I can’t help but always worry that one day I’ll need paper books. I don’t know what it is, but I feel like I should start collecting paper books instead of every single book I have is on my Kobo. Which do you do? If you get paper books, is there a source that sells cheaper books. Books are kind of pricey where I look.
I much prefer digital. However, I don’t have a lot of space, and my local library has a much bigger digital selection that physical. Plus when I go backpacking I can take an obscene amount of books with me on my Kobo vs physical books.
Physical for me. I just can’t read for long durations on a screen. I just can’t. I need the tactile feeling of turning pages and having a physical thing to hold and take with me. In that same vein, I have a hard time even reading softcover. One of the biggest reasons I read anyway is to get away from screens/technology anyway. I also like having a physical library in my bedroom that I can look at. I understand that these are all really objectionable, prissy reasons to prefer physical.
For your second question. I’ve had good luck with eBay, at least as a US buyer. It helps that USPS ships books really cheap for sellers and most stores that I see usually have more than 1 item on my wishlist so I can knock out a bunch of books in one order, get them used (better for the environment), and avoid Amazon
Depends on the type of book. Novels, I like digital (or audio), cookbooks and other reference texts, I like physical, even though it’s usually easier to ctrl+f to find stuff.
If it’s a book I know I want to actually own, I’ll buy a physical copy. Basically, my criteria there is if I expect it to be a reference I’d use multiple times, or if I expect to lend it to friends, or if it’s an author I want to support.
My preference is library for most books. I’ll scan thrift stores for books to buy, though obviously no guarantee of any books there. Local used bookstores are next, then local new bookstores, then online used book stores like thriftbooks.com or abebooks (though that’s an Amazon subsidiary). I rarely get new books online.
I prefer ePub. Much more convenient for me than a paper book.
- I simply don’t have the space to physically store a lot of paper books
- It’s much easier to bring my Kobo with me when commuting or traveling
- Much easier for me to buy eBooks than physical books
- Even though I’ve been having my device for like 8 years, I’m still fascinated by how cool the e-ink display is
On the other hand, paper books have only one thing to offer that sometimes holds:
- They’re all DRM-free, while some eBooks I’ve been wanting to buy are DRM-enshittified. Still hasitating about those, as I’m not willing to spend money on such books.
In my use case it doesn’t have any relevance, as my device lasts for months with one charge. During that timespan I have plenty of opportunities to charge.
Which device is that? My Kobo sage needs charge every 3 days or so and that’s the only thing I dislike about it. They messed up big time for not making the battery bigger on it.
I’ve recently bought a Kobo, and had great success removing the DRM from my Kindle library, then loading all my books there onto my Kobo. Just food for thought that such a thing is possible
I don’t know, there are a couple of books that have Adobe DRM on them at every bookstore where I found the book.
Are you saying, it’s possible to get Amazon books onto a non-Kindle device? That’s actually pretty much the only bookstore where I never looked at before.
Unfortunately, the easiest way is to have an old kindle on your account with DRM that’s been beaten. Then you can download the files like you’re going to copy them via USB to that device, and use that device’s serial with the de-DRM calibre extension and it’s pretty easy.
I haven’t found an equally effective way without it, though I haven’t looked as much as the first method works for me.
You can rip Audible audiobooks with Libation. It’s not applicable to ebooks, but worth just tacking on since we’re on the subject of Amazon lock-in.
Unpopular take and I might get beaten up for it, but if you have already paid for the book and you can’t take it with you because it has DRM, then IMHO, it’s ok to pirate it. You paid for it, it’s yours and they’re taking it away from you because you chose not to use their device.
I wish when we bought a book physically we get the ebook version. Then we don’t have to “chose”.
