how many du members read physical books in this day and age?

[AllaN01Bear]

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Yes, still prefer them /nt

[Trueblue1968]

49. i read on my kindle. can't read books in the dark living room.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

66. Have you considered buying a light of some kind?

[Trueblue1968]

75. i have a book light but i find the east of reading a kindle to be just great. I get many of my book

for FREE and you can't beat that price.

[hauckeye]

2. I do- mostly from the library

I prefer a physical book over a kindle version. It’s easier to flip back to refresh my memory about something that happened earlier.

[True Blue American]

34. I will never give up my books.

The Library is my best friend after I ran out of bookcases.

One of my first memories is waiting in front of my house for the Bookmoble. 8 books. We would all disappear into our bedrooms, read them, exchange with friends, read them.
I have Libby,too.

[zeusdogmom]

44. The bookmobile💕💕💕💕

Life saver especially during the summer when the school library was unavailable. Mom would load us up into the station wagon after lunch every other Wednesday. 5 kids and 2 reading parents really racked up the circulation statistics for that stop. (important numbers for libraries). The lumbering vehicle would drive up to the little country store, the door would open and aah! the world of books. At that point I had no idea how big libraries could actually be. School library about the size of today’s family rooms. Only limit - I had to be able to carry the books myself. The librarian would always have a couple of books waiting just for me - made me feel very special.

One of my many librarian jobs thru the years was to drive the bookmobile for a county library system. Sometimes another librarian went with me but usually it was just me. Best. Job. Ever.

[True Blue American]

46. Ours stopped right in front of our house.

Last edited Tue May 31, 2022, 03:09 AM - Edit history (1)

I was so anxious for that day! Took my boys to the Library ever Saturday.

One of my old friends at the Library told me they still have them in rural areas.

I bet you loved seeing those excited faces coming up the steps. Made life long book lovers!

[zeusdogmom]

60. Right in front of your house !!!

I could have taken a stack of books into the house and then come back for a second stack.

Yes bookmobiles are still a thing in rural areas. They also make stops at senior living centers in certain areas. A little tidbit - first bookmobile was a horse drawn cart in Washington County Maryland. Librarians on packhorses served remote mountainous areas of the south. Glad I had a regular vehicle, beast that it was.

Faces would always be wearing smiles as people climbed up the steps. Or on occasion I would walk their books to them because the steps were a burden or definite hinderance. Hopefully the new bookmobile was more accessible (after my time in the county).

There were times I would be in the grocery store, etc. and a little voice would say “Mommy. There’s the bookmobile lady”. Kind of felt I had to be on my good behavior when out in public. Public librarian, girl scout neighborhood chair - my face was a public face. It was a good time in my life.

No matter who you are or where you are, you never know when you will make a lasting impact on someone.

[True Blue American]

78. I just happened to be lucky

We lived on a corner. But 8 books was the limit. That is why we all shared. Books took us into places we never heard of.

Today I can visit, chat with people all over the world. Many of the places Ihave been, others I will never see.

[Ferryboat]

53. Not only read books, but collect, mostly pre 2000 mountaineering/climbing

Need to downsize, hard to get rid of.

[wnylib]

70. My 5th grade teacher introduced our class to

a paperback book club for children. You could buy paperbacks back then for 50 cents and 75 cents. Every 6 weeks we got a brochure listing the available choices, with short descriptions of each book. I poured over them, often wanting more than I could buy with my allowance. I would usually buy 2 or 3 books, but if there were 4 or 5 that I wanted, my mother would chip in for me to get them. If the class ordered enough books, we got one free for the class. I looked forward to each new brochure of choices. I still remember some of the titles.

Today I read only physical, hard copy books. Maybe it's just a matter of what I am used to, but I prefer the feel of a book in my hands over reading on a screen.

[zeusdogmom]

81. Scholastic Books

We had those fliers, too. I drooled over those flimsy pieces of newsprint. The titles were never those found in our library. Back in the 50’s school library books had to be “quality” literature - no Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, etc. 😡 I earned money to buy and thankfully my parents always found a bit of money to help me and my siblings buy books. My kids did the same in grade school. Think Scholastuc runs book fairs now for the schools. Still a chance for kids to have their own books. I think we sometimes forget how important it is for a child to have a private library of favorite reads.

