This contest will run from April First until April 30, 2011. The winner’s name will be drawn as usual by my favorite non-reading grandson, Jeepers, from my dusty NaNoWriMo lead painted so no one drinks from it, Mug. The winning name will receive an Amazon Gift Card valued at $20.00 US Dollars.
What is your preferred reading format?
More and more readers are making the leap to e-readers. Still others cling to technology that will be just as accessible a hundred years from now as it was a hundred years ago.
Many, I’d say most, e-reader people are mixing it up and reading both ways.
The potential to carry a whole library in a pocket sized reader is appealing but exploring a library is almost like romancing the book.
What is your preferred reading format?
To participate, all you have to do is hit the comment link, wherever it is, and post an answer to the question, “What is Your Preferred
Reading Format?”
This contest is over and comments are closed. The winner will be drawn from the NaNoWriMo Mug, soon!
Thida and Service Dog Tovi Won the Gift Card. You Rock!
Comments
27 responses to “April Contest 2011 – What is Your Preferred Reading Format?”
I’m a bit old fashioned I guess… I like paperbacks best 🙂
I have a new e-reader and I love it! Better than print! I never believed that would be true, but it is.
Well, let’s see. If I’m reading in the bathtub and drop the book, I lose the book (or at least have to dry it, and even then the pages are crinkled); if I drop the ebook reader chances are I’ve lost the reader, but does it carry enough of a current that I’d also lose me? Outside the bathtub, I really prefer a printed book, but there is an advantage with the e-reader if where I am is poorly lighted. For vacations, too, there’s an advantage in packing many books into a reader, but the serendipitous thrill of going into a bookstore one’s never been in before and chancing upon a fascinating piece of absolute trash (hey, I said we’re on vacation) is, sadly, no longer there.
I like my phone because I always have it with me and it’s backlit. Some people say the screen is too small, but this doesn’t bother me. Most books, including my two, A VIRTUAL AFFAIR and IMPLAC (about good and evil AIs, respectively) are available on mobipocket, which enables reading of just about file. Worst comes to worst, you can convert a PDF file to a Mobipocket file with the use of Calibre (all these programs are free, by the way – I’m not pushing anything.) So for my money, reading on a phone is the way to go.
Zvi the Fiddler Zaks
Hmm…having barely used a reader (my partners ipad) I’m not sure that I’m entirely qualified to answer. However, I will say I’ve held out on getting any e-reader since a lot of the specialty publications I like to read are not yet available in e-format. While I may be wrong, it does seem that causally flipping back to refer to a earlier section would be more challenging on an e-reader. For now I’m pretty happy with paper.
I love the physical written book! I have a nook but I feel like I’m cheating when I use it.
The nook is handy when traveling but I rarely use it at home.
I love all formats! Reading a paper copy will (probably) always be my favorite, but I love ebooks. I also spend a lot of time in the car (with a 2+ hour commute every day) – so audio books are a must have.
Thanks, Sally!
I have two answers for this one. The reviewer side of me says ebooks because they are more accessible to me and I can read them a lot faster. There’s nothing worse than carrying a bookcase with you whereas with an ereader, you can carry multiple books with you on your travels. The side of me that does personal reading, I love love love print books. Other than being able to physical written word, I’ve come to think fondly of physical books because it represents me time.
I read mostly print books, but my husband has a Kindle and a Nook that I also read sometimes. I also sometimes listen to audiobooks on my Mac.
I use my Kindle 90 % of the time. I love real books and the feel of real books and the smell of real books so I am not 100 % on my Kindle. I do love my Kindle for the size and ease of which to take it with me.
I recently bought the Amazon Kindle and so far I like it. I like that I can sync it up with my Blackberry Smart Phone. Now when I find myself stuck places longer than expected and without a book, I can continue reading the book I am reading on the Kindle.
FYI, CAPTCHAS are incredibly difficult for anyone with vision problems to read. You might get more comments if you remove the CAPTCHAS and turn on comment moderation instead, if your blogging platform offers it.
Kimberly! I have trouble with the CAPTCHAs as well and the low vision option to listen is equally frustrating. I use it because without it, my spam would double. I do moderate the first two messages that come into the site. There are other programs that ask a simple question like ‘What is 5 and 4?’ but I have not found one to use on this site. Thanks for responding in spite of my barriers!
I read a mix of print and ebooks. I love my Kindle because I can make the print as big as I need it, without paying large print book prices. I paid for my Kindle in savings from not buying LP books any longer. I still have tons of print books to read on days my eyes will allow it. There’s something about the smell, feel, and weight of print books that is magical, but ebooks are it for me if I’m to continue reading much longer.
