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I can buy books on the toilet with my smart phone.
I agree that both paper books and Kindles have their advantages and can meet different needs for different people.
We’ve had long and heated discussions before about the pricing of Kindle books, and why/whether they’re more expensive than print editions. Kindle bait and switch (What? Book for $14.99!)
To answer the thread title’s question, there are quite a few advantages to having a Kindle edition vs. a paperback, as well as some disadvantages.
A few advantages to Kindle books (some of which have already been noted):
- You can easily carry many books with you when you’re traveling or out and about.
- Kindle books don’t take up shelf space and clutter up your home.
- You can adjust the text size, so (if necessary) any book can be a large-print edition.
- You can access your book on multiple devices (Kindle itself & Kindle apps for PCs and mobile devices).
- You can underline and make annotations, and have these electronically saved for you (and you can see what other readers have highlited).
- You can search through the book for words or phrases.
- You can easily look up definitions of unfamiliar words with the built-in dictionary.
- Many people find Kindles easier to hold and read than at least some books: you can lay them flat on the table, or hold them and turn pages with one hand.
- You can have the Kindle’s text-to-speech option read the book to you. [Not well enough that I’d want to do much “reading” that way, but I can see how it could be a boon for those with vision issues.]
- Even if your device itself gets lost, broken, or stolen, you can still access all the books you’ve bought from Amazon.
- Kindle books don’t get torn, worn, or stained.
Some disadvantages:
- Any features of the print edition beyond plain text, like pictures, color, or special layouts, may not show up as well, or may be missing entirely, in the Kindle edition.
- You can’t flip through a Kindle book as easily, or flip back and forth from one part of the book to another.
- Some Kindle books have significant errors (typographical, etc.) as artifacts of the OCR conversion process.
- You don’t really have the option to re-sell, trade, or give away a book you’ve bought after you’re done with it, as you can with physical books.
- You miss the look, feel, and smell of holding a physical book.
- You don’t have the book sitting on your shelf, reminding you of or enticing you to the pleasure of reading it.
- The downside of carrying all those books around on one device is that if something happens to it, you can be stuck with nothing to read.
And that’s just comparing the books themselves. The process of shopping for/obtaining them also has its upsides and downsides.
Too right. I bought an audio version of a book and later met the author at a convention. I told him I loved the book and would love an autograph, but it’s kind of hard to do that with an audiobook. He pointed me at the vendor who was selling his stuff, and I gladly snatched up a copy just for his signature.
I’m perfectly content to have a device stuffed with thousands of ebooks for reading, but keep a bookshelf of special books: signed copies, first editions, textbooks, that kind of thing.
I’m not the only person in this thread that prefers reading on a Kindle to using a paper book.
OK, it’s your opinion that eReaders are not as good as real books, but my opinion is the exact opposite. And since it’s all opinion, you can’t make a sweeping statement about print books being “the best tools”. Because, for me and for many others, they’re not.
All this makes me wonder if you’ve actually tried a Kindle. Not iPads and those sorts of things, not mini-computers with backlit screens, something with a proper e-ink screen. Have you actually tried reading something on a Kindle, or are you basing your opinion on what you imagine them to be like?
I read your arguments as “If you prefer paper books, you’re stoopid.” and “you can’t have tried it, because if you did, you would be luvin it like I do”.
I think this approach is counter productive, if your goal is to actually win someone over to the kindle.
I think the point was that a physical book is still the best tool for some uses while a e-book is the best tool for different uses – and that it is not the case that a e-book reader can do everything a book can do. They have overlapping, but not identical, utility, and a big area where physical books win is in durability. As long as the utility remains different, physical books will not be eliminated.
Like, can you still read an ebook after you dropped the reader in the bathtub? Can you leave a Kindle in the backseat of your car, in the blazing sun without damaging it? (or inviting theft). Is it a good idea to put a Kindle face down in the sand if you’re at the beach?
Physical books also have the property of being highly exchangable. Can you give e-books to a charitable cause when you’re done with them? Does an e-book have any resale value? Can you make friends with someone on the train, and swap ebooks with them?
I prefer books.
