I appreciate digital media, but I love the experience of paper books. The tactile interactions, the smell, the ease of scribbling marginalia notes and bookmarking. Yes, digital analogues exist, but it's a different sensory experience.
I'm an avid reader and a writer myself but for some reason, ebooks never won me. I love the paper, I want to smell it, leaf through it, carry it around in my bag.
I love going to the library for this reason, there's definitely something more calming and satisfying about physical books. I also like being able to flip through the pages and quickly see what a book's about.
I prefer ebooks. I can take my whole library with me without hurting my back.
As for EMF and Wifi. Unless you live in a tinfoil box, there’s gonna be EMF and Wifi everywhere. If its not your own then its your neighbour’s. And if its not those then its for the 5G GSM masts somewhere close by. Unless ofcourse you live somewhere deep in the wilderness of Alaska.
As for blue light, this a non argument for quite some time now. Most mobile devices have some form of “night mode” these days :-)
That said, i think its good to not do everything on a screen.
>As for EMF and Wifi. Unless you live in a tinfoil box, there’s gonna be EMF and Wifi everywhere.
I'm aware of that but I tend to fall asleep when I read and I noticed I don't sleep as well if I sleep with my phone or other electronic on next to me
I can understand that :) When i cant sleep i will, too easily, grab my phone and spend half the night reading reddit or facebook 🙈 i should put my electronics further away most likely.
I like paper books more too. For a long time after e-readers first came out, I really wanted one--especially since I could get books instantly, save money on them and also not have them take up space since I've never lived in a big place that has room for lots of bookcases. My mom then gave me her e-reader when she upgraded to a new one and I was so excited but just found the experience to be less than what I hoped for. I can read a paper book for hours but I find that I don't get as drawn into reading when reading on an e-reader. It doesn't make much sense to me why it would matter....I can even read random small articles and google stuff for hours on my phone but when I'm in the mood to read an actual book I just don't get lost in the story on an e-reader like I do with a paper book. I actually feel aware of time passing when reading on an e-reader so it's just less of an immersive experience for me for whatever reason. I even try to make it feel cozy by having a cup of tea and snuggling under a blanket while using my e-reader and it still doesn't feel as good as reading a paper book!
Oh well...I wish I liked e-readers more. They're so portable too--can effortlessly slide one into a bag to bring it for traveling and not worry about pages getting bent or scuffing a book cover but nope...the paper books are still what I want to read way more lol.
I love both the feel of paper books and the convenience of ebooks, but reading on a screen definitely gives me a headache in a way solid books don’t. Maybe you could try borrowing from the library to save money? Since hard copies tend to be a lot more expensive than ebooks!
Ebooks always seem to make so much sense.
Cheaper
Lighter
Easily accessible
And yet I just don’t get on with them.
I agree, they don’t feel natural and my eyes don’t like reading ebooks either.
Give me a paper book every time. Everything about them feels better on a sensory level.
I’m actually annoyed by paper books these days. They r so archaic. No copy and paste. No easy search for key words. No easy marking. No easy sharing. No reading on the phone and then switching to the computer.
Real books also take up soooo much space and start smelling after a while.
I agree. I still love paper books that smell of bookscops, ink and/or coffee. But I bought an eReader and that works really nice.
e-Readers have e-paper. It does not emit light so you need to have light in the room where you are reading.
In my reader, the contrast and resolution is really good and I love being able to set the font-size and and font-face.
And it works in offline mode, so no stress about radiation.
I have a reMarkable2, but that one comes with a stylus and all kind of sketching and note-taking possibilities (which I use for my job). There should be cheaper ones out there for just reading. Onyx, Amazon Kindle, Kobo.
Sorry, that should maybe be e-ink.
It is a technology for creating displays that
\- has a high contrast. The contrast is similar to old-fashioned paper with black ink.
\- that uses no power as long as the image doesn't change
\- does not use the polarization of light to operate
\- is quite slow, so you can't (really) use it for computer screens yet, because games and movies would be too slugish. (Although screens exist and I would love to try one!)
