Tell us your thoughts on e-reading and win a Kobo Arc tablet, plus a signed copy of award-winning author Margaret Drabble's latest novel The Pure Gold Baby

Like many people on this thread. The idea of buying an ereader didn't feature on my to do list, but then I was given one for Christmas and while I struggled at first, as mentioned above, now it is my constant companion, always there if needed. I haven't used it this week at all. I have been reading books that are either not available online or not suitable for ereaders, but last week I went away for five days and used it daily.

I was adamant I would never move from real books to ebooks but with libraries across the country dwindling due to financial cutbacks but it's now becoming essential on a low income if you read as much as I do. So moving with the times I borrow my son's to download at a cheaper cost than buying hardcopies. I would like one of my own but finances prevent at the preent time.

I've never fancied the idea of an e-book, but I didn't fancy science fantasy books either. I've read a science fantasy and really enjoyed it, so if I won I'm sure I'd be hooked...

I haven't tried e reader yet like a book in my hand but could give it a go

I adore reading and have always said that I love a "real" book and would never succumb to technology and an ebook....until my children brought me a Kindle for Mother's Day! I didn't want to seem ungrateful so duly downloaded a few books that I had hankered for for some time and was hooked. It's so convenient to carry around and use anywhere and even keeps your page It has not replaced my love of paperbacks and hardbacks because I always have one of those on the go at home as well. Why not have the best of both worlds???
I would love to upgrade to a Kobo Arc tablet though because my Kindle Paperwhite doesn't access Facebook, Google, etc. I have to go to my laptop for that.

I love having my personal library available anywhere I am and enjoy reading on my phone or tablet, but I still love paper books. I read both, depending on where I am and what is available.

I love my e-reader. After I ran out of paperbacks to read when I was abroad, and hab difficulty getting a book in English and when I did it was so expensive it wasn't true, I bought one. The last time I was on holiday I had 10 books to choose from that I had put on my e-reader. I'll never run out of books again.

Having been an avid reader all my life, I was very unsure about having a Kindle thinking it wouldn't be the same experience. My children made my mind up for me by buying one for a birthday present just before we had a three week trip to India which was going to involve a lot of travelling. I loaded three or four long novels onto it and it was fantastic. Once you get started and adjust the font size, line spacing etc you seem to forget that you aren't reading a 'real' book - or you do if the novel grabs you enough! It hasn't replaced paper books for me and I'm still a regular library user but I wouldn't really like to be without it now.

nannyH, This shouldn't happen with recent books, where the printbook and e version are prepared from the same digital files but with older books - and that may mean no more than 5 years old the books are digitised by scanning the paper version using OCR (Optical Character Reading) technology. When you do this a lot of errors do creep in and the resulting etext really should be proof read before issue but many publishers are lazy and do not bother or do not realise that OCR texts can contain errors.

This particularly a problem with free texts from sites like Project Gutenberg, but I am more understanding with those as often the work has been done by volunteers, who want to concentrate on getting texts online.

I still read 'proper' books but increasingly am reading ebooks. It's almost too easy to buy them! I find it easier to read ebooks at night when the light isn't so good (at least it isn't in my bedroom) and also it's very handy to carry an ereader when out and about.

I belong to a book group and it is noticeable that most of our members now read our chosen books on an ereader although most of us also still find it easier to refer back to a page in a real book during discussions.

I think it's great that we have a choice of how we can read and that a combination or physical books and ebooks gives lots of flexibility. As an example, I read 'Wolf Hall' in paperback, bought the ebook of 'Bring Up the Bodies' but couldn't seem to get on with it (liked that I could refer back to a character list in the paperback of WH). Now I have BUTB on audio, borrowed a hard copy of the book and am enjoying using the combination of three ways to read/listen to the book depending on where I am.

I've never used an eReader and thought that I never would (passionate about books), but my daughter tells me that she now has one and it is equally as good as reading a 'real' book. So I'm going to give it a go.

I've been a fan of e reading for many years. As an avid reader the ever growing number of books in our house has been a bone of contention with my husband. The answer was to change my reading habits. I now read using my kindle or on my IPad. I get all the latest books in a click and they are stored out of sight from my husband, win win situation. It is also very convenient when travelling as I no longer need to lug an extra suitcase filled with books on our trips abroad! I do still have to read a 'real' book every now and then, there is something deeply rooted in me that loves the smell and feel of a book.

