4 ms·

For technical matters I much prefer physical books. It is trivial to flip between two or three pages at once, anywhere in the book. Reference books fall open

For technical matters I much prefer physical books. It is trivial to flip between two or three pages at once, anywhere in the book. Reference books fall open to the page I'm most likely to need. I can leave three or four lying open to different pages and glance at them without needing to hit any buttons. I still haven't found an eBook interface that is as easy to pick out a single book from as my bookshelf, spines showing, organized by topic and then author. My cargo pants pockets exactly fit a paperback book, and if I ruin a paperback by being caught in the rain I'm out at most $8. Books are a great combination of disposable and persistant. I can read a book one-handed, in the bath, and can easily and quickly share books with friends or use them to answer questions I am asked. More than half of my library has been bought used, most for $2-$4, which no eBook even comes close to on price. The best thing about eBooks is how much cheaper the paper versions have been as everyone else sells them off. eBooks have a long way to go before they are as useful to me as a physical book.

corin_ 15y ago
There are benefits to both sides. I do agree with your points, at work for example I'll often print off a page or two of something (even something I'd just written) for ease of having it right in front of me to reference. But there are also benefits to ereaders. I live an hour away from London on the train, and I go there for a night out probably just over once a week on average, as well as fairly often going there and other places for meetings. Until I got a Kindle I would chose between taking my bag with iPad and/or a book, or having nothing to do on the train - the latter on occasions when having a bag with me would be a nuisance the rest of the time. Now I can always read on the train, and it slips into my pocket the rest of the time. Equally for longer journeys, whether it's a couple of days back where I come from (Oxford, ~3.5 hours away from me) or a longer trip, maybe abroad - as I'd always have a bag and/or suitcase taking a book wasn't a problem, but now I don't have to think about how many books I need, or how much space they'll take, and if I fancy a break from what I'm reading I have 100s of alternatives ready to go. But yes, there's plenty of times I'll chose to pick up a physical copy rather than the Kindle, and plenty of books I have in both forms.
deleted 15y ago
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corin_ 15y ago

There are benefits to both sides. I do agree with your points, at work for example I'll often print off a page or two of something (even something I'd just written) for ease of having it right in front of me to reference. But there are also benefits to ereaders. I live an hour away from London on the train, and I go there for a night out probably just over once a week on average, as well as fairly often going there and other places for meetings. Until I got a Kindle I would chose between taking my bag with iPad and/or a book, or having nothing to do on the train - the latter on occasions when having a bag with me would be a nuisance the rest of the time. Now I can always read on the train, and it slips into my pocket the rest of the time. Equally for longer journeys, whether it's a couple of days back where I come from (Oxford, ~3.5 hours away from me) or a longer trip, maybe abroad - as I'd always have a bag and/or suitcase taking a book wasn't a problem, but now I don't have to think about how many books I need, or how much space they'll take, and if I fancy a break from what I'm reading I have 100s of alternatives ready to go. But yes, there's plenty of times I'll chose to pick up a physical copy rather than the Kindle, and plenty of books I have in both forms.

deleted 15y ago

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