Book or E-book?

superbeast

What do you guys/gals prefer when reading? A physical book or an e-book on a tablet/phone/computer?

I have e-books on Network+ and Security+ but am having a hard time following the e-book as opposed to a physical book. Anyone else have the same trouble or have some things they do/use to make it easier?

TacoRocket

I like physical books. With how a lot of our jobs including staring at screens there is something refreshing looking at physical books. I do like ebooks though when I can't take a physical book somehwere or want to be discreet.

superbeast wrote: »

What do you guys/gals prefer when reading? A physical book or an e-book on a tablet/phone/computer?

I have e-books on Network+ and Security+ but am having a hard time following the e-book as opposed to a physical book. Anyone else have the same trouble or have some things they do/use to make it easier?

jcundiff

I old school, I like the feel of a book in my hands while reading

GeekyChick

I like a physical book for sure.

PCTechLinc

I must be the weird one. I prefer digital everything. I can always log into my accounts and pull stuff up from any computer. I don't have to worry about a book getting aged/ripped/etc. I still have regular textbooks, but I find it easier to work with electronic copies. Also with electronic, if I order it, I get instant gratification.

PC509

I've read a few ebooks. I really prefer the physical copy, though. I have a lot of books/magazines on my iPad and Surface, but I still prefer the physical copy.

I'll read an ebook no problem, though. It's just that I'm in that "Get off my lawn!" mode with them. I like my old style of books.

monorion

ebook it is for me, main reason being portability especially when commuting on mass transit, easier to lug around an ipad compared to a 1k page cisco book

E Double U

Physical > digital

When I get the pdf of a book I have to print it out.

UncleB

For me the ebook wins - it is highly portable (iPad), can be searched, can be copied/pasted from and no trees died to make it.

It also stops you getting a load of space taken up at home or the office with ageing books that end up gathering dust or paper eating moths.

tedjames

What UncleB said. For novels, I prefer hard copy. For tech books and certification guides, however, PDF is the way to go for me. I can easily convert most electronic media to text so I can take what I need. I have literally hundreds of ebooks (Thanks, Packt!), and there's no way all of those would fit in my house. Also, when I'm trying to learn something, it helps to have the ebook open in one screen while I work on another.

xxxkaliboyxxx

I just finished the CEH All in one exam physical book and now reading Counter Hack on my phone, I can say that reading a physical book is less straining on the eyes. Maybe a eInk reader is smoother? I don't know, but a real ink page is soothing when you stare at a screen all day.

NavyMooseCCNA

I prefer a printed book for references or certification. If a PDF is more than a few pages long I generally print them out. I need to make notes on what I'm reading and I generally do that in the book.

JoJoCal19

Both. I get both when they're reasonably priced. If not, I prefer physical. Also it depends on the book, if I'm buying a book as a secondary resource, I will usually go eBook (Kindle). The Kindle cloud reader is amazing.

NOC-Ninja

PDF is cheaper. Although, I like books since my eyes gets to rest.

GSXR750K2

Physical books for life...or until they are consigned to the digital history books. Not only do I feel I remember the information better, it's easier to flip back-n-forth 40 pages in a physical book for reference than it is in a PDF.

egrizzly

I prefer e-books wayyyy over physical books. Reason being e-books I can access anywhere on Kindle (smartphone, PC, iPad, browser, e.t.c), while the physical book you have to tote its heavy presence around. its wildly inconvenient, and you cannot do searches, copy/paste, or take screen shots.

Winner is e-book hands down !!!

UncleB

GSXR750K2 wrote: »

Physical books for life...or until they are consigned to the digital history books.

This equates to 3 years for most technologies to be replaced now (if the books are related to certification subjects), so if you are keeping current then you are likely to have a LOT of books over the course of your career.

I used to do this but soon found it more practical to sell the books when I had passed the course and put the money towards the next training requirement (I've never had an employer who was willing to pay for much in the way of training courses).

These days you can get the ebooks heavily discounted and then use voucher codes to pay a fraction of the cost of the paper versions, so having a dead tree no longer makes sense to me.

It also helps avoid back issues when lugging a monster tome on my commute to read - with the ebook I can always just print out a few pages to go through on the journey, make notes / highlight and the modifications made do not affect the value / appearance of the original - so if I pass it on to someone else then they don't have to endure my notes all over it.

GSXR750K2

UncleB wrote: »

This equates to 3 years for most technologies to be replaced now (if the books are related to certification subjects), so if you are keeping current then you are likely to have a LOT of books over the course of your career.

I used to do this but soon found it more practical to sell the books when I had passed the course and put the money towards the next training requirement (I've never had an employer who was willing to pay for much in the way of training courses).

These days you can get the ebooks heavily discounted and then use voucher codes to pay a fraction of the cost of the paper versions, so having a dead tree no longer makes sense to me.

It also helps avoid back issues when lugging a monster tome on my commute to read - with the ebook I can always just print out a few pages to go through on the journey, make notes / highlight and the modifications made do not affect the value / appearance of the original - so if I pass it on to someone else then they don't have to endure my notes all over it.

True, I have purchased many books and will purchase many more. All of my training has been out of pocket, and I just lump books into that category...if there's training I want, then I pay for it, whether it be a book or a course/class. I do recycle them when I clear them from the shelf. And besides, with so many people preferring digital formats now, I feel it's my duty now more than ever to keep Dunder Mifflin in business. I kid.

I've tried the digital formats for books and, for me personally, the scrolling or flicking is distracting. I've found I'm most engaged when all I have are with two pages at a time to cover and a free hand for notes...and sometimes a cup of coffee and a croissant from the coffee shop.

I get the convenience of digital and do use digital for just about everything else though. I don't use paper at the office for anything, and I'm close to finishing my master's without having printed a single page. Surely that has to redeem me in some way?

Legacy User

I personally like physical books it allows me to flip fasters back and forth but I moved away from the physical medium because I don't want to have a never ending book shelf which takes up to much space. I have migrated to pdf. I just got a onyx boox max 13.3 screen e-reader which displays pdfs perfectly. I purchased pdfs for everything and I like it. Takes a little to get used to how to to efficiently navigate it but once you get a hang of it its pretty sweet.

joshuamurphy75

I always prefer real books. I'm looking at a screen all day at work, and at home labbing as it is. It's nice to take a break from it.