E-readers in 2020: digital vs. print

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Claudiu

Puritan Board Junior
I used my Kindle many years ago (I have the 2nd generation), but abandoned it. I recently just picked it up again. For now, I think I will read most non-fiction and theology books in print. I might use the Kindle for fiction and classics that can be downloaded for free or cheap. For those that still use e-readers in 2020: do you still read print books? What determines what you read digitally vs. in print?
 
I currently read some fiction from my local library on a kindle; it's free and I don't get any late fees, though the selection is much less than in print.
 
I prefer print over digital. However, when you can get Calvin's entire Bible commentary in electronic form for $5, I make the exception. Also, if the internet goes down or Amazon decides to get rid of a book, I will still have it, if it's print.
 
The primary thing that determines whether I read a print book is if I can't get it digitally.

I check out somewhere on the order of 80 books per year from the library, digitally. Overdrive is a wonderful thing, particularly for historical, biographical, or fiction---your library should be able to give you free access. It's nice to not have to make trips to the library.

I also have a backup of all my ebooks that I purchase (or get through Project Gutenberg) so I have no worries about Amazon. It's not a hard thing to learn how to do and I manage the digital "library" for all the little readers in my household, each of which has a Kindle. I also edit the formatting on most of these books to make sure they look good, don't have big gaps between paragraphs, etc. I'm an ebook "power-user" though.

The primary benefit for me is portability (I've been reading volume 3 of Manchester's biography of Churchill on my daily walks, and at over 1,200 pages in printed form, that just would not be feasible. While walking I enlarge the print so I can read with ease even with the jiggling. When I travel for work I sometimes am away from home for up to three weeks and have at times read over 15 books during that period. I am so thankful I don't have to pack that many books in my luggage. When I go backpacking I like to relax and read, it is so nice to have a device that won't need recharging over the trip and weighs a few ounces rather than the many pounds I'd need for my Bible, psalter, recreational literature, etc. As someone who used to always be afraid of being caught without a book to read (abibliophopia), I don't worry anymore because I have hundreds as backups with me at all times, "just in case". I like how I can jump between any of the five or six books I'm currently reading, at a moment's notice, at the exact spot I left off, without lugging physical copies around everywhere.

I use one of the 7-inch Kindle Oasis models by the way. I wish some parts of the design were different but I like the 7-inch screen a lot.
 
I've been thinking about this topic recently as I re-discovered my old original Kindle that I haven't used in years to give to my daughter. She's been reading through Lee Duigon's The Bell Mountain series and loves the convenience an e-reader provides.

I'm one of those increasingly rare birds that geeks out on high quality printed books. I'll usually buy a hardcover over a softcover and most of the time don't even consider the e-book version. That said, I'm on a tight budget which makes the e-book option the better choice for me....and yet I still find myself saving for the physical book than the electronic version.

If I were to move in the e-book direction in the future I think I'd still purchase theological books and commentaries in print form and other books for casual reading and that that don't serve a primary reference purpose as an e-book.
 
1. Books you want to lend, e.g devotional books like your Ryles and Puritan paperbacks. Some modern application books like biblical habits in a fast-paced world etc.
2. Pastoral theology - books that you will read time and time again.
3. Banner of Truth books

Otherwise, I am full on Logos, especially in view of going to seminary.
 
I got the original nook over a decade ago, and recently upgraded to a Kindle paperwhite. There has been a lot of improvements in the space, and the interface now makes it easy to flip between pages, highlight and notate, search, and so forth that were so cumbersome on my old nook that I only used it for books I would read straight through.

I read electronically and/or borrow (local library) most books that I read, and try to prioritize buying books that I will want to reference again and again. I realized that I was collecting a lot of books I'd never look at years ago. Libraries are great, and most libraries have eBooks and audiobooks available through apps like Overdrive as Logan mentioned.
 
The primary thing that determines whether I read a print book is if I can't get it digitally.

I check out somewhere on the order of 80 books per year from the library, digitally. Overdrive is a wonderful thing, particularly for historical, biographical, or fiction---your library should be able to give you free access. It's nice to not have to make trips to the library.

I also have a backup of all my ebooks that I purchase (or get through Project Gutenberg) so I have no worries about Amazon. It's not a hard thing to learn how to do and I manage the digital "library" for all the little readers in my household, each of which has a Kindle. I also edit the formatting on most of these books to make sure they look good, don't have big gaps between paragraphs, etc. I'm an ebook "power-user" though.

The primary benefit for me is portability (I've been reading volume 3 of Manchester's biography of Churchill on my daily walks, and at over 1,200 pages in printed form, that just would not be feasible. While walking I enlarge the print so I can read with ease even with the jiggling. When I travel for work I sometimes am away from home for up to three weeks and have at times read over 15 books during that period. I am so thankful I don't have to pack that many books in my luggage. When I go backpacking I like to relax and read, it is so nice to have a device that won't need recharging over the trip and weighs a few ounces rather than the many pounds I'd need for my Bible, psalter, recreational literature, etc. As someone who used to always be afraid of being caught without a book to read (abibliophopia), I don't worry anymore because I have hundreds as backups with me at all times, "just in case". I like how I can jump between any of the five or six books I'm currently reading, at a moment's notice, at the exact spot I left off, without lugging physical copies around everywhere.

I use one of the 7-inch Kindle Oasis models by the way. I wish some parts of the design were different but I like the 7-inch screen a lot.

