I can’t help but always worry that one day I’ll need paper books. I don’t know what it is, but I feel like I should start collecting paper books instead of every single book I have is on my Kobo. Which do you do? If you get paper books, is there a source that sells cheaper books. Books are kind of pricey where I look.
I vastly prefer paper books - it’s a much better reading experience for me. I tend to get my books from the library if I can, or otherwise usually Amazon.
All of the books I’ve read over the last few years have been ePubs on my Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 because yarr, but if I read them for longer than an hour I start to get a headache. For that reason alone I think physical books are far superior.
Get an e-reader. I used to read EPUBs on my phone or PC and I also suffered from headaches. I can read on my Kobo (with KOReader ofc) for hours with no issues.
Honestly, reading on a tablet kinda scares me. An e-reader sounds a lot safer to me
If a DRM-free digital version is available and any of these conditions apply:
- is free in digital form
- needs to be written on
- receives and provides me updates without extra costs
- doesn’t have physical eye-candy editions
- is too big
then I buy the digital version.
I buy physical books second-hand, usually from booklooker, a German platform.
So that’s hard to answer for me.
I like physical because I then own the thing and can do what I want with it or give it away.
But digital is easier to read for me. I’ve never been a particularly fast reader, I also have eye floaties, and I might be dyslexic. But having like Edge use its read aloud feature (for whatever reason the built-in read aloud voice is the most pleasant to listen to, less sharp) I can crank up the speed and just follow along as it reads it to me and I can process it so much easier and faster than if I had to do it the old fashioned way.
I wish when we bought a book physically we get the ebook version. Then we don’t have to “chose”.
Some publishers do that. Manning, for example.
Thanks for the name.
That’s actually a great point. Never thought about it like that.
I much prefer digital. However, I don’t have a lot of space, and my local library has a much bigger digital selection that physical. Plus when I go backpacking I can take an obscene amount of books with me on my Kobo vs physical books.
I prefer ePub. Much more convenient for me than a paper book.
- I simply don’t have the space to physically store a lot of paper books
- It’s much easier to bring my Kobo with me when commuting or traveling
- Much easier for me to buy eBooks than physical books
- Even though I’ve been having my device for like 8 years, I’m still fascinated by how cool the e-ink display is
On the other hand, paper books have only one thing to offer that sometimes holds:
- They’re all DRM-free, while some eBooks I’ve been wanting to buy are DRM-enshittified. Still hasitating about those, as I’m not willing to spend money on such books.
I’ve recently bought a Kobo, and had great success removing the DRM from my Kindle library, then loading all my books there onto my Kobo. Just food for thought that such a thing is possible
I don’t know, there are a couple of books that have Adobe DRM on them at every bookstore where I found the book.
Are you saying, it’s possible to get Amazon books onto a non-Kindle device? That’s actually pretty much the only bookstore where I never looked at before.
yep you can go into the order page and get the ebook in their format. Then go to calibre (or other such tools) and export it as an ebook.
From then on, enjoy your de-drm reading!
Unpopular take and I might get beaten up for it, but if you have already paid for the book and you can’t take it with you because it has DRM, then IMHO, it’s ok to pirate it. You paid for it, it’s yours and they’re taking it away from you because you chose not to use their device.
That’s basically my attitude. As usual, piracy is a service problem.
100%. I’d like to support people who work hard on their products, but corporations love to be the unnecessary middleman that enshitifactes things along the way.
When my grandmother passed, my grandfather took most of her books to her favorite local buy/sell/trade bookstore and got a pile of store credit for my brother and I. It took us over a decade to spend it all, and we probably only had $300 or $400 in that account to start with. But the store sold most books for less than $5. Amazon is out here charging $25 for a 40 year-old book as an ebook, and there’s no equivalent to buy/sell/trade secondhand bookstores in the ebook space.
I’m sorry for your loss first <3
Second, is this store available around the states (assuming you’re from the USA)? That also reminded me of a store near me that sells discounted books. Also, fuck Amazon. They ruined the book industry, they’ll never receive a single penny for me on any book.
