Physical Books Successfully Coexisting With Ebooks 134
An anonymous reader writes: When ebooks experienced their meteoric rise a few years ago, many were predicting the death of physical books. Early sales figures seemed to bear that out — ebooks kept getting more popular, and physical books were on the decline. But over the past couple of years, sales for both types leveled off. Rather than simple additive or deleterious effects, we're now seeing how technology has altered the literary landscape in more complex ways. Serials are returning, authors are able to more directly keep in contact with readers, and networks are developing to keep independent bookstores afloat. Libraries are being supplemented by companies who offer free access to ebooks at certain Wi-Fi hotspots. So, given that the changes so far have been less dramatic and more interesting than predicted, where do you think the ebook/physical-book situation will be in another 10 years?
Physical book? (Score:3)
Re:Physical book? (Score:5, Funny)
There's no need to use a home printer nowadays. With the rise of ecommerce, you can order a nicely preprinted copy online and have it delivered!
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No, just go to the local maker space (remember, used to be a K-Mart?) and have them print you a printer that makes hard copies. Don't forget to stop by Whole Foods for the shade-grown lignin pellets.
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And when it arrives, you should scan it, so that you can archive an electronic copy as a backup. That way, if you ever need to replace it, you can just 3D print the whole thing.
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And when it arrives, you should scan it, so that you can archive an electronic copy as a backup. That way, if you ever need to replace it, you can just 3D print the whole thing.
I always fax it to myself on blue paper.
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I still prefer physical books when it comes to technical references. It just seems easier to me to have a 3 dimensional object where I can see all my book marks and can thumb directly to the page I want.
I prefer my pleasure reading to be in e-ink form. I like having an entire library of books in a single small device. Plus the backlight makes this the best low light reading option I have ever encountered.
The only thing that needs to happen now is to get rid of the artificially high price of some e-books...
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Not me. I often want my technical docs serarchable, because you can't grep a dead tree.
However, when I'm doing leisure reading, I want old fashioned paper. When I'm on vacation I want to be able to sit by the pool with a mojito, and not have to worry about an electronic device getting killed by errant water (or rum), or worrying about the battery life.
I can fall asleep and drop my book, and at worst I'll lose my place.
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I often want my technical docs serarchable, because you can't grep a dead tree.
It depends on how you want to search. I agree that for a pure reference work (particularly one you only refer to on occasion), an electronic version is often best.
But for a reference work which I refer to frequently and/or which I tend to read larger sections of rather than just looking for the right paragraph about a particular term -- well, old-fashioned paper still wins hands down for me.
Paper books are much more "browsable," and I'm much more likely to remember where I read something in a paper boo
They can co-exist? (Score:5, Funny)
I didn't think there was room in my bag for both en e-reader and a book!
eBooks strongly prefered... (Score:2)
Especially when it comes to textbooks. I used to get complimentary teacher copies from publishers, and then you'd have to lug them around, bookmark them, etc. Now I get all of my textbooks via CourseSmart [coursesmart.com], which allows you to download them for free as long as you have a teacher account. It saves a ton of time, since I don't have to fill out forms and wait for a sales rep's approval., etc. Plus, if I want to find something in my book, cmd+f is much quicker than going to the index then flipping through pages.
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I just wish they would update the Kindle DX. I love mine and I really would love the backlight and newer tech screen.
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I leave my Paperwhite in my car. When I go on lunch break I always take it into the restaurant with me and read while I eat. I find it a very enjoyable way to push all the work related crap out of my head for an hour. It's also very handy for travel. Given it's boring nature, according to the kids, I don't get harassed into letting others use it and the battery lasts forever.
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
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My library has the Overdrive ebook rentals too, but so far it has never stocked any book that I wanted.
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Amusingly, my library offers Game of Thrones in two formats: a 4 book set with the first 4 books of A Song of Ice and Fire, and a 5 book set that also includes the most recent one. I thought they were awfully optimistic about my ability to read all
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Almost identical to my own reading list, as it happens, except that mine was back in the days of print.
