Books vs E-Readers

To those of you who have Ipads, Kindles, etc have you made the jump to all digital or do you still buy bulky books as well. Im just trying to see what the consensus is.

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wirerat

I am all ebooks now that GoodReader for the iPad has all the mark-up capabilities. My back feels much better now that I am not carrying around tons of paper books.

mikej412

I'm still buying books.

I'll read and jot down notes while reading from the Kindle DX (or Android tablets-PDFs/SafariBooksOnline). But I use the book when I go back and rewrite my notes. Plus when I hit any exercises I'll go to the book to look stuff up since it's easier to page around and I just keep the Kindle/Android on the exercise/problem page.

I'll also page over to any good diagrams or tables in the book while reading on the Kindle if I'm in my study area where everything is handy.

The only time I'm straight digital is when I'm traveling -- and then I use the sacrificial 6" Kindle 3rd Generation since it's cheaper to replace if it gets destroyed (or stolen/lost).

powerfool

I think that publishers of technical books have a lot of room for improvement in how they prepare their documents. There are certainly many hurdles in ebooks based on current trends. Whenever you do practice quizzes and such, it is difficult to get to the key to check your answers, and then get back. These things are easily fixed, but none of the publishers do it. They could simply put links back and forth and it would greatly assist in this area.

Personally, if you are going to go the ebook route for technical books, you would be best served with something that supports all of the features of a PDF w/ a larger screen size (standard Kindle screen is too small, would recommend the DX over the standard for tech books).

I have converted several of my PDFs into ePub format using Mobipocket Creator, which is useful for regular reading, but tables and diagrams are still a murky area, and navigation still stinks. I could manually fix those myself, but I would rather get into studying rather than spend two hours or more preparing a document before I can study.

Hypntick

Using my Nook Color, reading PDF files is just like on my desktop. Of course I only use the device for e-versions of tech manuals and study guides. For a novel, I gotta have the book in hand. Wish the screen were a bit larger, but for the price it was well worth it.

genXrcist

Physical books. I like looking at all the titles on my home library shelf.

I don't even have a Kindle although I have thought about getting one. Guess I'd rather buy more books than spend the $$$.

It's also my opinion that the eBook prices for exams guides are not suffciently less expensive to offset the cost of the Kindle in an amount of time that I am willing to deal with.

NinjaBoy

I got a Kindle 3g (including Kindle for Desktop & Iphone) and iBooks for the iPhone.

I have to say that even though I buy ebook more (now that I have a Kindle) I still buy paper books. As to which I prefer, it depends on the situation.

-Ken

undomiel

I still pick up plenty of physical books from the library in addition to ebooks. It is more of a supplement to me and when I need to be portable I definitely prefer my nook.

mikedisd2

After straining my eyes by staring at a screen all day, I much prefer to read a book.

Of course, I've never even seen a Kindle. To those that have one, are they easy to read or is it like looking at my PC LCD?

Hypntick

mikedisd2 wrote: »

After straining my eyes by staring at a screen all day, I much prefer to read a book.

Of course, I've never even seen a Kindle. To those that have one, are they easy to read or is it like looking at my PC LCD?

They use EInk, it really does look pretty close to a real book. It's not back-lit so you need a light source. They're quite neat actually and I imagine easy on the eyes, I don't know though got the LCD Nook Color.

gosh1976

I am impressed with the Kindle for PC. I was thinking about learning a bit more about expression web 4 and discovered a book for 9.99 on Amazon for the kindle edition so I decided to get it. It is better than reading a pdf version of a book. I had been thinking about getting an e-reader or a netbook to have something to read the electronic versions of books I have such as through safari books. I just want something less bulky than this widescreen laptop.

When I have some extra money I can decide whether to get a new desktop, an e-reader, or a netbook. Unfortunately I'll probably have plenty of time to decide but I think the e-reader is the least likely choice as I think I just prefer a real book.

Mike-Mike

genXrcist wrote: »

Physical books. I like looking at all the titles on my home library shelf. .

this... and I have also never used a Kindle...

Ahriakin

I just got a Kindle for Xmas and my reading rate has increased greatly just in those few days. A real book is much more pleasant imho (not that the kindle is bad, for everything already mentioned I'm just more comfortable with the real thing) but the sheer convenience of the Kindle is inspiring me to read more. I don't have to plan, order, wait...it's instant gratification for books.
It's kinda like the explosion of MP3 and other compressed formats. They essentially are not only killing higher quality CDs but also had a hand in destroying newer high-fidelity formats (DVD-A, SACD etc.) because ultimately in this day and age immediacy and convenience will trump quality. It's part of our mindset and culture now.

NinjaBoy

mikedisd2 wrote: »

...To those that have one, are they easy to read or is it like looking at my PC LCD?

IMO, it's easy to read - not harsh like looking/reading off a screen.

-Ken

zerglings

I still like physical books because I can flip the pages faster than my Kindle DX. But, I made a decision that I will be using Kindle DX a lot more than the physical books.

Forsaken_GA

I use both (yes, I spend ALOT of money on books). When I'm studying to learn or implementing, I like physical books. My iPad functions mainly as my reference library. It's nice to not have to get to the information I need without having the book in front of me.

Though I do use my iPad for studying and learning when I'm going out and about. Lugging a huge 800 page book into the doctor's office or the crowded afternoon train is kind of a pain in the rear, but the iPad is perfectly compact and lightweight enough for that.

I view digital as a supplement to my learning, not an entire replacement.