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

[Snugglepalace]

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?

[MuseumOfCurry]

For the avoidance of doubt: nobody said 'everyone who objects to Kindles is pretentious' - only that sometimes people object to Kindles in a way that is pretentious.

Yes. My husband prefers a book to a Kindle, but quietly so. On the other hand, we have friend (RG university professor of philosophy, no TVs in the house, you get my drift) who loudly dislikes Kindles and talks about how much he likes his books etc (so do we).

He asked me what I was reading on my Kindle once (Cold Comfort Farm) and he said 'Oh, I thought people only read embarrassing books on Kindles.' He told me that the marketing of the Kindle evolved as such - so that people could read embarrassing books with impunity in public.

I have no idea if he's right.

[FeliciaJollygoodfellow]

Museum - your friend sounds like a pretentious snob. Kindles were never marketed as 'now you can read your shit books in public' even if people say that!

[AlcoChocs]

I read a lot more since I got my Kindle. The lighting is always just right and can navigate easily back and forth. Also no more frustration trying to get pages to lie flat so I can read them, pages falling out when I crack the spine etc.

[FeliciaJollygoodfellow]

Although having said that, there's a reason why Harry Potter books have different cover versions - some are catering to the more mature market!

[AndNoneForGretchenWieners]

Another benefit is that my nan (in her 80s, not techy at all and flatly refuses to have a mobile phone or even a cordless one! ) can now read books again because she can increase the size of the print. Even large print books are too tiny for her to see these days and she has always been an avid reader. Until we bought her a kindle she had stopped reading because it hurt her eyes, she now reads all the time. I just take her kindle home with me, download loads of books at a time from my account to her kindle on my wifi, then give it her back.

[MuseumOfCurry]

Museum - your friend sounds like a pretentious snob. Kindles were never marketed as 'now you can read your shit books in public' even if people say that!

He is. He's also really good fun, but even he would admit he's pretentious.

Although having said that, there's a reason why Harry Potter books have different cover versions - some are catering to the more mature market!

He mentioned this in the same conversation.

I think actually he might be on to something, my google search turned up some relevant articles in the WSJ and Business Weekly.