Can you imagine what a headache those book orders could be for teachers? Yet they passed those fliers out every couple of months.

[wnylib]

88. Thanks. I didn't know what organization

was behind those book fliers. I had quite a collection, though. I kept them in a box long after I had outgrown them. Planned on saving them for my own children some day, just as my mother had saved her hard cover collection of Louisa May Alcott books, which I read.

But when we moved and my mother was clearing out the attic, she gave them to my younger cousins.

[zeusdogmom]

91. The younger cousins probably enjoyed them very much

But it was a loss of a dream for you.

I have found the inexpensive paperback books do not age well in storage. The pulp paper used in the paperbacks is high in acid, turns yellow and brittle. The Little House on the Prairie books looked pretty sad and not very appealing to anyone. Some precious hardback books did better. Decided a trip to the local children’s bookstore was necessary. So many good kids books out there despite what the RWNJ say.

[lastlib]

90. I will give up my books.....

...when they pry them out of my cold, dead, stiff fingers.

Many of the books in my library don't exist in electronic form. Can't find the 1871 printing of Thomas Cooley's Constitutional Limitations in an e-book. 0r 1908 Constitutional History of England, either.

Has anybody seen John Hobson's 1938 thriller Imperialism: A Study in an e-book?

[True Blue American]

94. I would like to read that

Constutiomal History of England. We have a young man studying to be a Barrister on one of our boards. Right now I am reading Jeffrey Archer,” In Plain Sight.” A series, Barristers and Scotland Yard.

[lastlib]

95. .

THE CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND, by FREDERICK W. MAITLAND (London: Cambridge University Press), publ. 1908

I'll see if I can find an ISBN for you. I found it in a used bookstore in Lawrence, KS.

on edit: ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1149332405 Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/constitutional-history-of-england-a-course-of-lectures-delivered-f-w-maitland/1100685789?ean=9781443729567

$36.99 paperback. I'm not sure it's the same book, maybe a compilation of lectures, but same author (dated 1920)

Hope this helps!

[question everything]

71. Indeed. I am now reading Josephine Tey's The Daughter of Time

It is about Richard III and in the first two pages there is the genealogy of the royals those days. So many Richards, and Edwards, and Elizabeths. Thus, reading I constantly go back to that page to better follow who is who.

I will have hard time doing this digitally.

And I certainly flip back reading mysteries. When did the butler announce that dinner was served?

[yardwork]

83. I love that book! Enjoy!

[CJW]

74. I do. a couple a week

… from the library

[Bluethroughu]

3. I prefer a book.

The weight in your hands, the pages turning, and the jackets illustrations.

[Ocelot II]

4. I do, all the time.

I also get e-books and audio books if they are something I might not want to keep - casual reading, murder mysteries and the like - just in order to save space. But for "serious" reading I buy real paper books.

[zanana1]

5. I always have an old fashioned paper book to read.

I can't be bookless.

[True Blue American]

35. Amen!

Reading, “ coddling Of The American Mind now.

[Nululu]

6. I do. Need a break from the screens.

[Midnight Writer]

7. Read'em every day.

[Shrike47]

8. Me. Don't use electronic.

[dweller]

9. I do

✌🏻

[zeusdogmom]

10. Actual paper books - usually library books

But my phone and iPad are loaded with books for those times I am not at home. I frequently have 5-6 different books going at any one time.

I LOVE to read. What a gift my parents and teachers gave me - the love of books and reading. I cannot imagine a day without books.

[True Blue American]

36. So glad to know there is another just like me!

[Tree-Hugger]

11. Me

I love the library.

I don't mind reading news, celeb gossip (don't judge), and other non-fiction content online. For novels, I prefer a regular book. I don't even like reading them on Kindles or Nooks.

[planetc]

12. I always have four or five books out from the library, so I won't run out.

I tried an e-book once, but it didn't convince me it was a book. There is a term "abibliophobia." That's the fear of running out of new books to read. It can only be managed by relying on a good public library.