For one, the moment I sit down in my seat on the plane, I’m reading. I don’t care if the plane is delayed, I don’t care if we’re not at 10,000 feet, I don’t care that we’re landing, I’m reading my book.
For another, I can read it on the beach and not care if I get it slightly wet and sandy.
For another, when I’m on vacation I kinda like leaving a book and grabbing another knowing nothing about it. I’ve found more than one author that way I would have never found otherwise.
Finally, I have the luxury of having a pretty damn decent library system, as well as a branch right by my house that can have books shipped to it from the main branch. For free of course.
I’m slowly, slowly becoming a fan of my Nook.
I don’t buy any ebook that costs more than a new paperback book. I’m not saying that I’ll never do this, but there’s quite a selection of books that are competitively priced. I’ve found that I can buy some old, old books on the Nook that are almost impossible to find. For instance, I just finished re-reading Cats in the Belfry by Doreen Tovey, which was written the year I was born. This book is definitely fluffy, but I think it’s hilarious. And it’s almost impossible to find a decent copy of it in dead tree edition for a reasonable price. Most of the copies I’ve bought are rather battered. My e-book copy, though, is in great shape. I’ve bought many other ebooks, mostly as replacements of paperbacks that I already own, but which are really too battered to handle for very much longer. I’ve gone through several (new) volumes of the Windrose Chronicles by Barbara Hambly, for instance, because I keep re-reading them. It’s not just Hambly, there are many other authors and books that I reread.
I find the Nook so handy now. I always tuck it into my purse when I go out, and I generally read for half an hour or so before I go to bed. I used to take at least two or three paperbacks in my purse, but now I take the Nook, and it’s smaller and lighter than multiple paperbacks. The next time I have to go into the hospital, the Nook and its power cord are definitely going with me. I don’t watch much TV, and if I don’t have access to a game console, I’ll go through several books a day, which can add up to some serious weight.
However, I have the original Nook, which means that I won’t see color in the text, only black and white. And even the B&W images are greatly reduced in size. That’s one drawback. Another drawback is that it’s a lot harder to flip back and forth between one scene and another, if I want to go back to see the foreshadowing, for instance. The page turning function doesn’t work nearly as quickly as I’d like.
Finally, there’s the issue of buying ebooks. I can buy as many ebooks as I want at 3 AM, as long as I have money in my account. This is both a benefit AND a drawback. I can also sit down and browse with almost no physical effort. This is definitely a drawback, because I get some exercise by wandering around various stores. Even at a slow amble, I’ll usually spend a couple of hours in a bookstore, and that does add up to a bit of exercise. I should probably try to rig up a Nook holder for my CardioCruiser.
I do find the cover to be poorly designed. It’s attractive enough, but the front cover won’t fold back neatly, so that I can hold it in one hand. And the closing strap also doesn’t fold neatly out of the way. I might have to make my own cover.
I find that at least some books seem to not be proofread at all. In the Windrose books, for instance, “th” is substituted in many cases for “m”, resulting in “me” being rendered as “the”. The spacing is also rather erratic. If I hadn’t previously read the books, I might have been stumped by some passages. As it was, I had to stop and stare at the words for a couple of seconds before realizing that the scanning wasn’t perfect.
I still enjoy dead tree books, and will probably buy at least part of my library in dead trees. I never thought that I’d like an ereader, but I received this as a gift.
I can’t read a book after I drop it in the bathtub either…On the other hand, when I drop my Kindle, when I get my new Kindle, all my books automatically sync up with it. My Kindle has been carried for two years in my purse or briefcase, read in the tub, gotten wet, been spilled on and read with greasy fingers, and spent an entire week getting set in the sand on Maui (I don’t value it much because I can get a new one for what I consider a small amount of money and the one I’m using was free). Its taken that beating for two years - with one little chip in the screen (from before I had a case for it and use to let it just knock around in my purse) and one system reset. Its a surprisingly durable piece of hardware
Yes, I own a Kindle. Have for years.
I read your posts exactly the way mlees did:
Calling print readers luddites destroys your credibility instantly. There are advantages at times for either format, but for my personal needs and desires print books are normally far superior. That makes me an intelligent consumer, not a luddite.
