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!

Both. I love my books and have far too many (currently 10 double-width bookcases all double- and triple-stuffed with dvd storage sideways along the top and there's still overflow). Kindle is amazing for the trashy supermarket thrillers I really like but don't want to keep and I can get them for 99p instead of £4.50 ish. Plus the daily 99p deals are brilliant for widening my reading material - I would never have looked at 10 Minutes 38 Seconds In This Strange World but tried it for 99p and LOVED it. Plus if books I already want come up for 99p it's not so bad if they're clunkers (Woke by Titania McGrath, I'm looking at you).

Kindle 100%
Cozier to read in bed
More convenient
No paper waste
Love being able to buy next book in a series within seconds
Love that I don't have books hanging around that I'm not going to reread.

Biggest reason is that I have a child with ASD who is a compulsive paper-tearer. Physical books just give me anxiety now.

I see e-readers as part of the evolution of books. Once they would have been heavy leather bound tomes, then they shrank to paperbacks and became accessible to the masses. Now they've shrunk to digital copies with no size at all and become instantly accessible across many devices - if I'm out and haven't got my kindle I can simply pick up where I left off using my phone - not an idea format but it means I'm never without my book and I soon get immersed in the story and don't notice.

Real books but I don’t keep them because I don’t tend to read twice and hate the clutter. Kindle has been a godsend with libraries closed though and I like the function where you can find out an unknown word’s definition on kindle. However I still prefer real books, especially on holiday!

Books all the way.

Take one everywhere I go, read on bus, read at college in my break, read while the kids are watching a film.

I have A books app on my phone but it just looks like I'm on fb all the time.

Plus I like the feel of a book in my hand and I like seeing the progress that I'm making.

Huge convert to kindle, didn't think I would like it but love it. I read alot and have too many books, they are everywhere so don't want to buy anymore. Tried library for a bit but as full time worker and single parent there wasn't the time.

I like seeing the progress that I'm making

A kindle shows you that.

It can also show you how ,one you have left in a chapter/book based on your reading speed.

I like both, for different reasons. Usually a paperback at bedtime, but Kindle is very handy sometimes. For example, I am currently reading a hefty history book and it's easier to read on Kindle (though I did buy the book as well). I have also downloaded books for holidays on it. Also, it's good for the bus.

I’m a kindle convert. I have a paperwhite and it rarely leaves my side. I didn’t think that I’d like it but I read so much more now I have my kindle.

I still love a mooch round a second hand bookshop but I was losing the love for bookshops a good while ago as my local ones just seem to stock celeb biographies, modern romances and cozy mysteries, none of which I like.

Books. I love books and book shops. But my Kindle glows in the dark, which has saved my sanity sitting in the dark waiting for my non-sleeping wonderchild to go to sleep night after night. I would not have read as many books in the past few years without being able to read in the dark. Also, I have almost never paid more than 99p for a book on Kindle, but have read a lot of good books on it for that price, and I wouldn't have bought them all as actual books at the price actual books cost.

Prefer proper books but the kindle is a lifesaver when it comes to travelling.

I've bought loads over lockdown on the 3 for £5 offer at the works.

Er also have a free little library that one of the neighbours set up where you can go swap books which is handy for not having to go buy more bookshelves for all my purchases! 😂

Books!

But I don't mind a kindle for travelling.

I have an older basic Kindle but mainly read off my phone with the Kindle app/Libby for my library ebooks.
I never buy books now unless its one I know I'll be sharing with my mum.

Books. I bought a Kindle last year thinking it'd save me some money in the long run...nope, I just read less until I caved and started buying paperbacks again! Just couldn't seem to get as immersed in it as I can with a paper book.

@SoupDragon

I like seeing the progress that I'm making

A kindle shows you that.

It can also show you how ,one you have left in a chapter/book based on your reading speed.

You’re obviously a kindle convert! I am too. Honestly best thing I’ve ever bought, I read a lot, 2-3 books a week normally. If I had a huge house I’d have a library, but I’d still default to my kindle as it’s so much more convenient. I’m part of a postal book club, the first thing I do when my book arrives is see if I can find the ebook version. I don’t really like reading real books anymore - my hand aches, I can’t read in bed, so much easier to lose my place.

I do love browsing in book shops, and I still buy first editions from my favourite authors.

I used to prefer books (in a way, still do because I find it so much easier to go back and find parts that I want to reread) but as I've got older I find the print size of most books is too small for comfort.

What I love about the kindle is that I can adjust the font size, the font type and the lighting/contrast, which enables me to read without straining my eyes.

You’re obviously a kindle convert!

Yes, but my point was just that a kindle can do the things that people think are a benefit of a paper book.

Much prefer books

But mainly read my kindle (and have often downloaded the audio too)

I have a paperwhite, but I hate it because it doesn't do the page turn.
I'm currently using the app on my galaxy tablet.
With any kindles you can change the page colour, mine is sepia. You can change the font size. You can change the font, there is also a dyslexia font.
You can change the margin size and the line space
You can also sort the books into collections, which is handy for me because I do mine by author. One of my favourite authors has written over 60 books in a series.
I used to buy paper books all the time, my bookshelf covers one wall from floor to ceiling. If I bought all my kindle books in paper form I'd be able to have my own library.

Book, definitely. I think Kindles have their place but personally, I prefer kindles. I've also gotten into audiobooks in the last few months.

Books for me too. I like a good cover, I like the different fonts. I like being able to browse back to look for something. Everything feels the same on a kindle, from a 99 p book from Amazon to a classic. It's rather a deadening reading experience. And 'you are x% through' is slightly depressing.

DH bought a kindle about 10 years ago but I didn't like the idea of it , and like others have said, I thought it would be 'just another screen'.

So over the years I have probably used a whole rainforest in paper buying paperback books which I only ever read once . I always pop them into the charity shop when finished but in recent years charity shops didn't seem so keen to take them. Sometimes I used the library .

Come lockdown last year shopping was difficult so I decided to give the kindle another go and I won't go back to purchasing 3 paperbacks a week again . I've got kindle unlimited and mostly read stuff that comes within the £7.99 per month I pay for that , just occasionally paying out if I fancy a new book . I love that it's instantaneous so as soon as I finish one book in a series I go straight on and download the next . The screen is very different to the one on a computer / iPad / phone , there is no glare so it doesn't make your eyes tired . I agree with the comments on not being able to easily flick back a couple of chapters to check on something , that's annoying , although there is a 'go to' feature .

Kindles aren't a screen because the page looks identical to a book, doesn't have the disadvantage of backlighting because even if you read in the dark, the lighting is from the front and much gentler.

Although I do think the advice that comes with it about settings is totally wrong. I keep mine on setting 6 out of 20 and in daylight it looks unlit but it is visible in the dark.

Plus you can only read a book on a kindle, you can't scroll social media, read/post on forums, watch youtube or go down internet rabbit holes.

I'm a total kindle convert but did try a paper book out a couple of years and couldn't get on with it, I couldn't get comfortable, hold it easily or read in the dark. My current kindle is an early Paperwhite that's about 8 years old and I read it every day. If it broke I would replace it the same day.

It also pays for itself compared with buying books or even reserving from the library, because there are so many books that go on offer at 99 p, good ones too, not just self published rubbish or obscure books.

Definitely real books, could never get into reading books on a kindle. I'm trying to become more minimalist so I should really cut down, but books are one of the few physical things I buy so new ones are always a treat