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Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Which do you prefer?

Alright, time for something new. A discussion. Are you ready?

What's better - real books or ebooks?

That's right, I want to know what you think. Ebooks are becoming more and more popular, with more and more titles available every day. Most of the time, they are cheaper than the paper copy - hardback or paperback - and the ability to carry hundreds or thousands of books in your bag is positively lovely. But, for those hardcore book addicts, there's just something about holding a new book in your hands, knowing you will be the first to crack the binding and turn the pages. And the smell of the ink on the pages....

But I'm getting carried away.

I'll put in my two cents and then I would love to hear your thoughts. I am currently stuck between a rock and a hard place in my love for books. I love going to the store (or waiting for the UPS man) and getting beautiful new books with beautiful covers to arrange on my (limited) bookshelves at home. And I'll be honest, I have a bit of a thing for book covers. So many of them are so beautiful that I love to just have them on my shelves, looking pretty for me. Some are dramatic, some almost glow, others are bright and inviting. It makes my bookshelves look like a giant jewelery box and each book is a sparkling gem waiting for some attention from me.

But, I have been lured into the ebook world. This past Christmas I recieved a Nook and I absolutely love it. It's a great size, I love that I can get sample chapters of books that look interesting to see if it's worth buying, and I can cart around a bunch of books in my purse wherever I go in a small(ish) device. It's excellent. And since I'm not made of money, the fact that many of the ebooks I want are fairly cheap is also a big plus. The only downfall - the pretty covers are black and white. Sigh...

So here's my problem. If I find a book I love, I really love to have it on my shelf in book form - preferably hardback since they are more durable to the many times I end up reading them over and over. So, I may buy an ebook, read it, end up loving it, and then want to buy it in hardback form. So I end up buying it twice. Crazy, I know, but I have actually done this, and I'm planning on doing it again. So I'm fighting between the new love of ebooks and the old love of real books. So in my opinion, they both have their merits and flaws, and I'm intrigued to see the way things sway in the future. 

So, where do you fall? Real book purist? Ebook convert? Or, like me, somewhere in between?

8 comments:

  1. I'm definitely in favor of real books. I love the feel, smell, experience they offer. I could never trade that away.

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  2. Real book purist. All the way. Especially since my real love is Golden Age Mysteries. There's nothing like going into a used bookstore (with real live bound books on the shelves--even though those seem to be fast going the way of the dodo) and finding one of those bound beauties to take home and put on my very own shelf.. The smell and feel of an old book is something I don't want to give up. The idea of bringing up the same text on a spiffy little electronic device has absolutely no thrill for me at all--even if I could cram all the ones I covet and don't have yet on there.

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  3. I would have to say I'm somewhere in between. I love my Kindle its small and convenient. I also love books. I'm not a book collector though. I read a book once and give it away so someone else can read it. I have never reread a book. What I do is get what I can from the library so I still get my book fix. Whatever the library doesn't have I download. I may buy a book here and there.

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  4. Came here from the hop.

    I don't have an ereader, so all the books I read are real books. I could buy books and read them on my computer, but I really hate doing that. I do want a Nook, but I have a feeling I'm always going to love reading real books (paperback, preferably) more than anything else.

    Jordyn, Ten Cent Notes

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  5. For me, I think it's a both-and situation. I love reading books on my nook, but I also love having a physical paper book with me. The only problem I've run into is that I love to lend out the books I love to people to read them. I only know two people with a nook, and B&N only lets you lend it to one person one time... So if I want to be able to share a book, I'll have to buy a paper copy!

    Hope you have a great weekend,
    Jessi @ The Elliott Review

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  6. i love both, real books and ebooks. Like you, if i liked the book in ebook (yay i hope im making sense) i would buy the real one. Well it applies in a series, I'd read the first one then if i liked it, i'd get the second book and then if i loved it then I will start collecting the WHOOOLEE series.

    I love real books because I'm addicted to it. I love bookstores, trips to post office, anything about books so i guess if i really have to choose, then it's the real books!

    oh btw, thanks for stopping by my page. I'm a new follower and looking forward to participating on new discussions!

    if you have time, please visit my other blog - about everything except books!

    http://iamjenaiz.blogspot.com/

    ~iamjenai~

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  7. oh i see that you have a pic with my favorite author Richelle Mead! I love VA sooo much so looking forward to reading more of this blog!

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  8. I definitely fall into the real book category. I love the smell of books, of the pages, etc. It's an intoxicating smell. However, I'd probably enjoy the Nook too. It's just the fact that it costs money to buy the books, when I can get them free at the Library!

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