On the other hand... (Score:2)
Books and watches are in the same bag (Score:2)
I still wear the digital watch I acquired in 1994 because it never breaks, is completely waterproof and has a battery that lasts for months. Working in tech, I like to go off the grid whenever I can and items that don't require any recharging and are hard to break, like a good paperback book, a dependable watch, and a leatherman, are what I prefer.
Same thing when I fly (minus the leatherman) - if you've ever been in a cheap plane with no chargers and you're delayed a few hours beyond the life of your cell
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To be fair, an e-reader lasts weeks on a charge. I very rarely (maybe never?) charge my old Kindle while on vacation - it certainly won't run out on the plane.
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>> e-reader lasts weeks on a charge
Sorry, forgot about e-readers. I didn't realize those specialized tablets were still a thing.
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If you want to read at the beach or at the pool, it's the only game in town.
Physical books are better (Score:5, Insightful)
Where space is limited - such as on a long vacation.
Where the book is really big and heavy.
But when there are diagrams/maps in a book, the ebooks fail miserably.
When I want to read in the tub, ebooks fail.
When I want something that can fit in my pants pocket, ebooks fail - but paperbacks deliver.
When I want to borrow/lend a book, ebooks make it too much trouble, but a paperback is easy.
When I want to throw a book in a backpack, paperback wins.
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To be fair, if you drop your physical book in the tub, it won't fare much better than the eBook. Actually, the eBook would fare better in a sense since you would be able to view it from another device.
Re:Physical books are better (Score:4, Insightful)
To be fair, if you drop your physical book in the tub, it won't fare much better than the eBook. Actually, the eBook would fare better in a sense since you would be able to view it from another device.
Put the eBook reader in a big ziploc baggie. You can read in the tub without fear of damage. You can't do this with a dead tree book; too hard to turn the pages without opening the baggie.
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When I want to read in the tub, ebooks fail.
And so do regular books for that matter.
When I want something that can fit in my pants pocket, ebooks fail - but paperbacks deliver.
er, I read ebooks on my phone, which most definitely fits in my pocket better than any paperback.
When I want to borrow/lend a book, ebooks make it too much trouble, but a paperback is easy.
Easier than messaging them a link to my ebook library hosted on an old laptop in my closet?
When I want to throw a book in a backpack, paperback wins.
Yes, but then why would I want to throw my expensive reading device in a backpack when I can keep it in my pocket?
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When I want to read in the tub, ebooks fail.
And so do regular books for that matter.
If I ruin a paper book, I've lost €10. An ereader is a bigger loss (and all the books that were on it? Or maybe you can download them again, I don't know, but the reader is expensive to ruin).
Also, getting a little wet doesn't ruin a paper book, but can brick an ereader.
For me, the advantage of a paper book is versatility. The worst case scenarios are minimal. Leave your paper book in the pub? Drop it? Going somewhere where charging is a problem?
Yeh, there are advantages to ereaders, but good ol'
2 big reasons: DRM and privacy! (Score:2)
Amazon can't remotely delete my paper book!
And paper books don't phone home to tell Amazon (or whoever) what I'm reading, which page I'm on, what notes I've made, what books I've downloaded...
(Don't know how I forgot about this in my previous post. I guess you take them for granted with paper books.)
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Also, getting a little wet doesn't ruin a paper book, but can brick an ereader.
Two words: Ziploc baggie.
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Leave your paper book in the pub? Drop it?
Do you frequently drop your phone or leave it in the pub? Because your phone is literally an e-reader (there are a wide variety of both android and apple apps that can handle every ebook format out there).
Going somewhere where charging is a problem?
My phone runs for 2 days without charging if I conserve battery. It can run for much much longer if I bring along my 15000maH external battery (or if I feel like travelling light, my 3500maH external, which is the size of a thing of lipstick). In absence of batteries, I can roll it up in my 15 watt solar
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Do you frequently drop your phone or leave it in the pub?
