If it's a book I'll read once and forget about (Reacher) the eBook. If it's a book I'll likely come back to or use for reference (God is not Great) then paperback.

Reading in the dark, at night or low light is great on iphone or on Kindle. But as pointed out, it depletes battery life and sometimes it's just nicer to use a book.

I prefer ebooks because of the portability factor. Ten minutes spare? Grab the mobile and have a quick read. Having said that, I've also had a couple of audio books. Put them on a USB stick and listen in the car, while driving.

There is no Audio Book" option, so ebooks it is.

Typography - ebooks make it up as they go along, support a few typefaces (not necessarily the ones that the publisher intended). Don't expect tracking and keening, or even any attempt at making the layout easier to read. It's just a slab of text, formatted by a computer.

Colour - epaper doesn't support it, so you need a more battery hungry "can't read in daylight" thing to see it.

That bloody flicker every time something changes (unless you gave a tablet). Epaper really isn't fit for purpose until that goes away.

Longevity. I know that fee if you may own a book that's over 150 years old, but there are a few at my parents' house. Will your ebook last that long?

I have tried reading books on my iPad and, frankly, reading should not be tiring, but it was. The iPad weighs considerably more than the equivalent paperback, so holding it for any length of time is a problem. Tablets rely on direct light, not reflected, so it tired the eyes more (even if you use "night mode").

Comics - well, I buckled and started buying the Tintin books on my iPad. I also bought a couple of 2000AD as well, and the experience is just not as good as paper. You don't get the impact of a double page spread (2000AD likes to surprise the reader with those). Pinching and zooming around to read the captions and speech bubbles seems plain wrong.

On the whole, I am not that convinced by them as a replacement for paper. Maybe as a supplement, a bit like the multi format DVDs you can buy, but I wound not want to rely on an electronic copy of a book as my sole copy of a text.

The convenience of having 100s of books on a single device seems like a really good idea until you realise that:

1. Dropping your eBook reader in the bath or leaving it behind somewhere is going to cost you more than £10 to get it fixed or replaced.

2. There's still way too many books that you want to read that haven't been converted to eBook format and unlike you CDs it's not a trivial task to do it yourself - even digitising a vinyl LP is easier than any book.

Oh my goodness, digital comics are the worst. Even on the iMac here, just wrong.

You shouldn't use smartphones or tablets to read at night, especially in bed, the blue light from the LCD disrupts the brain. Kindle with LED sidelight is better.

i just read the entire culture series by iain m banks on my phone. nice to be able to read without disturning the missus with a light on, nice to have them in my pocket for whenever i had a chance to read them, nice to be able to increase text size when i was a tired. i followed up with a paperback of ender's game from a charity shop, much nicer experience.

All Books!!

We have an extensive paper-book collection which is re-read and well-loved, I also have a Kindle which is well-used, I love audiobooks in the car and in the gym.......I often have 4 or 5 different books in different media going on simultaneously, Kindle is easier to read in bed, doesn't hurt so much when I drop it on my face, but nothing beats curling up on the sofa with a fresh cup of tea, a cuddly kitty and a nice page-turner

Depletes battery life? So you're saying you shouldn't read from iPhone or Kindle because it will use the battery. That's absolute nonsense lol. They are made to be used on battery power.



Really? iBooks on the iPhone has night mode and when I read from that or Kindle I very easily fall asleep.

There was a study either last year or earlier this year. The blue light coming from the LCD display affects the brain and disrupts the sleep rhythm. The study tried to say "eBook readers" in general, but that was debunked, because they only used iPads. The LED sidelighting from Kindles and other eBook readers don't have the "blue" frequency and don't disturb sleep rhythms.

I think we did have a long thread about it on here.

Well my rhythms are fine. I think if you're up playing games or on bookface late at night that is more likely to affect you getting to sleep. If I read before I go to sleep I'm asleep until my alarm goes off.

I don't have a backlight on my kindle, I only read it in day light or with a bedside light on. I guess whether the light from a kindle or a 'display' affects your sleep is one of those things that is entirely dependent on the person. Since everyone is different, it will have a different effect according to the person involved. Personally I have no issue falling asleep with a bedside light on, or with my laptop on playing an episode of QI, or in fact in the theatre, or at an opera, or anywhere if I'm tired Some people can't fall asleep if there's a loud clock ticking in the room.

Everyone is different? Shocker

Yes Amy I 100% agree with you

See my FPOTD