Book or Kindle?

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Pattree

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Jul 19, 2023
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I’m enjoying the “What are you reading?” thread.

The title question occurred.
 

Foogs

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May 12, 2023
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Both for me.

The kindle is so convenient: always fits in a pocket, can read in bed without having the lights on, endless supply of books on holiday, can switch between books depending on mood, looking up definitions and so on.

But you can't beat the feel and smell of a book, or browsing a book shop or second hand store. And being able to flip back and forth between pages when you want to check something is so much easier with paper.
 
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Mesquite

It is what it is.
Mar 5, 2008
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Mostly audiobooks nowadays.
Am I the only one who just can't get on with audio books?

When I want to read a book I get engrossed in it and just zone out. I can't pay the same sort of attention to an audio book, especially when driving as I find it distracting. Added to that I prefer my own interpretations of voices, accents etc and the narration never gets that for me

To answer your question Pat, I use both especially if its a book I've had a long time and I'm re-reading it for the umpteenth time. :)
 

SaraR

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Mar 25, 2017
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Am I the only one who just can't get on with audio books?

When I want to read a book I get engrossed in it and just zone out. I can't pay the same sort of attention to an audio book, especially when driving as I find it distracting. Added to that I prefer my own interpretations of voices, accents etc and the narration never gets that for me

To answer your question Pat, I use both especially if its a book I've had a long time and I'm re-reading it for the umpteenth time. :)
No I’m the same. I thought I’d love them but I just don’t find them that useful as I rarely have time to devout to paying that much attention to something or I just don’t want other people to be disturbed by it.
 

SaraR

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Mar 25, 2017
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Both for me.

The kindle is so convenient: always fits in a pocket, can read in bed without having the lights on, endless supply of books on holiday, can switch between books depending on mood, looking up definitions and so on.

But you can't beat the feel and smell of a book, or browsing a book shop or second hand store. And being able to flip back and forth between pages when you want to check something is so much easier with paper.
Exactly this!

Maps, images and footnotes are annoying on the kindle and you never really know how much you have left in the book.

But it’s great for travelling, different moods and you can get so many old books for free or very little money.
 

Stew

Bushcrafter through and through
Nov 29, 2003
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No I’m the same. I thought I’d love them but I just don’t find them that useful as I rarely have time to devout to paying that much attention to something or I just don’t want other people to be disturbed by it.
I’m the opposite. I feel I don’t have the time to sit and read a book. I was listening to Harry Potter earlier while fitting insulation in the loft - bit hard to read a book at the same time!
 

Kadushu

If Carlsberg made grumpy people...
Jul 29, 2014
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Kent
Am I the only one who just can't get on with audio books?

When I want to read a book I get engrossed in it and just zone out. I can't pay the same sort of attention to an audio book, especially when driving as I find it distracting. Added to that I prefer my own interpretations of voices, accents etc and the narration never gets that for me

To answer your question Pat, I use both especially if its a book I've had a long time and I'm re-reading it for the umpteenth time. :)
I listen to them at work because I'm on my own and bored out of my skull most of the time. At home I tend to fall asleep if I try reading, plus an eye injury makes small print a bit difficult.
 
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Toddy

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Jan 21, 2005
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Books.
I am very deaf, I don't manage the phone let alone a talking book.
I do use my laptop to read though, but that means batteries, etc., when away from home. I did have a Sony book reader thing, but it kind of drove me nuts using it for long. I'd rather have a book.
 

SaraR

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Mar 25, 2017
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I’m the opposite. I feel I don’t have the time to sit and read a book. I was listening to Harry Potter earlier while fitting insulation in the loft - bit hard to read a book at the same time!
Some people in work listen to audio books in the lab, but only books they already know so that they can dip in and out when their concentration is needed elsewhere.

I could and have listened to audiobooks while knitting (but again can’t be too complicated a pattern). I guess most of the time I’m not alone and while I don’t disturb anyone when reading a book, and can still hear questions etc, I can’t listen to an audio book without disturbing others or missing out on what’s going on around me.
 

Pattree

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Audiobooks? Never really considered them. Certainly never subscribed to one. I did used to listen to “Book at Bedtime” on the wireless. That’s just 15 minutes. Trouble Is that when BBC says it’s bed time, I still have three or four hours still to go. I am probably making something.

I mostly use Kindle. We have well over a thousand books about the place because I find it hard to let go and because I can’t break the habit of browsing bookshops.

Kindle is just a tool and you can get used to flicking backwards and forwards using X-ray. I use the bookmark tool a lot too.
What you can’t do is get frustrated with an author and throw the Kindle against the opposite wall as you can a paper book.
 
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Kepis

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 17, 2005
6,705
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Am I the only one who just can't get on with audio books?
Nope, im the same, audio books, Kindle and the like are not for me, i much prefer the simplicity of a good old fashioned book, its tactile, smells nice, i can flick back and forth amongst its pages and it doesn't need batteries.
 
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Paul_B

Bushcrafter through and through
Jul 14, 2008
6,186
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Audio books would lead me to wonder what to do while it's on. I can listen to music even watch TV while reading a book but listening to a book wouldn't engage me on its own and I can't see I'd be doing anything else when listening to one. They seem a solution to something I don't need.

Kindle or paper book. I prefer a kindle for reading but a book will do too. Imho a kindle is easier to hold and read from. You can adjust so much to get a good reading experience for you at the time you're reading. Late on I find I need a bigger font than earlier in the day. In bed I can read a kindle without the light on so others can sleep while I'm reading. However I book is good for no battery.
 
Kindle for the lightweight reading (TEOTWAWKI stories, or brain off reading) or if on holiday/away from home for a while
Paperback for non fiction
I have been known to buy the Kindle edition of a book if it's hard copy release is a way away in this country.
The frustration of kindle is if I find a book worth telling a friend about, I can't lend my copy to them
 
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Pattree

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I used to go on holiday with a bag of books nearly as heavy as the one with my clothes: all the books that I hadn’t got round to reading. - This was in the days when I was working.
I wear trousers with a total of nine pockets. The Kindle with its 180+ “books” many of them anthologies and “box sets” slides neatly and almost weightlessly into a zipped seam pocket.

Also I can keep my books in “collections” putting a single book into several categories. Pratchet books can go into categories:
Fun
Philosophy
Metaphysics.
and of course THE LOT.

If I like a book in a series I can read the next one right away as long as I have a wifi connection. At one of my holiday haunts that means in the pub the next day.

It’s also synced with my phone.
I do like my Kindle - can you guess?
 
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nigelp

Native
Jul 4, 2006
1,417
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newforestnavigation.co.uk
Conventional books for reference, kindle for pleasure reading, borrowbox and PressReader for newspapers and magazines (free via libary). Lots of audio books via Audible subscription and BorrowBox. A good narrator brings a book to life, separates out the characters and pronounces the places names correctly. Some series I listen to exclusively as an audiobook and some kindle and audiobook but with a year or so separation.
 

dean4442

Full Member
Nov 11, 2004
599
59
Wokingham UK
I've got both and although I love my kindle with about 150 books on it, especially when it's a series and I'm about to finish one of the books. There's still something about browsing a second hand book store or a charity shop that's just irresistible.
 
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Pattree

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You can’t sling the Kindle across the room when you disagree with the author as you can with a paper book.
 

Potatohead

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Jul 1, 2020
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Surrey... near a tree :)
I have an ipad via work (ergo. Free) so made sense for me to install the kindle app.
Increased my book reading count tenfold on the train.
So convenient. And hopefully kinder to our trees.
 

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