Can e-books replace paperbacks?

[Carleyjade]

I don't think my Kindle could ever fully replace paperback books. I love love love my Kindle but probably would say that if I had to choose then it would be the physical book. I love turning the pages and feeling the paper. However, my Kindle is better for reading in bed.

[zeldagreene]

Never. Not in a million years. I always end up crying when a book store near me closes down. It just makes me so sad. I wish I had the money to save the store. If I had the money, I would buy it in an instant.

[obiebookworm]

Nothing replaces the warmth of a physical book. Ebooks are convenient, but I'll take a physical book over an ebook anyday!

[Gravy]

Reading on a device for me is like eating rations.
It keeps me going but I don't enjoy it nearly as much.
Physical books should always be an option.

An option for sure!
And there is always the possibility that the ereaders will break and then you can't read ANYTHING. If a book breaks, you can still read it. And it's pretty hard to break a book, right?

Hard...not impossible...just ask my cat!

Although, I could still read it, through the scratchmarks!

Never. Not in a million years. I always end up crying when a book store near me closes down. It just makes me so sad. I wish I had the money to save the store. If I had the money, I would buy it in an instant.

I'm so happy that other people share this opinion.
Everything is evolving toward e-this and e-that, and that's very convenient, but there is nothing like a cozy bookstore.

[melissaharmon]

No I don't think so. I do love my nook and its just so convenient to be able to purchase books without leaving my bedroom. But I also love holding a book and actually turning the pages. I also like real bookmarks. I have a collection of them

[rssllue]

I cannot see it happening. If it ever would, I think we would lose a great piece of the life we have been blessed with on this planet!

[MaryMathis]

That e-books are the future of reading is a certainty, no doubt, but book lovers like me will always try to unearth and treasure those timeless collector's editions that you would only leave to someone who loves books as much as you, as your legacy.

Yes, i agreed with you. e-books are the future of reading.

[kylaurel]

I'm 68 years old, so you would probably guess that I would prefer physical books. I don't. Give me an ereader and an ebook any day. Reasons?

1. I don't need bookcases and I don't have to lug around pounds and pounds of books if and when I move. When I was young, I moved around a lot. I could never stand to get rid of a book, so I moved carloads of them. Now I can have thousands on a little device that can fit in my purse.

2. I can make the print whatever size I want. With age, that's a huge benefit. I don't have to look for books in large print, because I can make them all large print.

3. I love being able to look up the definition of a word that I don't recognize. And I love being able to look up facts on the web to see if some historic event mentioned in a novel really happened. Sure, I could do both with a physical book, but I'd have to stop reading and go elsewhere to do it.

4. The books I buy are always stored safely on the retailer's site. If my house burns down or I drop a bowl of soup on a physical book, it's history. Of course, my ereader could burn up in the house fire, but they're a lot less expensive to replace than thousands of books. Sure, I could drop the bowl of soup on an ereader, but if I wipe it off quickly, it might not do any damage. Soup soaks into paper faster than I can wipe. Yes, that's the voice of experience talking.

5. I can highlight and make notes on ebooks and remove them later. Can't do a good job of removing them on a physical book.

6. Ebooks gotten through a library don't get nasty from other people dropping soup on them or sneezing on them or bleeding on them. I've seen some gross spots on physical library books. It's not likely the spots are dangerous, but they're still gross.

7. The ereader never changes weight, no matter how big the book is. Handy when reading most Stephen King novels--or War and Peace.

8. Speaking of books in the public domain (for example, the aforementioned War and Peace), they're free as ebooks. Physical copies still cost. And many of them are very difficult to find. Project Gutenberg has books I've never heard of--and I was an English major.

My final thought on the subject? What makes books the pleasure they are is what's in them. It doesn't matter if they're made of paper or bits and bytes or sound waves.

[CBurner]

I rarely read a paper book these days - my ereader is just too convenient. But will ebooks replace paper books? I don't think so. On the other hand, when was the last time you used a typewriter? Or wrote a letter by hand? And my sister, who has collected first edition hardbacks of many authors/series for about 30 years, is selling all her books that are available digitally. So times are changing...

-- 12 Oct 2014, 08:40 --

My final thought on the subject? What makes books the pleasure they are is what's in them. It doesn't matter if they're made of paper or bits and bytes or sound waves.

Loved all your reasons and agree 100%. The only thing I like better about 'real' books is the ability to flip back and forth through the pages and know exactly how far it is until the end.

[kylaurel]

Loved all your reasons and agree 100%. The only thing I like better about 'real' books is the ability to flip back and forth through the pages and know exactly how far it is until the end.

You just reminded me of another reason I like ebooks. I love mysteries and often go back to see if I just remembered a possible clue. With physical books, I have to look longer to find where something was mentioned, but with ebooks, I can search on any words I remember. I usually find it faster that way.

[mellysw]

I don't think ereaders will ever totally replace books. A year ago I disdained all ereaders, they were not for me. I loved physical books. But then I started a new job that disapproved of books lying about on your desk, but they were ok with you using an e-reader. A coworker brought in her nook and showed me how it worked and I was sold.

I fell head over heels with my nook. I use it every day (even with a cracked screen, grr!). I can carry an entire library around with me. My reading can sometimes be mood based, so this makes me happy.

I also like how I can hop online so easily when I'm on my nook. Oh, did I just read about something that happened in a stand of aspen saplings? I can't picture that, let's look it up! Yep, I actually googled aspen saplings and looked at the images.

[dbarnes]

E-books are convenient but I don't believe they will replace a traditional book. Their are a lot of people who still prefer the feel of a book, plus their are people who are not computer savvy so an e-book is not convenient for them.

[mccubbinz]

I enjoy my Kindle but for heavy reading with content that I need to really focus on, I prefer a printed book so I can write in it, mark it with post it notes and share it easily with a friend or family member that doesn't use ebooks

[craftshley]

I prefer ebooks to regular books because they're cheaper. Real books are great when I'm trying to gather all the books in a series or I have a strong desire to read the book, like I've been looking forward to it for years. I find ebooks that I would never pick up in a bookstore and vice versa.

[GKCfan]

Cost-wise, e-books can be cheaper than paperbacks these days. I still stress the intangible benefits of paper books. Studies indicate that people tend to retain more when they read paper books.