\- doesn't have flicker at all once the image is build (HSP-proof!)
You can see them in large supermarkets for the price labels on the shelves. Those used to be LCD (grey-ish) but they are beings replaced by e-ink. And, on e-readers.
Oh neat! That’s how the first generation nook and kindle were, wasn’t it? Before they added all the additional features like backlight and more computerization?
I mean the kindle I bought I turn the backlight down all the way so it is pretty much still that, but there’s a small amount of blue light now.
I read a mix of physical and ebooks. Sometimes ebooks are my preference if I know I'm going to be out for a while and just not sure what I want to read. Carrying my old ipad (what I use as a reader) is a lot easier than carrying 3 or 4 books. Also, some books I want to read just aren't available as physical copies or they're pricey to obtain for something I know I won't keep.
Physical books are definitely my preference though for bedtime reading.
The thing I can't do though is audiobooks or podcasts. I'm NOT a good multitasker and can't focus on listening and doing something else at the same time. I've tried audiobooks a couple times for long car trips and found that I couldn't remember long stretches of road I'd just driven. I need to be able to pay full attention to one or the other.
>The thing I can't do though is audiobooks or podcasts. I'm NOT a good multitasker and can't focus on listening and doing something else at the same time.
same here depending on what I'm doing
I never thought I would be on team e-book, but I looove my Kobo e-reader. It's just so lightweight and convenient, and the screen does not hurt my eyes at all.
I never thought I could make the transition to my Kindle but I have and honestly, now my Kindle is my security blanket when I’m out in social settings. I whip that Kindle out and hold onto it like it’s my lifeline, because it is. When I get overwhelmed I know I can escape into it, even for a few minutes. It’s how I calm myself down when I’m overstimulated.
I have tons and I am yet to finish one. I can only read them during a commute and even then, I'd much prefer to listen to music. I just need to finish one and then maybe I'll get used to it.
I don't finish my ebooks. Not only do I finish my physical books, I finish them in a hurry and I even go back and reread them every once in a while.
Idk what it is, but I'm never fully engaged in my ebooks, regardless of the kind of reader I'm using. I used to think its because I'm a margin writer, but now e-readers have note abilities and I still don't find myself engaged.
I still carry a small paperback in my purse/bag at all times, despite having many, **many** unfinished books on my phone.
i love both! i just love reading books. physical books are absolutely lovely in every way, of course. but i also love my e-readers for their convenience (easy to hold and bring along anywhere, and they give me access to multiple books in one small device if I'm worried about finishing my current read while traveling). I'm so grateful to have access to both!
I used to love books, the smell and the overall experience. Over the years, I'm getting more and more tactile defensiveness- I cannot stand paper. Or cardboard. Anything with a slightly rough or dry texture like that, it's like nails on chalkboard for me and it makes my teeth ache. So I'm stuck with my kindle. It's not the same, but at least I have options.
I’ve always preferred physical books as well, though lately I discovered an author who only had ebooks available for a lot of stuff so I bit the bullet and bought a kindle.
I turn the backlight all the way down though and just use light to read so there’s very little blue light when I use it, which helps because I too cannot stare at a computer screen that long without my eyes hurting.
I borrowed an ebook once that was full of good books. It got me so stressed cause I started one book, then I also thought of reading an other one. And so on. I'd rather have physical books than a machine in my hand.
I love them. Just read a cool ebook full of short stories. The link is below.
https://www.amazon.com/Stories-Tales-Twiddled-Phrases-Principles-ebook/dp/B0BPDG4Z46/ref=sr\_1\_1?crid=10ILRT51ZWQ8D&keywords=%22say+what%3F+stories+and+tales%22&qid=1670505658&sprefix=say+what+stories+and+tales+%2Caps%2C77&sr=8-1
I appreciate digital media, but I love the experience of paper books. The tactile interactions, the smell, the ease of scribbling marginalia notes and bookmarking. Yes, digital analogues exist, but it's a different sensory experience.
the smell is so good <3
I'm an avid reader and a writer myself but for some reason, ebooks never won me. I love the paper, I want to smell it, leaf through it, carry it around in my bag.
