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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To adore books but feel Meh! about E-readers?

81 replies

Snugglepalace · 16/01/2017 09:36

I love books, have a real passion for them. I read a lot and for me there is no greater pleasure than settling down with a new book, cracking the spine and sniffing the lovely woody scented pages!
My Kindle just didn't have the same appeal so much so that I have sold it.
And I just love book shops, could spend an eternity in them, browsing, flicking through all kinds of genre. I know they have their place, but you just can't do this with E-readers and I just can't get the same joy with them.
Am I alone in my thinking?

OP posts:

JaneJeffer · 16/01/2017 10:28

I don't mind the Kindle for factual books but I just can't enjoy novels the same way as I would having a real book in my hands.

NicknameUsed · 16/01/2017 10:29

"There's room in life for both. I belong to a book club and many of us felt the same. We all own one now. They are great for holidays, reading after lights out and slipping into your handbag. I'm much more a kindle person than books now but will never give away my vast stash of much loved paperbacks."

I'm with Matilda on this. I like to read in bed, but OH doesn't want the light on. My Kindle Paperwhite is ideal for this. I bought a book with a book token I was given for my birthday and I have only read a few pages because night time is really the only chance I get to read.

Our bookshelves are crammed full and we don't have room for any more so nearly all new books bought now are downloaded from Amazon, except for recipe books, which, IMO just don't work on a Kindle.

FeliciaJollygoodfellow · 16/01/2017 10:33

I just don't understand the opinion that books have 'soul' but kindles etc. do not . They're inanimate objects.

Fair enough to prefer one over the other but it just seems a bit....melodramatic and emotional tbh!

Willow2016 · 16/01/2017 10:35

I love books, I love the way they look on my bookcase, reading the titles of well loved books sparks memories, I love the feel, the smell, its a tactile experience. Something I would never get from an e reader/kindle.

Each to their own and I understand how they are convenient, light to carry etc but I will never give up on real books.

Jonsnowsghost · 16/01/2017 10:36

Love books but also love my kindle, I have limited room for books and have over 300 on my kindle, often going back and re reading them. I do have an old (think 2nd generation) kindle that you literally only read books on as I don't want a tablet like the newer ones.
Also a big draw is being able to read it whilst holding on to it and flicking pages with one hand! Other hand free for holding a hot chocolate

laurzj82 · 16/01/2017 10:38

See I felt exactly like this...until I got a Kindle. OH bought me one as a present a few years ago and I thought I'd hate it. But in fact I love it! I read at least two books a week and would live in one of those hoarder type houses you see on TV if they were physical books. Also no arguments in bed about having the light on (paperwhite) and I can read on my side in bed without having to bend the spine.

Totally agree that reference books don't work.

Apart from the odd paperback really cheap in the charity shop I won't go back. I still visit bookshops though for the smell and ambience but will just download the books I've chosen when I get home

AbigailRocketBlast · 16/01/2017 10:39

I had a lifelong love of books and could spend hours in second hand book shops and charity shops just browsing. Sadly my eyesight has deteriorated over the years and I now find the print too small in most books, I haven't bought a news paper in years either. My kindle is a lifesaver.

Huldra · 16/01/2017 10:39

Yanbu if that's what you like. I grew up with records, books and videos proudly on display in my room and was a bit slow taking up an e-reader. Now we've got rid of most of our physical books, scanned in all cds and dvds and sold the physical versions. There's so much more room in our house now.

I prefer reading from an e reader as they're much easier to hold, can read with the bedroom light off and can adjust the print size.

laurzj82 · 16/01/2017 10:40

Oh and also when I was working (SHM now) I used to read in lunch hour but could never keep the book open whilst holding a sandwich. With a kindle you don't have to

farfarawayfromhome · 16/01/2017 10:41

YANBU. i'm a voracious reader - at least 2 books a week. i spend a lot of money on 'real' books. nothing beats them. and looking at new books on the shelf brings me great pleasure. i usually give them away as soon as i've read them so as not to clutter the house....

Huldra · 16/01/2017 10:41

abigail glad it's not just me that finds the text in many printed books too small.

Purplebluebird · 16/01/2017 10:41

I love books too, but feel a bit meh about reading it on a kindle for some reason. Though it's great for the environment, I think!

BarbaraofSeville · 16/01/2017 10:46

I disagree with most people. I like reading, books are just dusty clutter. I almost never re-read, and don't want piles of books hanging around taking up space, or needing to be taken to the charity shop.

To me the ereader is the invention of the 21st Century, especially the Paperwhite, that allows me to read comfortably in bed in the dark. I tried a couple of paper books a few months back and hated them - I just couldn't get comfortable to read them and couldn't read in bed.

