Snooze2978

I've enjoyed having a book in my hand when I'm reading, just look at my library upstairs housing over 500 hard back books that some day I hope to have time to read before my eyesight goes. Some quilting patterns (aka books) I'll purchase online and download, printing only the patterns that catch my eye. I'm running out of room down in the sewing room for more patterns, books and magazines.

sewnclog

Give me a hard cover book anytime. No e-books for me.

wildyard

I totally read ebooks for entertainment, however, for quilting, it would depend on the book. If it's instructional, but with only a few photos or directions I might want to have on hand, I will just print those few out. If it's something I'm just curious about but will probably never actually make, I will go ebook.
But if it's a pattern book with many I might want to make, I will buy the actual book. I try not to buy many now due to space limitations, so it has to be a very special book for me to buy it.

mac

It seems most of us are in agreement about paper instructional books.

I have a kindle and had a few books put on my kindle that were quilting and cooking books. Never again. Haven't a clue how you would get them printed out, if you wanted a pattern. The only cookbooks that I have on Kindle were free books and I have to say that they usually aren't worth buying anyway and have been mostly deleted.

I don't mind reading a mystery book on Kindle, since I mostly read at night and like not having to have a light on.

QuiltNama

I'm with you Watson, love my ebooks but also have a large collection of in hand books. Store all my ebooks on a flash drive and print only the patterns I'm going to do. My printer is HP and does a pretty good job of looking close to the original but will use my own colors so it's not a problem for me.

Rose_P

Depending on the price and format and the reliability of the source, I'd be willing to try the e-book. You can have a free Kindle app on your computer, tablet and or phone, and the color pictures would be there in whatever size your screen can show. If it's a pattern that doesn't rely on templates, that wouldn't be an issue.

I have several patterns that are in pdf format, and the templates print out perfectly. That's essentially the same as an ebook, just one pattern at a time and pdf instead of mapi or whatever. I don't think there's a way to print from a reader app, such as Kindle, but perhaps I'm missing some information. There are lots of free patterns available from some of the fabric manufacturers websites, such as Andover, so you could try one out without the investment. https://www.andoverfabrics.com/FreeQuiltPatterns.php

I first got my Kindle about 6 years ago when I was having cataract problems, which have since been corrected. Being able to control the size of the font is a huge advantage for anyone with visual impairments. Another plus is being able to read without turning on a light, but that's probably irrelevant to quilt books, except if you just like to browse late at night without waking the DH.

Another point is that there are some out of print books that are available online as e-books that might be hard to find any other way. Google Books had Barbara Brackman's Clues in the Calico, from 1989. It was a very convenient and quick way for me to get that book when I wanted it. It's available to me online any time, and I am pretty sure Google will be around for awhile.