eReaders, iPad, kindle, paper-form, hard-bound, paperback

[TheCotMan]

I really prefer paper-form media for reading books. These are the advantages:
* No batteries / No recharging
* I do not need to "shut down" my book during take-off or landing while in an airplane.
* No damage if dropped on the ground
* Cheap to replace
* Notes and diagrams can be included by me on each page as a comment, with an index in the front
* No data loss
* No upgrade
* Won't become "obsolete" when a new book comes out
* Easy to lend someone a book
* No DRM to worry about
* No reliance on a vendor to keep my content available, and transferable to a new device

Disadvantages:
* Difficult to transport several books
* Books occupy lots of space on shelves
* reading paperback books can be problematic when horizontal instead of sitting, while a back-lit screen would make this easier.
* Shipping costs money, while an electronic document can be downloaded and installed


I've been against buying eReader devices for a while, but as I read more and more, I have less and less space to store things.

Have you decided to switch to an eReader? Which did you choose and why? Would you do it again? Are there benefits not mentioned here which you found you liked, but did not expect before you bought and used one?

Thanks!

[AlxRogan]

Re: eReaders, iPad, kindle, paper-form, hard-bound, paperback

Have you decided to switch to an eReader? Which did you choose and why? Would you do it again?

I bought a Kindle 3g (Kindle Keyboard) two years ago and have absolutely loved it. I use it every day for at least 20-30 minutes of reading. I've mostly used .mobi files, and a few .pdfs. I have several packing boxes of paperback books that I've sold as a result, only keeping those with sentimental value or something I can't find electronically. I do use iBooks on the iPad as well as ComicView for books and comics, but much less frequently. The Kindle is so light and uses battery so lightly that it's just too easy to pick up. I keep wireless off on it, but I have used it for light web browsing, email checking, and accessing my internal Calibre library to load books wirelessly (I love this feature).

I'm considering getting one of the Kindle PaperWhite's this year or next, as having a built-in edge light would be great for me, eliminating a nightstand light.

[YenTheFirst]

Re: eReaders, iPad, kindle, paper-form, hard-bound, paperback

I'm also a fan of e-ink based reading devices. The battery lasts for multiple weeks at a time, and is a non-issue. It's easier to read on than a backlit LCD screen.

It's really convenient for reading on a subway - it's light enough to hold one-handed, and you can flip 'pages' one handed as well. (on my model, there's buttons on the side).

Personally, I'm currently using some model of Kindle. The trick here, IMO, is to only use it as a device - don't buy from their platform if you don't like their DRM. Which I don't. Yes, it does make their install base larger, which they can use to advertise to publishers, but that's a relatively minor tradeoff. I'm sure there's other capable e-ink based readers out there as well.

---

My Usage notes:

the kindle, and similar devices, are really best for non-interactive formats. Straight-through novels, and such. Hyperlinked content, like documentation, web pages, or highly-footnoted technical papers, are a bit more annoying to read, due to screen size, and the slow pace of interaction. Content where you might flip back and forth a lot (like a textbook) is so-so.

Additionally, plain-text formats, with just a bit of semantic markup work best. The best visual experience comes when the reader is able to reflow and fit the document on it's own. Specifically, PDFs are often a royal pain on kindle. They're formatted for a screen, or for paper, and they end up with tiny text, or messed-up charts, on the smaller e-reader screen.

So the operative question is: what do you intend to read a lot of? If you're big into books, in the traditional dead-tree sense, e-readers do a good job of providing that experience. sometimes better than an actual book. (lighter, more storage, etc.)
If you're reading a lot of PDFs, papers with charts, hyperlinked documentation, or that sort of thing, it doesn't work as well.

[Nikita]

Re: eReaders, iPad, kindle, paper-form, hard-bound, paperback

This poll is really ...um...opinionated regarding the options re: Apple vs Amazon. I read on both and enjoy it either way. I've recently liked the kindle Fire HD better because it's 7 inches and it's really a better fit for my hands. However, I am starting to doubt my choice because I hear there will be an ipad mini ( 7inch) released in October and I am very much interested in that because I like some of the other feature the iPad has such as air play to my TV and syncing bookmarks to my phone too. ( without having to use the kindle app). I am a HUGE amazon fan and I also really like Apple too, neither choice is "better" or makes me "better" over another choice. I find the assumption that all apple users are this fanboi group that are like overly jealous boyfriends that will rage if you comment another platforms features, is like...dumb...yo.

[TheCotMan]

Re: eReaders, iPad, kindle, paper-form, hard-bound, paperback

This poll is really ...um...opinionated regarding the options re: Apple vs Amazon.[ .. chop ....] I find the assumption that all apple users are this fanboi group that are like overly jealous boyfriends that will rage if you comment another platforms features, is like...dumb...yo.

Yes, the poll is intentionally provocative to encourage discussion, justification and commentary which is technical instead of dogmatic or faith-based. I often include humorous items in polls with generic, useless opinions made by various people on one side of an opinion or another. A long-standing option in many of my polls has been an unrelated, "I like cheese," which is not included in this poll.

Fans of one kind of device to the exclusion of others often have subjective opinions as their claims for why their device is better, and none of these include specific features.

Hopefully, you and others did not take all of the poll items literally, or else the option "Wut iz an boook fer?" (which presently has zero votes) would seem to indicate a person doesn't know how to read, but was able to know enough to honestly claim this on a poll a question asking what a book is used for, which would require, well, reading.