No, but my phone fits in my pocket. I've usually a pocket for a small-ish paperback, but not for an e-reader.
As for your concerns about privacy, you're posting on a site for nerds and telling me you don't know how to strip the DRM to make yourself backup copies
Probably could, but I just don't see enough advantages to give an e-reader a try. And I don't like funding companies that use DRM since, even if I can get around it, I know most people can't/won't.
so one good fire/flood/natural disaster and they're gone.
Possible, but I don't think I know anyone to whom any of those things has ever happened.
But losing a phone is something that's happened me three times in twenty years.
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The fact that you're using these weak arguments as justification to avoid even trying ebooks makes you come across as a total luddite. Just admit you don't like these scarey newfangled electronics and stop grasping at straws to try and justify paper over electronic for general book consumption.
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When I want something that can fit in my pants pocket, ebooks fail - but paperbacks deliver.
When I want to throw a book in a backpack, paperback wins.
My Kindle fits as well in my pocket or backpack than most books, and it has 100+ books in the space of one.
Also, on the road, I can and do read from my iPhone.
100+? (Score:2)
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"But when there are diagrams/maps in a book, the ebooks fail miserably.
When I want to read in the tub, ebooks fail.
When I want something that can fit in my pants pocket, ebooks fail - but paperbacks deliver.
When I want to borrow/lend a book, ebooks make it too much trouble, but a paperback is easy.
When I want to throw a book in a backpack, paperback wins."
1. Today's reader apps are mostly sequential, but some ebooks set up as apps of their own already offer interactive elements you can't even do on paper.
2.
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2. Who reads in bathtubs?
Lucky people.
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When I want to read in the tub, ebooks fail.
Hmmm... I read in the tub fairly often. Haven't drowned the Kindle yet!
If you're that worried, put the ereader in a ziplock bag. (I don't bother even at hotel hot tubs. People are good enough about not splashing others.)
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There are only a few cases when a physical book makes sense.
Where you want a really good copy you can be proud of.
When you're going to be without power for weeks.
When you can't carry your tablet/phone/ereader for some reason.
If you're old and set in your ways and don't like"'them newfangled gadgets."
When there are diagrams/maps in the book, ebooks are just fine, unless you have a lousy reader.
When you want to read in the tub, a paperback is just as fragile as an ebook reader. I will concede, however, that
Agreed, BUT... (Score:2)
Yes, IMHO paper books are usually preferable, but ebooks have advantages since they:
- can be read in the dark (or poor lighting)
- can enlarge / change their font
- allow dictionary lookup of a word, effortlessly
- can share a bookmark across devices
- can be bought / downloaded instantly
- are usually cheaper than paper
- they don't destroy trees
- they don't cause my floors to sag under their weight
I expect to buy more of both indefinitely.
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Also, when you finish one book, you know the next one is waiting for you (or you can get it) without having to specifically be at a bookstore or your bookshelf. I used to carry an emergency spare in my bag, another in my car, and now and then I'd still finish a book someplace where I didn't have access to a new one.
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Yep. Or I'd carry a second paper book in case I got tired of reading the first or just wanted a different style or topic from the first. Sometimes I'd even carry three...
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One more case for you: when the bookshelves in your house are filled to overflowing, and the attic is getting pretty full of books too.
Which situation I reached five or six years ago. I no longer buy dead-tree books because I don't have a place to keep them....
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Sounds like time to bring a few boxes to the second hand or charity bookshop. (Another advantage of paper books.)
I like my personal book collection but there's only so many books you can expect to re-read or want to check something in in one lifetime.
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Sounds like time to bring a few boxes to the second hand or charity bookshop. (Another advantage of paper books.)
I think its' a bigger advantage to take up virtually no space and be able to keep all your books. I've got dozens of physical books, and one day when I get around to it I'm going to scan them all in and ditch the physical copies.
