Physical Books Or Digital Books, Which Ones Do You Prefer? What's More Worth Your Money?

Discussion in Books, eBooks & Audio Books started by Narumiya • Jul 12, 2016.

  1. Narumiya

    NarumiyaNew Member

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    So, first of all, I'm new to this forum! Hi, everyone, it's great to meet you all!

    Now, my question is - which is more worth your money, physical books or digital books?

    I myself prefer digital books because of their convenience, and there's a lot of content on places like, say, Amazon or Barnes and Noble that are only available digitally. Plus, digital books are usually cheaper. (The keyword being usually! Sometimes they cost the same as the physical books.)

    But of course, there are upsides to physical books as well. A physical collection is nice to look at, and bookshelves with stuff in them can double as nice home decor! A lot of used books, if you like used books, are cheaper than even digital books as well.

    So which ones do you prefer? Physical or digital books? Or do you mostly go to libraries? :)
     
  2. cecejailer

    cecejailerMember

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    I prefer digital copies because they're so much easier and conventional. I don't always have space in my bag to store my books, but I always have space for my phone. But when it comes to which one is more valuable, I'd say physical copies. If it wasn't for how easier eBooks are, I would always choose physical copies, they're so much more beautiful and it's also nice to actually touch the book you're reading. Yet I don't like it when people say eBooks are "not real books", come on people, it's 2016, obviously technology will change books too.
     
  3. Denis Hard

    Denis HardWell-Known Member

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    I have no preferences. And to be honest I don't buy books anymore. Since all I do is leisure reading these days and there are millions of free books on the net I don't see why I should buy any books when there are lots of books that might not cost me a penny. For me that's the reason I read more ebooks.
     
  4. NormaD

    NormaDNew Member

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    For a lot of people physical books hold a great deal of 'perceived value' while ebooks do not because they are digital as opposed to their tangible, physical counterparts. For me though, I have always preferred ebooks to physical books. I read up to five books every week and I would never be able to store them all in my house. But with ebooks, I carry all of my thousands of books with me everywhere I go.
     
  5. morgoodie

    morgoodieActive Member

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    I prefer physical books since I like to have the book in my hands. But, I do find ebooks to be way more convenient and much easier to take along with you. I will read the ebooks when I am waiting in the doctor's office or other places that I have to wait for any length of time. I have never actually bought an ebook. I download the free ones from Amazon and have found some really good ones that way. I will occasionally buy a paperback book but usually from the thrift store.
     
  6. Christine Oser

    Christine OserNew Member

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    Oddly enough, it depends on the genre for me.
    If I'm going to read fiction, I prefer physical books. There's nothing I love more than laying on the beach reading the latest James Patterson or Stuart Woods!
    If I'm going for non-fiction, I prefer digital books. I actually read digital much more often than physical, as my daily, morning routine includes reading from a personal development book for at least 30 minutes.
    Digital books are much easier to access last minute and are usually less expensive than their physical counterpart.
     
  7. DreekLass

    DreekLassWell-Known Member

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    I think that they are two very different experience. But with the explosion of digital media as of late, I feel like this generation would prefer digital books over physical ones, just because that is the norm in this day and age. But there is something about that new book smell - cracking it open for the first time. I feel like it means more when it is a physical book.
     
  8. sidney

    sidneyWell-Known Member

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    If you are prone to moving then I suggest that you buy digital books instead. Lugging around a ton of books can be quite inconvenient! Apart from that, digital books don't take up any space and are way cheaper, so I also prefer them to regular books.
     
  9. obliviousme

    obliviousmeActive Member

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    I prefer digital books. They are a lot cheaper than traditional books, not to mention the mobility of it. At first i hated the idea of ebooks, but once i got a taste of it, I'm forever sold.
     
  10. Lushlala

    LushlalaWell-Known Member

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    I generally prefer eBooks, but I also like actual physical books. Ever since I got my first eReader about 3 years ago, I haven't bought an actual book. Like you @Narumiya@Narumiya, I like the convenience and the fact that eBooks are the cheaper option. You also get a wider variety and can literally get any book you want, whereas if you went into your local book store, you may not find it. I buy my eBooks from Amazon, and from time to time, there are a few good freebies too, which you'd never find if you were buying actual books. I'm a true convert, but that's not to say I'll never read a physical book.
     
  11. Shoplady

    ShopladyMember

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    I used to have so many books, many of mine from way back to my school days, my husband's, and many I inherited from my mother. The thing is, I have had to move to different places across the country so many times now that my collection of physical books was just way more than I could manage. The advances in ereaders are so great, I'm so happy to be able to read on my tablet and phone now!

    So what I have done is get rid of almost all my books that are all text - novels, memoirs, etc. However I have a lot of comics/graphic novels and a lot of art books, and I kept the majority of those. Even that is a big, heavy collection and I struggle to keep it to a minimum!

    There are great deals to find either way, digital books, physical books on sale or used, but I am trying to keep mine digital as much as possible for the clutter factor.
     
  12. Kaushik Angara

    Kaushik AngaraActive Member

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    Well, this is a tough question. I would prefer the physical books on most of the occasions. I have been used to reading from physical books right from my childhood. In the 90s when I was born, there were no digital books. The only source of information was the physical copies in the school library. There are a couple of similarities between the digital and the physical books.
    • Both of them present the same information.
    • Both of them are portable.
    Coming to the price, digital books are much cheaper than the physical ones and there are a lot of websites which allow us to read and download ebooks for free. However, the digital books put a lot of strain on the eyes and I personally cannot spend a lot of time reading the digital copies. I also somehow feel that the information grasped from the physical tends to last longer but that is my personal opinion.
     
  13. haivu721vn

    haivu721vnMember

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    I prefer tradition books. They don't hurt my eyes as the computer screen. I also prefer things which are traditional.
    I don't think they cost much higher than eBooks. Just less than a buck. Still worth.
    Also, I really like to collect things and put them on the bookshelves :D
     
  14. moondebi

    moondebiActive Member

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    I always prefer the hard copy.
    It could be due to the generation I belong to. Being an avid reader, I always had a library membership. It was not possible to buy all the books I would like to. So made a card from where I could borrow the books. This has given a habit of reading easily whenever I wish to. Now in a digital era, it is hard for me to change this long-standing habit.
     
  15. Vinaya

    VinayaActive Member

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    If you buy a physical book you can read it instantly. However, you need a laptop, a tab, an ebook reader or a smartphone with wide screen to read an ebook. You can get an ebook for less than 50 percent of the cover price of a physical book, however, you need an expensive device to read the book. If you already have a device where you can read an ebook, ebook costs less.