Hopefully, you will see the other comments after each item in this poll show a trend for bogus claims for or against one item or another.

[YenTheFirst]

Re: eReaders, iPad, kindle, paper-form, hard-bound, paperback

I really don't know what to reply to the poll. I use Kindle, but not because Amazon isn't Apple. Apple doesn't make an e-reader (no, iPad doesn't count), and it's more like it's in spite of Amazon in my case. :)

Additionally, there's probably 3 or 4 'right' answers to multi-select. The choice of computer / e-reader / dead-tree book doesn't have to be exclusive, and it's really context dependent.

I do enjoy cheese, though. What's your favorite?

[TheCotMan]

Re: eReaders, iPad, kindle, paper-form, hard-bound, paperback

I really don't know what to reply to the poll.
[/chop]

Multiple choice is allowed; click all that apply.

For those of you that find the choices are too upsetting, I've added an option to let you voice that opinion with an option that is composed with the same style of humor: "The only thing that sucks more that these choices is TheCotMan " (If you have already voted, you can't choose these new options now; I'd vote for it, but I have already voted. :-)

I do enjoy cheese, though. What's your favorite?

New option added: "I like cheese."

[shrdlu]

Re: eReaders, iPad, kindle, paper-form, hard-bound, paperback

I think one of the options I'd have chosen would have been:

It depends.

If there are charts, or graphs, or a reason to want to see multiple pages at once, paper will always be my choice. If I think I will read something more than once, paper will be my choice. Many things are interesting to read, but once they're over, not really worth a second read. For those, I prefer a digital device. I've had a Kindle 3 (aka Kindle Keyboard) with the 3G option, and I love it, and love the e-ink display. I use it for fiction, or for reading things that are interesting. Sometimes I purchase a paper copy of a book I've read on the Kindle, because I know that I will always want it.

The best part about the kindle is that it cuts down on the number of books that I wouldn't want to keep after reading. I don't use it for technical books, although if I was still working, having a PDF of certain books (such as DNS & BIND) would be nice. I love taking it with me. It weighs almost nothing, and I can choose what I'd like to read while waiting for a dr appt, or in the evening.

I like that I can use a kindle app to read my books on multiple devices.

Books are forever (or nearly so).

[sintax_error]

Re: eReaders, iPad, kindle, paper-form, hard-bound, paperback

I too obtained a Kindle 3 (keyboard) a couple of years ago, got the wifi-only version. It was given to me, so I can't say I went out and bought it. As a matter of fact, I was against the idea for a while. I only started using it when I went on a trip where connectivity to the outside world was minimal. Though since then, I use it constantly for recreational reading. Tech books, and the such, I prefer to stick with paper, though there are a few I keep on the Kindle. A lot of the books I have in digital format, I also like having dead-tree versions of, even if they are seldom taken off the shelf. I'd say the main advantage of the Kindle is the e-ink display. Reading on a reflective tablet display kind of sucks in a lot of situations, and it hardly feels like you're reading off a screen at all. I suppose it really boild sown to personal preference on what you like to read and how you like to read it. For comics and the such, I prefer a tablet. Many things technical, I prefer a PDF or browser, paper if it's more than a seldom used reference. For fiction, and books that will take more time to get through for one reason or another, I prefer the Kindle mainly for portability's sake.

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: eReaders, iPad, kindle, paper-form, hard-bound, paperback

bought a Kindle a little while back and love it. bought my Mom one and Christina one back when i was dating her and they loved them, too. i think my Mom uses hers more than any of us combined.

the E Ink screen is outstanding and my eyes and brain really don't process it as anything other than paper. (reflectivity and glare and other such factors are similar enough that it's an analog to reading an actual book for me)

just like with my phone, i do not shut mine down for takeoff or landing, so i have no complaints or difficulties there.

the AZW format is super easy to convert to MOBIpocket and strip out any DRM. also, the Kindle is very hackable and can easily read PDFs and EPUB formats, etc.

the battery life is stupid awesome and beyond anything i could ever need.

i got mine with the wireless hardware which i leave disabled 99% of the time, but i love it when i'm in some foreign country and i check and discover that it connects and i can use the browser for quick look ups of things and even for web-based email. #winning.

this comic really hits the nail on the head there.

[eris]

Re: eReaders, iPad, kindle, paper-form, hard-bound, paperback

I currently use an iPad for data books as that is what I was given. I sometimes read books as pdfs or in an epub format via a browser extension but find I read them much slower as I cannot take them "with me."

I use electronic books for the most part as I do not wish, living abroad, to have to shlep around boxes of hard backs and paperbacks wherever I move to. Once I settle in somewhere, this will change to a degree as I still very much enjoy the smell and feel of a hard copy book.

That said, for collectible books and books I read multiple times I prefer hard copy hard back and have many boxes of them back in the US in storage.

For general reading, portability while reading, and ease of reading while in a prone position I prefer paperback for their weight. Also, not having to turn them off on an airplane. I will often buy one, just to read on an airplane, and then pass it along to someone at my point of debarkation. This leads me to my final reason why I enjoy paperbacks and that is they are often traded about and can be found in nooks and crannies of pubs and cafes around the world as they are cheap and easily carried and constantly left behind or donated


I like all sorts of cheese but sharps and semi softs are of particular fondness.