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"But when there are diagrams/maps in a book, the ebooks fail miserably."
Can't zoom paper.
"When I want to read in the tub, ebooks fail."
No water proofing solution for paper also allows turning the page without opening.
"When I want something that can fit in my pants pocket, ebooks fail - but paperbacks deliver."
The same content as an ebook can be provided in an arbitrarily small format.
"When I want to borrow/lend a book, ebooks make it too much trouble, but a paperback is easy."
Actual problem for ebooks. 1 ou
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What kind of e-reader are you using? A regular size Kindle is way thinner and about the same size otherwise as a typical paperback. It is also quite a bit lighter. Even if you put a protective case on it, the thing will still be no less portable than a dead tree book.
I read most of my ebooks on my phone, which obviously fits in my pocket just fine.
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I'm trying to imagine what size pocket would fit a trade paperback but not a tablet.
Lots! My back pocket is wide enough for a paperback or a tablet, but one bends, the other would break.
There are some paperbacks that are really big. I don't grab one of those when leaving the house.
Different does not mean excluding... (Score:2)
.
It should also be no surprise that paper-based books are still in demand. Some people, like myself, prefer to read a paper-based book instead of an eBook.
Aside from the privacy concerns about eBooks (e.g., I don't want the publisher "looking over my shoulder" and taking notes of what pages I read more than once or what pages I ski
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You're right - physical books are cheaper to replace than a Kindle. I know this first hand since my dog has eaten several of my physical books, and also one Kindle.
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Well it depends on how broadly one interprets your question - she did, at one point, eat a calculator.
Used books often less expensive than the ebook (Score:2)
This is true with older books, from my experience with Amazon. Even when shipping is included, a used book can be had for under $10, while the Kindle version is often $10 or more...
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Thank you for reminding me about used books. I'm going on a cruise soon and wanted a nice, geeky book to bring along. I had a good book picked out but then saw that the Kindle version was $4 and the paperback version was $13.50. I didn't want to have to bring my Kindle along (reading on my phone would stink in the bright light) but I also don't want to spend three times more for a physical book that I might read once and be done with. I just checked Amazon and there's a used copy for $5 and free 2 day P
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They had those listings for the book I was looking at too. Unfortunately, in this case, time is a factor. The book won't help me if the estimated arrival day is a week after I leave for my cruise. So I went with a slightly more expensive used book that will arrive in 2 days. In the future, though, I'd have no problem buying the "$0.01 + $3.99 shipping" book from a third party.
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It's almost like..... (Score:2)
Re:It's almost like..... (Score:5, Interesting)
You're being sarcastic, right? That's exactly what they're doing, and they are lying through their teeth when they claim it costs just as much to publish an e-book, and all the people supporting the companies by claiming it costs just as much because of editing are either lying or stupidly buying the nonsense the book companies are selling.
E-books are great for a lot of reasons - I have shelves of physical books at home that I have no idea what to do with; libraries don't want them (they have too many of these kinds of books that our kids are reading, they have enough); you can't sell them at garage sales (nobody buys them), you can't donate them to the school (they don't want to be overwhelmed with everybody's used books - they get enough). I can sell them to the used book store for credit, but now I have hundreds of dollars in credit and they have few things I want... I can't use the credit on new books.
E-books let me:
Physical books:
As it is, with the absurd pricing of e-books, it often makes more sense to buy the physical book. The publishers are %#king 4$#holes.
It was said best in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Score:2)
Giles: The smell.
Jenny Calendar: Computers don't smell, Rupert.
Giles: I know. Smell is the most powerful trigger to the memory there is. A certain flower, or a-a whiff of smoke can bring up experiences long forgotten. Books smell musty and-and-and rich. The knowledge gained from a computer is a... it, uh, it has no-no texture, no-no context. It's-it's there and then it's gone. If it's to last, then-then the getting of knowledge
e-books are great while flying (Score:2)
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This is a factor I have never seen mentioned in the whole discussion of physical books vs ebooks. How many additional sales of would-I-want-to-be-seen-reading-this-on-the-train books are we seeing now that they come in ebook form?
