Ask HN: Do you still purchase physical books?

If it's cheaper than ebook.

I like paper books more than e-books, but which one I read depends on the type of content.

I prefer digital version for technical stuff, because it's often hard to get hardcopied version (e.g. for documentation) and the content will most probably expire in a year or two. The only technical books I buy in paper are those that don't expire, like "Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages, and Computation" (Hopcroft, Ullman).

On the other hand, I read novels almost exclusively on paper.

It all boils down to this: I only have so much spare place to keep paper, so I keep in paper only those that I will want to keep for ten years.

Always. No ebook can beat a paper book. Browsing and comparing a phisical book is orders of magnitude easier. Anyway, ebooks are good for casual reading.

Yes, but only non-technical ones or those that are meant for recreational reading. Somehow still enjoy a physical book more than one on kindle. For technical books, that I know will need updates soon enough, it's strictly e-books. Though the exception would be some timeless ones like those on algorithms or other similar concepts.

The way I think about it as a college student is that if it's a book I seriously enjoy and wouldn't mind having for the foreseeable future, then I would rather have a physical copy that I can stick in a shelf, pull out as needed, and just browse whenever I would like.

Yes.

I recently bought "A Game Of Thrones" (book one in the series) by George R. R Martin.

It's just something different.

I do enjoy reading a physical book more than an ebook but only by a little. It's interesting to me that people here so far seem to prefer technical books to be ebooks due to their short useful shelf life. I've reached the opposite conclusion - that I prefer technical books be paper only and novels/non-technical books may be either. This is because, in my experience, technical books tend to have diagrams or tables that don't render well on the Kindle and similar devices.

Generally. It's so easy to get overloading on the phones and laptops these days that it makes it much easier for me to stay focused on the task at hand when the book is physical. Other reasons I enjoy having physical books is I love sharing them with friends, they make my bookcases look nice, they're much more prescient than e-books, carrying them in a backpack with a computer and notebooks can be a small but nice addition to the moderate exercise that is walking, they don't die on me, paper doesn't bother me like backlit screens especially at night, and finally I don't particularly mind if I spill or damage one (I can bring them poolside, or to the beach, etc). Obviously to each his own but I can only read one book at a time and I usually have a backpack or big coat pocket so carrying them doesn't bother me.

Yes, I don't care for DRM content.

I strongly prefer ebooks. Occasionally I'll buy a physical book, for example if it is cheaper (used) than the ebook or I think my spouse might be interested in the book, too.

And children's books, I buy all of them in print.

Yes, I do. I enjoy the feeling of physical books and I like the fact that I can easily pass them to another human without trying to circumvent DRM or use some service that allows me to 'lend' books.

Also, I like to give people books I've read as gifts. One night at SFO flying to the UK I was with a colleague and I had a battered copy of "Antifragile" which I was able to hand to him so he could read it on the flight. No messing with technology; no thinking about what lending restrictions there were; no thinking about whether his technology was compatible with mine.

I've also written two books and there's nothing like being able to give signed copies to people.

I tend to buy a bunch of used books

I prefer a physical book over an ebook every time. I use my kindle only when I have to (travel).

Yeah, and I put mostly physical books on my amazon wish list which makes it easy for people to gift me things... After moving recently though I'm looking to digitize some, physical books are annoying to move. I don't have a preference for physical books over digital books, apart from I can't stand "ebooks" that aren't plain PDFs or web pages. I don't like e-ink. I have a collection of PDFs that I read on my tablet, phone, or usually my desktop setup.

I also must say I got some mirror glasses last year (http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61HShDnJT6L._SL1200_.j...) and while ridiculous, they're damn convenient sometimes.

Absolutely. The main reason is the abysmal typesetting of e-books, I don’t think there is a solution yet for having beautifully set type in a responsive electronic document. The library on my iPad is getting larger then my physical one though. Lots of scans of books that are not available anymore. And the amount of media we are able to carry around in electronic form still amazes me.

I have been reading all ebooks for a couple of years but recently switched back to physical books.

The main reasons for my switch is: easier to see what I have read or not, the tactile feeling, the thrill of getting the book (when ordering online :), my old eyes sigh has it easier with books.

yes just bought one today (Andrew Gelman's Bayesian Data Analysis). I still buy paper copies of math and classic programming books. I prefer ebooks for fiction

I prefer audio books: you can listen while traveling, cleaning, or doing other otherwise dull chores.

If there is no audio book, an ebook is the most convenient. I usually upload the text to my server and make it a big font on a dark background so I can read on any device anywhere (since it's only text, even 2G internet suffices). Any laptop, desktop, tablet, smartphone or even a feature phone with GPRS internet works. And I can then link it to friends also if I want to show them something.

But of course a real book is a real book. I like holding it as much as anyone, but like a superb meal that takes 3 hours to prepare, it's just too much of a hassle most of the time.

I should mention that I don't really read non-fiction. It's not in the question but most people here probably read a lot of technical stuff. I've never really worked that way (following tutorials or reading learning books when not required by school); instead I google what I want to know and learn the ins and outs by experimenting, taking from tutorials only the parts and pieces I need. Not sure how common this is, but it works for me.

Not if I can help it. Physical books are too inconvenient for me, plus I move around a lot and it's hard to carry a bunch of books with me.

I've gotten into photography recently, and those books are very hard to translate to a digital format, due to the layout. Those are the only ones I buy physical, the experience is good, but it's frustrating enough that I prefer digital.

Nope. Well, yes, but only as gifts for other people. I got a Kindle a few years ago as a way to have a lot of reading material in a small space (and weight) for long trips. It has served that purpose admirably. Even at home, being able to change the type size as my eyes tire in the evening is pretty nice. I can read any time and any place on my phone, including times and places where I probably wouldn't have bought a book (e.g. at lunch alone), and my reading progress is even synced with the Kindle back home. The reading experience itself doesn't seem much better or worse, but the various convenience factors add up.

Another reason is in the Indian sub continent many books (assuming you don't purchase illegally) the "Indian Sub-continent" edition physical copy is cheaper since Kindle books are almost always on the global price (though often cheaper than global print editions). This is especially true for many technical books.

Yes. I buy books with formulas, code (like physics, engineering, programming) in physical form, because the Kindle edition tends to look awful.

I only buy the Kindle edition of books that are purely text and/or throwaway (= I won't open it ever again), typically management, self-help books.

Also, I buy physical versions of fun books that I read before going to sleep, because I don't want anything digital (= capable of displaying notifications) in my hand when I'm preparing to go to sleep.

I don't think I understand more when I read a physical book, but unfortunately not all books are available on the Kindle. Plus I can't lent anyone my non-physical books.

That said if I could I would go 100% digital because the books are both cheaper and you can carry an entire library with you.

I do. Also:http://m.mic.com/articles/99408/science-has-great-news-for-p...