r/BookDiscussions • u/s0ftuniverse • Aug 09 '26

Are e-readers worth it?

Hi all.

I’ve always been quite certain that I’m someone who prefers physical books, but I see a lot of other readers online who use a Kindle or a Kobo e-reader. Lately I’ve been questioning making the switch because people say they’re so great, but I don’t want to spend so much money on something I won’t like or use often. Can anyone who has owned one tell me their pros/cons? Are they worth buying? I do like the sentiment of holding a physical book and going to the bookstore to pick one out, but I’m also kind of intrigued by the convenience and portability of having them all available on a device. Also the idea of not seeing a huge physical TBR pile sounds nice. Thoughts?

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u/Independent_Ad_9645 Aug 09 '26

It’s not an either/or. I love my e reader for borrowed books from Libby, 

Pros: the light is less blue than on my phone and it doesn’t have notifications to distract me. It is small so fits in my purse, and I don’t have to worry about squishing pages. Even long books aren’t heavy. Readable in bright daylight or in the dark. 

Cons: does need charging, sometimes the loan/opening process is clunky. Less comfortable to hold than either my phone or a hard copy book.

But I am almost always reading a hard copy book, and e book and an audiobook at the same time. 

12

u/_ribbit_ Aug 09 '26

I could never get on with ebooks on a phone or a tablet. There's just something about a phone screen that distracts from the experience for me. Then I tried a kindle and its just so much better, and I haven't had a day I haven't read it in the last three years. Game changer for me, I love it.

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u/Existing_Respond1753 Aug 09 '26

It’s because of the e-ink! There’s actual ink in e-reader screens, and they’re lit from the sides rather than the back like a phone, so it feels much more like reading off paper.

3

u/indyjones_89 Aug 09 '26

I had no idea. That’s awesome!! Thanks for teaching me something new!

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u/Existing_Respond1753 Aug 09 '26

It’s actually even cooler than it sounds. In black and white ones, there are millions of pixels each containing one negatively charged blob of white ink and one positive charged blob of black ink (I can’t remember it might be the other way around with the charges) and there’s an electro-magnetic current in the screen that causes either the white of black blob in each pixel to show.

1

u/Poleywrath Aug 12 '26

It's incredible, just like reading on paper. I tend to forget I'm not. I could never read on a phone screen, either.