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So, now I have an iPad. :)  I am wondering, when do you all choose a digital copy of a book over a physical one?  I am one of those that usually likes to hold it, underline in it, throw it (just kidding) and stuff like that.  However, I see that I can get some books free/cheaper in a kindle version and I'm wondering what sorts of things work better in digital format?

 

Specifically, I've been wanting Getting Started with Latin and it's only $10 in Kindle version on Amazon.  Would this be a good idea, or will I want a physical book?  And, I don't have a Kindle.  I can read it on my iPad anyway, I think.  I just need to figure that out.

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I like ebooks for anything I am going to just read straight through. So mostly just fiction. I HATE trying to use an ebook for something I am going to use as reference, or skip around sections. It is really a pain to find a specific part of an ebook, regardless of the device. Pictures can also be really hit or miss depending on what type of ebook it is and what device it was written for.

 

I also tried reading on the ipad for a year or so, before I gave in and got a kindle. The light from the ipad hurt my eyes after reading for a long time, whereas the kindle doesn't. 

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I get digital books for DD, because she prefers them. I have tiny little hands and find it harder to hold a physical book while nursing the baby, but I can prop the iPad up and read that way, so I do like digital books for that. Digital is great if we want multiple copies; for instance, DD and I are working through Fallacy Detective together, so I have it on my iPad, and she has it on the Kindle, which makes it easy to read and discuss together. Also, digital books can mean no waiting. :)

 

Sometimes formatting gets screwy with digital books. It doesn't seem to happen with ones that are formatted for Kindle, but I've noticed that bolding and columns are a little screwy with the digital copy of WWS, although worse on the Kindle itself than on the iPad. But generally, most things have been fine.

 

If I did a ton of reading, the iPad might hurt my eyes, which is why I got the Kindle for the kids, because of the e-ink.

 

You can get the free Kindle app for the iPad, and it works really nicely. Digital books through our libraries run through Amazon and the Kindle app, and it's really very seamless and easy.

 

I have GSWLatin in paper form and GSWSpanish in Kindle form on my iPad. I just looked at it, and it looks great on the iPad. Not worth the extra $10 for paper, and it'll be nice to have it on both the iPad and the Kindle (very easy to send books to whichever device or devices that you want -- we have the iPad, another tablet, dh's smartphone, the basic Kindle, and the desktop PC all linked to my Amazon account, and I can just send things to whichever one or more I want, super easily). The formatting looks very nice, just like the paper form of GSWLatin (except that on the iPad, one page is split into two columns). The only thing that might be tricky is needing to go to the back for answers, but it's actually set up with little links to and from the answer key in the back. So I am glad I got the digital version of that.

 

I do think you can return a digital book from Amazon if it's pretty soon after you buy it, so that's a nice advantage. Try it and see!

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Agreed.  For reference or learning I need a hard copy.  But, like Hunter, I sometimes am mobile and have limited space.  Having the e-copy can be a huge bonus.  E-Books usually work better for me and the kids, though, if they are just fun reading or school reading that is fiction in nature, where they aren't required to go back and search through specific passages or look up information because, as already mentioned, the e-books are notoriously hard to maneuver around in.

 

I love a physical book.  And studies have shown that most people actually retain info a bit better with a physical book.  Some research is showing that it is partly linked to the ability of the brain to create a mental map of the material being read when it is part of a physical book.  Subconsciously, the location in the book and even the place on the page, help the brain to tangibly link back to the information again later.  That isn't nearly as possible with an e-book.  

 

But I find myself relying more and more on e-books,  Much more portable, frequently cheaper, I can carry many with me at once, easier to hold while doing something else (at least my little Kindle), but mainly as my eyesight decays I can make the font bigger and bigger.  Huge help for seeing the print.  So grateful for the existence of ebooks.  (I will probably always be a hard copy girl at heart, though.   :) ).

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Agreed. For reference or learning I need a hard copy. But, like Hunter, I sometimes am mobile and have limited space. Having the e-copy can be a huge bonus. E-Books usually work better for me and the kids, though, if they are just fun reading or school reading that is fiction in nature, where they aren't required to go back and search through specific passages or look up information because, as already mentioned, the e-books are notoriously hard to maneuver around in.

 

I love a physical book. And studies have shown that most people actually retain info a bit better with a physical book. Some research is showing that it is partly linked to the ability of the brain to create a mental map of the material being read when it is part of a physical book. Subconsciously, the location in the book and even the place on the page, help the brain to tangibly link back to the information again later. That isn't nearly as possible with an e-book.

 

But I find myself relying more and more on e-books, Much more portable, frequently cheaper, I can carry many with me at once, easier to hold while doing something else (at least my little Kindle), but mainly as my eyesight decays I can make the font bigger and bigger. Huge help for seeing the print. So grateful for the existence of ebooks. (I will probably always be a hard copy girl at heart, though. :) ).

:iagree: including all the eyesight stuff.

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