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And they’re great for travel - especially camping trips. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good solid book, but my ereader can carry thousands of pages for a fraction of the weight and space. And I don’t need a lantern or flashlight to read once it gets dark.

The other positive: Book publishing, especially books by dirty politicians, media, etc, is a key industry for bribery, corruption and money laundering. I don't know if e-reader publishing has any better tracking of straw-buyer revenue, but at least the filthy criminals aren't wasting paper.

I was one, but never thought about this. Thank you. I'll educate the other snobs.

Why would someone be snobbish about them? Anything that gets people reading is good! My kindle gets books from Overdrive/Libraries and never from amazon. I have mobility issues so it means don't have to get to the physical library. I have a house full of read books, so many trees. :-(

And when I fall asleep the tablet shuts itself off, so polite!

When I travelled a lot my Kobo e-reader was perfect, lots of books at my fingertips and so easy to pack. I prefer physical books but I think e-readers are fine too

I bought my boyfriend friend one called xteink he loves it.

people are unnecessarily elitist about everything, but reading is uniquely weird in the sense that they’re gatekeeping the tactile aesthetic over the actual substance

Ebooks and audiobooks save trees.

I have two of those thumb protectors that I bought for mountain biking. I sprained both of my thumbs 4 days apart. 🙄 They work well.

Simply buy one traditional book and sniff it periodically as you read your e-book, problem solved! 🙂

I understand and appreciate what you're saying, but why would you worry about "snobs" who judge you for using an e-reader? The fact that you're immersing yourself in another world by reading is the important thing. Enjoy both your reader and your coffee and heal well.

I used an e-reader for more than 10 years because I couldn't even read large print books. After 4 eye surgeries over 2 years, I can now finally read print books. I would have never been able to read without my e-reader before. .

I love reading and love my e-reader app on my iPad.

The $9.99 ceiling is brutal for non-fiction especially. One workaround: paperback pricing has more flexibility — $14.99-$18.99 is accepted without the royalty cliff. Some authors use ebook as a loss leader and make margin on print.

Exactly right — Amazon's royalty structure is the real constraint. The 35% vs 70% threshold at $9.99 is a deliberate squeeze. What's your pricing strategy? I've seen authors do well with $4.99-$6.99 for series starters to maximize volume.

I’m trying to switch back to paper books and so far it’s a failure. Being able to adapt the light is way more important to me than I realized.

two of my favorite things!

All reading is reading! There's no wrong way to do it and no wrong format. Including audio books.

Plus you can have 300 books in a single (oversized) pocket.

Now I've had my bonk eye fixed, I'm preferring the printed page, but I'll never judge someone for e-reading In the same way I never judged people reading 50 shades or Harry Potter - if something stirs your imagination, then let that run rampant! Pick up the next book, and crack on

All great points!!

I apologize!

💕👍

I love that I can use a clicker remote to turn pages so that in winter I snuggle under the covers and read in comfort. With a gooseneck or foldable stand it’s the ultimate luxury.

I think however you read the fact is you read! I don’t buy books for myself because I use the library Please everyone use your public library, it’s a joy

You don’t own anything you buy on any digital platform unless you can download it. Not just Amazon & kindle. Any movie or music you buy on any streaming service is not yours. They can remove it from the platform at any time.

I love my ereader. I go to the library when I get the urge to feel an actual book and sometimes even check one out 😆can't haul and house hundreds of books. did that ONE time, never again.

Will read a regular book, but love my kindle convenient, slip it into a carry on or backpack. . A really nice thing is you nod off and drop it, you do not loose your place.

Yeah, someone we know lost his sight due to a genetic condition that degenerates vision and automatic readings and e books have helped him through these hard times hes in.

It’s also good for my ADHD. I can’t read a book I lost. I can replace the reader if I lose it and still have all my books. And I can get ebooks from my library.

got hooked on reading on a Kindle when I was a public library employee. so portable! so many library books could fit on it! have switched to reading w/ hoopla, libby on my ipad mini. when you live off grid and don’t have power options after dark, a backlit screen is total luxury.

