Reasons real books are better...

MLE (Emily Cotton) · Post by **MLE (Emily Cotton)** » Mon August 5th, 2013, 4:50 pm

Thanks for the biggest point, Lady B, which I have become so used to that I didn't even mention it. I can afford more books! I have downloaded hundreds of classics for a pittance (learned the hard way to get the 99 cents version instead of those free anthologies, because it's worth it to have the thing indexed) and with current novels, the e-book version is almost always cheaper than the p-book version.

Here's another reason I love ebooks: the author gets more $$ to help them keep writing more content. And if the book is from a midlist author re-issuing an out-of-print title, he/she gets MUCH more of the cut.

I can sift through indie authors and find good ones, like Lousia Locke, and if the writer turns out to be 'not yet ready for prime time', I delete it and no harm done. The free sample hasn't cost either of us anything.

Ludmilla · Post by **Ludmilla** » Mon August 5th, 2013, 5:05 pm

[quote=""MLE""]
Kindles have 'airplane mode'. You can read them even when the crew have asked that electronic devices with internet be turned off.

[/quote]

I always found this one to be a frivolous complaint. Even if they try to enforce it, you usually only have 5 or 10 minutes of flight time left. It's not like you're going to cram that much more reading in!

As for reading in the bath or at the beach, I don't trust myself to take the kindle near water. Even enclosed in a baggie, leakage is still a concern (Murphy's law and all). I do still prefer print books in those situations.

All that said, I love my kindle for reasons already mentioned by previous posters.

Nefret · Post by **Nefret** » Mon August 5th, 2013, 8:21 pm

Am I the only one here who doesn't have an ebook device?

Mythica · Post by **Mythica** » Mon August 5th, 2013, 10:17 pm

[quote=""Ludmilla""]I always found this one to be a frivolous complaint. Even if they try to enforce it, you usually only have 5 or 10 minutes of flight time left. It's not like you're going to cram that much more reading in! [/quote]

Well, that time usually includes taxiing, which can make it more like half an hour or longer, especially if they're waiting for a gate. Equally, during take off, if the plane gets caught between the gate and runway waiting for a take off slot, it can be just as long before they turn off the no electronic devices sign. I've waited as long as 45 mins for a take off slot and arrival gate. I once heard from someone who got caught waiting for take off for two hours and the airline insisted all devices be turned off completely, not just in airplane mode/wifi off. The person was going nuts with nothing to read. That's why I always take a magazine or two, just in case.

Nefret · Post by **Nefret** » Mon August 5th, 2013, 10:26 pm

For traveling, I'd probably bring an ebook for the airport and such. Then I'd have a real book for the flight. That way I won't lack reading material.

MLE (Emily Cotton) · Post by **MLE (Emily Cotton)** » Mon August 5th, 2013, 11:03 pm

[quote=""Nefret""]Am I the only one here who doesn't have an ebook device?[/quote]
You DO have one, Nefret! you can put the kindle app on your computer.

Nefret · Post by **Nefret** » Mon August 5th, 2013, 11:38 pm

[quote=""MLE""]You DO have one, Nefret! you can put the kindle app on your computer.[/quote]

I can do what now? Does need to be downloaded/ take up a lot of memory?

annis · Post by **annis** » Tue August 6th, 2013, 7:37 am

I have a new iPad mini and it's transformed my reading life- backlighting and adjustable text size mean I'm back devouring books like I used to when I had young eyes

Love it, love it, and choose it over "real" books or my Kindle whenever possible. I can nab books from friends via Dropbox or read my Kindle books via Kindle app. BTW, you can store everything in the "cloud" and only draw down books to read when you want if you're worried about memory.

I'm a librarian, but I don't have a sentimental attachment to actual books, only see them as a medium, and if there's a better one I'm all for it. Only exception is books which are artefacts in themselves.

Have never been able to understand why anyone would want to read in the bath, but obviously lots of people do it

They're the ones I send out replacement book accounts to

Contrary to what the writer of the article believes, once a book has been soaked it's stuffed - no amount of blow drying will save it!

Madeleine · Post by **Madeleine** » Tue August 6th, 2013, 8:19 am

I've never read in the bath - that's for relaxing and lying back!

And I don't have an e-reader either - not counting the computer as I spend all day looking at one, and the screen isn't very user-friendly for reading on my laptop - too much reflection. And even if I had a smartphone - I don't - that screen is way too small for reading anything other than text messages.

Lisa · Post by **Lisa** » Tue August 6th, 2013, 11:33 am

[quote=""Mythica""]Well, that time usually includes taxiing, which can make it more like half an hour or longer, especially if they're waiting for a gate. Equally, during take off, if the plane gets caught between the gate and runway waiting for a take off slot, it can be just as long before they turn off the no electronic devices sign. I've waited as long as 45 mins for a take off slot and arrival gate. I once heard from someone who got caught waiting for take off for two hours and the airline insisted all devices be turned off completely, not just in airplane mode/wifi off. The person was going nuts with nothing to read. That's why I always take a magazine or two, just in case.[/quote]

Yep, that's happened to me a couple of times. Not only did I nearly miss a connection in one case, but I was stuck with nothing to read. Seriously, what is an e-reader in flight mode going to do to a plane sitting between the runway and the arrival gate? But try to argue and you'll probably end up getting arrested

Nefret wrote:I can do what now? Does need to be downloaded/ take up a lot of memory?

Here's a link about it - you can download a free Kindle app onto your computer, tablet, smartphone or just to view in your browser. Not sure about how much memory/disk space it takes up, but as annis said you don't need to store all the books on your hard disk at once, just download them from the 'cloud' as you need them, then put them back again (like a bookshelf!).

I used the free Kindle app on my laptop for a while, to be honest I didn't find it comfortable to read off the screen and so ended up buying a basic Kindle, but while I had the free app I was downloading all the free books while they were available (since some are only free for a day or two), and I just transferred them to my Kindle when I got it.

There's also an option to read the free (out of copyright) e-books from Project Gutenberg in your browser - no downloading of software required, but not sure how/if bookmarking would work.