[Bristlecone]

13. I do. I don't do well with ebooks at all. Audio however is great

[highplainsdem]

14. I do. I read so much on screens otherwise that I do not want to read books that way.

[brer cat]

15. I do. I always have a stack of books to read by my bed.

[secondwind]

16. I prefer books but use my Kindle .... because I live outside the U.S. LOVE BOOKS!!

[Tracer]

17. I'm a real book reader too.

I've tried downloading books from my library's apps, but it requires me to sit at the computer to read them. I sit at the computer way more than I should anyway so adding e-books to my day is not for me.

Give me a comfy chair, a nice light and a "paper" book and I'm happy.

[mnhtnbb]

18. I do. Every day.

I use my county library to get most of my books, but I also buy some. Recently, I bought a copy of The 1619 Project because it was in such demand at the library I knew I wouldn't be able to renew it, once my hold came up. It takes me longer to get through a non fiction book like that, and I wanted to be able to take my time and really digest the information.

I average a book/week, mostly fiction, with some memoirs and political books, all hard copies.

[3catwoman3]

19. I like the feel of a book in my hands.

And, as hauckeye said above in post #2, you can easily flip back to earlier pages if there is a detail you want to check on. With a physical book, I'll have a sense of where to flip back to - early, middle, near the end. With an e-book, I have no sense of where I am in the book.

[BlueTsunami2018]

20. I do.

I don’t like audiobooks or kindle.

[Hangingon]

21. I do. And printed newspapers

[snowybirdie]

22. Not any more

After retirement and moves, I use my Kindle and Audible these days. Has anyone tried to get rid of volumes and volumes of books? No one wants them. I tried libraries, nursing homes and just giving to friends, but its hard these days.

[True Blue American]

38. Donate them

One stack at a time. I am purging.

[Skittles]

58. do you have a Half Price book store near you

that's where mine go (I get a lot from them too)

[snowybirdie]

62. This was about ten years ago

It took real effort in a small town. I finally got them all good homes, but that's why I do kindle and library e-books now. I can enjoy books without the physical books. And I don't accrue fines for late returns. LOL!

[True Blue American]

79. Libraries quit charging for over due books.:)

I get a notice email every week as to how much time I have.

Libby is bad about returning them. They give you notice. If some one else is waiting you lose the book.

[c-rational]

23. Yes, actually I only read 'real' books. I like turning pages.

[unc70]

24. Many "real" books

Many from the library, plus many others. Also electronic versions when traveling. Currently in Europe, using Libby for most reading.

[lapfog_1]

25. I do

why?

[bottomofthehill]

26. I still love reading a book. Also the Sunday paper.

I love my kindle but still enjoying grabbing a book and reading it cover to cover. It is often my airport guilty pleasure. Some people have a couple drinks before flying I like to hit the airport magazine stand and grab a book.

[sdfernando]

27. I still read REAL books

I like to hold it and feel the paper as I turn the page.

I do enough reading on electric media during the work day. The eyes need a break.

[usonian]

28. I typed a long-ish reply

but somehow accidentally backed up to the previous page and lost my typing.

TBH, I draft serious/longer stuff in Evernote app, which rarely loses any typing, unlike web forms, which can and do lose typing all the time.

Damn, that was a nice post while it lasted.

[AllaN01Bear]

52. dont feel too bad. i accidently hit a button or delete complety. thanks for you thoughts .

[Joinfortmill]

29. I love books. I've written a few, but I only buy specific hardcover books to add to my library.

[PJMcK]

30. I read real books

My library is part of my life. I have hundreds of books. They're my friends. Many of the non-fiction books are useful references.

[Binkie The Clown]

31. I read the first book of a trilogy on Kindle, but then ordered the boxed set...

... so that I could read them for real. I prefer paper and ink to ebooks.

[sinkingfeeling]

32. Only way I read them.

[rownesheck]

33. I prefer physical books.

Nothing beats the smell of paper.

