Late last month in a Books on Sale post, Stephanie Burgis mentioned in a comment:
I absolutely adore The Widow of Rose House – it’s one of my very favorite books!
After I read it in ebook, I bought a paperback copy, too, because I needed to have it in multiple formats for all my future re-reads. 🙂
I think this is so cool, and really interesting. I don’t own many physical copies of books, but ebooks and audiobooks I often acquire in tandem because I like having the option to read or listen.
I also had to become Rather Nosy and ask the rest of the folks in SBTB HQ.
Elyse: I own a lot of books both as physical copies and digital copies. My reading habits shift between the two. I read a lot more closely with a physical book, but it’s less convenient.
Amanda: I usually get multiple editions for different covers or special copies.
Sarah: It’s rare for me to actively want a three dimensional piece of matter, especially a print book, when I have the digital copy.
That said, I do make sure that my Kindle is charged for reading because it’s too easy for me to distract myself and browse away from reading on my phone to other digital snacking activities that aren’t as restful and relaxing for my brain the way reading is.
Elyse: Even limited to a Kindle, reading an ebook is less restful for me.
Susan: I have so many books in different formats.
Sarah: Do you collect them or forget you already own them?
Susan: Possible reasons for me:
- I got a digital arc and now I want to buy a copy
- ADHD tax; I collect the series in hardcopy, lost the middle volume SOMEWHERE, and buy a digital copy to gap fill (and then immediately find the copy I lost!)
- Most of the audiobooks I get are rereads because I don’t trust myself not to miss things
- I just REALLY LOVE/REALLY HYPERFOCUSED on a book and then….
Sarah: All understandable reasons!
Shana: Not exactly the same, but I now always check an audiobook and a ebook copy of books out of library at the same time.
There’s usually a point in a book where I get too invested in the story to put up with the slow pace of listening (even at 1.5X speed) and need to know what happened RIGHT NOW. So I often read the first 75% of a book on audio and then read the last quarter as an ebook.
I also love bookstores too much to not buy beautiful paper books, but most of the time I’m buying a book I’ve already read as an ebook or ARC.
Does anyone else buy ebooks they really loved even when you have an ARC? It’s kind of my “thank you for writing this life changing book” tax to the author. I wish you could just tip authors directly, honestly. Just slide a $10 bill across the table with a note saying “thanks for the sex scene on page 184.”
Ellen: Yes, I definitely do this!
Susan: YES. Mainly KJ Charles, Cat Sebastian, and Stephanie Burgis.
… Plus sometimes I just can’t remember which app I have a book in >_>
Shana: KJ Charles’s book Unfit to Print just got me out of a terrible book hangover and I would happily buy her coffee for a week to thank her for rescuing me.
Sneezy: I also like to get books in audio and e-/physical copies if I can, especially for books that has names and words in different languages. My brain bounces between whether audio or visual is more digestible for it. Sometimes I really need both. I often need English subtitles on for English movies.
Shana: This reminded me of our conversation!
Sarah: Yes.
What about you? Are there books that you need to own in multiple formats? Which formats, and why?
This is me too. Some books I own in every format, book, ebook, audio book (looking at you Murderbot). Also there are some authors (Mary Stewart, Dorothy Sayers, etc) that if I find an edition of a book of theirs I’ve never seen, I will buy it no matter how many other copies I already have. I know…I need help.
If I have a hardbound or paperback which is autographed, I get the ebook (and I do not lend out the autographed ones, because I once did and the person, I swear to God, took up cocaine and ran off with a biker dude, with my autographed books. Sometimes real life really is that strange).
@Cristie, we may need help, but you have a lot of company!
of the thousands of books I own, 4 I have in both e- and paper, and there’s 1 or 2 others I will get at some point. they’re my read in case of emergency, guaranteed to cure any bad feelings, always have downloaded in both my kindle and my phone app and the paper versions are in case of electronic emergency. i re-read books very rarely, but these i’ve re-read a bunch.
i have sometimes bought a copy of a book i previously read from the library, and that’s a) to pay the author again and b) because i’m a completionist and if i’m going to switch to buying the series going forward, i’ll buy the first couple i got from the library so i have them all. but i don’t typically re-read those when i buy them.
I’ve pretty much run out of room for physical books and really enjoy having control over text size as I get older. But I’ve been getting my favorites also in electronic format. BUT I can’t bear to get rid of some of my favorites in print.
I still have a lot of ‘old school’ romances that haven’t stood the test of time–controlly, asshat heroes and passive heroines pretty much WERE romance in the 60’s. And lets not forget forced sex cause she really liked it or got to like it shortly…….REALLY. Just forcefully take her virginity and she’ll turn into a super lover.
Yes, yes so much to prune from my collection. I’m almost ashamed to donate some of these.
I get most of my new reads from the library. But there’s about 10-20% or so of my reading each year that I’ll buy — either because I’ve read the book once and know I’ll want to read it again, or because it’s an auto-buy author. For some auto-buy books I get 3-4 different formats: nice signed hardcover that should hold up to rereads, cheap paperback for travel/baths, ebook for travel or bad eyesight day, and audio for car reads. For others it’s just a single copy to match what I already have.
I have a massive collection in paper. I’ve pared down a lot, and now I only purchase especial favorite authors in print now (space limitations). The super-especial favorites live in the built-in bookcases, ARCs, hardcover, and paperback, often multiple copies. Now it’s ebooks (a library in my pocket? Perfection!) and audio. Most of my reading these days is audio. Massive collection there, too. I’ve been an Audible member for 20+ years. I do love being able to multitask while reading. Of course there is the problem of terrible narrators ruining good books, but yes, audio is my preferred method these days.
Yes! I prefer reading paperbacks, but they’re not as convenient so if I really like a book I’ll get ebook and paperback so I can have a copy to read while sitting on a couch and also have one to read in bed/at the doctor’s office/etc.
I’ve done this for a while. For me, I really prefer having a hard copy because nothing beats just holding a book and feeling the texture of the pages, but also, I find it easier to start and get absorbed in a physical book, and very much the opposite with ebooks. But since I do a lot of my reading in bed at night, it’s easier to use ebooks for that. So I can’t choose! I started by getting a ton of the free classic kids books that I hadn’t read in years, but now I’ve started looking to see if the library ebook site has the book I want (assuming I have a hard copy) or vice versa. It doesn’t always work. Right now I have a couple ebooks that I bought over a year ago and still haven’t read because the library doesn’t have hard copies. I keep telling myself I’m going to start them… soon…
I read almost exclusively in ebooks now, but i maintain my vast library of paperbacks. I will cop to borrowing the ebook of something i already own because I’m too lazy to dig out and carry around my physical copy.
I have lots and lots and lots of e-books. So many I have lost count. I also have many audiobooks. I have a very few in hard-copy Braille, because hard-copy Braille takes up a lot of space, so I choose my books with care. _Good Omens_ _A Christmas Carol_ _The Hobbit_ and all three books in _The Lord of the Rings_ trilogy are in Kindle, iBooks, audio, and hard-copy Braille. I am considering getting more hard-copy Braille, but space can be an issue. At least with a working Braille display, more books can be read in Braille. But sometimes I just want the feel of Braille paper under my hands as I read a book sprawled in bed.
Learned multi formats hard way. Recently natural disasters++ means no power for days. Cannot charge in vehicle because gas also in short supply. So I have e&tree to take care if me. Hehehe