By Ed Vasicek on
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Featured Poll

Poll Results

How much of your reading is done via hardcopy (books, magazines, papers) compared to electronic (computer, kindle, etc.)?

All or almost all hard copy Votes: 1
Mostly hard copy Votes: 5
Somewhat even or balanced between the two Votes: 9
Mostly electronic Votes: 4
All or almost all electronic Votes: 0
Other Votes: 0

(Migrated poll)

N/A
0% (0 votes)
Total votes: 0

Discussion

Tue, 04/17/12
I would say that I am pretty balanced between electronic reading and hard copy reading, probably slightly leaning toward electronic.

I have a Kindle reader and use it a lot; I also do a lot of reading via the computer, including Sharper Iron, of course.

I think books will always be around; in some ways, they are handier, less precious (in case of loss or damage), can be marked. When I use my ESV Bible on the Kindle, it is a nuisance to go to the index, choose a book, choose a chapter, and scroll to the verse. I am much quicker on the draw with a hard copy.

Still, I do not have to carry a stack of books when I study with my Kindle, and I have many books I could not afford to purchase otherwise, especially reference material. For example, I purchased a 28 volume set of (most of) the Talmud for 89 cents. Many public domain works are free.

How about you? How has the electronic revolution affected your study habits? (or has it?). Please share any tips with us we might not know, too.

"The Midrash Detective"

Tue, 04/17/12
I tend to prefer hardcopies for fiction (because I read curled up in a chair or in bed), and PC or Kindle for nonfiction- the features make studying easier. The only exception is fiction we are reading for school credit. I download some of those to Kindle for PC.

Scenescape Media

Wed, 04/18/12
[Susan R] I tend to prefer hardcopies for fiction (because I read curled up in a chair or in bed), and PC or Kindle for nonfiction- the features make studying easier. The only exception is fiction we are reading for school credit. I download some of those to Kindle for PC.
I tend to like fiction in Kindle myself. Sometimes a good book can be free or very inexpensive, and I read it once and am done.

"The Midrash Detective"

Wed, 04/18/12
[Ed Vasicek]
[Susan R] I tend to prefer hardcopies for fiction (because I read curled up in a chair or in bed), and PC or Kindle for nonfiction- the features make studying easier. The only exception is fiction we are reading for school credit. I download some of those to Kindle for PC.
I tend to like fiction in Kindle myself. Sometimes a good book can be free or very inexpensive, and I read it once and am done.
I’m a re-reader. Sometimes I’m a re-re-re-reader. :D

And I admit it- I must have physical books. I like the way they look, feel, and smell. I decorate with books- they are stacked EVERYWHERE, and I find their presence comforting.

I am sure there is a support group out there for people like me. http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php] http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-fc/book.gif

Scenescape Media

Wed, 04/18/12
Susan, I don’t doubt there is such a thing as your support group.

“Hi, I’m Susan, and I’m addicted to paper books.”

“Hi, Susan!”

I don’t dislike paper books at all, but given I don’t have a very large house, I dislike all the room they take up. My shelves were starting to be completely unusable from all the books there, rather than neatly ordered shelves with the books put away properly (I had way too many to do that).

Once my wife and I got started on eBooks, there was really no turning back. Curling up in a chair or in bed as you do is just as easy with a Kindle or iDevice. Plus, I have all my books right there with me. Since my kids share the same accounts for Kindle, iBooks, etc., they can read the whole library at the same time, and that includes my daughter in college in Germany.

I recently gave away 20 years of National Geographic, since I have ALL the magazines in a digital format back to when the magazine started. They look even better on my 27” monitor than on a magazine in my lap, and they are completely searchable, including maps, inserts, etc. I have also done this with all my years of Hang Gliding & Paragliding magazine. I would gladly do it with all the last remaining member publications I receive if that option were available. It is simply too easy to go back and read them, not to mention not taking huge amounts of space.

I do public missions updates and scripture readings from my mobile device as well as using it for my personal reading and study Bible. I think I’ve read from a paper Bible maybe 5 times in the past 4 years.

I do like books, but the truth is, I mostly like reading, and that is just as easy electronically. I do have a few signed books, but if I could replace my entire library except for those for a reasonable rate, I’d do it today.

I’ve even now gotten to the point where if I get anything in the mail that I need to keep, I just scan it, store it encrypted in the cloud (with a local backup), and shred it.

If I could own something like an original KJV or a few other collectibles, that would be one thing, but otherwise, the complete changeover to no longer using paper can’t come soon enough for me.

Dave Barnhart

Thu, 04/19/12
I am a hard copy guy through and through. However, I will not pass up a good deal to save money on the Kindle edition of a book.

Thu, 04/19/12
I think I would enjoy e-reading for fun, but I like marking my serious books too much to imagine giving up the hard copies. Does the Kindle provide some way to make notations in text, or at least in the margins, as well as underline text as you go?

Why is it that my voice always seems to be loudest when I am saying the dumbest things?

Thu, 04/19/12
[Chip Van Emmerik] I think I would enjoy e-reading for fun, but I like marking my serious books too much to imagine giving up the hard copies. Does the Kindle provide some way to make notations in text, or at least in the margins, as well as underline text as you go?
Chip, you can definitely highlight text as well as make notes. Not only that, you can go to your Kindle account on the web and see all the notes/highlights, so you don’t have to thumb through the entire book to find them. You can even make them public if that’s of interest to you for certain books — perhaps you would want to make comments that others can read.

We actually only own 1 Kindle, and that belongs to my daughter in college. The rest of us use the Kindle program on our iDevices and on the Macs at home.

Dave Barnhart

Thu, 04/19/12
More like an exorcism!

OK, enough kidding. I’m not against electronic media at all. I love gizmos. I use Kindle on my phone all the time. But I doubt I’ll ever spend more time reading from a Kindle or similar device than from paper books. It’s probably always going to be about a 70/30 ratio. Maybe 60/40 if I ever get a regular Kindle.

My birthday is in December.

Scenescape Media

Fri, 04/27/12
I would say that lately, most of my reading has been electronic(i.e. online articles, christian websites, free ebooks, etc). I have nothing against physical books, it’s just that with times being how they are, I cannot afford to go out and buy books like I used to. Instead I must try to read and find answers online whenever I can, or just put off buying the books that sound interesting to me, until I have carefully read the reviews on it, and searched for a good price on it.

The Internet is such a wonderful resource. One can find information on almost any subject on it.