[fierywoman]

37. I do. Yards of 'em.

[Chalco]

39. I do. Working on about 5 at the same time. nt

[cloudbase]

40. Exclusively. n/t

[Scrivener7]

41. Me!

[babylonsister]

42. Me, solely, all the time, every day. nt

[tirebiter]

43. With long treks on busses in South America

Books are what kept me sane. There are gringo hangouts all along the gringo trail with 2 for one trade policies on books in English also to be found in airports and big cities. I’ve stil got a copy of “7 Years in Tibet,” that I picked up in southern Ecuador.

[eppur_se_muova]

45. I suppose eBooks are good for disposable commodity literature and technical manuals ...

... not for a comfy, leisurely read that's genuinely worth it.

[hlthe2b]

47. Not as often as I'd like, but I prefer reading physical books and likewise find things faster

in reference and technical (medical) books than trying to search ebook versions. But, the latter are so convenient and transportable and be readily updated.

[Better Days Ahoy]

48. Yes indeedy

Much more satisfying than swiping a backlit screen. And I can do what Mad Magazine called marginalia.

[wryter2000]

50. I do

I read e-books, too. I always have a physical book near the toilet for ease of reading.

On edit, I found that I'm perfectly comfortable reading a book on my phone. I actually prefer it to my Kindle, which gets kind of heavy after a while. I use the Kindle for games and sometimes surfing DU.

[Solly Mack]

51. I do

[BlueGreenLady]

54. My town library holds library night at the local pub.

Once a month I order 3-4 books to read through the month. This event introduces people to new books I would not have thought to check out. Good wine and a good book. It’s close to heaven. 🍷

(Could not find an emoji for books or library).

[sakabatou]

55. A couple, but I'm more of an audiobook person

[Skittles]

56. ME, lots of them

I have always been an avid reader, and very much prefer real books. I spend thirteen hour shifts staring at five consoles with dozens of logical partitions, I want a PAPER book.

[GoldandSilver]

57. Avid book reader here.

Prefer hardbacks but paperbacks will do in a pinch.

[avebury]

59. I am an avid ebook and

ebook reader.

[Laffy Kat]

61. I do.

I can concentrate better while holding a book. I don't know why.

[electric_blue68]

63. I have both NYC's Cloud Library for books, and physical books...

I picked up the ebooks service because of covid Summer of '20. I read on my cell phone - the only pace I have wifi. I'm pretty fine with it. My sis gave me her old Kindle with lots of books on it. I have no idea where it went to!

I have mostly fiction in paperback. Some trade paper back for art and craft stuff.
I have a bunch of hard cover for nature books, the "Art of"___ (various movies), a few SF novels.

I 💖 love my books. Had to downsize. Will also again as I am moving to a smaller place.

Right now I'm e reading the news Watergate book. I don't think I'll finish it in time (doubt I can renew it for now). I'll have to get back to it later.

[Frostlight]

64. Nowhere NEAR what I used to.

I read most everything online or Kindle.

[we can do it]

65. I do, though not as often as I used to.

[Not Heidi]

67. When I find my book on the history of aviation

(it's somewhere in the garage), I'll reread it. If it's available electronically, I can't find it.

Other than that, it's an e-reader for me.

(Wings: A History of Aviation from Kites to the Space Age, by Tom Crouch, a former Smithsonian Air & Space Museum director.)

[FakeNoose]

68. I've been reading e-books only for at least 10 years, maybe longer

I'll admit that it takes a little bit of patience to train yourself to read the digital format.

My sister is almost my age - only a few years younger and she buys printed books constantly. Then she gives them away because she runs out of room. My tablet e-book reader holds several hundred books at a time, and I can always replenish with the books I have stored on my computer. I'll never run out of books. Also I read newspapers and magazines in digital format.

You guys should understand that I spent my entire 40+ year career working in the printing industry. I was a typesetter, a proofreader, a production manager, and then I graduated up into sales, customer service and sales management. I saw this e-book trend coming a long time ago and I embraced it readily.

By the time our grandchildren reach their golden years, there will be no ink-on-paper printing any more, it will be all digital by then.

[question everything]

69. I do. Prefer them unless the ebook is the only one available from the library

Interesting, though, the catalog indicates whether a book - in any format - is available and if not, how many are waiting on how many copies.

