Reading IV: Real book vs. E-book
By moirai
@moirai (2948)
Philippines
March 17, 2019 1:09am CST
And so I come to the question of which is better: real/physical books or e-books?
I guess it will come down to preference. Which do you prefer?
I think there are pros and cons to both.
When you have it, real books are very... shall I say user-friendly, and it's so easy to just flip through the pages. You can also read it without the need for any gadgets. Perhaps all you'll need is a bookmarker, and eyeglasses if you need them. :P
E-books, on the other hand, you'll need a gadget for that. And I find it easier to flip back to, say, chapter 3, when I'm already reading chapter 12 on a real book, compared to scrolling back and forth on an e-book.
Of course, a search function is helpful with e-books. I remember back in the day (a dozen years or so ago), when writing Harry Potter related essays and stuff, searching for words and phrases is done more easily with e-books, rather than scanning real books manually. Copying quotes is similarly easier.
Part 5 tomorrow. :)
Picture, taken by me, is of our city's public library's main room which I described in part 2, to the right of part 1's picture.
Update:
And so, while I prefer real books over e-books, since I haven't gone back to my city's public library, but have discovered, not just Open Library, but Google Play Books as well, I have a ton (well, not really since they have no weight :P ) of e-books lined up right now. ;)
8 people like this
9 responses
@moirai (2948)
• Philippines
19 Mar 19
I watched some video on YouTube where someone was talking about finishing a book (audiobook) while on a long trip in the car. That's nice. :) Though I don't know if she mentioned if she was the one driving or just a passenger.
I doubt I'd do it if I'm driving. I might lose focus on something... 
1 person likes this
@moirai (2948)
• Philippines
19 Mar 19
I agree.
You might mean more than this when you said better, but one thing I noticed is this:
Since it seems so much easier now to (publish?) these e-books, some (likely the self-published ones) don't seem to even do any editing at all. 
The mistakes can be quite annoying and take the reader out of the story. I wish the authors put in a little more effort in that sense.
The mistakes can be quite annoying and take the reader out of the story. I wish the authors put in a little more effort in that sense.1 person likes this
@responsiveme (22923)
• India
17 Mar 19
That is a lovely picture...I love being among books. While I do read e books ,I much prefer the physical variety
1 person likes this
@arunima25 (93194)
• Bangalore, India
17 Mar 19
I love the smell of printed words. It is paperbacks for me and I proudly on a huge collection.
1 person likes this
@moirai (2948)
• Philippines
19 Mar 19
I see/hear people say that about books - that they love the smell of it. I never really thought about it. Though I do prefer books, smell was not really a factor for me. Maybe it's because my sense of smell is the weakest sense I have. Lol! 
Perhaps I should smell books one of these days and try to see what people are talking about. But fingers crossed that it won't just make me sneeze inhaling dust. Lol! 
Maybe it's because my sense of smell is the weakest sense I have. Lol!
Perhaps I should smell books one of these days and try to see what people are talking about. But fingers crossed that it won't just make me sneeze inhaling dust. Lol! 1 person likes this
@arunima25 (93194)
• Bangalore, India
19 Mar 19
@moirai When you open a new book or some after a long break, you get that peculiar smell and many love it.
When you open a new book or some after a long break, you get that peculiar smell and many love it.1 person likes this
@SophiaMorros (5044)
• Belews Creek, North Carolina
17 Mar 19
When it comes time to sit down and read I still prefer the feel of a real book. I like the weight, I like being able to judge my progress by feel (there have been a few e-books that caught me off guard because I didn't realize how close I was to the end).
However, e-books have a pretty big place in my life. Carrying around more than one real book is challenging (my husband used to get annoyed with me for taking a tote-bag full of reading material every time we went somewhere). With my kindle, I carry an entire library everywhere I go.
I also like the dictionary feature. Finding the definition of an unfamiliar word requires just a touch of the screen.
At any given time I have at least one audiobook on the go, one real book and one book on my Kindle so I'm prepared to read in any situation.
1 person likes this
@moirai (2948)
• Philippines
19 Mar 19
That's true! I also read a couple of e-books like that. It was just getting started with the real exciting stuff when all of a sudden, the book's over. 
I should have expected it because these were the first-in-a-series books, but it still took me by surprise.
Agree, too, about having a whole library anywhere, anytime carrying just this one gadget. And, yes, I have noticed that dictionary feature, too. I am trying to use it more.
All very good points! 
I should have expected it because these were the first-in-a-series books, but it still took me by surprise.
Agree, too, about having a whole library anywhere, anytime carrying just this one gadget. And, yes, I have noticed that dictionary feature, too. I am trying to use it more.
All very good points! 1 person likes this
@Michellekidwell (29953)
• Sonora, California
17 Mar 19
I like both but due to the number of books I read at once I generally have ebooks with me, on my iphone, or tablet or whatever device I am carrying with me.
1 person likes this
@karakay (365)
• Philippines
17 Mar 19
I like real books. I love the smell of the pages. What I don't like about real books is that, I have no other place to store them! I have so much of them already. With ebooks, you can have thousands of 'em and can never worry where to store them, well, just increase your memory card.
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