Do you still buy books printed on paper?

[Apache]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Of course I do. E-readers are good for some kinds of books, not so good for others.

Coffee table artbooks/serious non-fiction how-to/academic reference don't really work all that well on a 6" e-ink screen, though some publishers do give it a valiant try.

And I'm a used bookshop haunter as well. Despite the mushrooming of backlist e-prints for certain categories of genre fiction, there's still an overwhelming majority of stuff which has simply not been available new in any format for years, if not decades, and which I don't expect to become so any time soon.

This. I still like to browse bookstores.
I only by Paperback Fiction if they are not available is ebooks.
Apache

[Yapyap]

I voted for "a mixture", although it's a mixture that's very heavily biased towards ebooks - I've either bought or pre-ordered ten paper books this year, eight of which I either already have or have pre-ordered also as ebooks (because I want those particular books also on my shelf and in the case of some of them, they use footnotes a lot and I find dealing with footnotes too much of a hassle even on the iPad, never mind my Kindle Keyboard). These are all books I'm quite sure I'll want to read again in the future, and prefer to have both in e-version and paper version.

Only one has been a book that's not available as an ebook, and one pre-order (JK Rowling's new book) is the hardback because I think I'd like it on my shelf and the ebook is just so expensive that in this specific case, I felt the hardback would represent better value for me.

On the other hand, I've also either bought or pre-ordered 164 ebooks this year, so ... with 164 ebooks vs 10 paper books, I think it's pretty obvious where my preferences are.

[Kirtai]

I've pretty much switched to ebook only. The only exceptions being gorgeous illustrated editions and graphic novels not available any other way.

I'd still like to have those as ebooks though, along with a reader that could do justice to them

[ficbot]

Yes, for cookbooks and fitness books. No for fiction.

[DuaneAA]

I checked the 'only purchase e-books' choice before reading people's comments. I haven't bought a fiction pbook in at least three years, but I was reminded I did purchase a couple of coffee table books for $5 apiece when Borders went out of business last year.

I just put my house on the market. As part of getting ready to move, I hauled 20 boxes of old books to Half-Price Books, many of which had been sitting in storage the whole 14 years I have lived in this house. I went from having over 2000 fiction pbooks to about 300. The ones I keep are either personal favorites or old books that might sell for more on ebay than what Half-Priced Books would offer, assuming I ever get motivated to set up an ebay account to try to sell them. (Is there a market for novels based on old 1970s TV shows like The Man from Atlantis, Buck Rogers, Six Million Dollar Man, Space:1999, etc.?)

Duane

[Belfaborac]

Of course I buy paper books. Like ATDrake said, not all formats are suited to eReaders. In my case I read a lot of history and older academic books often can't be found in electronic form. Nor always recent ones, for that sake.

Many of these are also a pure joy to keep on the shelves, simply because they look great. Fiction paperbacks on the other hand are only space fillers and I've given them all away as I've bought the e-versions, except for a few select keepers.

[AnemicOak]

I don't buy fiction books in paper. I do buy non-fiction works in paper from time to time.

[The Terminator]

I buy 100% eBooks.

[applesauce]

all ebooks. I need them in order to read, as I increase the font size.

applesauce

[xg4bx]

yes, very often. even if the ebook version is only 99 cents i'll still buy the paper version if i'm interested enough. i'll really only buy ebooks if its the only way to get it or if i'm not interested enough to buy the paper version.

[martienne]

Originally Posted by spindlegirl

Can't beat a bestseller hardcover for 50c that was only published about 24 months ago.

There are several sites online that can.... in case you have not heard...




.

I mostly read ebooks, but mostly buy pbooks.

I never really read the classics while growing up, so sites like Project Gutenberg will provide me with reading material for a very long time. I suppose that I could grab print copies, but ereaders are simply cheaper and more convenient in the long run.

In terms of modern books, I buy used or grab freebies. Since there isn't a market for used ebooks, print it is. (My apologies to the authors of the world, but I have a hard time justifying $10+ for a few hours of entertainment.)

[sunnysmiles]

Very rarely do I buy a book and if I do its always a Non fiction title . I also get quite a few new editions of books given to me. A perk of working in a Bookshop.

[sun surfer]

I'd rather buy mostly all e-books, but when I want to read a particular book, I want to read it regardless, so I've bought quite a few paper books in the last few years because they weren't available on e-book yet. I even have one coming in the mail right now.

[spindlegirl]

Originally Posted by martienne

There are several sites online that can.... in case you have not heard...




.

Heh, in spite of all the conversations and threads on this forum about the almighty "darknet" that one took a while for me to get.