So you’re a power user? Are you able to archive your kindle purchases and get them out of the Kindle?


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However, when you can get Calvin's entire Bible commentary in electronic form for $5

I got mine free with the AndBible. So I can show up at church with a couple of translations, Calvin's and Matthew Henry's commentaries, and Strongs. I'm too old to carry that many books around in print.

Plus I have a couple of games and some books to read while waiting for my wife.
 
So you’re a power user? Are you able to archive your kindle purchases and get them out of the Kindle?

Yes, I have de-DRMed all my Kindle books and store a local backup. I convert them back and forth to epub, AZW3, mobi, and KFX for use on various devices and regularly change the stylesheet in various ebooks to strip embedded fonts or quirky formatting, generate new table of contents and navigation menus, etc.
 
Yes, I have de-DRMed all my Kindle books and store a local backup. I convert them back and forth to epub, AZW3, mobi, and KFX for use on various devices and regularly change the stylesheet in various ebooks to strip embedded fonts or quirky formatting, generate new table of contents and navigation menus, etc.

How are you doing this?

I did this on my mac but the mac kindle app can no longer do this.


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Kindle is king, however I read print books when they are given to me.
 
I currently run about 70 percent ebook/audible and 30 percent hardcopy. I prefer books I really want to study and revisit in print, but a few lately have only been available electronically.
 
I got mine free with the AndBible. So I can show up at church with a couple of translations, Calvin's and Matthew Henry's commentaries, and Strongs. I'm too old to carry that many books around in print.

I do the same thing with e-Sword. Anyone remember that application? Calvin and many other commentaries linked to the verse. Plus John Owen on Hebrews.
 
Yes, I have de-DRMed all my Kindle books and store a local backup. I convert them back and forth to epub, AZW3, mobi, and KFX for use on various devices and regularly change the stylesheet in various ebooks to strip embedded fonts or quirky formatting, generate new table of contents and navigation menus, etc.

Could you provide me with the instructions as well? I've been converting by emailing to my Kindle email, but would like something more substantial like what you mention.
 
I currently run about 70 percent ebook/audible and 30 percent hardcopy. I prefer books I really want to study and revisit in print, but a few lately have only been available electronically.

My hunch is this is the route I will begin to take. Do most reading via e-reader, but still have a considerable amount of books for study and to revisit. Although the more I think about it, I see the benefits of something like a Kindle for study as well (highlighting, notes, search function, etc.).
 
So do most people here use a Kindle? Or and iPad?

All my digital books are in Logos but the Logos app isn’t as good as the Kindle app. And the iPad doesn’t have e-ink either.


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I have a Kindle Fire I keep with my Bible study stuff, but I've been goofing off this afternoon reading fiction in the Kindle app on my phone.
 
I do the same thing with e-Sword.

I have E-sword on my computer. They didn't have a version for Kindle so I went with AndBible for the closest there, and then put AndBible on my smart phone when I got that. I don't see Calvin being available on E-Sword. I do have the notes to the Geneva Bible there, however.
 
So do most people here use a Kindle? Or and iPad?

I use the Kindle - a fraction of the price of an IPad - I got the cheap Fire with the ads, but I've had it so long they finally gave up and quit sending ads. (Same with an older Kindle reader).

If you combine the cost of my Kindle with new, and the full featured HP Win10 laptop I bought in March, you might have enough for the cheapest, bottom of the line IPad if you didn't get a keypad or any other accessories.
 
So do most people here use a Kindle? Or and iPad?

I use Kindle Oasis ereader.

And here I'll insert my oft-repeated mantra that an ereader is not a tablet. An ereader uses e-ink, behaves much like a physical page in sunlight (because it is a physical page, not projected pixels of light). A Kindle Fire is not an ereader, it is a tablet (though one certainly may choose to read on it) and I wish Amazon had not confused things by calling it a Kindle :)
 
And here I'll insert my oft-repeated mantra that an ereader is not a tablet.

I have one of each - a Kindle Touch (roughly contemporary with the Kindle 4th generation) (which I only sideload to these days) and a Kindle Fire 2nd Generation.
 
I use Kindle Oasis ereader.

And here I'll insert my oft-repeated mantra that an ereader is not a tablet. An ereader uses e-ink, behaves much like a physical page in sunlight (because it is a physical page, not projected pixels of light). A Kindle Fire is not an ereader, it is a tablet (though one certainly may choose to read on it) and I wish Amazon had not confused things by calling it a Kindle :)

Hmmm Oasis....worth the 250$?


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I've gone 100% digital with an extensive Logos library. Recently, when asked how much I read my Bible. I replied, "Maybe 10 minutes once a week in church." Of course, I meant my paper Bible. I switched to digital partly due to my aging eyes, but mostly because of the enhanced features of electronic works and tools. I've been giving away my paper books and making some people happy. Most recently, I gave away the Works of John Flavel to a poor seminary student.
 
I've gone 100% digital with an extensive Logos library. Recently, when asked how much I read my Bible. I replied, "Maybe 10 minutes once a week in church." Of course, I meant my paper Bible. I switched to digital partly due to my aging eyes, but mostly because of the enhanced features of electronic works and tools. I've been giving away my paper books and making some people happy. Most recently, I gave away the Works of John Flavel to a poor seminary student.

What are you reading on?


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