Digital Book v. Physical Books

Status
Not open for further replies.
Both. Googlebooks has a lot of good ones in PDF. But I would never read them on-screen. I download them and print them out. We're talking the oldies ... Richard Baxter, Joseph Alleine, John Bunyan, Whitefield, etc.
 
Physical books. 100% Nothing like holding a copy in your hand.

And having a bunch of books makes you look smarter!
 
In an ideal world:
Physical books for reading
Digital books for searching and retrieving information

In my world:
I cannot afford as many physical books as I can have in digital form. 13,627 on my laptop currently would cost a fortune in print.

And, my wife swears that she will NEVER let me move my library again. I'm figuring that when retirement comes in a few years and we relocate, my only books (other than a few Bibles) will be the ones that come on my computer. :lol:
 
Digital, and more specifically Logos 4 books. I am a 42 year old seminary student who always swore not to read on the computer. But the highlighting, notes, and scrolling in Logos has me hooked. I now read books hundreds of pages long on the computer, try it, you will learn to love it!
 
Real books, without any question. Would it not be a bit boring reading all different books on the same digital reader day after day. Books have such a variety and colours. Big print, small print, medium print. Blue covers, red covers, green and yellow covers. Some plain covers, some with drawings and and some covers with pictures. Never having to squint your eyes trying to read a screen in the sun also never have to recharge the thing. You can easily lend books to and borrow from others.

Books, books glorious books
 
real books every time - I find them much easier on the eyes, and you can read them in bed.
I did read Machen's Christianity and Liberalism on my computer, but only because I couldn't find a proper copy. Somehow I still don't feel as if I assimilated it as well
 
I've lost count of how many wonderful books never found their way back home! When I'm really excited about a book I want others to read and enjoy it as well but there are times when the book must find a new home on their bookcase and get overlooked! I know I should keep records but its too late to retrieve the lost ones. One of my faves that was lost or misplaced or didnt find its way back home was Christianity and Liberalism years ago and I have so regretted that loss! The lost ones would form a long list! I love books, holding books and marking them up and later enjoying all the wonders I have marked all over again! Real books for me! Real bibles for the same reason, to mark and to enjoy!
 
JennyG said:
real books every time - I find them much easier on the eyes, and you can read them in bed.
I did read Machen's Christianity and Liberalism on my computer, but only because I couldn't find a proper copy. Somehow I still don't feel as if I assimilated it as well
Click to expand...

Jenny, that's why I was so excited when I saw this reprint of Christianity and Liberalism: Amazon.com: Christianity and Liberalism (9780802864994): J. Gresham Machen, Carl Trueman: Books. The original typesetting and printing plates were distinctly showing signs of age on copies I'd bought. I've probably given away at least 7 copies of this truly great book, so it's nice to have a quality modern version around.

What I'd like to see is some hardbacks of machen's classics, though I'm happy to keep buying C&L in paperback.
 
jambo said:
Real books, without any question. Would it not be a bit boring reading all different books on the same digital reader day after day. Books have such a variety and colours. Big print, small print, medium print. Blue covers, red covers, green and yellow covers. Some plain covers, some with drawings and and some covers with pictures. Never having to squint your eyes trying to read a screen in the sun also never have to recharge the thing. You can easily lend books to and borrow from others.

Books, books glorious books
Click to expand...

you can write a dr. seuss type book out of this.
 
If I had a Kindle, I would definitely go for digital books.

But, I don't. So it's a tossup--it depends on what I'm doing. In general I find it a bit hard to concentrate on reading an ebook on my laptop, especially when there's so many other things I could be doing at the same time. :)

On the other hand, I have an old DOS laptop that can only do one thing at a time, and I've found that it's a lot easier to concentrate when reading an ebook on there. I imagine a Kindle would be much the same way.
 
Theoretical said:
JennyG said:
real books every time - I find them much easier on the eyes, and you can read them in bed.
I did read Machen's Christianity and Liberalism on my computer, but only because I couldn't find a proper copy. Somehow I still don't feel as if I assimilated it as well
Click to expand...

Jenny, that's why I was so excited when I saw this reprint of Christianity and Liberalism: Amazon.com: Christianity and Liberalism (9780802864994): J. Gresham Machen, Carl Trueman: Books. The original typesetting and printing plates were distinctly showing signs of age on copies I'd bought. I've probably given away at least 7 copies of this truly great book, so it's nice to have a quality modern version around.

What I'd like to see is some hardbacks of machen's classics, though I'm happy to keep buying C&L in paperback.
Click to expand...
ooh!! ooh!!
just what I was wanting, and I had given up on it!
Thanks a million, Scott
 
jambo said:
Real books, without any question. Would it not be a bit boring reading all different books on the same digital reader day after day. Books have such a variety and colours. Big print, small print, medium print. Blue covers, red covers, green and yellow covers. Some plain covers, some with drawings and and some covers with pictures. Never having to squint your eyes trying to read a screen in the sun also never have to recharge the thing. You can easily lend books to and borrow from others.

