# Do you prefer reading books on a tablet or having a book in your hand? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 23, 2016, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-reading-books-on-a-tablet-or-having-a-book-in-your-hand/744029 "2016-01-23T22:46:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-reading-books-on-a-tablet-or-having-a-book-in-your-hand/744029/41 "2016-01-24T12:51:58Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > This is invariably said by older people, who have a mental connection to their past and reading books when e-readers weren’t an option. What I think is that you mostly actually really like the feeling of _nostalgia_ that holding a book and turning pages generates in you, more than the feeling itself. I’d bet if you studied school children and gave them equal access to both versions of any type of book they had to read from the beginning, not many would say the same. My preteen kids substantially have this. They love their electronic devices, but they read paper books. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-reading-books-on-a-tablet-or-having-a-book-in-your-hand/744029/42 "2016-01-24T13:41:02Z")
I’m a librarian. You’d think I’d have shelves and shelves of books, right? Nah. I’ve actually done major weeding of my book collection. The ones I still have in print are the ones that are meaningful to me for various reasons - they’re signed copies by my favorite authors, they’ve my comfort reading or whatever. I’m at the point where 98% of my fiction collection fits on one [Laiva](http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40178591/)bookshelf. The reality is that I’m at a point in time where most of my reading for enjoyment happens in small bits and pieces - on the train to work, at lunch time, while I’m waiting for a doctor’s appointment. Having books on a device makes that much more convenient for me. If given a choice, most of the time I buy the electronic version of the book, or download it through the public library. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-reading-books-on-a-tablet-or-having-a-book-in-your-hand/744029/43 "2016-01-24T14:09:35Z")
Well I need to amend my answer - I picked the first choice but you needed to add an option for ‘other explained in post’ I love books - there is nothing like getting a brand new book and being the first one to break the spine [anybody else use the thing where you do it in a specific pattern so the spine is flexed evenly the entire thickness of the book so there are no uneven breaks?] And the smell of fresh printers ink is like crack… BUT - I do almost all my reading using either my tablet or my smart phone while cradled in body pillows in bed - I have major body and joint issues and holding books just isn’t comfortable any longer - so my ebooks I read on my phone [first gen Droid in a leather case, it fits perfectly and is held firmly with the case] and fan fic and one game - The West [en-15 Colorado, Aruvqan =)] it is a 10 inch Asus Transformer and is again a good size for holding while in bed. While I do have my ebook and much of my music collection [and a couple of my favorite movies, M and the Moroder version of Metropolis] loaded I normally don’t read ebooks on it. So honestly while I use both but tend towards tablet and smartphone, I really do prefer treeware. I am just prepping for ending up in a managed care facility at some point where all my media will be on a tablet, and my online interactions as well [I am thinking of syncing up my browsers so I have everything on both tablet and laptop. Probably when they come up with a tablet with a tb of space not counting sd chips =) - I am thinking of commissioning our roomie to make me a new [tablet case]([http://www.amazon.com/Insignia-Elite-Tablet-UniGrip-Series/dp/B0113DW1KY](http://www.amazon.com/Insignia-Elite-Tablet-UniGrip-Series/dp/B0113DW1KY)) that has slots in a lined space in the cover to hold sd chips in their little [plastic cases](http://images.tapeonline.com/products/generic-memory-accessories-sd-card-case-large-3219.jpg) so I can store lots of music, ebook and movies without worrying about losing them.] I wish technology would change so that the wall wart is miniaturized into the size of a regular[flat plug](http://www.power-plugs-sockets.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/type_a_large-150x130.jpg). I know this is a Mexican type A, it lacks the flanges of a [US type A](http://www.worldstandards.eu/WordPress/wp-content/uploads/electricity-tiles-type-A-200-px.jpg). What would be great is if it had the receiver for a [USB to microUSB](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51djySNYPcL._SX425_.jpg) so the same wire could be used straight into a computer to load files. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-reading-books-on-a-tablet-or-having-a-book-in-your-hand/744029/44 "2016-01-24T16:07:57Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > No, the pricing situation is more complex. I’ve certainly seen examples where kindle editions are cheaper than used book because the used is so rare. In general I find this is more likely to be true of academic works, where the publisher will have an interest in kindle and the original book is out of print. I made a generalization about millions of books, so yeah, there are exceptions. > [@](#): > > It’s simply incorrect to claim that the original layout is always the best for all readers. This is doubly true because kindles let the reader adjust font size, kerning, margins and line spacing to a personal choice. No it won’t look precisely identical to any specific text version - but it may well be more legible. Again, generalization across millions of books. I’ve seen horrible layouts that hinder reading, even in hardbacks. I collect vintage paperbacks and they are frequently almost illegible. Even so, I have Kindle, a Nook, and a tablet and I’ve never found settings that make me feel comfortable on any of them. I’ll take sometimes good over always off. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-reading-books-on-a-tablet-or-having-a-book-in-your-hand/744029/45 "2016-01-24T16:18:56Z")
