I think I hit the tipping point

[librarylady]

For the first time, I have turned down a FREE hardcover book to purchase a book on Kindle instead.  I have been wanting to read Team of Rivals by Doris K. Goodwin for a while, had many people recommend it, etc. Then someone gave me their hardcover they were done with and said I could keep it.  It is huge!  It is heavy.  The dustjacket kept slipping off as I tried to move it on my lap, so I had to take the dustjacket off. Then I had to find a bookmark (I have dozens people have given me, very nice ones too, but when you want a nice one they all seem to run away somehow).  Then I would want to read over lunch at work, but I hadn't brought the book in my bag because it was heavy.  Then I went on a trip and it wouldn't fit in my bag.  Over two months I had read just a few pages. 

So I donated the hardcover to the library and downloaded the free sample.  When I'm in mood to really read it, even at the current price, I'll pay it for the Kindle Konvenience!  I gave up a free book to buy one instead.  I think this is a tipping point.  Anyone else give up free dtbs because you wanted something on Kindle instead?

[talleylynn]

Yes, all the time. I volunteer at the local museum sorting and pricing the donated books. I can read any book that comes in for free and I pass them up because they are books. I am so comfortable reading on the kindle that I don't enjoy dealing with physical books anymore. I do, however, use my sorting and pricing time to add to my ever-growing wish list.

[pomlover2586]

Nope....I still take free DTB's if the topic interests me.......no point spending $ on a book if I don't have to- but unlike PP's I still enjoy reading DTB's in addition to my Kindle 

[Cyanide5000]

I've turned down a few - but they were ones i already had, or had read in the past. If there was a book i really wanted to read tho and it was offered for free, id still take it to read in the house.

[theaatkinson]

Funny thing is that I just got a Kindle for Christmas and I also got a regular book from my best friend.  When I started reading on the Kindle, I looked across under the tree at the regular, very thick and cumbersome, girl Who Played with Fire, and almost groaned.  I didn't believe I would ever prefer reading on screen to holding a book.  But the reader is very light and I can actually read hands-free.  It's very liberating

[Joe Chiappetta]

I would still take the physical book, unless the print was too small. Then I would definitely prefer the Kindle edition.

[CoffeeCat]

I've turned down many free DTBs because I'd rather read on my Kindle. I'll still buy/take a DTB if it's something I really love, a first edition or something of that nature that I want to add to my bookshelf, but for the most part I'd rather read on my Kindle.

[Raffeer]

Since Thanksgiving of '07 when my 1st Kindle arrived I have not read a DTB and I am surrounded by hundreds in my home. The OP said it so well. Reading on the Kindle is so liberating.
Among other things I didn't know "The Girl Who Played With Fire" was a thick book. I visualized it as, taut, the way it read. I had not thought of that before but I have no idea which books are "thick" or heavy. I only know if they are well written.

[mareyeka]

It's funny how we feel about things. Although I adore reading on my kindle, reading a book is a treat. I gave my husband (a non-kindler), Ken Follett's latest book in hard cover. I'm looking forward to reading it when he is done with it. I also received a paper back for Christmas as the result of a Secret Santa exchange. I'm going to finish the book I'm reading on Kindle right now (Half Broke Horses) and then I'm going to dive into the paperback.

There was also the "real" book I bought a month or so ago because it wasn't available as an ebook and I really wanted to read it.

[devonrex]

I think that the length of the book is going to be a huge factor in whether or not I buy the Kindle version, even if the DTB version is less expensive/available at library.  I've worn out at least 2 paperback versions of Gone with the Wind over the years, and I never wanted a hardcover version because it was too heavy. 

[mooshie78]

I still read paper books--honestly I still prefer it a bit to reading on the Kindle as long as I'm just reading at home and not needing to carry it around.

But I seldom buy any paper books anymore.  One of the main reasons I got an e-reader was to not have to buy books I'd only read once and then have to hassle with storing or donating/selling/giving to a friend etc.  So the only paper books I'll buy are academic books that I keep in my office (college professor) as e-books are too much of a hassle to mark up and flip through quickly etc., and things like Lord of the Rings that I re-read periodically.

[AnnetteL]

I can definitely relate! I have certain books I have to read (right now I'm a judge for a contest), and not all are on Kindle. I have to bribe myself with Kindle reading as a reward for getting through 50 pages of a regular book.

[kindlegrl81]

Depends on how big the DTB is and/or how dusty it is. 

When I bought my Kindle last year I had The Pillars of the Earth checked out. The minute I saw how convenient the Kindle was the huge book went back to the library and I downloaded it onto my Kindle.  I'm also allergic to dust so a book that has collected a layer of it is a PITA for me to read.

I wouldn't turn down a small, fairly new DTB that is free though.

[Jan Strnad]

I really have lost all interest in owning a dtb edition of a book unless it's an art book or somesuch.

I had to read a large hardback a few months ago and it felt incredibly clunky.

There's so much to read on Kindle that it would be easy for me to pass up a free hardback that I'd have to find space for.