I guess I should begin by saying I totally understand why people are into eBooks. Having all your books digitally stored on one small device is fabulous for travelling, it’s nice having all your books in your pocket when you’re on the go, and it’s great for organizational purposes. Of course there are also environmental benefits to not buying so much paper. And eBooks are cheaper. So I totally get why people like eBooks.
Unfortunately I’m just not one of them.
It appears that Amazon has managed to do what many thought would take a lot longer. The company announced on its quarterly call that since the beginning of the year for every 100 paperback books sold at Amazon, there have been 115 Kindle eBooks sold.
Last year, hard cover books were also kicked out by the Kindle in that for every 100 of them sold, Amazon was shifting 143 which is an even more impressive ratio. We now hear that this figure is about 300 to 100 in favor of the Kindle ebook.
I can imagine myself being one of those really old fashioned people. Like we’re here in the digital music era, but I can see myself being the equivalent of the person who holds onto their music records. That’s me with my books!
Maybe the biggest reason I’m not into eBooks is because I’m not just a reader — I’m a collector. I love having my first edition books, having my signed books, and I love staring at an overstuffed bookshelf and physically seeing my entire collection.
I also just like the look and feel of a books. I like being able to gaze down at a physical copy of the cover. I like feeling the pages under my fingers and holding the book in my lap. I think Kindles and Nooks are supposed to be easy to hold and read from, but I actually find it a lot easier and more natural to just hold a book. Sure books are heavier, but they fit in my lap nicely. I like the weight of the book; it makes me feel like I’m reading something epic and just adds to my experience.
So am I the only one? Or are there other people out there still clinging onto their physical copies of books??
I have a kind of love/hate relationship with e-books. My last blog post was actually about it–how I overwhelmingly prefer REAL books to e-books, but that e-books can be so much cheaper in so many more numbers. It’s not that I like them, though; I still hold e-books at arm’s-length. Paper all the way! 😀
Yay I’m not the only one! High five! I do understand that when you’re buying loads of books, it is nice to get them as cheap as possible and eBooks give you that opportunity. But paper books are just so… pretty!! And fun to collect!
See, I’ve tried to get into ebooks and, while I find them convenient for traveling, I am still more into my physical books for sure. I haven’t gone all digital. I suppose that would give me more room in my house haha BUT I just love looking at my books, holding them AND being able to send someone home with a friend or my sister. Haha that sounds so creepy “holding them, looking at them.” 😛
Great discussion! You aren’t the only one. I’ll be still holding on for a while! We can be old fashioned together 🙂
I know what you mean about holding and looking at your books! It just isn’t the same with eBooks. A digital collection pales in comparison to a huge, beautiful library! I’d rather see physical representations of my books than a digital list.
I love ebooks… but I still buy and borrow physical books. I bought a kindle about two years back in hopes of getting more into ebooks but I won’t ever fully give up physical ones. Especially since I use my library a lot to save money. I love the feel of holding a book and watching my progress as the amount of pages on the right decrease. At the moment I only use my kindle to get the free books from Amazon, the occasional $2.99 ebook deal from publishers and of course galleys from NetGalley. As long as I’m using my libraries I don’t see myself giving up real books.
I completely agree with everything you said about physical books. All of it. I LOVE seeing and holding and flipping through my physical books. I think having signed books is pretty darn cool. Plus I find that reading ebooks tends to give me a headache. I already have to read on a screen so much for school and for work, that sitting down with a novel on a screen gets hard on my eyes and my head (gosh, I sound so old!). But really. Physical books all the way. I really hope the market doesn’t change too much and people get the idea that they can stop with physical books. That would be a sad, sad day.
I understand your feelings totally. Though I am carrying my ereader everywhere if I really love a book I will buy a paper copy. Same with special editions or when I get to meet an author to get a book signed.
I adore “real” books but at the moment due to budgetary and space concerns ebooks are more viable options for me. If I really love a book I will usually get it on ebook and then buy it 2nd hand if it pops up. Hopefully when my monetary circumstances change I’ll buy more paperbacks as I miss perusing the bookstore and carrying a haul home but for now ebooks are it. Plus for reviewing purposes ARC’s will always be digital for me as I live abroad so physical copies are rarely available for us!
I love ebooks. I love synching them between my different devices and so I’m never far from my current read. And if I tire of that one, I’ve my whole library to pick and choose from in right there in my handbag 🙂
Love physical books too but for now ebooks are winning hands down.
I don’t think you’re the only one by far! But I am one of those people who just loves her kindle, and her e-books! I have been buying books from the US for a very long time, and it used to take between three and five weeks for the books to actually arrive at my house… Very frustrating. When amazon introduced Kindle, I was jumping with joy, happydancing and acting all crazy. It took a little while before I could get my hands on a kindle myself, but when I did, I was completely awed.
Now, I am a reader who reads a lot of books each year. And as you know, I love chatting about them afterwards. I love how easy it is to highlight a passage, annotate it and then just click show highlights and annotations for this book for when I’m writing my review.
I also have to admit I’m loving the instant gratification – the book arrives on my kindle within seconds, and I can start reading that coveted story within minutes of deciding to buy it!
And – I don’t have to pay those pesky shipping costs anymore. Wifi connection is all I need, and I can therefore also spend more money on actual books.
Great topic, Ashley, and while I can understand that you want to actually ‘see’ your collection of books, mine is so big now that I have boxes of books in the basement, which is kind of sad. So now, I try to give away the books I know I’m not going to read again, and rather stick with e-books for that reason as well.
Have a spectacular Sunday, and happy reading 🙂
I hardly ever read actual books on my Kindle or Kobo. These days their main function is to help me accept/read egalleys. For books that I buy for myself, I prefer print. It’s easier to lend them, and I know I’ll be able to pass them on to my kids. Can’t do that with a license to view a digital file.
I don’t read ebooks. At all. I don’t own an ereader, tablet, etc. Although it pains me sometimes, I don’t read egalleys, or even enovellas to my favorite books. It’s partly because, no matter how much people claim “it’s just like reading paper,” my eyes still perceive a screen – and therefore burn out a lot faster than they do with paper. Another is, like you, I love to collect them, get them signed, enjoy the look of my overflowing bookshelves – and be able to rest assured they won’t suddenly vanish on me because of some digital glitch. But the final reason is that it’s just what I do – I read the printed word ONLY. It’s my thing. This will leave me as one of the last people on Earth who only reads print, but I’m prepared – when the digital-only day comes, I’ll have hoarded so many print books I’ll have more than enough to read until the day I die.
Besides, there was a study done that admitted people retain less when they read digital as compared to physical. And I have a hard enough time remembering what I read now…