Why the hate?

[ElizabethR]

I used to be one of those people that thought that e-readers and Kindle were blasphemous to the art of appreciating books and storytelling. But then it dawned on me...stories transcend format. People used to think that writing stories down would take away from it during the years of solely oral tradition, and yet here we are. The art of reading evolves, just like any other human invention.

So, this is a discussion we've all encountered. But why do people get so vehement and passionate about their opinions of reading? What are your theories?

[chipmunck]

Good Question. I was eager to adopt the electronic form of reading because this helped me with several things. During a divorce I didn't have access to my plentiful bookshelves and had to move to a small area so I was able to put a lot of books on one device. I realized it was easier to read in the bathtub as well as laying down in bed or couch to read.

I never understood the hatred towards the electronic devices because they still served the purpose of reading and having access to books.

[Dragonfly6]

I certainly don't have all the answers, but I've noticed that for some people it is a perceived threat and the idea of change is something they rail strongly against.

[Samantha Lieberman]

I had my own interesting experience with this. I was interested in having the electronic reading devices as soon as it came out. I hardly used it thinking that paper books were better. They provided a feel and a smell to them, something that I never got from the Kindle. Then tragedy hit, I could hardly see anymore; large print books weren't even making it better. A year later I find a brain tumor and now can only use my Kindle to read. It allows me to blow my words up to just the exact size I need for that day. That allows me to continue to do my most favorite thing.... read.

[rave_2]

It's probably because the experience is different. Some people just don't like change.

I had no opinion of the Kindle until I got one for my 15th(?) birthday. From that point on, I loved it. It came to school with me every day. Whenever I had the time, I would take it out, turn it on, and choose a book to read.

[Mely918]

I think it has less to do with the art of and appreciation for reading and more with people's longing to cling onto traditional values. We see this with every generation: the older generation always criticizing the way the younger generation is being brought up. It is difficult for people to accept change, especially as they get older.

[dssccoach]

I love books. There is no doubt about that when you look around our home and the masses of books we have. And I love the fact that my kids have that same love of reading I do. Everywhere we go they want new books. We spend a lot of time at the various secondhand stores getting new books to add to our collection. But I ADORE my ereader more than my books! I have even more books on my ereader than I do in our home, and honestly will probably never be able to read everything I have collected. But I love my time on my ereader. While I love the feel (and smell) of books, I enjoy the convenience of my ereader so much more.
Trisha

[Lizzieanne13]

I have to admit, I was one of those people who swore that I would never get a Kindle or any other ereader, because a TRUE lover of the written word would only read from a book. Of course that was until I saw the price of an ebook and realized that I was spending a fortune in comparison. So I took the bullet and bought a Kindle Paperwhite , because I love to read in bed and it seemed like the least likely to mess with my eyeballs. I fell in love with it! Every book was at my fingertips, and it was so easy to use. Not to mention the fact that I could look up words I didn't understand right there! It was amazing, but unfortunately not all great things come without a cost. For some reason, my charger does not quite fit properly, and the only way that my Kindle can charge is if I strategically fold the cord in a way that it angles the plug just so. And God forbid someone even look at it or it will immediately stop charging. But since the charge lasts about week, I can overlook the struggle.

But every know and again, I will read an actual book. Helps relieve the need to feel nostalgia deep in my bones.

[AliceofX]

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.

[a9436]

For me, I was against e-readers because I love the smell and feel of a new book, the visible signs that reminds me that an older book is loved, and as I work at a computer, having something which does not have a screen nor depend on battery life. However, after several house moves in quick succession, I realised I needed to compromise, because the weight and space taken by physical books was both hurting my back and increasing the moving costs - so now my reading is split about 50-50 between physical and digital. I was pleasantly surprised by the battery life and screen quality of my Tolino device too, having assumed that it would be the same as reading off of a laptop.

[DATo]

I know this is going to sound silly, but the thing I dislike most about the Kindle is flipping the pages. It seems I am continuously pushing that stupid button to proceed to the next page. With a book there is a right and left hand side to each page and I can read longer before I am inconvenienced by having to turn the page. Another thing that bugs me is that (at least in my case) if I lose my place it takes forever to find the right page again. Maybe this is because I am inexperienced in using one of these devices, but after the fourth or fifth book in which this has happened i just gave up on the whole thing. I prefer a regular book.

[Sarah Starling]

People like what they are used to and don't like change, that's just human nature. I was, like most of the other commenters, strongly against eReaders because I liked the smell and feel of physical books and was terrified that eReaders would destroy the paper book industry.

Then we had a small house fire and lost our entire book collection. I just get too nervous to buy paper books now; I'm grateful for my Kindle allowing me to enjoy books again and I retract all of my negative thoughts about them.

[Yicheng Liu]

I mostly agree with what's said above: some people can feel like that the only way to properly enjoy something is the only way that they had enjoyed it. And sometimes, there's positive memories that they subconsciously associates with holding a physical copy of a book that they reasoned couldn't possibly be found in an e-copy of another book.

[kinjoz]

Most of the older generation do not see the big deal that we, as the younger generation, find in technology. They did without it from a young age whereas for us it is in every facet of our lives. Yes, they may agree that technology has made things easier and more convenient but they are more inclined towards paperbacks than e-readers and ebooks. They prefer the paper to the app. For them, being an accomplished writer means being published and having one's works on actual shelves in actual bookstores. It means creating something that people can buy to read as they flip actual pages. Ebooks do not really get as much acclaim as paperbacks do in their eyes. These are the people most likely to 'hate' on e-readers and ebooks.

[sarbearah]

I agree with the people above - most of the things that annoyed me about my kindle were small inconveniences that came with everyday electronics, like having to charge it and having a screen to keep clean. One thing I do love (and hate) about my kindle is that it keeps me from skipping ahead during a frustrating part in my book, lol!