Isn't it great that there are e-readers for these reasons and more. I'm personally happy that I can read physical books, which is my preference.

It also helps those of us over 50 which is when declines in vision become noticeable. I always keep Word documents I am typing at 150-200% to make is easier to read what I am writing or reading.

I once walked to the top of a very big hill and realised I had 750 books in my backpack (obviously on my Kobo)

You can also read in bed without the light on so as not to disturb whoever you are in bed with ... I don't get why people are snobs about them, reading is reading

Hard agree. Me, when I got my first Kindle:

Yes, and in my small house there's no room for all the books I used to have. So love my e-reader!

You’re reading! Thats the most important point. Too bad more Americans don’t read. Might actually understand science and democracy.

Me! Though iPad & accessible apps do the job so far.

A large study has found that listening to books is about the same as reading them. Technical stuff or wiring with new-to-you words where you benefit from going back and re-reading several times are the exception.

The text size is why I have one. That and I don't have to carry around multiple books.

As a struggling bi-linguist they're helping me expand my spanish by providing translations for new words with the touch of a finger. And a Vocabulary Builder to reinforce them.

Nowadays I only ever buy ebooks for me.

Great too for traveling, less weight to carry.

In 2020 during covid 20 million books were borrowed from Toronto Public library. Digital and audio. Those of us who weren't discovering how to bake bread.

as I age I find that the e-reader is a friend

@wired.com could learn something about readability from e-readers instead of graphic design that makes half its hard print magazine almost unreadable for most of us without 10/10 vision. Guess having a hipster vibe is more important. Seriously, get some graphic designers who know what they're doing.

People have the right to choose tech that suits their abilities. Period.

and remember those of us who got backache from lugging bags of books on vacation. now I can slip an entire library into my purse. on the same subject, listening to a book STILL COUNTS AS READING IT. for those who like to judge other people's reading: stop it. let people enjoy books in peace.

I much prefer actual books. But I have a kindle for those books that are very hard to find.

The problem is getting it to work us who still operate with manual typewriters.

Anything that facilitates reading is all to the good

I've actually tried doing that when reading a physical book at times...yikes!

No hobsnobbery, it's just nice to hold a book in your hand(s) and read for those of us who still can. However, the most important thing is to READ! And LEARN!

i only use eReaders nowadays. have collected 3K books. the free app i use is ReadEra -- an open source reader that supports all formats, incl kindle, epub, mobi, pdf and more. run it on a lenovo tablet. i stopped reading paper books a decade ago. readera.org

Also, for books which would be heavy tomes of hundreds of pages, they provide a lightweight alternative with less fatigue for hands (arthritic or otherwise). I read a story once about a woman who used to sadly tear huge novels into sections of pages so her weakened husband could read them.

My daughter is dyslexic and has really benefited from special font on her kindle…

Yes I love books but sometimes I need to get them quickly so it is quite convenient. Good for recipe books too!

I love my Kindle. Don't get me wrong. I love hardcover books...the way they feel and way they smell, etc., and at home that's what makes me happy. But my Kindle goes with me when I travel or have to wait for appointments, etc. If I'm stuck somewhere with nothing to read: panic!

I live on a sailboat with no room (plus a damp environment). The ebook reader allows me to have all my books with me.

My daughter never enjoyed reading though she frequently asked for books. I bought her a Kindle (she is an adult) a few years ago and she quickly became an avid reader. She said she had difficulty reading books but the Kindle screen made reading easy for her. Please do not criticize E Book readers.

I can't get the point of being snobbish about it, honestly. Yes, let's shame people for not reading the "right" way, when we should be thrilled people are reading books and encouraging people to do that *however* they can.

They miss the point. YOU ARE READING.

Better to read w an e-reader than never to read at all!

Until such time that I can easily carry hundreds of books in my purse, I'm keeping my ebook reader.

Also, with a tablet, phone or eReader you can click a sale for a $1.99 ebook and find a great story that will never be printed on paper. It's an adventure!

I've had a flare up of De Quervain's. I thought I had broken my wrist it hurt so bad. Take it easy on that hand, doc.