Books, books glorious books
Click to expand...

with the Kindle you can change the font size and the technology eliminates any glare so you can actually read it in the sun quite well.
oh, and you're not supposed to judge a book by it's cover remember?
 
My deal with my wife is to give away (sometimes sell but it is hardly worth it) "real" books whenever I obtain the equivalent in digital form. My physical library has decreased by more than 4,000 books over the last 13 years (Barth's Church Dogmatics in hardback went to a PB brother a couple of years ago when Logos came out with it in digital form). I do keep some dups in case of catastrophic EMP attack etc. One would not want to be without a' Brakel or Bavinck or a comfortable ESV Study Bible in leather while dying of radiation poisoning or running from Nicolae Carpathia. :lol:
 
"Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come; and the books, especially the parchments"

That settles it for me. ;)

AMR
 
I love physical books, but I'm starting to like Kindle books more. Here's why:
  • They are significantly cheaper than physical books
  • They have no shipping fee
  • I have them in seconds - no 2-3 week wait
  • They are safely tied to my Amazon account
  • I can store as many as I want on my Kindle
  • I can highlight and make notes without damaging the (e)book
  • I can easily read them from my Kindle or any of my PCs

I live in Australia, and the books here cost an absolute fortune. Amazon's quite a bit cheaper, even with shipping, but it takes a good two to three weeks for them to arrive. Thus, Kindle books appeal a great deal to me.
 
I can't read anything lengthy on my laptop on desktop. My laptop is new, with an LED-backlit LCD screen -- so it's got a great picture, but it is too unnatural for trudging through commentaries, classics, and research-oriented works. The scriptures are, perhaps, the worst when it comes to reading on the computer, in my opinion; I've been using the same bible for awhile, so I've memorized where passages are on the pages -- The publisher's formatting of the text is insanely readable and memorizable (Thomas Nelson NKJV, verse in line, two column, text-only).

That being said, I would love to own a Kindle. The free classics, portability, and searchability would have me hooked, I know it. I'm not one to sit and read one work through in whole before moving onto something else. I usually read a few books in the same genre or on the same issue/topic/discussion and read a little at a time.

For example, I'm concurrently reading Julian Jayne's The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind and Daniel Quinn's Ishmael -- they are relatively complimentary as far as purpose and content goes, so reading a little here and there helps solidify and make sense of the overall picture. The same principle, for me at least, applies to the great works in church history. City of God is a terribly long read in an at-once or consecutive manner, but when coupled with some early father's Christological works and some Calvin, then you've got a more profound experience and understanding of the three together versus each separately -- It's funny how insights align regardless of time and culture... oh yeah...
 
Ask Mr. Religion said:
"Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come; and the books, especially the parchments"

That settles it for me. ;)

AMR
Click to expand...

A hearty amen from me!

Some further thoughts: books don't crash, data doesn't get corrupted, you can spill coffee over them and if you leave it on the bus then its gone. Leave a Kindle on a bus and you've left your whole library behind.
 
A real, physical book. Due to lack of shelf space I'll settle for digital.
 
I have a Kindle, absolutely love it! So digital books for me. I just wish I could get more books in the Kindle format... some publishers are slow to allow the digital format.

The Kindle will hold 1500 books and fits in my backpack... Truly wonderful.
 
I prefer real books, and my library continues to grow. However, I have to admit that I have gone to studying the Bible online, because I can access so many of the reference books and commentaries I use without having things spread all over my desk.

I like the quote by Eramus: "When I get a little money, I buy books. If there is anything left over I buy food and clothes."
 
I guess my main issue is that there are SO many books online for free, and are often very tempting to supersede over physical books. I've got a very large wants list (close to 100 pages....with possible duplicates), that I would like to get eventually. However, with all the free books online, I have to wonder if its worth bothering with.
 
Reading is more than just knowledge, it is an experience, an event , a hobby. When I watch movies I like the big, crisp screen. When I read books, I like to feel and smell the physical form.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

fredtgreco
  • Locked
Digital Pianos
Replies
6
Views
2K
fredtgreco
fredtgreco
C
  • Locked
$19 Digital Camera
Replies
3
Views
2K
Mary
M
C
  • Locked
Presbyterian digital audio resources
Replies
6
Views
2K
KeithW
K
Ex Nihilo
  • Locked
  • Poll Poll
Dallas v. Houston
Replies
23
Views
4K
Ex Nihilo
Ex Nihilo
Contra_Mundum
  • Locked
Hitchens v. Hitchens
Replies
7
Views
3K
Contra_Mundum
Contra_Mundum
Back
Top