Books, e-books, audiobooks, etc.

I'm still reading the printed page. I usually buy a new batch of books for my shelf every month. With bargain basements and eBay, it's so easy to get a hold of hard-to-find novels at low prices. I've never read a book on a tablet and will only read on my phone or laptop if I'm on the go and don't have access to the printed text. I don't think that there's anything particularly awful about the Kindle or the Nook. They just don't interest me. When I read, it's not only the act of looking at words, absorbing information, and visualizing in my head, but it's also the physical experience of touching the material, turning the pages, and smelling the paper as I turn the page. I feel that if I used a tablet, the experience wouldn't be as engaging. And, I've never tried audiobooks, as I don't see the point in them. I think seeing the words and understanding how they work in sentences, paragraphs, quotations, etc. is very important if you're looking to better understand the language. It also helps your creativity, too, and could aid your own writing--whether you're doing scripts or writing a letter to your grandma. Going to the library is never a bad thing, either, and is far better than sitting at your desk and purchasing an e-book from Amazon.

This is all subjective, though, and I thought I'd get this topic started with my personal thoughts.

Anyone agree or disagree? And how do you prefer to approach a novel?

x

I preview lots of magazines and study material on pdf and other formats...helps if you have a large screen (mine's 24 inches)...downloading these (usually illegally) makes it easy to decide if you want to get the actual book.

I used e-books for examination material recently, printed out my own textbook, e-format is still useful when you don't want to lug around a large text.

I've never used e-readers, but I cannot stand heavy reading through an LCD Screen. Causes too much strain for my eyes. Plus, a book or magazine or newspaper is more durable than any electronic devices out there and I don't feel ashamed to bring them to the can.

Prefer the printer word.

An ex of mine bought me a kindle for my birthday. I didn't think I'd like it, but it isn't too bad. With that said, I've only read 5 or 6 books on it. The main problem is e-books are typically the same price as the paperback. If I'm paying the same price, I'd rather get a physical copy.

https://twitter.com/horse_ebooks

A (male) friend of mine got a 'players' guide to picking up girls called The Bad Ass of Tao.

Guys read this shit thinking after a couple seconds interaction with girls like me, we'll be fucking them like bitches in heat.

The good thing is, I can use this to my advantage by passing it on to guys who need to get their confidence up. Today I scored an extra large pizza and a couple of beers.

Got a Kindle recently. Best purchase I've made in a while. I can now quite easily obtain books on a whim that I otherwise wouldn't be arsed to go to the library for. The convenience of it is terrific. The screen is also great (I have the Paperwhite model). Clear as clear can be, even with the sun bearing down on you on the bus.

I feel the same way. I was reluctant about them, but I got it as a gift and loved it. So convenient. I usually use it for mysteries, junky action books, etc. and purchase non-fiction in real book form.

Think I love is that I have an early model that doesn't show page count, but instead shows a percentage. It's odd, but for some reason the % is more encouraging to me than a page count. I see 30% and I say oh well...might as well carry on until I'm at 50%....and so on and next thing I know I'm done. It's odd, but yeah..just how it is!

Just a got myself a Kindle. It's the primitive Gen 4 one, with no blacklight, no touch screen and no colour - but it does the job.

Control wrote:

I don't think that there's anything particularly awful about the Kindle or the Nook. They just don't interest me.

Going to the library is never a bad thing, either, and is far better than sitting at your desk and purchasing an e-book from Amazon.

Since writing the original post in 2012, I no longer visit the library and just bought a Kindle Paperwhite from Amazon. I still plan on buying paperbacks and hardcovers of certain books, but the idea of carrying around a collection of books in a device that weighs less than a small paperback was too tempting.

What really appealed to me with the Kindle was the built-in vocabulary features. Not only will it define words for you, but also saves them to a vocab collection. Pretty nifty. The $9.99/mo. Kindle Unlimited plan is a neat idea, too, but I'm holding off until I break the thing in a little bit.

Now, back to my Neo-FeminiSSt and Marxism studies.

There is no fucking way I'd want THIS on a kindle.

The Fog has been published many times, but only once with this cover. And I've got fond memories of it, having first come across my Aunt's copy when I was about 10. She bears an eerie resemblance to the cover girl. It was a great read, and has nothing to do with the awful 80s movie.



Mr. Dog did some digging and found it and some of those memories came gushing back in.

You can't get that from a fucking screen.

And let's not forget I own a zillion comics, all original copies, not DRM shit.

In the last year I've listened to two audiobooks, though one I still followed along with the printed version. 

Call me old-fashioned, but I just don't get the same experience with audiobooks/ebooks that I do with the printed page. Especially in the case of audiobooks, I'm more connected.

Not to mention there's that glorious smell you don't get from electronic devices.

Printed always. I've never read on an e-reader but can understand the necessity for extraordinarily hard to find materials or old out of print texts. I have read a number of old film industry manuals and trades online via google's book service but those were never offered in major outlets.

But as a lifelong book nerd and collector-heck no. I will listen to interviews or extracted DVD audio commentaries on the go but that's about it. I could never do audiobooks, but do enjoy great classic radio dramas on occasion. And of course the legendary Star Wars radio drama should be experienced by everyone.

You could legally get many classics as free e-books; but now they have shut-down the service.

Digging up an old thread here (sorry!), but it's funny to look back on my older post from 2012 stating I prefer the printed word.

How so much has changed. My approach to physical media across the board now is: will you read/watch/listen to this more than once? If the answer is yes, I'll consider buying it.

For example, I have no problem buying a Bond novel or a Bond movie in a physical format or different version. I will use them again and again. But if that answer is no, I will resort to the library, purchasing on the kindle, etc. for a one off.

After moving several times, I am glad to be rid of all the books, records, movies, etc. that were just sitting there taking up space and not being used after one use. Now I have a lean collection of just the essentials, everything else is still easily accessible through others means and I've eliminated all the clutter!

I will say I've also recently gotten into audiobooks. I was never fan but recently I went on vacation to Brazil and Argentina and made the intentional choice of not getting an intentional phone plan due to my job being a pain in the ass. I could only connect to wi-fi when I was at the hotels. I downloaded a few audiobooks and really got into them when we traveling to different points by bus, plane, etc.

Print only for me. Given how publishers are desecrating old books in the name of Diversity, Inclusion and Equity, I want hard copies of the original works. They can do whatever they like to your digital materials, but unless they're going to go door to door confiscating "rayciss" works, your physical items are safe from the cultural cleansers.

I too prefer the printed word, and I never listened to an audiobook in my life, but I have read lots of free e-books, as many of them have been hard to come by elsewhere. Non-fiction work, that is.

Prefer physical books myself. If I've paid for something I like to have something tangible to show for it, dammit!

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Print only for me. Given how publishers are desecrating old books in the name of Diversity, Inclusion and Equity, I want hard copies of the original works. They can do whatever they like to your digital materials, but unless they're going to go door to door confiscating "rayciss" works, your physical items are safe from the cultural cleansers.

Indeed. Astounding that you can pay for an e-book, only to have it later "updated" to a more contemporary edition against your will. Same deal with streaming services with films/shows, of course.

CJB wrote:

Perilagu Khan wrote:

Print only for me. Given how publishers are desecrating old books in the name of Diversity, Inclusion and Equity, I want hard copies of the original works. They can do whatever they like to your digital materials, but unless they're going to go door to door confiscating "rayciss" works, your physical items are safe from the cultural cleansers.

Indeed. Astounding that you can pay for an e-book, only to have it later "updated" to a more contemporary edition against your will. Same deal with streaming services with films/shows, of course.

"All change is change for the worse."--Saul Bellow