Comments on: Books vs. e-Books

By: karass

karass — Thu, 19 May 2011 22:37:38 +0000

Ok, I can see all the advantages of electronic books now and cannot wait to get something I can read in bed without ruining marriage. But it’s unfair to books to worry about germs on them. I’m not saying that there aren’t any but paper is really not a great vehicle for disease transmission. Does anyone know of a book-borne outbreak of anything?

By: CFS

CFS — Thu, 19 May 2011 21:47:59 +0000

The other advantage to an ebook is that you can read slightly, or very, embarrassing titles and no one knows what you’re reading. Although I find that I can’t remember titles of books as well, because I never see the cover of the book, so it doesn’t stick with me.

Ditto to the cover with the light for the Kindle. I no longer worry about keeping my husband up late at night.

By: nelliebelle1197

nelliebelle1197 — Thu, 19 May 2011 21:35:48 +0000

Both. I have real books mostly but I always keep books I can walk away and pick up again easily loaded on the readers on my phone- usually rock and roll bio!

By: smalltowngal

smalltowngal — Thu, 19 May 2011 18:39:15 +0000

Also, no germs in the Kindle, vs what may be on every library book.
—
The BIG downside of library books. Last summer I turned a page, and I swear a quarter of an Oreo fell out (as pulverized crumbs). I wish the library would at least shake the books before re-shelving them.

By: Glenn

Glenn — Thu, 19 May 2011 18:28:07 +0000

Both, but the Kindle is preferred, excellent for travel. I also love the Kindle reading in bed, light, and you can assume any reading position and read with one hand. We still have books in boxes in our garage from our last move—five years ago! Still go to the library, cheapest way to read. Also, no germs in the Kindle, vs what may be on every library book.

By: ce

ce — Thu, 19 May 2011 18:15:40 +0000

I like both. When I switched to an eInk screen I wasn’t sure I would like it but my case has a good light on it. With a book your light has to illuminate two pages with an ereader it only has to illuminate 1 page so I think it works better. When I used my laptop to read I reversed the colors of the text to white or yellow text on a black background instead of the usual black text on white background. This greatly reduced eyestrain (especially for nighttime reading) and reduced the amount of ambient light that may disturb my partner at night (it also conserved battery time). I don’t know if this is possible with all ereader programs on backlit devices.

By: ce

ce — Thu, 19 May 2011 18:05:21 +0000

Some library systems have huge ebook collections. I moved here from Seattle and I use my dad’s account to check out ebooks from their very large collection. I only buy 5-10 books a year as I have have also always been a library user. Other library systems will often let you buy a yearly access to their collections (including ebook collections). I know some NY systems have large collections and pay access. The Cleveland library system has the largest ebook collection in the country but I don’t know if they have pay access to an out of town library card.

By: Sheep Dog

Sheep Dog — Thu, 19 May 2011 17:56:35 +0000

I also bought a case and light for my Kindle and can now read with the husband in bed and not disturb him at all.