And I read all kinds of books. Go to a bookstore - I know, the horror! - and take a look around. Novels work pretty well on a Kindle. Nonfiction books with graphs or charts or lots of footnotes or with both footnotes and endnotes work less well. Illustrated books don’t really work at all. Those range from illustrations in, say, a book about science to coffee table photography books. In fact, all oversize books don’t work well in Kindle. Size in and of itself is a factor in design and readability and the impact on a reader. That also applies to the many books where the clever design and layout of typography is part of the experience. Even many novels rely on typographic tricks that don’t translate well. Children’s books don’t really work on Kindles. I’m not sure how well cookbooks do - I like having the pictures. All those computer books that use screen grabs and fit the text around them would need to be completely rethought. Lots of humor books require the interplay of words and text, like the Sexy Book of Sexy Sex by Kristen Schaal and Rich Blomquist. Not surprisingly, there is no Kindle edition at all. Some poetry is designed about the layout of the words on the page. It could be done, but scaling would destroy the intent.
“It works for me, therefore it should work for everybody” is a hopeless argument. That’s the only one you’ve made so far. You’re standing in a corner staring at a wall and insisting that’s the only view of the room. That’s objectively wrong, not just subjectively wrong.
Most books that I’ve bought for my Kindle have been priced lower, some significantly lower, than the printed version. I’ve also purchased books from Amazon (and other sources) for free. All I’m saying is cost is not my motivation for owning and loving my Kindle.
Sorry. I’m just not one of those people who feel a job should be maintained when innovation makes it obsolete. I’m not thrilled that unemployment is as high as it currently is either, but propping up an industry when more efficient alternatives present themselves is not the solution.
They do?
Yes they do. Which is exactly why they run Mom-and-Pops out of business. Wal-Mart sells stuff cheaply.
I think both have their place.
Kindle’s advantages
*Less clutter
*Less bulk, especially if you want to take multiple books with you
*Centralized location so no losing books
*Easier to read with font size selection
*Games!
*Booklights work better because there’s just one screen to illuminate
*Convenience of downloading new books
*New books are usually a few bucks cheaper
*They remain in pristine condition
*Recommendations page
Book’s advantages
*Their batteries don’t run out
*They take more abuse (I broke the screen on my first Kindle)
*Old books are usually cheaper, esp at Half Price bookstores
*You don’t have to worry about them getting stolen at the pool, etc.
*When you’re done, you can give the book to a friends
*The flight attendant doesn’t make you stop reading during take-off and landing
*You don’t have to fork over $100 just to start reading
*You can sell used books
*You can see any photographs included
*Not all books are available as e-books
*Less impulse buying
*e-books are driving bookstores out of business
Do they really? Wow. The RF from a Kindle can’t be much…
My goal is to encourage people to please not lecture me about how wrong it is for me to prefer my Kindle to print books. I don’t actually care what anyone else prefers, I’d just like to not be browbeaten about what I prefer.
Kindles seem to bring that out in some people. I don’t know why.
Regardless of whether it can interfere with the operation of the plane or not, the attendants have always been very clear about turning off ALL electronic devices. On the last flight I was on, they wouldn’t even accept Airplane Mode for phones, the phones had to be powered off completely.
Yes, but the book was 1984.
That single act consumed more than half of the entire world supply of irony in one fell swoop.
Would they make me shut off my flashlight? 
Could you quote where someone said that you were wrong for holding your opinions as your own? I apologise in advance if I missed them. I don’t think you’re stoopid for luvin’ your Kindle.
The first “negative” comment that I noticed seemed to be yours, in post #32 (the “Luddite” comment).
For me, the argument that the Kindle can hold dozens of books in memory is a little tempting, but not at the price that is currently displayed on the Amazon front page ($114-$140).
I don’t have a lot of disposable income, and I am not sure how much it would cost to replace most of the books I already own in paper format. I don’t see myself buying dozens of new titles soon. (I average 4 or 5 a year.)
The money value doesn’t seem to be there.