I use ereaderiq to get nearly all my books for 99p, so it's an extremely cheap hobby and even cheaper than using the library or charity shops - our library charges a pound to make a reservation and is only open a couple of days a week, during the day, when I can't get there due to work.

oklumberjack · 16/01/2017 10:47

I work in children's publishing.

You'll be happy to know you're not alone. In fact, whilst adult printed fiction took a dip when the kindle came on the scene, the children's books stayed buoyant - especially picture books. The children's market has been growing Year on Year and is fairly healthy. The adult printed fiction market is now growing again too whilst the e-reader books are fairly steady but not growing hugely. Many people will not buy an reader unless it's 99p.

About 5 years ago publishers upped their game with designing beautiful books, covers etc. I think it's paying off.

For what it's worth, both e-readers and printed books are happily co-existing alongside each other. Many predicted the demise of print completely which has not happened. The e-readers are here to stay too though

Petalbird · 16/01/2017 10:49

Excellent I thought I was the only one refusing to use a kindle I just can't read or retain off a screen and you can flick through books and they smell nice. I shall now ignore my DP's complains as we are forced to move my library again (don't really think electronic can be better for the environment as they don't last nearly as long as book and I think books can be recycled as they are paper)

oklumberjack · 16/01/2017 10:51

Like I say, I adore books (I should do as it's my job to make them!) but most people I know use both. It shouldn't really be seen as an either or.

However, if anyone touched my library I'd go nuclear

LEELULUMPKIN · 16/01/2017 10:56

I hate e-readers with a passion. Have tried them but as I read mainly old, usually out of print biographies I can't get them in electronic format anyway.

For me heaven is an empty house, putting my jammies on and turning that first page of a very old, smelly, and heavy, preferably HB book. Snacks are also vital.

bnotts · 16/01/2017 11:02

I love books. Read two a week. Switched to an e-reader (Kindle) 4 years ago and haven't looked back. So quick to get a new book. Easier to hold than a book and it even remembers my page.
I am a bit sad that there won't be more books coming into the house the house I grew up in had thousands.

caz323 · 16/01/2017 11:03

Books, books, beautiful books. I adore them too. I once bought a second hand Catherine Cookson novel from a car boot sale. Imagine my delight to find, tucked away inside, a typewritten letter from the author herself!!

Howyoualldoworkme · 16/01/2017 11:05

The important thing is surely the words of the book not what you read it on?
I have thousands of books, I work in a library but I do love my kindle. I bought the original keyboard one when it was first available and last year when it died I bought a Paperwhite.
If a book is a good book I'll just read it. If it's a bad book I won't. The format is largely irrelevant

Yankeedoodledickhead · 16/01/2017 11:05

Even the book store in my bag comment couldn't sell it to me. I love shopping for books in actual book shops. I could spend all day there perusing. In fact, when I get some time to myself and I'm in town, I get a coffee and head to a book shop. It's my sanctuary.

MuseumOfCurry · 16/01/2017 11:05

I find that the people I know IRL who make a thing of not liking Kindles are a bit pretentious. They sort of sniff and make references to their dog-eared copies of ancient texts, and book auctions. Fine. We go to book auctions too.

I love my Kindle, I particularly like that you can lie on your side in bed and read comfortably without shifting for the left and right hand side of the page. I love the backlight, which is great for reading when others are sleeping, and how easily the page is turned whilst getting a manicure.

MuseumOfCurry · 16/01/2017 11:06

I am a bit sad that there won't be more books coming into the house the house I grew up in had thousands.

When I find a book that I love on my Kindle, I buy it in hardcover so that everyone in my family can read it. Works well for us.

crystalchef · 16/01/2017 11:16

Funnily enough oklumberjack I bought a kindle so that my bookshelf could be given over to the DC's books, we have a tiny house and there wasn't room for both.

I was a bit sad at first but love my kindle now, I bought it before I had amazon prime and with small DC's actually getting out to buy a book from a shop was a challenge, I loved the fact that it was instant and cheap. I also love the fact that you can hi-light text, all of your favorite bits from books are available all in one place...every now and again I will read all of them.

AndNoneForGretchenWieners · 16/01/2017 11:21

I love my kindle. I wasn't convinced and didn't want one but then got hit with a £50 excess baggage charge for all the books I bought in America on holiday one year. The day we came back DH bought me the kindle and I am now on my 4th one. The first two froze completely and were replaced free of charge by Amazon. The third I had for three years, using it daily, but I dropped it in the summer and it broke. I now have a paperwhite kindle and it is fab.

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