Would you rather read an ebook or a real book?

I enjoy reading a real book - preferably used.

I agree with SOKCGOLD on many issues. I find that after reading something on a computer screen for a length of time my eyes hurt and I get a headache. So much for an entire of reading!

I agree with him also about the quality of ebooks. They don't seem to carry the same high-quality plotting and story telling that paper books do. Repeating his thought, it probably has to do with the cost of putting out a real book. When you spend that amount of money, you need to make sales, so you ensure that you have a quality product.

The other reasons I love a real book - preferably used - is that I have had a lifelong obsession with paper. I love the quality, the colour, the feel, the weight or anything else associated with fine paper. I love the feel of it in my hands while reading the story printed inside.

When I am holding a recycled book, I think of all the people who held it before me and enjoyed the contents. I like to imagine what they were like, what did they like to do, where did they read this book and other questions I'll never know the answer to.

A real book is portable - it's light and fits into almost any pocket and all purses, knapsacks and hands. You can take them anywhere. They are accepted everywhere. All you need is a little light to see by.

A real book is user friendly. You don't even have to know how to turn it on. Just open and enjoy. It doesn't get any simpler than this.

A real book is my choice everytime.

I actually prefer a real book, for a number of reasons.

First, it's easier on the eyes. Looking at a computer screen for that long hurts. People who publish books also do a lot of research on fonts, white space, etc., so the formatting is usually a little better. If the ebook is just a scan of a real book, I have also found that it is hard to see an entire page, because my monitor is oriented opposite a book's layout, so that usually isn't comfortable, either.

Second, it seems like the quality is often not so good with pure ebooks. They are easier and cheaper to put out, so it often seems as though they are slapped together.

Third, because of the costs involved, real books need to appeal to an audience in order to make back the investment. Most of the ebooks I've read are in the how-to category, and I have read ebooks that just didn't help me at all. For a real book to get to the point of being published, it generally needs to be useful.

No-brainer for me. Just have to remember how it felt walking into the library with my mother, and, how it smelled! Open a used book, particularly a really old used book, and inhale...you'll get it.

Not to mention the weight of a book in-hand. Dropping it into the bath water! Peeling apart the pages to dry them out. Pushing them back together into one wonky, warped mess of a book. LOL. What happens if you drop an e-book into the bubblebath?

Great question

This used to be a no-brainer for me. I love the feel of a book, of turning pages, but more and more I'm getting tired to carrying heavy books. I briefly read something on a Kindle, and I was surprised at how I didn't mind reading from an electronic screen instead of real pages. And I really enjoy being able to change the font size.