I don’t feel super bad about acquiring ebooks if I have a physical copy either. I legitimately own a lot of content, including both a physical hardcover and an audiobook in many cases. If I want use margin notes on thinking fast and slow when I have the other two copies, I’m just going to.
Unfortunately, the easiest way is to have an old kindle on your account with DRM that’s been beaten. Then you can download the files like you’re going to copy them via USB to that device, and use that device’s serial with the de-DRM calibre extension and it’s pretty easy.
I haven’t found an equally effective way without it, though I haven’t looked as much as the first method works for me.
You can rip Audible audiobooks with Libation. It’s not applicable to ebooks, but worth just tacking on since we’re on the subject of Amazon lock-in.
The method I used actually (currently) doesn’t require a physical Kindle. I just had to download a specific version of Kindle for PC (Version 2.3.70682) and was able to quickly and easily use the Calibre extension to remove the DRM.
I’m not super confident it’ll always work, so I’m not planning on buying more books from Amazon, but it’s a good solution to pull my existing library into the ePub world.
There’s also not a battery attached. That’s a pretty big plus.
In my use case it doesn’t have any relevance, as my device lasts for months with one charge. During that timespan I have plenty of opportunities to charge.
Which device is that? My Kobo sage needs charge every 3 days or so and that’s the only thing I dislike about it. They messed up big time for not making the battery bigger on it.
Some of the original kindles had ridiculous battery life without a backlight and turning off the wifi. Wifi and backlight kills most ebook readers.
I still have my kindle from a long time ago and it still gets around a week of battery life. I also have a kobo (because the kindle has some blotches on the screen) and it works wonderfully. It can work for about a week with heavy reading…but only if the backlight is mostly off and wifi is off.
I always have the backlight off, but I need to turn off the WiFi then to see. I thought koreader turns off wifi automatically, but I’ll double check
Physical for me. I just can’t read for long durations on a screen. I just can’t. I need the tactile feeling of turning pages and having a physical thing to hold and take with me. In that same vein, I have a hard time even reading softcover. One of the biggest reasons I read anyway is to get away from screens/technology anyway. I also like having a physical library in my bedroom that I can look at. I understand that these are all really objectionable, prissy reasons to prefer physical.
For your second question. I’ve had good luck with eBay, at least as a US buyer. It helps that USPS ships books really cheap for sellers and most stores that I see usually have more than 1 item on my wishlist so I can knock out a bunch of books in one order, get them used (better for the environment), and avoid Amazon
My whole thing is that sometimes worry about shit going south in the world (I know so fucking stupid lol), and us losing power then my e-reader won’t be worth a shit and all my books will be gone. I hate Amazon with a passion. I only use them when I have to.
Honestly? Digital overall. And I’m talking about reading; there’s benefits to digital outside that, but I wanna do it separate.
A decent tablet with a good app is a better reading experience overall. Yes, it lacks multi sensory experience, and the comfort of curling up and sinking in.
Where it gains is that, regardless of eink vs standard displays, you can change fonts, font size, contrast, and even the colors of text and background. You can choose to scroll instead of turning pages. This all means that no matter what kind of eyesight you have, whether you’re dyslexic or not, you have a high degree of making sure that you can actually read. Done properly, you can do so without eye strain, and usually while holding the device in one hand, in any position.
Assuming a backlight or other built in lighting on eink, you can read without it needing a lamp that might bother someone beside you.
As much as I love paper in hand, the smell, sound and feel of it, I can actually read with full comfort on even a cheap tablet. And, being dyslexic, instead of dealing with the frustration of the publisher picking the font and font size, thus making me work harder; I get to pick what works and just enjoy reading.
And then you get into the stuff that isn’t purely about reading. For one, portability. I can carry thousands of books in my hand digitally. I can take them almost anywhere, and (assuming I pick the right device) even read in pouring rain or the shower if I wanted to, so tub reading ceases to be a problem.