I now listen to book either on CD or download to my iPod. I travel alot and find that I can catch up on my “reading” while traveling.
I Use PDF the Most easyer to move on to my Kindle.Why liking Realy Books the Best I Love How Easy it is to get a E-Book Fast.
I read both print books and my Kindle. My hands hurt less when I use the Kindle, but I still like to read print books when I can. My mom reads exclusively on her Kindle due to an eye problem which makes reading most print books too hard to read – she needs a larger font than you get in a paperback, but large-print books’ pages are too wide for her to follow along.
The best of both worlds. I am a very short person and while the electronic version of The Dome might be easier to pack around, I can’t stand on my electronic reader and reach that silly cup that someone pushed to the back of the counter.
Oh, I hope I never have to resort to an electronic devise to read a book! I like to save trees, but I want my paper copy. Sometimes I write in the margins, underline, etc. I don’t know if you can do that with modern reading? I have never EVER thought of a book having “germs”. When I asked a teacher friend her reasons for going electronic, she said she did not read because of who else might of touched the book! I worked at a large public library, I touched thousands of books, I never considered germs!! I admit, I do not have the finances to buy many books, but give me the trusty, dependable paper book any day!
The germ idea has me thinking. You know those men who wear slacks and without a thought, tug at the legs before the sit? There are people who absent mindedly lick their thumbs before turning a page. They pick up all the finger lickin’ germs that came before while adding their own layer.
I don’t lick and turn when I use paper and if I licked before turning on my K2 I can imagine it would get pretty gross in a hurry.
I used a tiny cell phone window a few years back. I found a mobi-reader software program.
Now, I use a K2, Droid and my computer.
The K2 can read out loud if I can’t look at it for some reason, I like the newspapers I get delivered while I sleep. The print can be set to larger and huge and I’ve never had a paper cut. The software lets me dogear the pages, that is something I NEVER do to a paper book.
The droid is smaller but I can ‘sneak’ read while my DH tries to sleep. The droid is backlit so I don’t need to have a reading light.
The laptop is good for some reading tasks but awkward and clunky for kicking back.
A paperback or hardcover book is the gold standard. What other technology stands up to time and change like a hard copy or paperback? No batteries to recharge. Portability. You don’t need to turn it off during takeoffs and landings. You can read by moonlight, candlelight or no light at all.
What I do not like are the dust covers.
The smell associated with my paper books is dust and mold and I am not charmed at all by it. 🙂
Thanks for your comments. If you haven’t commented, yet, what are you waiting for?
Sally
I love my new iphone for e-book readering (or rather listening).
There’s way too many books I want to get through in this short lifetime and only so many hours so my new iphone reader is great. I just purchased the new Jean M. Auel book, The Land of Painted Caves, and I’m already up to chapter six thanks to my half hour trips to work. I love to drive and listen to Ayla and Jondalar’s happenings; love the history lessons in that book.
My next choice would have to be a real paper and soft cover book to cuddle up with in bed on cold winters nights or any nights really. AND, I like to use the hard cover books as show pieces in my precious old bookcase. It’s a dark old timber style with ornate edges and many of my favorite “series” books go in that special place.
I’d love a Kindle or ipad but as yet the budget doesn’t extend that far.
It’s most scary for me when my, DH, says he wants to “throw out all those old books you don’t read”. Why is it that people who don’t read books think that they are such a waste of time?
I’ve babbled enough. If I write much more I’ll have a book written on Sassy’s blog here and she might get angry with me and throw something sharp at me. I know, Sass, I won’t touch that…
Zak.
It will always be the printed book. I may, in the not too distant future purchase a gizmo to read ebooks, ‘cos there’s a lot of indie books that are only in ‘e’ format, but my heart will always belong the the paper kind.
I love all sorts of formats! Print books or my Kindle, it’s all good as long as it’s a great book! I also thought I’d never like the electronic format much, but I’m really loving it now. Thanks for the great contest!!!
I have always been a fan of the paperback book, but health issues have given that love the boot. I had eye surgery in the beginning of 2010 and now I cannot read print in normal books, plus the carpal tunnel in my hands would make my hands go to “sleep” if I held a book for too long-especially hardbacks because of the weight. I now have a light weight kindle that I “turn up” the size of the print to a size that would anyone sitting behind me in a room of people to also read it. Life just sometimes gets in the way of enjoying oneself.
I never thought I’d make the “switch” to e-books, but… alas! I LOVE IT! It’s revolutionized reading for me… and as an author, it’s revolutionized the availability of my novel, since a publisher has yet to be found. 😀
Great contest!
I will always be a fan of the actual hand-held book. In fact, I may be moving backwards because I find myself reading more handmade, limited edition books.