Why is reading complicated?

[lilycobalt]

Reading books is not as simple as it used to be. It was much easier when I went to the library or the bookstore every couple of weekends and brought home some new titles. Now, I have ten unread print books on my shelf, three iBooks, three Kindle books (two of which are Idol-related), and one audiobook that is a duplicate of a print book that

Comments

[smoothiesims]

I still love printed books, but as a person who wants to read more and is on the go a lot, I support both eBooks and audiobooks (audiobooks especially have worked out really well for me over the last year--they are hands down the best monetary investment I made in 2012) for portability alone. I have done a lot more reading and listening recently because I've had those options. Plus, I loved audiobooks when I was a kid, so investing in them again has been fun on a nostalgic level. I've found that e-copies of Tortall are decently cheap, and since you have physical copies somewhere that might be a good option for you right now.

Whatever you feel comfortable with is what you should do. This is just my experience.

[lilycobalt]

I think that they'll help me do more reading, as well. My commute is going to get significantly longer after my move, so if I can read during my commute, then that will make my life a lot better. Anything that encourages more reading, right?

[theafterimages]

I personally dislike audio books, and I kinda feel like I have so many print books at this point that I don't also want to have to shell out all the money for an e-reader and a library on that, so I stick with print books all the way. (Unless it's like with Know Not Why, where I dl'ed it to my computer since it didn't have a print copy option.) But that's just me.

[lilycobalt]

My next attempt with audio books will have to be using a book I haven't read before. I think their best use might be for old favorites that I have in print, but somewhere else, and that I won't want to reread again and again. It makes sense that you've got a big enough print library that going to electronic wouldn't be logical. I used to feel the same way, especially before I had the iPad. But when so much of my print library is in California and I want to read something now, electronic becomes the way to go.

Know Not Why! I still need to pick that one up!

[theafterimages]

KNOW NOT WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY OMG YES YOU DO!! IT IS THE GREATEST!!

[bookishgeek]

I love my Kindle for books like the game of thrones series, that are just too damn fat to carry about.

My beloved Tortall Alanna books, though? If I didn't already have 'em all in print, I'd buy them again.

[lilycobalt]

That is a good use of e-books. Those books are massive. I love them, but they can be difficult to carry.

I'm definitely buying Alanna, Daine, and Kel again--it's just a matter of what format I get them in.

[rosefyre]

...Only 17 unread books? I have that many on my Kindle app on my iPad, let alone the three full shelves of print books. :P

[lilycobalt]

Well, I do have about 80 books on my "to read" list on Goodreads. I just have a thing about purchasing new books before I've read the ones I already own

[rosefyre]

True on the subway/train, but I also know the timing well enough - and I mostly read on the train part, or at lunch. The subway is admittedly 7 minutes on one and and about 2 on the other, so reading isn't as doable, but even then I'll sometimes get a little in. The train, however, is 40 minutes, so I know when I need to get off, and it's more private than a subway, so less, like, looking out for creeps and thieves and such. Also, on my commute home, I get off at the last stop, so it's not like I'm going to miss it...and if I did, a conductor would point it out, as has happened before when I have fallen asleep on the train.

My least favorite was having to write a thank you note to the asshole who sent me a check 11 months after my bat mitzvah. I was like, dude, it's a CHECK which requires NO THOUGHT and it's ELEVEN MONTHS LATE, WHY DO I HAVE TO WRITE A THANK YOU NOTE I'D RATHER NOT HAVE THE MONEY AND NOT HAVE TO WRITE ONE...but my mom made me. Sigh.

[meepalicious]

What the hell were your English teachers even thinking? A visual learner is someone who, uh, learns visually, not expresses themselves visually… Duh, English teachers. Jeeze. (I'm also a not-artistically-inclined visual learner, so that would have annoyed the snot right out of me.)

I read lots of free (and, er, "free") books on my phone, but I've found that, for some reading experiences, the physical copies cannot be replaced. I had my mom ship my entire Dark Tower set to me, and after yet another failed attempt to read Good Omens on my phone, I'll either ask her to send my copy next time she puts together a care package, or buy it from one of the English-language bookshops here.

So, I guess it really depends on the books? I was surprised that I was able to read Harry Potter on my phone, considering the physical copies are so important to me (important enough that I even collect foreign editions), but I was not able to read Dark Tower without the lovely ink-and-paper smell

[lilycobalt]

I have no idea what was wrong with them! Fortunately, I got some good ones, but I have learned to cringe whenever someone says, "I'm a visual learner."

I'm not sure how to identify books that work in print versus those that can be read electronically. Old favorites will certainly not be the same in any format other than what I'm used to. For instance, The Dark Is Rising? I will never get e-books of that. It demands to be read with its yellowing pages. Same with a book like Hogfather, which I usually read whenever the Christmas season rolls around.