Thank you I didn’t know.

I just wish you could buy a physical book and it has a code for the digital book. Most of the work for the digital file has been done for a book to currently go to print. It's absurd that there are some titles that are more expensive as a digital copy than as a physical book. It doesn't make sense.

Libby app is GOAT!

Haha oh mate

The only thing I can't read as an ebook are academic/scholarly books. Readers don't handle footnotes, bibliographies, and indexes adroitly. Other than that, I mostly just want the text, the words. Book or ebook means less to me. (I can't handle audiobooks, though. That's me, not them.)

💯

👍💕

Audio books do not = reading. Listening to someone else's interpretation of the martial is not the same as reading it with your eyes and allowing your brain to decipher. Multiple people can read a book and come out with different opinions on interpretation. Not really possible with audio books.

and your Library probably has them available for free downloads, mine does 📚🙏☮️

Agree with all of that!

Absolutely! 👍

For what you do and what you wrote

Audiobooks activate the same areas of the brain as reading print. Also listening to stories is incredibly ancient.

Yes - they are about words & legitimate way to read. I listen while cooking & gardening but love holding a book when my hands are free. Some books have visual wordplay & are best read the traditional way. Some books are filled with words I don’t know how to pronounce. Love listening & learning.

Good article, thanks. I appreciate their examination of cognitive responses to both forms. Also another benefit of audiobooks I hadn’t considered is as a good introduction to “developing readers”. I personally still prefer the printed word but.. isn’t diversity wonderful ?

I read everything on my tablet. It's easier for me at my older age. And, my library has lots of eBooks and magazines I can access through them. Bless the libraries (my daughter works for a local one here. She loves it.)

My two top reasons

Anything that helps people to read more is great.

You know something else I love about ebooks is the instant dictionary. Don't know a word? Touch it and the dictionary listing pops up. I'm also in the "it hurts to hold large books" group

I've never understood why people have a problem with e-readers and ebooks. You're still getting literally the same information, which I thought was the point of books, to take in information Some people just HAVE to feel superior in any way they can instead of just minding their own business

Agree. I read the Kindle app on my iPad, big type and high contrast. I get lots of Kindle books on my free library app, Libby. (Yes, the libraries pay author royalties). Ridiculous to get snobbish over a device that holds countless volumes I can SEE and don't have to pay rent to shelve.

I would say being able to read on digital device was a godsend for my dyslexia. From the days of Aim, to reading manga, now reading via kindle. This unblocked a lot of my issues with reading.

When I get a library ebook, once I download it, I put my kindle on Airplane mode, then I return it to the library for the next patron in line.

I appreciate this perspective, I truly do, as I want accessibility for everyone. If we can make it so that authors get a fair shake in revenue, that would be even better.

I'm waiting for the day I can buy a full page turning book. Each page is a crisp paper like e-screen that I can select the book I want and have a red corner to indicate where I left off. One book to rule them all.

The Venn diagram of book fans consists of loosely connected circles constituting people going gaga over the cover, binding, etc., those who zero in on edition, anyone who organizes by color - and the few who are in love with the words, themselves.

I love my e-reader. When traveling I like being able to take my entire 3500 count library with me so I don't have to worry about not having something to read. I also like that should something happen to my device I don't lose my books. Just buy a new device and re-download everything.

I used to be a more physical book snob until COVID & then my local library was closed & I only had my tiny personal library in my tiny room & I was so grateful for Libby & had a complete 180 change of ❤️ & realized how ableist I was being. Now I’m grateful for every type of book in every format 🥰

They have Large Print books @ the Library if you prefer books.

I love books and I have a way too many of them, however, I think any way you consume a book is the right way to consume a book, even audiobooks.

Did someone shame you for using an E-Reader recently? If so that is completely unacceptable. Reading should be experienced by everyone. Anyway, here’s a random picture of a Locust Drone.

And when you fall asleep, they remember your place

Been disabled for many years and it was difficult to get to the library and haul home enough books to keep keep me occupied. I love my Kindle so much!! Best thing ever for me💕