Asklemmy

audio.

Almost entirely digital now. As for why:

• backlight
• font size adjustment
• built in dictionary
• local library closed for a few years
• lighter/better form factor than most books I read

I find I buy far more books now that I have an e-ink reader.

Yes. I like to read.

No because the library exists for both.

I prefer physical books, especially with that new book smell, but I'm pretty out of space so I have gotten books digitally for the last few years.

I pirate most of the books I read. I am not a millionaire and space on the bookshelf is limited. I only buy physical if I want to treat myself with special edition or a book not available digitally.

God bless Anna's archive!

Physical. But only after I've pirated it digitally if I enjoyed it enough

I buy physical and obtain a digital copy later to chuck on the kindle. I enjoy reading physical books but time and life make it harder, plus I like to buy collectors editions where possible, they are not for reading (to me)

I purchase mostly digital books because I use to read at night next to my sleeping partner and e-reader is the easiest way for me. Also O don't have a very big house to store all. Now from a piracy vs purchase point of view: I actually buy ebooks as a mark of support to authors I like very much. Now I must confess that for some very popular authors, I trend to think that one book pirated or one book bought won't change a lot for them. So I buy mostly less known or indie authors at the end.

No. Usually I get digital books from the library system here. I enjoy reading print on the Kindle, very comfortable to the eyes, but if I tried to buy everything I wanna read I'd be in debtor's prison.

Comics, graphic novels I buy in print because there isn't a good digital way to read them. I do read some webcomics on a cheap color tablet, but I enjoy them more on paper.

If I want to own a book for some reason I get it on paper usually, but if I want to read it the library system works a large majority of the time.

I only read fiction, so I always buy it pirate ebooks unless there’s a special edition of something that I am really excited about. I’ve bought all of Brandon Sanderson’s mystery novels in hardcover for example, and I buy the Stormlight books hardcover as well. I’d love to have the entire cosmere in hardcover, or better yet their special edition leather bound hardcovers (for the ones he’s done it with), but it’s just too expansive and expensive to justify.

In an ideal world, a physical copy includes a digital copy.

Like fifteen years ago I would buy physical books, I still have a huge collection. I was getting really into math and would buy textbooks. Sometimes they could be pricey, but for a good hardcover, it can really be worth it if you're coming back to it a lot.

Very early 2010s the amazon books became awful overnight. You could pay $70 for a hardcover and the damn thing would start falling apart a few days into reading it. I really don't think I'm hard on my books, I treat them with care. These things just couldn't handle normal wear for even a short amount of time. Paperbacks were even less reliable and only slightly less expensive. So I completely ditched amazon and started ordering books directly from the publishers. Normally they'd be like $10-15 more than on amazon, but it's worth it, they weren't falling apart.

Probably around 2012 I finished reading volume 2 of Francis Borceux's "Handbook of Categorical Algebra". Those first two volumes are genuinely some of the best math books I've ever gone through, it took me like a year each though. Volume 3 was very expensive to get from the publisher, I think it was over $160, but since I had gotten so much mileage out of the first two I decided I wanted to just pony up. It was clear as soon as it arrived that it was a piece of shit, and did start falling apart immediately. I left emails and phone calls and they just ghosted me and I couldn't figure out a way to get my money back. That was the last book I bought for like a full decade, and I don't think I've made a book purchase from anywhere over $15 since.

Pretty sure that was Cambridge University Press, and I had purchased something else (although much much cheaper) from them the year before that was good quality.

I still greatly prefer having a physical copy, but I pirate almost everything I can't find in a library now.

Digital if it's for a quick reference here and there, physical if I want to read the whole thing and enjoy it.

Digital. I've been reading ebooks for years, starting on my flip phone back in the day. The best part to me is being able to seamlessly switch from reading with my eyes to being read to (tts - I'm used to it now and it's waaaay better than it was).

I do a lot of driving for work so I can get a ton of reading done on the road 😁

https://youtu.be/Akd-OPESJTI

When I buy books I buy physical, but sometimes digital is more practical, even with small format books I struggle to read them in public transit during my work commute, with a reader like Kindle or even with a smartphone I don't have to work about my book being damaged in a bag it someone, even without a cover a reader will say least scratch a bit, on the other hand dropping a reader is another story, the screen can easily break, book won't. Also the obvious thing is you can get ebooks instantly, physical ones have to be shipped or at least brought from the store like everything physical. Another thing is WAREZ, you can get ebooks illegally, I don't condone it but it makes the access easier, sometimes it's the only way to get a given book because it's sold out or something. But I'm one of those people who don't have a problem with ebooks, on an ebook reader I see them equal with paper ones

I've tried digital books, but I've found that physical books work much better for my brain. I retain more information and can "get lost" in the story, whereas, for some inexplicable reason, digital books being read on a screen kind of "flatten" a story for me. It's almost like a 3d vs 2d experience for me.

Digital. No space for a bookshelf in my tiny little apartment, and I don’t need the social gratification of displaying a big impressive shelf full of books.

I don’t really care about the feel and smell of books.

My digital reader lets me read anything in OpenDyslexic font allowing me to read more, faster, with less energy expenditure.

I can look up any word with a long press

I can highlight and take notes without ruining the freshness of the book.

And most importantly of all: I can read on my side in bed without having to switch positions for every page.

No.

Ebooks have their convenience, and once in a while I'll take a free one if offered, or pick them up cheap in a bundle.

But physical books capture my interest way better. More satisfying to hold and look at. Having a physical object around is a reminder to read. And paper books are better for tuning out distractions. If I try to read ebooks on a phone, tablet, or PC I can easily lose focus (though nice dumb-device readers are surely out there, I don't have one).

Pirate digital and by used physical books

Physical, though I usually get them from the library. When I do buy them, it's physical too, so I can lend them out, or give them away.

Maybe a third of the books I read are gifts or loaners from friends.

Physical books! I want to fully own my books not have them be locked by some asshole company. It's also just nicer to read paper instead of a screen. It's also easier to carry around a small book instead of a bigger tablet and having to deal with charging yet another device.

Digital, unless I really want the book and it is only analog.

The analog form factor of books is IMHO much nicer, and I understand everyone who doesn't like digital books.

Stil, for me going digital beats analog:

• Having books always in my pocket, I never wonder what to do if I have to wait somewhere
• Going for work/leisure travel, always fully stocked with interesting reading material
• Learning from books and making notes? Digital makes it far easier
• I mostly read English books for learning and in my country one has to pay a heavy surcharge for English books

I also have to say, Amazon really earned all the critic it gets, but their Kindle apps and physical devices are awesome. It is easy to buy DRM free books and read/sync them with Amazon kindle infrastructure (send to device etc.).

I aquire thrm digitally... In the high seas.

Digital. I've run out of space for storing physical books.