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Original poster

Do you prefer a book or kindle?

101 replies

Overyou · 13/10/2018 09:05

I’ve decided it’s a real book for me. I am getting back to reading as I spend far too much time browsing on the internet but find that I am more likely to be motivated to pick up an actual book than the kindle.

OP posts:
LoniceraJaponica · 14/10/2018 09:52

I can't deal with the faff of keeping pages open in a real book. If I am on my own I sometimes read while I am eating. I have to weigh the pages down to read it. The only new books I buy now are recipe books where a kindle is most definitely not a good substitute.

I went to bed early last night and woke at about 1 am, but couldn't get back to sleep. I read my Paperwhite for a while before going back to sleep. I couldn't have done this with a book as I would have woken OH up.

SoundofSilence · 14/10/2018 09:57

A book all the way. I have a kindle but use it for other things because I don't enjoy reading on it.

oldsewandsew · 14/10/2018 10:00

I much prefer books, but I always use my kindle, as it is more practical, and the backlight means I can read easily in bed.

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BakedBeans47 · 14/10/2018 10:01

A book all the way. I have a kindle but use it for other things because I don't enjoy reading on it.

What else can you used it for? My kindle is purely an e-reader. I don’t like reading on phones or tablets but I find the kindle totally different

BarbaraofSevillle · 14/10/2018 10:31

I think there are a few people on this thread who are mistaking the kindle tablet app for 'a kindle'., Not the same at all, the reading experience on a kindle ereader is more like a book. It looks the same and there are ergonomic advantages too.

LoniceraJaponica · 14/10/2018 11:03

I agree Barbara

My kindle is a Paperwhite which is simply an eBook not a tablet. Like this.

Do you prefer a book or kindle?
FlotSHAMnJetson · 14/10/2018 11:07

"I feel lost in a kindle as I don't get much sense of scale from it."

Yes this!

I LOVE my Kindle, but with young children I thought it would be better to sit in front of them ignoring them with a physical book rather than another electronic devise. I love the ease of taking lots of books on holiday with a Kindle or when commuting or in hospital but for around the house I am going back to books.

SoupDragon · 14/10/2018 11:09

Kindle, hands down. Not the Fire though, a Paperwhite or similar.

It’s smaller and lighter than a book, the pages don’t blow over in the wind, you can put it down without losing your place, you can read it in the dark, you have multiple books in something smaller than a single thin paperback, I can instantly get the next book in a series or a new book if I’m not enjoying the one I’m reading... I also love that it tells me how long I have left in a chapter so I can decide whether to finish it or put the book down.

I also love that I can read my current book on my phone if I find myself stuck somewhere with nothing to do.

SoupDragon · 14/10/2018 11:11

You can't fold the corner of the page on a kindle.....

You can’t tap the corner of a book and add a bookmark Wink

SoupDragon · 14/10/2018 11:12

Ive just remembered the ability to highlight passages. I recently discovered a whole “book” of my highlighted bits on my Kindle and wasted a good half hour reading them. It was fascinating. You can’t do that with a book.

LoniceraJaponica · 14/10/2018 11:13

"You can't fold the corner of the page on a kindle....."

But why would you need to on a Kindle? Confused
The kindle stays at the same page you left it at. It isn't like closing a book without a bookmark.

Davros · 14/10/2018 15:37

I like having an actual Kindle rather than the app and one that is just for reading, nothing else. You can get magazines too although I've never done it

happypotamus · 14/10/2018 16:22

Real books. I love real books. I resisted kindle for a long time, but DH bought me one and it has saved my sanity by letting me read while I sit for hours waiting for the non-sleeping wonderchild to go to sleep. It glows in the dark but not so much that it distracts her. I still buy a lot of books though despite having over 50 unread books on kindle.

DarlingNikita · 14/10/2018 16:25

Real books for the feel/smell/heft/tactility of turning the pages/beauty of illustrated ones. And the fact that you can get them from the library for nothing.

But I can't argue with the convenience of a Kindle for holidays. It used to be my worst nightmare that I might run out of books while on holiday.

Aragog · 14/10/2018 16:35

I have a kindle but use it for other things because I don't enjoy reading on it.

Like others my Kindle is purely an e-reader. It isn't a tablet.

Topseyt · 14/10/2018 16:50

Books for me. I do have a Kindle, an old one, and I can see the attraction if you want to carry a lot of books on holiday etc.

I just much prefer a book to curl up and read with. That is just me, and I really can't explain it much better than that. Books just give me a warm, fuzzy feeling, and I like their colourful covers.

My MIL was the same. Preferred books. She did though, read Fifty Shades of Grey on a Kindle because she said she didn't want any of her friends to see her reading it.

Redglitter · 14/10/2018 17:06

I have a kindle but use it for other things because I don't enjoy reading on it

Presumably you have a Kindle Fire not a Kindle ereader. There's a massive difference between reading on a tablet & an ereader

buttybuttybutthole · 14/10/2018 17:47

I like books to look at and I often buy books that I already own on a kindle, just because they have a nice cover and so I. An look at it and stroke it Smile

For reading though - because I read so much- I use my kindle, I can read in every place and position, use my backlight, sync to my iPhone...

buttybuttybutthole · 14/10/2018 17:48

Ps been through them all and paperwhite the only kindle! With the light

LoniceraJaponica · 14/10/2018 18:00

For those posters who struggle to understand the difference between a Kindle eBook and a Kindle Fire. This is a Kindle Paperwhite. It is an eBook and is for reading purposes only. It is backlit so it can be read in the dark. The type of light it emits is not like the type of light a tablet emits, and won't affect sleep.

Do you prefer a book or kindle?
LoniceraJaponica · 14/10/2018 18:01

And rhis is a Kindle Fire. This is a tablet, and is crap for reading outdoors. It also emits the kind of light that affects sleep patterns.

Do you prefer a book or kindle?
TheTurnOfTheScrew · 14/10/2018 18:06

a kindle definitely has its place, especially if you read a lot. The kindle ebooks are often cheaper, and it's so easy to fling in your workbag or take on holiday. A kindle paper white is not backlit, so it's a far more pleasant experience than looking at a laptop or table. Plus less clutter! I know on MN it's seen as a cardinal sin ever to pass on books, but if, like me, you're a heavy reader with a small house you simply can't keep every book you read.

LoniceraJaponica · 14/10/2018 18:17

I pass on books. It is eco friendly to recycle them isn't it?

BG2015 · 14/10/2018 19:41

Kindle every time

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 14/10/2018 20:39

Kindle mostly for
0p classics
Big fat doorstep books that are too heavy/awkward to hold/read in bed
For reading in bed without disturbing dh, esp. when there's nowhere else to go, e.g. in a hotel room
For going away with hand baggage only
And for slipping in my bag to read while e.g. waiting for an hour (!) at the dentist today, though if I'd been in the middle of a real book I'd have taken that.