Which is related to storage. With digital, I never have to worry about it. I don’t need an entire room dedicated to books, or have bookshelves in every room just to have access to everything.
So, I could entirely convert to digital and have extra space.
Or! I can freely choose which books to keep physical copies of. That means I can even have hardback editions with less concern over space compared to paperbacks. Just the Wheel of Time books are an entire shelf in hardback. In paperback, there’s still room for more. Yay digital! I can trade or sell off the paperbacks, keep my hardbacks for the sensory delight, and not have to fret about running out of room as much.
Going digital and replacing less read books entirely took me from ten bookcases crammed full, with things stacked in bad ways; to ten that are neatly organized with room for more if/when I want, and better displays of my favorites.
If you want an actual collection of books, as opposed to simply accumulating books, digital is the perfect accompaniment.
Right now, everything on my shelves is either a favorite, out of print, or special in some other way. Some are all three. Before, it included stuff that I might only reread once a decade, but didn’t want the hassle of tracking them down in a library that might not have a copy, and might not have an entire series for those. I even have room to display some of the nicer covers instead of having to have every book in there spine out.
As far as pricey books go, at least with digital as a main format for the collection, it means you can actually afford the more pricey books when you really want them.
As far as sourcing cheaper paper books, you gotta go local to used book dealers. It’s really the only practical way to really save money. You can sometimes do eBay though. Otherwise, you’re paying full price at any store that sells new. You might run into sales, but that’s not reliable.
and (assuming I pick the right device) even read in pouring rain or the shower if I wanted to, so tub reading ceases to be a problem.
With the “wrong device”, you can get a tablet dry bag and still be good. This is the one I got for my Boox go color 7. A waterproof device is nicer, but if you’re not willing to sacrifice whatever else for one, you still have a cheap, reasonably easy option.
True that!
Depends on the type of book. Novels, I like digital (or audio), cookbooks and other reference texts, I like physical, even though it’s usually easier to ctrl+f to find stuff.
If it’s a book I know I want to actually own, I’ll buy a physical copy. Basically, my criteria there is if I expect it to be a reference I’d use multiple times, or if I expect to lend it to friends, or if it’s an author I want to support.
My preference is library for most books. I’ll scan thrift stores for books to buy, though obviously no guarantee of any books there. Local used bookstores are next, then local new bookstores, then online used book stores like thriftbooks.com or abebooks (though that’s an Amazon subsidiary). I rarely get new books online.
IT just doesn’t feel right trying to read a book digitally. I exclusively read physical books. I will admit that hauling them around when I move is a bit of a pain, though.
Years ago, after one of my many moves, I realized about 1/3 of what I was moving was books. I had far too many for my lifestyle. I would love to have been able to buy a house and have a big book wall, or room, but that’s not how life played out. I got tired of moving boxes of books, so I donated all my books and have just stuck with ebooks now. With an eink screen, I find the reading experience to be exactly the same. Although I still occasionally miss the physical nature of books, I don’t miss it enough to give up the positives of my much larger electronic library.
Digital, but it’s because I listen to audio books. Lately, I find it hard to sit still and read for a set period of time. Cleaning while I “read” is perfect for me. Get stuff done and still get to be in the world of a book.
Both digital and printed have their merits, but I came back to real books some time ago. My goal is to have a curated home library, catered to my taste. It will look good, they won’t go anywhere and I just have need a quick step to the shelve if I need something.
Digital is fine for travelling or just as an addition if you don’t want to use shelf space. I love my kindle, but it’s not a full alternative.
Why not both?
I use my little Kobo for reading in bed or when out and about but prefer an actual book if I can. Also I don’t buy many and use the local library most of the time.
I use both depending on what I need from them. For example, if it is a trashy/novelty book that I don’t care much about and just use it to pass time, I will use digital.
If it is a book I have wanted for a long time or an art book for references or a book I want tied to a place (I try to read a new book whenever I vacation somewhere new so the memories of said book are related to my trip) I buy physical. I love love the smell of ink and old books.