I just got a "physical" book the other day, there were plenty of copies while the eBook had several waiting..

[Elessar Zappa]

72. I do!

I’m on a Stephen King kick right now.

[airplaneman]

73. Love my life collection - many science math and nature books n/t.

[DFW]

76. I prefer them

To either Kindle or audio

[nolabear]

77. I read everything.

I love paper books. But I sometimes get a Kindle book if it’s throwaway reading. And I listen to audiobooks while driving. Different genres, different media.

[betsuni]

80. I decided about seven years ago to buy new releases of books for the first time in my life

because I'm old with one foot in the grave, don't want to wait until the paperback comes out because might be dead. No reading or eating after you're dead.

I remember writer Jane Smiley saying how after she had a bestseller she could finally afford newly released hardback books and what a luxury. They're not even that expensive anymore, not much more than paperbacks if you just wait for mark-down on Amazon (don't live in the U.S., no library, favorite used book store here went out of business).

Right now reading a wonderful book, Edward Lee's "Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef's Journey to Discover America's New Melting-Pot Cuisine." Guy who travels long distances for meals, never waste an appetite, will eat two chili dogs before eight o'clock in the morning, steals menus. I love him.

"Finally, I order the cafe's Lagman Soup. It has broad flour noodles in a rich meat broth with garlic, red bell pepper, celery, tomatoes, cabbage, and long beans. ... I don't like it -- not because it isn't delicious, but because my mind can't reconcile the flavors. ... Noodles in lamb broth -- a combination I've never tasted before. The aggressive flavor of wet earth and blood paralyses me. The broth from a typical Chinese cook is viscous but masked with spices and medicine. His hands work fast and light, like those of a piano player, and you can taste that fast work in his broth. This broth, however, is heavy and slow. There is more than just lamb in here. I can taste the ancient cutting board, the hammered tin pot, the heat, the bleating animal, the veined, arthritic hands of a cook moving with pain and tension."

[yardwork]

82. Me!

[Emile]

84. Retired truck driver and I still prefer audio books. I love

having a professional reader reading to me.

[pansypoo53219]

85. i am a dyslexic reader. and since i started doing estate sales i have found so many good OLD books.

i used to read mysteries, a few classics. but then i got 4 free 1921 encyclopedia britannica + F was SO GOOD pre-science. i stopped reading new fiction. and my hunt for a complete Eb set began. wish i got the 1921 set, but i found a 1891 set i found w/ 26 vol i think. i am rereading f. i went to art school + would buy stuff at our library. reading 1908 famour orations. except greek + bede. ick poo. i grabbed a EXCELLENT WW1 book. floyd gibbons-and they said we wouldn't fight. studs terkel books. OOH! my deco decameron i bought for the illustration. 'best' translation. so good i have 3 or 4 now. i really need to get to my memoirs of caninova. found some teddy roosevelts. AND! two govt memorial books. i read some of sen taft's. then i found fighting bob lafollate's. then my family books........i just finished grant's memoirs. had to google tree-calf binding.

[hunter]

86. Our house would collapse if we added any more physical books to our home library.

We have literally thousands of them.

My wife and I read a lot.

We buy physical copies of the books we really like and give away old books, trying to achieve some balance.

If you've ever seen the book bins at the "buy by the pound" Goodwill outlet-distribution centers it's really depressing. There's only a few customers regularly checking for treasure in there.

"One man's trash is another man's treasure," isn't really true about books.

Theodore Sturgeon had it right when he said "ninety percent of everything is crap."

Most of our home library was acquired before ebooks. When I'm making room for new books I don't feel bad anymore recycling books that didn't age well, either physically or by content. I'm also pretty ruthless with books I despised, even those "that made me think." Die, book, die! Off to the cardboard factory! Most of my books about economics ended that way.

Our local library has a little used book store. They get more books than they can put on the "for sale shelves." Books that don't get shelved go into the "free" bin or put aside for the annual book sale where they get piled on tables for people to sort through. Books that don't survive that sorting get recycled.

When I'm donating books I aim for the "for sale" shelves.

