Why the hate?

[lindsey_flagg]

My personal love for print books has less to do with clinging to tradition and more to do with being an avid book collector. Bookstores are some of my favorite shops; I could spend hours there just browsing the different types of books and smelling their pages. I feel quite the same about libraries. I also love having a bookshelf full of colorful, enticing tomes. It's a collection and a hobby like any other, really, and I am the same way about CDs and vinyl records. You lose some of the heart of the work with the robotic feel of an electronic device, and I love having something concrete to hold and admire.

That being said, I use my Kindle Fire frequently, and it does have its advantages. I can highlight and annotate pages without ruining anything, and can even remove my notes later on if I so desire. Many ebooks are also more affordable than hard copies, and it is easy to take out electronic books and magazines from the public library with the click of a button. The options are almost limitless when the internet and cloud technology come into play. I still have a hard time getting past the charging, eye irritation from screens and similar issues, but I think both electronic and hard copy books have their advantages.

[BeatrixPotter]

Interesting topic.

I guess I wasn't aware that it engenders such passion. It seems like it's just a matter of personal preference.

[Sharill Rasowo]

It is hard to accept change so a lot of people do not like ebooks. However, since ebooks are cheaper I see more people giving in. On the plus side this means less trees cut down to print books.

[Bookgirleva]

When the printing press was invented and people began read I g that way instead of hand written copies many people revolted, but that invention changed the world.

[jgraney8]

I have friends who would never use an e-reader. I got one and use it constantly because I have no more space on my bookshelves for more physical books. Sometimes, my Kindle is frustrating, but I like its size.

[Kirigwi254]

There are pros and cons to both.
For a hard cover lover like me, its an amazing experience to feel the smell of the pages in my face but I have no more space for books in my small house.
For an e-book lover like me too, the Kindle is good, small, compact but frustrating. But it just lack the essence of a hard cover copy. Plus, we save the trees and the environment while at it.

[Oulababe]

I think when you get used to reading books in a particular format you get attached to it and it takes more than just just the knowledge that a more improved format exists to appreciate that it may be more convenient for you. I think it's just attachment that gets people defensive.

[TessaC]

I am an older reader and I love my ebooks because I devour about a book every two days and ended up getting a sore back from hauling all my books home from the library! LOL. My husband will NOT read ebooks and neither will my parents. They like a 'real' book to hold. It's tactile. I am not a tactile person so it doens't matter to me. It's not hate, it's habit.

[Karen Crumley]

ereaders do have their advantages. I like being able to carry a whole collection of books around with me, and I even enjoy reading on my phone when I'm on my break at work, or in the waiting room of a doctor's office.

I enjoy reading paperbacks and hardbacks as well.

But honestly (and I may be an outlier here) my overall preference is audiobooks.
I love to read, but I get migraines really easily. So it's easier for me to relax and listen to a story, then to strain my eyes reading in either electronic or print media.

I also like to listen to them while I do housework.

[Karen Crumley]

After the waltz was first danced in the English court London Times called it, "the indecent foreign dance," that was only fit for, "prostitutes and adulteresses." Nowadays it's almost a symbol of class and culture, and statements like that seem ridiculous. Just the way the world is and always will be that anything new is hated by someone.

Well said.

[Karen Crumley]

There are pros and cons to both.
For a hard cover lover like me, its an amazing experience to feel the smell of the pages in my face but I have no more space for books in my small house.
For an e-book lover like me too, the Kindle is good, small, compact but frustrating. But it just lack the essence of a hard cover copy. Plus, we save the trees and the environment while at it.

Exactly! And, I agree about saving trees.

Also, with ebooks we don't have to worry about them getting damaged due to flood or fire. While it's true that your device could just as well get damaged, the book itself will be safe in the cloud, and you can just re-download it again on a new device.
I speak from experience of course, as basement flooding ruined about half of my paper books, and other belongings recently.

[rhyta09]

I was not sure I would ever get an e-reader when they first appeared, being a bit of a purist but I gave in and got my first Nook in 2012. I enjoy being able to read in bed and taking with me when going on vacation, nice to take several books and not lugging multiple copies around.
I love each for different reasons, paper since I grew up reading paperbacks and one advantage to them is if there is a power shortage or I am in the country away from a power source, I can still read. The other nice thing about the e-books is using the nightlight to read in bed and as I have aged, being able to resize the print.
I also listen to a lot of audio books so I use them all at specific times.

[Kirigwi254]

There are pros and cons to both.
For a hard cover lover like me, its an amazing experience to feel the smell of the pages in my face but I have no more space for books in my small house.
For an e-book lover like me too, the Kindle is good, small, compact but frustrating. But it just lack the essence of a hard cover copy. Plus, we save the trees and the environment while at it.

Exactly! And, I agree about saving trees.

Also, with ebooks we don't have to worry about them getting damaged due to flood or fire. While it's true that your device could just as well get damaged, the book itself will be safe in the cloud, and you can just re-download it again on a new device.
I speak from experience of course, as basement flooding ruined about half of my paper books, and other belongings recently.

Good thing our basement doesn't flood but I do get your point. Plus it never really gets lost online. A physical copy might just walk out the door and never come back.

[Yosipa]

While I was a student, I was sometimes against e-books because our faculty library was great and lots of books and dictionaries weren't in digital form.
Now, when I am a librarian, I embraced all forms of books and I'm so glad that e books existes. Otherwise, how would I read something from USA, here in Croatia?

[Zora C Penter]

While I was a student, I was sometimes against e-books because our faculty library was great and lots of books and dictionaries weren't in digital form.
Now, when I am a librarian, I embraced all forms of books and I'm so glad that e books existes. Otherwise, how would I read something from USA, here in Croatia?

I too appreciate books in all their forms! I used to not like e-books, but not having to wait for a physical copy and being able to mark up a digital copy finally won me over.