Do people still read printed books?

In reply to TravisTheHuman :

Your son is awesome. 

Actual books specifically to spend time away from a screen. 

I have an e-reader. I've found it is particularly helpful in two practical ways:  1- the books are cheaper, and 2- I don't have books taking up space on shelves.

That said, I prefer an actual book. And I won't do books with photos or illustrations on the e-reader as it's  just too small.

I love actual books.   I am currently reading the Stories from Road & Track.  I have more than 150 automotive related books.

Our library system here in Cuyahoga County is great.  I can search and order books from most of the libraries in the State of Ohio.

Most of the books I read are too old to be e-books.  

I see people reading paper books ALL the time

I only get physical books of they're written by friends or autographed. The Kindle just makes it so much easier and convenient without the need for external lighting or needing to lug around a book. I also find I read a lot faster on the Kindle. 

I buy tons of paper books.  I probably have more in the "to be read" pile than I have time to read for the rest of my life... although that doesn't seem to stop me from buying more. 

Thus is the way of the Book Dragon. 

Oddly enough, I have a tablet and it has Kindle loaded on it, but I have never tried reading anything with it.  I bought it hoping to use it for marking up PDFs during surveys for work. Unfortunately, that didn't really work out and most of the time the tablet just sits on the shelf connected to the charger...  I need to try using it more as it would probably be better for some things I use my phone for.  And while I want to say I prefer real books over e-reading, I have never really tried the e-reader function of the tablet, so I need to try it first.  I'll admit, the whole idea of being able to carry a lot of books in a small and lightweight form has some appeal. 

Very few physical books, but I do use my Audible account extensively. My wife is an avid volume book reader. I used to be a bit annoyed: "Why do you want to read about other peoples interesting lives when you could be living a more interesting life?!" Fortunately she wasn't too offended by that statement. One other element of her reading that I find interesting is that as a psychologist, she hears some pretty awful stuff, yet then spends her time reading about people with difficult lives as well.  

Sure, I read.  Why do you ask?

I haven't bought a book in years; we rely pretty extensively on our library system.  Interlibrary loan is the bestest thing ever.

We also have three or four 'little libraries" on our evening walks in our neighborhood, so we occasionally swap volumes around through those.

Ian F (Forum Supporter) said:

Oddly enough, I have a tablet and it has Kindle loaded on it, but I have never tried reading anything with it.  I bought it hoping to use it for marking up PDFs during surveys for work. Unfortunately, that didn't really work out and most of the time the tablet just sits on the shelf connected to the charger...  I need to try using it more as it would probably be better for some things I use my phone for.  And while I want to say I prefer real books over e-reading, I have never really tried the e-reader function of the tablet, so I need to try it first.  I'll admit, the whole idea of being able to carry a lot of books in a small and lightweight form has some appeal. 

One note about this: there's a big difference between reading on a dedicated e-reader with an e-ink screen and a tablet/phone running an app. The former looks and behaves more like paper and has a battery life measured in weeks. It doesn't feel like looking at a screen as it's not blasting light at you in the same way. It's a far more pleasant experience than reading from an LCD. My Kindle Paperwhite is about the size of a very, very short paperback. I have a cover on it that turns the device on and off when I open it, so it's got a lot of the paper book cues and conveinence with the abilities of the e-book borrowing and portability.

I have what I think of as a spatial kind of memory. So when recalling facts from a book I recall whereabouts in the book and where on the page. Reading with any kind of screen just pulls the rug out from under that and I have very little recall; I have nowhere to "place" it. Sooo my wife shakes her head at the cost of textbooks for my Master's, but wood pulp it is. 

In reply to Keith Tanner :

That's something to consider... does anyone make an e-reader that opens up to two opposing pages? That would really do wonders towards making it "feel" like an actual book.   Some quick searching has come up with nothing. 

I prefer regular books, but I've read a few dozen books on my iPhail as well because they are available there and not as much in the libraries. 

While I still enjoy the tactical experience of a paper book I find reading on my tablet to be so much more convenient that a paper book that I rarely go old school these days.  I can carry a whole library with me, I don't need a light and I can tuck the tablet in a folio that wouldn't hold a book.  Also, when I do read a paper book I try and turn the page by swiping... 

Yea i only read printed books too. Anything backlight that needs to be charged to read a novel just ain't it for me. 

My HS sophomore daughter is a physical book person.  TBH, it's a little annoying when she wants to read something in the public domain like 1984 or Animal Farm (she read them this summer because she heard they were good).  Google, google, google: "Look, it's right here!"  "Nah, I want an actual book".

In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :

There have been demos of folding e-readers. I don't know if any have made it to market yet. Having to change from page to page while reading is definitely turning a feature into a bug - if we'd gone the other way (single screen e-readers to printed books) we'd all be complaining about having to look from side to side :)

The big thing that I like about the e-reader versus paper books while actually reading (ignoring the portability and density) is that I can more easily read while holding the book with one hand or with the book sitting on a table. The pages don't turn themselves or require me to hold them. For example, I usually read whilst eating breakfast, and the print book I'm reading right now won't stay open at a given page unless I use something to restrain/clamp the pages. 

DirtyBird222 said:

Yea i only read printed books too. Anything backlight that needs to be charged to read a novel just ain't it for me. 

e-ink screens don't need a backlight and have massive battery life. Like "oh, I just got the 10% battery warning, I'll have to remember to charge this sometime this week". Just sayin'.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Would still swipe to turn the page.  Just instead of one page, it would turn two pages.  I'll have to actually buy an e-ink reader and see if I can live with it.   

In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :

I was thinking more of the eye path - top to bottom on the left page, then top to bottom on the right page, then back to the left...it definitely emulates the paper book experience, but does it bring anything actually useful to the party? Or is it just how books work because that's the most efficient way to use paper?

I THINK the Kindle app on a tablet will display two side-by-side pages if you're in landscape.

Yes, real books. I read them.   I have about 20 feet wide of book shelves, 7 feet high, filled with books I have collected, and mostly read, over the last 50 odd years.  

Yes, for sure I read books, printed on paper.  I much prefer hardback to paperback.

I am beginning to wonder if I have a ¨problem¨ as I have so many books.

Without actually counting, I expect I have more than 20 books on the To Read Stack.

One author single-handedly converted my late wife from a non-reader to a frequent reader.  That author?  Janet Evanovich. (Stephanie Plum series)