I sometimes check the internet to see if an electronic edition of a book exists before I get rid of it. If it does I don't feel bad about recycling slightly tattered books that I think are important.

[True Blue American]

96. That Goodwill bin is when I decided to start giving them away.

I began to purge. I watched The Hoarders a few times and knew it was time to purge. I could never tolerate that. I feel so light and free!

[hunter]

97. I hoard ebooks now. They don't take up any room at all.

I've got most of the computers I've ever used, going back to the 'seventies emulated on my Linux desktop. I've only kept a few physical computers, mostly my Atari 800 stuff.

I'm trying to cut down on the physical books. If I don't do it before I'm dead my kids will probably grab a few books for themselves and recycle the rest.

My grandma was a hardcore hoarder, and quite insane as well. Unfortunately there was a lot of money and other valuable stuff mixed in with her trash. You could find a hundred dollar bill in a plastic foam hamburger box, and a mummified half eaten hamburger in another. She hoarded those containers.

That was when a hundred dollars was a lot of money, I could fill the tank of my truck for less than ten.

[True Blue American]

98. Everyone said," Oh, have a garage sale."

I just make charities happy, 2 van loads of exercise equipment to the Boy Scouts sale, Church Bazaar, Vets, family.

We were Auction goers for years. My Son restored many for me. Some,we did not touch..An Engineer, he can design anything from jewelry boxes to furniture to restored cars. That talent did not come from me. My Dad and Grandfather.

[malthaussen]

87. If they want my books, they'll have to pry them from my cold, dead hands. n/t

[csziggy]

89. When at home, I prefer to read actual books

Especially since these days I am mostly re-reading my collection of science fiction books, most of which I acquired as first paperback editions in the 1970s and 80s - some even date to the 1960s from my husband's collection. A lot of those are not available on the Kindle, some because they were never republished, some just because.

When traveling, though I find the Kindle app to be great. On our trip to the UK, I didn't have to carry a whole suitcase of books to keep me reading for the three and a half months we were gone. Plus, I discovered an Amazon secret - there are Mega-packs of very old science fictions stories for only $0.99 per pack. Stories that date back to the 1930s all the way through the 1950s and a few in the 60s.

Since I love the old science fiction, I've read up through about the 30th collection in that series of mega-packs. Many I had read before, but the collections by authors give an enjoyable view of their careers,

[mvd]

92. I prefer them

Especially for books I am most interested in. I buy some e-books for on the side reading.

[Vinca]

93. I prefer them, preferably hard cover. Currently working my way through the Jack Reacher

series. Can't recommend it enough to crime buffs.

[MissMillie]

99. I prefer them.

As long as the print isn't too small, they're easier on the eyes.

[AngryOldDem]

100. I do.

There is something about holding something tangible in your hands.

I tend to skim if reading on a computer or other device.

[bikebloke]

101. I prefer paper.

I have always had a book going. A big library user. My father used to yell at me for reading instead of watching TV.

[Wicked Blue]

102. My entire family prefers books nt

[scarletlib]

103. I do both real books + Nook + Kindle.

Not to long ago I spent more than a day looking for a book I wanted to send to send to my daughter before I realized I had read it on my Nook. So then I bought the actual book to send to her.

Does this happen to others? When I read on the Nook or Kindle and later think about what I am reading, I always visualize an actual book.

[area51]

104. I do.

With physical books, you can give them away when finished, including to a place like Better World Books.

[Marthe48]

105. I read a book occassionally

A vision problem tires my eyes, so I listen to audio books more than read.

[GenThePerservering]

106. "In this day and age"?

Uh...hard copy is still very much a thing.

[kskiska]

107. I do, exclusively.

I like to read in bed and usually fall asleep with just my booklight on. I just prefer them. I spend lots of time at the library, looking for interesting new non-fiction. If there's not much there, I go upstairs and look for older books (biographies) that I've missed.

[Niagara]

108. I have a fondness of physical books.

Generally, I check books out at the public library.


I recently purchased a few James Patterson hardcovers for .99 each at the Salvation Army and I ordered a beloved children's book called A Horse Came Running.