Book reader community.
eBooks for sure.
Don't get me wrong - absolutely nothing beats the feeling of paper. But if I have my Kindle, I read everyday. If I need to worry about carrying and taking care of a physical book... I read sometimes.
I'm also spoiled by having quick dictionary access, saving quotes, etc.
If it's a very special book I'll buy the physical edition though, just for having it on my shelf.
@kadu @ArmoredCavalry To be honest, the main thing that bothers me about eBooks is that it doesn't support my local bookstore. I tend to buy eBooks from Amazon because it is convenient (yes, I know there are other options, but I admit to laziness here). Local, independent bookstores are a precious resource and I will be mad at myself when they are gone. I will look at the hundreds of books on my Kindle and feel guilty.
I prefer physical books for the most part but I have a hard time justifying their cost when I own an ereader.
I like listening to audiobooks when I'm out and about but I find I'll occasionally miss the odd sentence when I get distracted or forget to pause when I take my headphones off which leads to me skipping around trying to find where I was at.
I started listening to audiobooks for my commute, and that's mostly what I stick to these days. The right narrator can make all the difference though!
And the wrong narrator just makes a great read a slog and a half.
Nice, thick, heavy hardcover, thick, textured pages, no jacket.
Ebooks. Kindle has a nice display showing how much is left in the chapter. It has a warm light back light, and i can take multiple books with me on a trip (i have some unfinished books).
I can put down the kindle without losing the page, or having to bookmark it. And i can sideload the books for free.
Physical books are tempting too as i can get them free at a library and very cheap second hand, but i know i would still prefer to read it on kindle where i can choose the font size I like.
Paper, softcover, thin rough pages.
Hardback is hard to hold on to, and I hate those book jackets they come with yet it pains me to just throw them away
Physical paperbacks. I can never seem to get as engrossed in audiobooks or e-books as I do with physical copies, so i read physical ones ever when traveling.
It depends. I'm studying for my medical exams and paper books are the way to go. I typically smash through audiobooks while driving.
When I was younger…well, there were only Palm Pilots back then, so it’s a bit unfair, but I’d prefer physical books, and if I were doing active reading then it’d usually be with a physical book.
Reading digital books now requires using a device that often has access to Youtube or something else that’s shorter and snappier and yet pulls hours upon hours out of my life.
And as I’ve gotten older…I haven’t read read a book in years. Is it a lack of attention span? Yes, which makes me feel sad and ashamed and so fucking frustrated because I could, I could read long books as a kid and now…I can’t.
It’s also that I have more to do: laundry, cleaning, work, cooking, errands, exercise… So there’s less time to sit down and read, or if I do, it feels increasingly hedonistic and therefore wrong to just do one thing at once. If I can multitask then shouldn’t I?
Audiobooks are both a godsend and a curse. I can actually consume books again! But I’m locked into the ease of it.
Actively choosing to doing just the one thing, for myself, is far harder than it ought to be.
I prefer ebooks. I like to be able to carry my library around with me. Also, I rarely reread books so they end up collecting dust after I read them.
I've never tried audiobooks, but lately have grown to love, maybe even prefer, e-books. The ability to tap on a word and instantly see its definition or translation is amazing! I also like how I can read in the dark, turn on dark mode, and shrink/enlarge the font size.
Audiobooks are good for doing yard work and for the books that I want to check out but find to be a bit of a slog. There are also some great narrators who really bring something extra to the story.
e-books for the last 10 years or so. Some books can be large and/or thick and are a hassle to cart around. My e-reader is slim and lightweight - very easy to take with me when I'm out and about. Also like being able to tap a word and have a definition popup. E-books are also cheaper and have great sales regularly.
Never liked jacketed books, they are silly things.
Do you have any favorite narrators? I enjoy most things by Tim Gerard Reynolds!
@ArmoredCavalry Ebooks solve so many problems for me. I'll almost never read print if I can get the ebook.
Same, I also must read them on an ereader. I've tried my phone but it's all so easy to just do something else on a phone.
I prefer ebooks for reasons others already stated, including:
I wanted to highlight accessibility, which is most important to me. I struggle to focus while reading, and listening to a screen reader narrate a digital text while looking at the written words helps me push through. With use of a screen reader comes the ability to adjust the speed, pitch and/or voice for faster or slower reading, and it's extremely useful when there are no existing audiobooks for said material. The consistency of a synthesized voice allows me to increase the speed and still understand, while audiobooks will contain pauses and emphases at the discretion of the narrator.
In some cases, ebooks can be shared more easily with people who are not physically nearby. I also frequently use full-text search for specific terms.
Another one to add to this is backlights! I don't have to get up to turn off the room light when I'm done reading.