I have not yet succumbed to buying eBooks or a Kindle. I prefer to buy books on Amazon, or from the three charity shops where I live.
I pass novels on to my nieces and friends. But I keep my educational books, and my non-fiction books. Many contain illustrations and photographs.
I like the physical presence of books in my home. Books on shelves have a magnetic attraction. They are in easy reach if I need to refer to them.
Books can tell you much about a person. I am interested to see what people read when I walk in their homes. I run my eyes along their bookshelves. It is a conversation starter.
Well...I took Julian Stockwin's 'Betrayal' (hardback) on holiday. Though it was on a ship, so no excess baggage charges :)
Paper beats electrons. There's something sort-of permanent about a traditional book, even a pulp fiction. And you don't own an ebook as such, you simply buy the right to read it. Amazon are even looking at the re-sale of 'used' ebooks apparently - that's a good laugh.
I'm not convinced by e-readers - yet.
Books are addicting! Buying one and taking it home is like bring home a new family member. Its the feeling that its a physical product instead of a gadget. Once your done with reading it then you put it on the shelf. It still sends out thoughts about its content when you see it. Dont think an e-book can do that. But there are some great things about e-books they are portable and interactive! So if you are some one who is traveling around it is worth it to buy one. I dont think that e-books will replace books in our life time or the next couple generations of readers. There is too much value for the art form of book making & reading for it to disappear.
I think they each have their place. At the moment I don't have an e-reader, but I also don't take foreign holidays right now. If the latter changes, I can see a kindle being high on my list of must-haves.