Now that most use ebooks, what do you prefer as your alternative?

[NightGoat]

Altered books?  How cool....  Love altered books.

Betsy

I'm kinesthetic and visual by nature.
The reason audiobooks and just plain ole reading doesn't seem to work for me much of the time.

[CrystalStarr]

If forced rlto choose I'd go with paperback. They are cheaper and lighter.

[QuantumIguana]

Paperbacks. I have a couple authors who are must-haves in paper, C.J. Cherryh and Terry Pratchett. It's just a rule of thumb for me not to buy hardcover, it saves money. It means I have to wait until I can buy it, but that's the choice I make. For my real keepers, I might check it out from the library, and then buy it in paperback later. If it's public domain, I get it on the Kindle. For science fiction and fantasy, I buy in paper to support my local independent bookstore (if it is available there). Non-fiction, I'll buy on the Kindle.

[QuantumIguana]

I'm kinesthetic and visual by nature.
The reason audiobooks and just plain ole reading doesn't seem to work for me much of the time.

For me, audiobooks have their purpose, they are good for long trips in the car. But they are very linear. Things come at you at the audiobook's pace, not yours. With text, you digest it at your own speed, stop to think, and you can easily look back to get a better understanding of what you just read. If your attention drifts while listening to an audiobook, you miss what was said.

[cjonthehill]

Hardbacks for me!  Although price comes into play since I usually only get paper books because they are significantly cheaper than an ebook version.  If the price is right I'll settle for a paperback, but much prefer the hardback form.

[kindlegrl81]

If I absolutley have to read someting other than an ebook (  ) I like the bigger paperback books; there is a name for them but I can't remember it right now.  The font was always a little bigger in those so I found them nicer to read.

[Beatriz]

I know that ebook people tend to just get ebooks but if you wanted to read a few books in physical form, which would you prefer; hardcover or paperback?

my choice:hardcover

Paperback.  Although there's something majestic and respectful about a hardcover.

[teeitup]

I often read on my lunch hour at work and HB's are so much easier since they lay flatter, plus PB's tend to cramp my hand after a while.  I have lots of HB's still to read so I try to slide one in every 2-3 ebooks that I read.  I spent a lot of money to get 'em so will read them eventually.

[jackz4000]

I guess I am in the hardcover camp, probably after so many years of reading that way I like the whole paper and ink thing and turning pages etc. But, carrying a couple hardcovers around with you can be bulky and a pain. BUT, I really like the convenience of ebooks. I can download one anytime and anywhere instantly and I can have 30 with me and no added weight. That is a great feature.

[ValeriGail]

I love all books.  Ebooks have become my love because I can no longer hold a book to read for longer than a few minutes, but if I had my choice, I would still chose a hardcover even though I love my K3 to pieces. The kindle brought reading back to me, but something comes over me when my head is stuck in my books, or I'm working with the ones I sell.  When I'm off in my books, its like I'm surrounded by the history of hundreds of creative minds and its awe inspiring.  I love it.  So now, I buy my hardcovers of my absolute favorites, to sit on my shelves.  But, like everything else in my life... its a hunt.  I never buy new (except for harry potter, that was an exception), part of my joy is in the finding, the search.  Yesterday I found a hardcover copy of Sara Donati's Fire along the sky, and you would have thought I was a kid in a candy store!  I already have it in paper back, but finally finding it in my rural town, in a resale shop for $3 was the find of the year for me.  And it is even getting wrapped and put under the tree, merry christmas to me!   Now I've got two hardcover's of her wilderness series, that leaves 4 more to go! lol 

I love all the different perspectives shared here!  There are times I loved the smaller paper backs, and times I hated them.  I love the larger paper backs too, and think they look awesome on a shelf.  Almost as nice as a hardcover.  I have a love hate relationship with dust jackets, specially on older books. 

Though I am a die hard kindler, and will sell the kindle to anyone and everyone... just did yesterday to a lady at the thrift store after giving her a book I had picked up that she wanted to read.  She wanted to know why I had given it to her instead of calling her after reading the book, and I explained that I wasn't going to read the actual book and that I could read it on my kindle.  So we started talking about the kindle, and I showed her the free kindle book listing for the day and there were two books she had on her wish list, and bam.. sold!  lol.  She was off to walmart (even though I tried to talk her into going straight to amazon) to purchase the fire.  Love where reading takes me.. I never know!, sell a kindle one day, a book another.  I love what both sides of the coin bring to the table.  So, I know that a lot of people say that the e-readers will be the death of printed books and all that jazz, but I hope not.  I think there is still a lot of joy to be had in the physical aspects of printed words.  Whether they be in the form of Magazines, Trade paper backs, Hardcovers, or Newspapers.  Digital is great, but I hope it doesn't destroy everything... seems to be a book in there somewhere.

[mooshie78]

text Is text to me. I have no problems reading on my kindle or iPad or a paperback or hardback.

[NightGoat]

For me, audiobooks have their purpose, they are good for long trips in the car. But they are very linear. Things come at you at the audiobook's pace, not yours. With text, you digest it at your own speed, stop to think, and you can easily look back to get a better understanding of what you just read. If your attention drifts while listening to an audiobook, you miss what was said.

And that's a problem for me, my attention drifts with audiobooks. Now, I was commuting awhile back and actually fed the TTS through my car's audio. I think it helped that Kindle's TTS is a little weird, so it kept my attention a bit more.

[MagentaSunset]

A mix of hardcover and paperback.  It is important for me to have some classics in hardback form because I tend to re-read them and want them to stand up to years of use.  But 80% of my reading now is e-books. 

[DreamWeaver]

I read ebooks almost exclusively now, but I prefer hardcover over paperback.

[Cardinal]

I know that ebook people tend to just get ebooks but if you wanted to read a few books in physical form, which would you prefer; hardcover or paperback?

Whichever the library has.

[Matthew W. Grant]

I always preferred paperback for comfort and hardcvover for durability.  When I hold the paperback open and turning the pages,  I am always afraid to ruin the cover so I end up trying not to open it very far.  One good aspect of that over the years was that I always kept the paperbacks in such good condition that I could sell them back to used book stores.

[acellis]

Hardbacks are too expensive, too big and too uncomfortable to read in bed.

[DreamWeaver]

Hardbacks are too expensive, too big and too uncomfortable to read in bed.

I agree; hardbacks can be big and heavy. And expensive (although that doesn't really affect me since I usually borrow from the library).

I just realized why I do prefer hardbacks:

• Paperback book covers so often get bent and beat up. I really love book cover art!
• I like the way a hardback feels in my hands.
• Paperbacks can be more difficult to keep open—especially when they're new.
• And paperback print can be more difficult to read.

I guess there are pros and cons with each.

[CaroleC]

To be honest, I haven't read a paper book since I bought my K2 a couple of years ago. Now I am using my K3. I may never read a paper book again. I'm serious.

Last night I read half a book in MS Word, provided to me by the author who is half done with it and wanted some feedback. Don't know if that counts as an e-book or not, since it wasn't on my Kindle. But anyway, it's not paper, either.