I much prefer print books, although my tablet is an iPad and other devices are probably better suited to eBook reading. The one situation where I prefer reading books on my iPad is on airplanes, as it sits nicely on the tray table without me having to hold it and generates its own light so I don’t have to mess around with the little overhead light. I had initially thought that it would be great to use my iPad for reading in bed, but found that it was too heavy and awkward to hold to do this comfortably. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-reading-books-on-a-tablet-or-having-a-book-in-your-hand/744029/46 "2016-01-24T16:53:26Z")
I much prefer reading on my Paperwhite. I read a lot from the library and like not having to go get the books. But I also just love the reading experience on the Kindle. I can change books on the spur of the moment and never lose my place. And the lighting is really good. Great technology for really fast readers. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-reading-books-on-a-tablet-or-having-a-book-in-your-hand/744029/47 "2016-01-24T17:56:19Z")
Print only. Endless supply of free books at the library or for dirt cheap at used book stores. I can drop one and it won’t break. If I forget it at the airport I’m out a few bucks rather than $100. No need to worry about charging a paperback. And the feel and smell of a real book is just more pleasing than a glowing piece of plastic. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-reading-books-on-a-tablet-or-having-a-book-in-your-hand/744029/48 "2016-01-24T18:08:43Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > Print only. > > Endless supply of free books at the library or for dirt cheap at used book stores. I can drop one and it won’t break. If I forget it at the airport I’m out a few bucks rather than $100. No need to worry about charging a paperback. And the feel and smell of a real book is just more pleasing than a glowing piece of plastic. Most books smell of dust to me. Not something to seek out. ---
**Author:** ![MoonMoon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonmoon/32/2959_2.png) [@MoonMoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoonMoon)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-reading-books-on-a-tablet-or-having-a-book-in-your-hand/744029/49 "2016-01-24T18:18:37Z")
I’m in my mid-forties, so definitely old enough to have spent most of my life with real books, but I strongly prefer e-reading. 1. I’m a fast reader, and I love “tap tap tapping” my way through a book. So much quicker. 2. I have completely lost my affinity for having “stuff”. My last move was across country and I purged ruthlessly. I kept very few paper books, and the only ones I’ve acquired since have been given to me. None of them will be kept after I read them. And interestingly enough, I’ve been putting off reading them, just because it’s so much more convenient to read on my iPhone, iPad or Kindle. 3. I’m not there yet, but given the way the women in my family get arthritis in their hands, I know it’ll be much easier to hold a kindle than a book. In fact, my mom loves her Kindle for just that reason. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-reading-books-on-a-tablet-or-having-a-book-in-your-hand/744029/50 "2016-01-24T18:25:07Z")
> [@MoonMoon](#): > > I’m in my mid-forties, so definitely old enough to have spent most of my life with real books, but I strongly prefer e-reading. > > 1. I’m a fast reader, and I love “tap tap tapping” my way through a book. So much quicker. > . It literally takes less than a second to turn the page of a book. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-reading-books-on-a-tablet-or-having-a-book-in-your-hand/744029/51 "2016-01-24T18:27:19Z")
> [@MoonMoon](#): > > I’m in my mid-forties, so definitely old enough to have spent most of my life with real books, but I strongly prefer e-reading. > > 1. I’m a fast reader, and I love “tap tap tapping” my way through a book. So much quicker. > > 2. I have completely lost my affinity for having “stuff”. My last move was across country and I purged ruthlessly. I kept very few paper books, and the only ones I’ve acquired since have been given to me. None of them will be kept after I read them. And interestingly enough, I’ve been putting off reading them, just because it’s so much more convenient to read on my iPhone, iPad or Kindle. > > 3. I’m not there yet, but given the way the women in my family get arthritis in their hands, I know it’ll be much easier to hold a kindle than a book. In fact, my mom loves her Kindle for just that reason. Wow. I could have written this post. Including the age and the (for me, two) cross-country move. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-reading-books-on-a-tablet-or-having-a-book-in-your-hand/744029/52 "2016-01-24T19:42:26Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Great technology for really fast readers. > [@MoonMoon](#): > > So much quicker. This must say something about the way people conceptualize or process reading-a-book. No right or wrong, but speeding up the process is the very last thing I’d want to do with it. I even sometimes find myself tearing through a (paper) book, and I want to slow it down. I want to spend more time inhabiting the places, the feelings, the turns of narrative. I want to savor elegant or evocative writing. ---
**Author:** ![toast\_pakora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@toast\_pakora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toast_pakora)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-reading-books-on-a-tablet-or-having-a-book-in-your-hand/744029/53 "2016-01-24T22:35:13Z")
For traveling, my e-reader is a god-send. No more lugging a stack of paperbacks or buying overpriced second-hand ones in foreign countries or finding someone to trade with. The only drawback is the limited selection of older books; I don’t need to read the latest bestsellers. At home, I’ve purged most of my fiction books but not non-fiction, especially large format books with lots of photos. Not interested in perusing those on a tablet. ---
