Do you prefer books or a kindle?

[Rayn]

I just love books. I have a kindle which is great for holidays and I tend to get 99p offers on it.

I love seeing a bookcase full of books and I like the smell, feel and anticipation when I get a new 'proper' book.

Trying to be more minimalistic and not buy things but I can't help it with books. A day out in Waterstones with a coffee will be my ultimate pleasure when I can go. I know it is open but I want ' the whole experience'. 😬

Just wondering if any book lovers prefer reading on the kindle? It annoys me that I can't flick back to a page!

Even my kids prefer books and won't read on the kindle so I am not sure if it necessarily a generation thing!

Books, we have shelves full of them, I love the smell, the feel of the pages, if you drop a book in the bath you can dry it on a radiator... I love sharing a book with DS at bed time, you can leave a book on the beach or sun lounger while you swim and it's not going to get stolen, you can swap books you enjoy with friends, libraries make books accessible to everyone, we also have a local book exchange, you don't need to buy an electronic device, I could go on all night.....

@Rayn

Kindle users Don't you miss browsing in a bookshop?

My friend browses in Waterstones or other bookshops and then buys on kindle. Best of both worlds I suppose.

That's a good point, I was shopping with a friend and went into Waterston es so she could buy something. I hadn't been in a bookshop for ages and I really enjoyed looking along the lines of books, reading the backs, flicking through and getting hit with the smell of a new book. I still prefer my kindle for the ease of it

Both for me. I have 4 bookshelves of books and books on the stairs.

My kindle paperwhite has 312 books on it,it's great for the evenings as I only have the two salt lamps on and candles lit or in bed as I hate the "big light" on. Also have the kindle app on my phone,so never without a book which is my worst nightmare.

Kobos connect to the local library via overdrive, if yours doesn’t do overdrive you can join Oxfordshire county council library online and then use overdrive.

Just for fun, are all of us kobo/kindle converts over the age of 40?.

Mid 30s here. Tough one. I love books in theory. I studied literature so get all romantic about them. BUT I just find books impractical. Before Covid a lot of my reading was on my train commute and a kindle allowed me to hold it with one hand while I hung onto the railing. With a kindle I can read at night with the backlight, read on the beach/pool and not have it get crinkly. I also love being able to download something immediately or to get a sample.

Love my kindle paperwhite as it's backlit so great for reading in bed and not disturbing DH

They both have a place. It's a different experience I think.

I use my kindle (or kindle app on iphone / ipad) in bed for when I just fancy reading something (also the bath or when travelling etc precovid). But I have paperbacks as "treats" in my armchair with a lamp and a cup of tea and something nice to eat. Like a Saturday night special type thing if it's a book by one of my favourite authors or something that's been highly recommended then I'll buy the paperback.

But I do really love the instantness of a kindle.

Books

Kindle, a million times over. It’s so much more convenient. I like books but they are just items. I don’t need them. I do have a lot though as they are meaningful to me.

I used to love books but I travel too much for that to be practical. I moved on to a Kindle and wouldn't go back now.
Why Kindle is better :

• retro lit screen so you can read in the dark. I often go to sleep while reading.
• availability - I used to struggle to find books in english (am from other country). Now I've got millions of them at my fingertips.
• price : the price of the kindle is more than made up for with cheaper books and no shipping costs.
• space : no need anymore to worry about where to put all those books. Moving countries is easier. I no longer have to pick and choose which books to bring on holiday.
• tidiness : no lost or damaged books. No losing my page.
• settings : I can make the font bigger if my eyesight gets worse
• audiobook option

It's a no-brainer really. Though these days I've been reading mostly on my phone with the kindle app and audible.

The only things paper books are really better for is reading in the bath, as I don't fancy killing my kindle or phone if I accidentally dropped them.

I prefer my kindle. I tried reading a normal book the other day, because my WiFi went down. The font was wrong, it was also bold, I had to physically hold the book open, which lead to thumb ache because I have weird thumbs.
I still have real books gathering dust on a bookshelf, but I also have nearly 2000 books on my kindle.
It costs me 7.99 a month for kindle unlimited, as I'm a prolific reader it pays. Any series I like, I slowly buy.
I hate shops and am agoraphobic, so browsing kindle books is my thing.

I much prefer to read a fiction book on my kindle. I find I’m always losing my page and making a mess of a paper book. I love that no one can see if I’m reading something trashy on my kindle
I agree that books ona a shelf look lovely though.

I forgot about the font style and size! I find that conventional books have very long lines whereas I can adjust the lines and make them shorter on my kindle which makes reading a lot faster. I’m currently reading a hard copy book from the library and it’s hard.

I love my kindle. So much easier than a book as you can do something with the other hand like wrangle a baby. I do love the look of a book shelf though and I'll probably end up buying a lot of my favourites in hard copy when we eventually get round to sorting out the house/getting a bookshelf.

Both. Paper books are for classic novels with pretty covers and special books by my favourite authors. Kindle for paper backs that I will read once, and for travelling.

I miss a physical book, but I much prefer an audiobook these days so I can do other things at the same time.

I recently bought my first ereader, an old model Kobo, £20 from CeX. It's not perfect but it does the job and I can get almost any classic off Project Gutenberg for free. I think for modern stuff I'll still buy printed books but for classics the ereader will end up a moneysaver.

I go through phases. I'm in a physical book phase right now. I do like the fact with a kindle you're not constantly straining for a good light source. I've bought a head torch which largely solves this.

But I am a massive baby and if I see a book I desperately want to read (say the next in a series of books) I find it hard to resist purchasing it on kindle.

Also, I have an annoying habit of looking at people's bookshelves and seeing what they're reading on tubes etc (when I was able to use the tube) and miss that with kindle.

Kindle.

I used to prefer books (but that was before Kindles etc... existed) then I watched my dads eyesight go & watched him stop reading because the print is too small but he refuses to use a kindle or similar.

He taught me to read & I got my love of books from him.

Now my eyesight is going too & I have to use a larger font than I used to, so because my books are on kindle I haven't lost any of the ones I love so much I return to them every few years or the joy of reading a truly great new book.
I have audio books as well (collecting them for when my sight gets too bad), but I prefer reading to listening.

I never want to lose access to books.

A kindle. I don't miss paper books at all.

Kindle for arthritis and holidays, or when I am broke, books when I can. I thought I'd be a staunch book person, but I really don't mind the kindle for day to day reading. If though, it's a rare quiet night in, with a book I've been looking forward to, no-one else in the house and I've a mug of boiling coffee, a book would still win I think.

Cost and ease of storage- has to be kindle. I read 1-3 books a week. I could t keep up with that if I had to store them physically or buy them at paperback cost. Kindle unlimited is my friend!

I like a kindle for cheap books and the fact it's not heavy or awkward to hold.

I find that I never know the titles of any books I've read, I can't recall them as I never see them. With a book, it's always there on the cover and you have it on your beside table with an illustration that helps your memory etc. Just an observation!

I moved house so much that I have just retained the classics and books I think may be of use to my children.

@Bmidreams I'm the same with the titles, I couldn't tell you what the book is called 9/10 times.