I use both depending on what I need from them. For example, if it is a trashy/novelty book that I don’t care much about and just use it to pass time, I will use digital.

If it is a book I have wanted for a long time or an art book for references or a book I want tied to a place (I try to read a new book whenever I vacation somewhere new so the memories of said book are related to my trip) I buy physical. I love love the smell of ink and old books.

I much prefer digital. However, I don’t have a lot of space, and my local library has a much bigger digital selection that physical. Plus when I go backpacking I can take an obscene amount of books with me on my Kobo vs physical books.

Physical for me. I just can’t read for long durations on a screen. I just can’t. I need the tactile feeling of turning pages and having a physical thing to hold and take with me. In that same vein, I have a hard time even reading softcover. One of the biggest reasons I read anyway is to get away from screens/technology anyway. I also like having a physical library in my bedroom that I can look at. I understand that these are all really objectionable, prissy reasons to prefer physical.

For your second question. I’ve had good luck with eBay, at least as a US buyer. It helps that USPS ships books really cheap for sellers and most stores that I see usually have more than 1 item on my wishlist so I can knock out a bunch of books in one order, get them used (better for the environment), and avoid Amazon

Depends on the type of book. Novels, I like digital (or audio), cookbooks and other reference texts, I like physical, even though it’s usually easier to ctrl+f to find stuff.

If it’s a book I know I want to actually own, I’ll buy a physical copy. Basically, my criteria there is if I expect it to be a reference I’d use multiple times, or if I expect to lend it to friends, or if it’s an author I want to support.

My preference is library for most books. I’ll scan thrift stores for books to buy, though obviously no guarantee of any books there. Local used bookstores are next, then local new bookstores, then online used book stores like thriftbooks.com or abebooks (though that’s an Amazon subsidiary). I rarely get new books online.

Both digital and printed have their merits, but I came back to real books some time ago. My goal is to have a curated home library, catered to my taste. It will look good, they won’t go anywhere and I just have need a quick step to the shelve if I need something.

Digital is fine for travelling or just as an addition if you don’t want to use shelf space. I love my kindle, but it’s not a full alternative.

Why not both?

I use my little Kobo for reading in bed or when out and about but prefer an actual book if I can. Also I don’t buy many and use the local library most of the time.

Audiobooks, then ebooks, then physical.

That said, I recently started going back to owning physical in the last few months. I still primarily read with audio, then ebooks before reading physical copies, but I have built out a physical library of maybe 100 favorites and the urge to keep going is strong.

Even with them on my shelves, I mostly don’t read that way, though. I prefer a typesetting that fits more on a page than most books do.

So that’s hard to answer for me.

I like physical because I then own the thing and can do what I want with it or give it away.

But digital is easier to read for me. I’ve never been a particularly fast reader, I also have eye floaties, and I might be dyslexic. But having like Edge use its read aloud feature (for whatever reason the built-in read aloud voice is the most pleasant to listen to, less sharp) I can crank up the speed and just follow along as it reads it to me and I can process it so much easier and faster than if I had to do it the old fashioned way.

All of the books I’ve read over the last few years have been ePubs on my Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 because yarr, but if I read them for longer than an hour I start to get a headache. For that reason alone I think physical books are far superior.

Most definitely digital. I really don’t see any advantage of physical books over digital, besides that some look pretty.

I can read in bed without having a bright light, I can lie in bed and don’t strain my hand to keep the page open, I can modify font/font size/spacing, I can buy a digital book and read it right away, I can take thousands of pages with me on vacation and only need the space of a small brochure, I can real-time translate words I don’t know.

Just overall the better experience for me.

I wish when we bought a book physically we get the ebook version. Then we don’t have to “chose”.

If a DRM-free digital version is available and any of these conditions apply:

• is free in digital form
• needs to be written on
• receives and provides me updates without extra costs
• doesn’t have physical eye-candy editions
• is too big

then I buy the digital version.

I buy physical books second-hand, usually from booklooker, a German platform.

I vastly prefer paper books - it’s a much better reading experience for me. I tend to get my books from the library if I can, or otherwise usually Amazon.

IT just doesn’t feel right trying to read a book digitally. I exclusively read physical books. I will admit that hauling them around when I move is a bit of a pain, though.

I prefer ePub. Much more convenient for me than a paper book.

• I simply don’t have the space to physically store a lot of paper books
• It’s much easier to bring my Kobo with me when commuting or traveling
• Much easier for me to buy eBooks than physical books
• Even though I’ve been having my device for like 8 years, I’m still fascinated by how cool the e-ink display is

On the other hand, paper books have only one thing to offer that sometimes holds:

• They’re all DRM-free, while some eBooks I’ve been wanting to buy are DRM-enshittified. Still hasitating about those, as I’m not willing to spend money on such books.