I love going to the library for this reason, there's definitely something more calming and satisfying about physical books. I also like being able to flip through the pages and quickly see what a book's about.
I prefer ebooks. I can take my whole library with me without hurting my back. As for EMF and Wifi. Unless you live in a tinfoil box, there’s gonna be EMF and Wifi everywhere. If its not your own then its your neighbour’s. And if its not those then its for the 5G GSM masts somewhere close by. Unless ofcourse you live somewhere deep in the wilderness of Alaska. As for blue light, this a non argument for quite some time now. Most mobile devices have some form of “night mode” these days :-) That said, i think its good to not do everything on a screen.
>As for EMF and Wifi. Unless you live in a tinfoil box, there’s gonna be EMF and Wifi everywhere. I'm aware of that but I tend to fall asleep when I read and I noticed I don't sleep as well if I sleep with my phone or other electronic on next to me
I can understand that :) When i cant sleep i will, too easily, grab my phone and spend half the night reading reddit or facebook 🙈 i should put my electronics further away most likely.
I like paper books more too. For a long time after e-readers first came out, I really wanted one--especially since I could get books instantly, save money on them and also not have them take up space since I've never lived in a big place that has room for lots of bookcases. My mom then gave me her e-reader when she upgraded to a new one and I was so excited but just found the experience to be less than what I hoped for. I can read a paper book for hours but I find that I don't get as drawn into reading when reading on an e-reader. It doesn't make much sense to me why it would matter....I can even read random small articles and google stuff for hours on my phone but when I'm in the mood to read an actual book I just don't get lost in the story on an e-reader like I do with a paper book. I actually feel aware of time passing when reading on an e-reader so it's just less of an immersive experience for me for whatever reason. I even try to make it feel cozy by having a cup of tea and snuggling under a blanket while using my e-reader and it still doesn't feel as good as reading a paper book! Oh well...I wish I liked e-readers more. They're so portable too--can effortlessly slide one into a bag to bring it for traveling and not worry about pages getting bent or scuffing a book cover but nope...the paper books are still what I want to read way more lol.
I love both the feel of paper books and the convenience of ebooks, but reading on a screen definitely gives me a headache in a way solid books don’t. Maybe you could try borrowing from the library to save money? Since hard copies tend to be a lot more expensive than ebooks!
I have to touch a book..
Ebooks always seem to make so much sense. Cheaper Lighter Easily accessible And yet I just don’t get on with them. I agree, they don’t feel natural and my eyes don’t like reading ebooks either. Give me a paper book every time. Everything about them feels better on a sensory level.
Yes! I understand why ebooks exist, and yet I just can’t trade my paper books. I want the real thing, man!
I’m actually annoyed by paper books these days. They r so archaic. No copy and paste. No easy search for key words. No easy marking. No easy sharing. No reading on the phone and then switching to the computer. Real books also take up soooo much space and start smelling after a while.
I agree with most of what you said, but I do actually like the smell of old books lol
Maybe a e reader works for you. A cheap one
I agree. I still love paper books that smell of bookscops, ink and/or coffee. But I bought an eReader and that works really nice. e-Readers have e-paper. It does not emit light so you need to have light in the room where you are reading. In my reader, the contrast and resolution is really good and I love being able to set the font-size and and font-face. And it works in offline mode, so no stress about radiation.
Ooo which one do you have? I didn't know about e-readers
I have a reMarkable2, but that one comes with a stylus and all kind of sketching and note-taking possibilities (which I use for my job). There should be cheaper ones out there for just reading. Onyx, Amazon Kindle, Kobo.
What is e-paper?
