning more towards the eBook/eReader team?
Why or why not?
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Ashley @ Ashleyz Wonderland
Yes to all of the above! I’m an ereader girl for all of the same reasons. I do like a physical copy of some books, especially those with pretty covers but an ereader is just so much more convenient.
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
Soooo much more convenient. I feel bad for giving up on physical books but I gotta do me! lol
Christy
Digital all the way. Before I got a kindle in 2010, I thought I’d never be into them. I loved my hardcopies. Ha. I love my kindle and can read so much faster. Plus, I like that I can easily search for things. Like if I want to compare something from earlier in the book or check what someone said, easy.
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
So happy I am not the only one! I never thought I would convert, but my kindle is my baby!
Bee @ Quite the Novel Idea
While nothing can compare to the feel of a physical copy, I do prefer ebooks for all the reasons you listed. I don’t need extra lighting to be able to read, I can take it with me at all times because it’s so small, it’s easier to hold in my hands,…
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
My hands use to get tired holding real books for so long, ebooks are so much easier.
Lekeisha
I love my Kindles. I take them with me everywhere, and I notice that I read ebooks faster than physical books. The only time I can read a physical book without stopping is on weekends or an off day. I love my hardcovers and paperbacks, but ebooks are my choice Monday-Friday. I still will buy physical books in case something goes wrong. You know, a zombie Apocalypse or something. LOL
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
Damn zombie apocalypse trying to screw with our reading! hehehe
JenM
I’ve been an ereader convert forever. I’ve always been one of those people whose luggage had more books than clothes in it. I actually had an old Gemstar reader back in 2003 that my husband got me because he was so sick of the weight of my luggage LOL, but there wasn’t a very big selection of books back then. As soon as the Kindle came out, I jumped right on it and have never looked back. Plus, I have wrist problems that make it difficult to hold physical books for long stretches of time and my tired old eyes love being able to resize the fonts. I do still read physical books from the library, but that’s about it.
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
My hands use to get strained from real books because I read for hours, so I know your pain.
Nitzan Schwarz
I’ll tell you what, Jennifer.
I’m with you, I prefer *reading* on my e-reader. First of all, I read faster. I’ve tried looking at it logically and I’ve decided it’s because I can’t visibly “see” my progress. By which I mean, with a physical copy when I reach the half mark, I’m all impressed by how many pages I passed and feel like I’ve “read enough for today”. I don’t have that on my kindle, so I often find myself simply finishing books without realizing.
I also agree with the benefits of weight, light and of course – space. I can take maybe three physical copies with me everywhere (and that’s heavy as hell) while I can take a 1000 (literally) on my kindle.
BUT
I love visually seeing my books. It’s just not the same, showing your e-reader library vs your physical one. Favorite authors get physical copies every time. Beautiful books get a physical copy because I’m shallow like that. Books I loved as kindle get a physical copy because how can I throw them at my friends if there’s nothing to throw?? But I read five kindle books for every physical one I read. I didn’t read any physical books this month, but I did read 6.5 kindle ones ^-^”
Nothing can beat the physical copies visually, but kindle is a lot more comfortable to read with. Plus, I can read on my side which I can’t do with my physical copies and I love lying on my side.
I feel like I kind of wrote too much lol
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
I read ebooks soooo much more faster. I love having the percentage showing on my kindle to tell me how much I have left in the book. but yeah, there is nothing that beats the beauty of a physical book.
Nitzan Schwarz
Right??? Something about the ebook format just makes me read ten times faster. Or read ten times longer than I do with physical copies lol.
The percentage this is wonderful, but most of the time I don’t notice it unless I’m ready to go to sleep and then I see I only have 20% left so of course I’m going to stay awake and finish.
<3
Melissa (Books and Things)
I just had this discussion with a family member. They were telling me that no, ebooks are inferior to physical. I said… yep, I used to feel that way until I got a ton of review books and by doing my blog. Now, I like how there is no extra space to be used by an ebook except on memory. 🙂 I do still like physical books and it is easier to give to people when finished. That probably won’t change.
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
I guess as a book blogger we are biased because ebooks are like our currency.
Nathan
I mainly only read physical books, but I recently won some books from paranormally yours book blog and they are kindles, so I am deciding about whether or not to buy a kindle. They are expensive up front, and some kindle books cost similar to physical books, but there are free kindle books, too. I should decide soon, I guess you recommend e-readers? Of course even if I do get a e-reader, physical books will always hold a special place for me. I mean they can be read almost anywhere and there is less risk of losing your library.
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
You so need to invest in an e-reader. Kindle Touches are not too expensive. You get free books all the time and a lot of ebooks are cheaper, just don’t buy the ones that are the same price as physical books. That’s just stupid. they usually go on sale eventually.
Braine Talk Supe
Hahaha!
But that book is so pretty though!!! It’s impossible to read in bed with that beast though so I feel you
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
Ugh, hardcovers in bed are the freaking worst. I want to shoot someone just trying to get in a comfortable position.
kindlemom1
I adore my paperwhite and truly don’t think I could manage without it. Okay, I could but it would seriously suck!
Welcome to the Dark Side!
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
Right? My kindle is like a extension of me now.
Missie
I honestly am choosing my e-reader too. It is easier to carry, holds way more books and I can read in the dark!
Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings
Enter my Ultimate Scavenger Hunt Giveaway
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
Exactly! Reading in the dark is the best.
Jaclyn Canada
Yay! A convert 😀 I feel exactly the same way. I’ve been team e-book for a while now. My MAIN reason for preferring my Kindle reads to a hardcover is the ease of reviewing. I highlight passages throughout while reading and glance back over those notes when I’m writing the review. When I’m reading a hardcover, I either have to tote around a notebook and pen with it, or just try to remember all the points that I wanted to make.
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
I love highlighting passages too. So convenient.
Melissa (My World...in words and pages)
Err… I go back and forth. Both have positives and negatives for me these days. 🙂
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
It was a hard decision.
Kristin (@_Kristin315_)
HaHa I had a dream last night that I was hastily packing a bag for my trip to Hawaii and I couldn’t decide on which books to bring and started grabbing paperbacks before I decided to just bring my Kindle and load it up with books instead. THAT is why I love my ereader. It’s a portable library that weighs less than some phones do. However, I love the look of a personal library in my house and I love looking at the pretty colored covers (I have the original Kindle which is black and white). And while hardcovers are my go-to option for books, they are extremely difficult and awkward to hold when lying in bed.
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
I have a kindle touch, so mine is black and white too. If I had more room, I would love to be able to display all my books. So pretty!
Lover Of Romance
I actually used to love E Books, and loved my e reader. However, the past few months I have changed back to printed books. I love the whole experience of reading a paperback or a hardback. Although I will say Hardback’s can be awkward at times, but I rarely read them, so its always a unique experience but fun once I get used to reading it for a while. So even though I plan on keeping up on e reading, I have been focusing on reading more printed books since lately I have been loving them more. But you are right, e books aren’t completely reliable, you never know with tech.
Jennifer (Bad Bird Reads)
Plus, when you buy ebooks from amazon, you don’t technically own them. They could be taken away. Crazy.