I love ebooks. I have fibromyalgia and some arthritis in my joints and I struggle to hold books open and to read in dim light so a backlit ebook reader is perfect for me - it overcomes both those problems. It also means I can take a book with me wherever I go without having to carry a lot of extra weight. Of course, I love to read paper books too. You can't beat the smell of a real book and the pleasure of browsing in a bookshop but an ebook reader means that I can still read in circumstances where health problems would otherwise make reading a real challenge.

I don't have an ereader or tablet but I have just returned from holiday with a friend who does. She was reading a James Patterson novel and we hooted at the lack of proof-reading, e.g. "he spent all night rolling over an dover" and the word 'bustier' was replaced with 'bus tier'!!

How did you get started as a writer - and do you have any tips for 'wannabees' ?

Is it difficult to use ? I would like to try as I have always enjoyed reading and the fact of the portability of e reading appeals

I am being urged to start e-reading, and I can see the advantage, especially in terms of portability: should be great for train commutes and holidays. I'm especially intrigued by the idea of being able to flip back using an electronic search. I'm a detective yarn junkie, and spend ages searching through what I've read to check on clues I might have missed - or mistakes the author might have made!

I've never read an ebook but would like the opportunity to try. When I go on holiday I pack at least three books. These add a lot of weight to my suitcase. I've seen the ads where you can read outdoors and there is no glare on the screen. Sounds good to me, and they look like they would be light to hold too.

ebooks do not have to be expensive. nearly all the books I have downloaded have been classics, Austen, Trollope, Oliphant and these I have obtained free through sites like Project Gutenberg. Other more recent authors , who are still in copyright; Buchan, Sayers, Allingham, I have bought on Amazon for between free and £1.99.

My Kindle is not an alternative to reading a book; most of the books I read are non-fiction and contain pictures and diagrams; which e-readers can neither satisfactorily reproduce nor make as useable as consulting the original book. I still have a pile of books on my coffee table, bedside table and on the side in the study, all awaiting reading - and being read.

As a compulsive reader my Kindle lives in my handbag and I can now read in all the interstices of my life; waiting in the car at ferry ports, on trains, all those odd moments when I would otherwise have been sitting and staring vacantly into space - and going on holiday is so much easier. My suitcase is no longer lined by books leaving more space for clothes and reducing its weight.

E-books are so much lighter and less bulky - they are great!

E-reading is great - carrying an e-reader around is so much lighter and less bulky than a real book!

Can't read in the sun which is my main occupation on holiday!

I have read with interest fellow gransnetters enthusiasm for electronic readers. However I have not felt inclined to buy one, as I think I would miss the feel of reading a real book, being able to flip pages back and to. I have a vast collection of books at home and I enjoy browsing the shelf for the next one to read.
The disadvantage of e.readers I feel is that even though you have purchased a book, you cannot then pass it on to a friend to enjoy. I also think that many e.books are almost the same price as the actual paper version. Taking into account the fact that distributing an e.book is a fraction of the cost of the real thing, no raw materials, transport or storage costs, sales staff salaries etc. I think some e.books are overpriced. I'd rather have the real thing.
Finally I am concerned about the high rate of book shops closing due to competition from e.readers and Amazon and when the last bookshop closes it's doors, we shall all realise, too late, what we have lost.
Do you think I might change my views if I won a Kobo??

I found reading ebooks meant I had to completely change my reading style. When faced with a new book I tend to start reading it then skip forward and back as I go making sense of the plot and when I have finished this first read I go back and read it again from start to finish

It is very difficult to do that with an ebook. You have to read the text through consecutively from start to finish. The first books I read on my KIndle were the Jane Austen novels that I have read time without number since first reading them as an early teenager. Being made to read then through word by word, chapter by chapter was a revelation. I discovered text and incidents in the novels I had never noticed before and this close textual reading also led me to re-assess my understanding of several characters.

My first attempt to read a novel I hadn't read before was a disaster and I had to buy the hard copy to read in my usual manner first before re-reading on my KIndle. Recently I have read books on my Kindle, without hard copy, by authors I know and containing characters I am familiar with. I have still to successfully read an ebook by an unfamiliar author with unfamiliar characters.

DD uses her Kindle to download all her Open University text books so that they are easy to read in bed and in the garden.

After insisting that I would never bother with an e-reader all the time I am able to get to the library, or buy reasonably priced books, my daughter insisted that I borrow her Kobo Glo to take on holiday. What a revelation! No lugging heavy reading matter into an already overloaded case and no worrying that I may be keeping DH awake with the bedside lamp, not to mention a huge choice of books to purchase. I am definitely a convert, so PLEASE PLEASE may I be a winner. Having said all that I do love the feel of a nice "real" book.