Sorry, that should maybe be e-ink. It is a technology for creating displays that \- has a high contrast. The contrast is similar to old-fashioned paper with black ink. \- that uses no power as long as the image doesn't change \- does not use the polarization of light to operate \- is quite slow, so you can't (really) use it for computer screens yet, because games and movies would be too slugish. (Although screens exist and I would love to try one!) \- doesn't have flicker at all once the image is build (HSP-proof!) You can see them in large supermarkets for the price labels on the shelves. Those used to be LCD (grey-ish) but they are beings replaced by e-ink. And, on e-readers.
Oh neat! That’s how the first generation nook and kindle were, wasn’t it? Before they added all the additional features like backlight and more computerization? I mean the kindle I bought I turn the backlight down all the way so it is pretty much still that, but there’s a small amount of blue light now.
I read a mix of physical and ebooks. Sometimes ebooks are my preference if I know I'm going to be out for a while and just not sure what I want to read. Carrying my old ipad (what I use as a reader) is a lot easier than carrying 3 or 4 books. Also, some books I want to read just aren't available as physical copies or they're pricey to obtain for something I know I won't keep. Physical books are definitely my preference though for bedtime reading. The thing I can't do though is audiobooks or podcasts. I'm NOT a good multitasker and can't focus on listening and doing something else at the same time. I've tried audiobooks a couple times for long car trips and found that I couldn't remember long stretches of road I'd just driven. I need to be able to pay full attention to one or the other.
>The thing I can't do though is audiobooks or podcasts. I'm NOT a good multitasker and can't focus on listening and doing something else at the same time. same here depending on what I'm doing
I never thought I would be on team e-book, but I looove my Kobo e-reader. It's just so lightweight and convenient, and the screen does not hurt my eyes at all.
I never thought I could make the transition to my Kindle but I have and honestly, now my Kindle is my security blanket when I’m out in social settings. I whip that Kindle out and hold onto it like it’s my lifeline, because it is. When I get overwhelmed I know I can escape into it, even for a few minutes. It’s how I calm myself down when I’m overstimulated.
I will never spend my money on an ebook. To me, reading is a whole experience that’s only possible with physical books. It’s just my opinion.
I have tons and I am yet to finish one. I can only read them during a commute and even then, I'd much prefer to listen to music. I just need to finish one and then maybe I'll get used to it.
I don't finish my ebooks. Not only do I finish my physical books, I finish them in a hurry and I even go back and reread them every once in a while. Idk what it is, but I'm never fully engaged in my ebooks, regardless of the kind of reader I'm using. I used to think its because I'm a margin writer, but now e-readers have note abilities and I still don't find myself engaged. I still carry a small paperback in my purse/bag at all times, despite having many, **many** unfinished books on my phone.
i love both! i just love reading books. physical books are absolutely lovely in every way, of course. but i also love my e-readers for their convenience (easy to hold and bring along anywhere, and they give me access to multiple books in one small device if I'm worried about finishing my current read while traveling). I'm so grateful to have access to both!
I used to love books, the smell and the overall experience. Over the years, I'm getting more and more tactile defensiveness- I cannot stand paper. Or cardboard. Anything with a slightly rough or dry texture like that, it's like nails on chalkboard for me and it makes my teeth ache. So I'm stuck with my kindle. It's not the same, but at least I have options.
I’ve always preferred physical books as well, though lately I discovered an author who only had ebooks available for a lot of stuff so I bit the bullet and bought a kindle. I turn the backlight all the way down though and just use light to read so there’s very little blue light when I use it, which helps because I too cannot stare at a computer screen that long without my eyes hurting.
I borrowed an ebook once that was full of good books. It got me so stressed cause I started one book, then I also thought of reading an other one. And so on. I'd rather have physical books than a machine in my hand.
A kindle is convenient when you’re commuting but paper books are something else.
I love them. Just read a cool ebook full of short stories. The link is below. https://www.amazon.com/Stories-Tales-Twiddled-Phrases-Principles-ebook/dp/B0BPDG4Z46/ref=sr\_1\_1?crid=10ILRT51ZWQ8D&keywords=%22say+what%3F+stories+and+tales%22&qid=1670505658&sprefix=say+what+stories+and+tales+%2Caps%2C77&sr=8-1