**Author:** ![ryobserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@ryobserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryobserver)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-reading-books-on-a-tablet-or-having-a-book-in-your-hand/744029/54 "2016-01-24T22:44:42Z")
> [@toast\_pakora](#): > > For traveling, my e-reader is a god-send. No more lugging a stack of paperbacks or buying overpriced second-hand ones in foreign countries or finding someone to trade with. The only drawback is the limited selection of older books; I don’t need to read the latest bestsellers. THIS. Running out of stuff to read on a trip always worried me, and I would end up packing more books than I could finish. Now? I bring my tablet (my phone is my backup reader). Hundreds of books AND a lot of digital magazines, and I can add library books if I want, all in a fixed amount of space and weight. As for older books, I read a lot of science fiction and I find a lot of older books in the genre are being re-issued as e-books only (this was an issue, for instance, when my book discussion group recently C. L. Moore’s Jirel of Joiry; the e-book was a snap to find and wasn’t expensive, while print copies were a problem). The whole concept of “out of print” needs to be re-defined where e-books are concerned. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-reading-books-on-a-tablet-or-having-a-book-in-your-hand/744029/55 "2016-01-25T00:17:16Z")
I use a Kindle Paperwhite almost exclusively nowadays. It has a few big advantages, but the biggest one is the light up screen. I really don’t have good light for reading in my apartment, and I do 90% of my book reading in bed, so not having to deal with a dumb booklight has been great. I also LOVE Kindle’s ability to immediately access a dictionary / Wikipedia. I have a pretty damned good vocabulary, but being able to dig into words I don’t know as well as I’d like or to check historical references on the fly is awesome. That said, I do wish mine had higher DPI (the newest ones do, drool), a bit more contrast, automatic backlighting, and 1" more screen. Then it would be darn near perfect. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-reading-books-on-a-tablet-or-having-a-book-in-your-hand/744029/56 "2016-01-25T00:35:09Z")
I have noticed a book on my shelf, wanted to re-read it, and downloaded a book I already owned. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-reading-books-on-a-tablet-or-having-a-book-in-your-hand/744029/57 "2016-01-25T00:39:06Z")
I like being able to carry around 100s of books on a tablet or smart phone. It’s also much easier to read a book on a tablet while using a treadmill or a stairmaster. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-reading-books-on-a-tablet-or-having-a-book-in-your-hand/744029/58 "2016-01-25T01:06:03Z")
I voted that I prefer printed books to eBooks. I’m 40, and I only in the last year or two started to get comfortable with eBooks, but actual books are still more comfortable to me, both physically and in a metaphorical sense. Cookbooks, especially, I need to be in printed form, so I can just randomly leaf through the pages and pictures to find a recipe that looks interesting. I don’t find it quite as satisfying to click through the pages of a book. I do enjoy the electronic annotation, and being able to search text for keywords, but, still, I’m one of those people who likes to underline and write in the book and make notes in the margins. I just connect better to the material when I have that type of physical interaction, given the era I grew up in. Even today, when all my work is digital and Photoshop, when I lay out my pictures to make albums, I need graph paper to scribble on and work out my ideas on; I just can’t do it on a computer screen, even with a Wacom tablet. I guess I’m an oldster that way, that I need the physical interaction for it. If I grew up knowing computers and this sort of interaction with them my whole life, I’m sure my perspective would be different, but it’s hard to undo decades of consuming the written word and pictures on a physical medium. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-reading-books-on-a-tablet-or-having-a-book-in-your-hand/744029/59 "2016-01-25T01:11:45Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I gave tablet an edge because I’m getting old and like enlarging the print size. Bingo. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-reading-books-on-a-tablet-or-having-a-book-in-your-hand/744029/60 "2016-01-25T01:16:34Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > This is invariably said by older people, who have a mental connection to their past and reading books when e-readers weren’t an option. What I think is that you mostly actually really like the feeling of _nostalgia_ that holding a book and turning pages generates in you, more than the feeling itself. I’d bet if you studied school children and gave them equal access to both versions of any type of book they had to read from the beginning, not many would say the same. They’ve done this study and kids actually prefer paper books. But of course, they’re subject to the same nostalgia as the first Kindle debuted only nine years ago and they’ve only reached a saturation point in the last few years. So a kid of 10 is likely still someone who grew up with print books. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-reading-books-on-a-tablet-or-having-a-book-in-your-hand/744029.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-reading-books-on-a-tablet-or-having-a-book-in-your-hand/744029.md?page=4)