Books, e-books, Kindle or audio books, which do you think are the best and why?  

hi...oldchem ....i loved your topic about the types of book...actually i like reading the e-book than other sort of books... because i think that e-book you can download in you cell phone from website for free ,instead not spend more amount of money ,,,also the e-book convinience to hold not weight like paper books ..certainly you can that books bring with you anywhere that you go ...in addition to you may able to share your short free time ,such as at the bus stop waiting for bus,at the public places queue up for your bissness ....so i think that e book important and useful than other kind of books ... have a nice day ,,,

I'm a visual person so I prefer a real book and an ebook. I'm not too excited with audio books because of the size of the files. They take forever to download and I can only accommodate a few in my iPod.

Kindle, of course, is the new new thing in books. I'll buy a Kindle one day to store my downloaded ebooks (assuming it can store PDF's) otherwise I'd settle for a small notebook computer or a tablet computer.

although i love books, i would opt for kindle or nook or iPad because we just live in a small condo and i dont think i'd have enough space to store all the books i want to read. electronic gadgets allow me to to get all the books i want without fear of where to put them.

I love reading books and I like them in any format. When I have projects that I have to read I usually get them online in ebook and audio book form. I use the ebook when I am in the mood to read. On the other hand, I use the audio book for when I am more in the mood to listen than strain my eyes. I often retain the good audio books on my mobile since it has 8GB memory, so I can listen to them whenever I feel up to it.

I usually purchase my hard bound books from the mall but I usually buy only those which are on sale so they are more often than not the old ones, but still, relevant topics or novels. It doesn't really matter for me as long as I'm interested in the material. Kindle is not yet popular here in my country as well as the nook, though there are iPods and iPads here already, but they are quite expensive.

paperbacks and hardbacks are still the best. i don't know in spite of the technology i still like the feel of the the words written on papers.

Personally, I prefer reading actual books. I find that it's easier for me to read books that way. I also enjoy being able to hold the book that I'm reading in my hands. It's just the way I prefer to read my books.

I prefer a real book theres nothing like the smell the feel and the images they us on the covers to invoke your imagination into what could be lurking inside. Also the thickness if the books a real page turner you can go ooo im half way thru this one i wonder whats coing to happen. Plus theres summat old sort of nostalgic of thumbing your way along a libary of books of walking into someones house and compare there collection against yours.
E books can also have a place in life say if your working in an messy enviroment like a kitchen or garage then you can print the page off and if it gets messed up youd be like oh dear and just bin it and get a fresh copy the next time you need it. Plus with a search facility you can get to the most relevant page quickly without having to search and search and then finding out that the page you want isnt even in there. Also if you only need a certain page like how to change a brake pad saves you having to go to book shops paying 20 quid for a book youll only use once or once and mess the book up.
Audio books never owned one tho i did record classic fairy storys of classic fm one christmas to help me sleep at night.
Kindle this seems to be a new fad nd personally i dont like it just seems like another gizmo you gotta carry around with you giving muggers another thing to steal. The plus sides would be you would always have a book to hand and you can read in any light or wind conditions without the book being blown every where. The down side would be say your reading the lastest page turner and the battery dies how annoyed would you be your now basically carrying a large paper weight and weve all seen how easy mobile phone screens are to get damaged so youve spent x amount on a kindle only for your house keys to destroy the screen.
ANd finally around christmas time i was reading in the times waterstones are gettingbook making machines in there stores so no book would be out of stock you could just go in press a buttons and about ten minutes later one freshly made book. There are good and bad things about this. The good would be a rare masterpiece would never be hard to get hold of again youd never have to order anything again and wait weeks for it to come and pay a small fortune for it. The bad would be book shops would become like large repographic rooms there would be no new book smell witch you get in large bookstores there would be no large piles of books stacked here and there and everywhere in those cute little books shops you find down dark alleys. ALso small books shop would just die out why hunt for a book when you can just print it yourself. And what would they class as a print run would this signal the end to book collectors.

I definitely like a 'real' old-fashioned book, one that I can actually hold in my hands and enjoy whilst turning the pages. I am actually quite a big book reader anyway, and there is no way that an electronic book could ever be the same as one made from paper.

My preference is definitely a physical book. Pages, cover, that new book smell when you crack it open that first time... there's nothing better.

I've actually never used an e-book or listened to an audio book. E-books, it seems would strain my eyes too much over time. Audio books I'm interested in, but they're so dang expensive, so for me, the only ones I'd really consider buy would be, like, books written by a performer and read by the author. I remember reading Steve Martin's "Born Standing Up," thinking, "This would be fantastic to listen to, because I'd get to hear Steve actually perform the material."

As for Kindle and such, well, I work at a bookstore, so I'm obligated to say that nook is the best. :)

i love books, all that electronic books they too much because one day i can be reading and the electronic book thing would stop working so i rather have a regular book although they do look fun and less weight on my back.