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

Real books are the real thing - ebooks will never replace them

Margaret, I love your books. Do you feel lost when you finish a book? What do you do when you're not writing?

I have quite a lot of books on my Kindle, that I also possess in paper editions. I find that the one I read (and re-read) is the Kindle version.

I just love having a complete library in my pocket..

I have not had the opportunity to try using an e-reading device yet and i do love reading a good old fashioned paperback, some of the more bulky hardbacks can be awkward to read and i have a huge book collection cluttering up my home so now certainly may be the right time to make the switch to ebooks. Winning this prize could definately be a big help to me

Three years ago, I bought a Kindle and took a dozen books on holiday - in my handbag. What a boon that was! Another great advantage is being able to change the size of the font - some paperbacks are a real strain on my ageing eyes. And I haven't had to buy another bookcase to house the hundreds of books I've bought in those three years! Disadvantage - I can't give them away to charity shops or to my nearest and dearest.

I have just downloaded The Thorn Birds and Gone with the Wind to take on holiday. They were free. I will devour them all day in the sun (we hope!) and go to concerts in the S Davids Festival every night and life will be bliss!

I held off getting an e-reader for ages, I am the old-school of liking the actual feel of a book in my hands, I am also a great believer in a book looking immaculate unread after I have finished reading it. However, even a dinosaur like me was eventually won over by the e-reader. The immediate purchase and accessibility has a very big plus for me I do still buy physical books but get more and more in electronic format.

my question is do you foresee a time when the old-fashioned physical book disappears forever?

I love my Kindle but my husband has discovered the joys of e-reading so I don't get much of a look in these days. His eyesight isn't brilliant following a stroke so he loves being able to alter the size of the font to suit.

So much better than lugging heavy large print books home from the library.

I wonder which of your books is your own favourite? I have a soft spot for the Millstone, partly because of my experience of having had a child in hospital for a lengthy period.

E reading is great for travel - 1000's of books at your fingertips and at no luggage allowance!

E readers are fab for travelling light and reading but it can never replace the feel of turning the pages and reading a book from cover to cover. I much prefer a real book in my hand or by the side of my bed.

Ebook readers chained to the shelves, nutunit?
I had a Kindle, but my grandson has it now. Not because I did not want it, but he does not like reading books. However, he reads the Kindle and does not realise he is reading a book. Watership Down at the moment.

i love e reading because you can carry lots of books on holiday in one tiny tablet

I read a lot on Kindle. However I find it too, too easy to download stuff from Amazon. One touch and - boom there it is - money in the bank and book on the Kindle. It's great to take on my long travels, especially to Australia where books are so expensive and where I tend to read a lot. I have just read 5 books when away in France but I probably won't touch it until I am again on my travels. Nothing beats holding a proper book in your hands and feeling the texture of the paper and the smell - oooh yummy - it also helps to be able to flit back and forth to catch up or re-read which is not so easy on an e book.

I think on the whole ereaders are a good thing. Less paper, less trees cut down. Not need to take a stack of books on holiday. Easy to buy new books.
Hopefully cheaper new books. I don't think they've developed to the point where the experience is as nice as real books yet though.

I have recently started reading e books the only thing I don't like is not being able to see easily how many pages left until the end of a chapter.
Advantages are being able to take several books on holiday and not use up a lot of your luggagd allowance

I have always argued against them for myself, however arthritic hands are making an e-reader more appealing as I do love reading.

I love being able to pick new library books without having to leave the house! This really is a bonus when the weather or health makes it difficult to get out. I also like the fact that the e-reader keeps all the 'books' tidy and there is no need to worry about them getting lost, damaged or making the place look untidy.

I'm another one who hasn't tried an E-Reader yet but who would like to give it a try. Having said that, I have to say I absolutely love browsing in bookshops...........and I do wonder if there will be such things as bookshops when my grandchildren get to my age.

I borrow my daughter's ereader sometimes & find it very useful for holiday reading so hopefully I will get one eventually.

I have always wanted to try an e reader,as an avid book reader,I read everyday.they seem easier to handle,as some hardbacks are really heavy.
also to take on holiday it would be handy.I would still read a book though,I dont think you can replace actually turning a page.

I'd really like to try ebooks but unless I win a Kobo or Kindle I will have to wait as its not in the budget! I don't think I'd ever give up actual books as I love them but I can see there would be times where a Kobo/Kindle would be great!

I find that at home I prefer to read traditional books but like an EReader when travelling.

I'd love to know whether Margaret Drabble thinks that E-Books have changed the publishing landscape.

I would love a kobo e-reader as I travel frequently for work and it would enable me to take lots of different books with me, to suit all my moods, in a small space. I also love the fact that even when travelling at night, I can still read and that if I want to read in bed I can do so without keeping my husband awake.

Love IT so started with a Sony then graduated to a Kindle; such bliss, the improved method of downloading. E-readers are excellent for travelling, saving space in the cases. Any guilt I may have felt towards the printing companies is soon assuaged when rhe print size is adjusted to suit my vision and my painful hands no longer need to turn pages.