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Wonderful DRM misfeatures (Score:5, Interesting)
When I can buy ebooks without respect to region, I'll hop on board. But as it stands, I can't buy books published outside my home country, and as we've seen in the past, if you take your ebooks outside the country and your reader goes on line (particularly the Kindle) it'll lock you out of your books.
On top of that, the ebooks cost more than the paperback.
Get back to me when obvious negatives aren't being piled on to ebooks.
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I've never had a problem overseas with my books being region locked, and I can't imagine that's a huge problem. You can download unencumbered books from all over the place, or rip them and strip the DRM if it bothers you which has the added benefit of being able to share books more easily :)
Rarely have I ever seen the price of an e-book be as much as a paperback (but e-books are still overpriced in my mind).
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I have a job with 100% travel, and this never happened to me. In fact I bought the kindle because I can be in Ho Chi Minh and still easily find the latest English language releases. In fact, I've been all over the world with my Kindle (North America + Europe + Asia + a bit of Africa) and was AMAZED that I've literally always had access to the free 3G
eBooks will continue to gain market share (Score:2)
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There's no book nostalgia like the smell of leather-bound editions you have never bought in your life read before the baronial fireplace you have never owned.
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There's no book nostalgia like the smell of leather-bound editions you have never bought in your life read before the baronial fireplace you have never owned.
And yet... I'll admit to loving old-fashioned bound books. I own some leather-bound books (not a lot -- I'm not really a collector of the leather editions or anything), and there actually is something nice about a well-made book, typeset clearly on quality paper.
I'm not a baron (nor rich), but I do have a fireplace, and yes -- I do sit by it frequently in the winter on a leather armchair with a good book and a glass of scotch. The "leather-bound" aspect of the book is not necessary, but a physical book
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The majority of "avid readers" I know read nothing but garbage like "The Hunger Games." They couldn't read a Stendhal or Pynchon if their lives depended on it, because their attention spans have been completely decimated by electronic distractions.
Most readers I know prefer physical material. And so do I.
Well, which is it?
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Conrad? That Victorian style of writing makes me want to poke my eyes out.
Future of Books and eBooks (Score:2)
>> Serials are returning, authors are able to more directly keep in contact with readers
On reason for the uptick in serials is the lack of delay with e-books. I can read an already published serial, see how the first book is, then at 10PM, when I finish the first, immediately download the next in the series, starting to read it right away. Compare that to waiting for the bookstore to be open, finding it or placing an order, then waiting for them to receive it and picking it up from them. Two minutes v
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On reason for the uptick in serials is the lack of delay with e-books. I can read an already published serial, see how the first book is, then at 10PM, when I finish the first, immediately download the next in the series, starting to read it right away.
One evening I finished a book and then had to drive to five different bookstores before I found one that had the sequel in stock. By the time I got home, it was too late to start reading the book, because I had to go to bed. Talk about a frustrating experience.
Yeah, right (Score:2)
And where are these numbers coming from?
Amazon, to the best of my knowledge, does not release ebook sales numbers. Amazon sells the majority of ebooks in America, though I've no idea whether that's true elsewhere. That alone means any sales numbers are suspect, at best. Yes, trade published might report their own sales, but that ignores all the indie-published books that make up a large fraction of those Amazon sells.
Personally, my main reason for buying print books in the last couple of years is quite simp
A Book is an Artifact, an E-book is data. (Score:2)
Are art museums going to go out and replace all of their exhibits with HDPI IPS displays? No. The displays may be far more versatile but they also do not embody a work. They simply display it. A printed book both contains and embodies the contained text. That simple visceral realness of holding an artifact contributes not only to our willingness to step into the magic circle of the book but signals the beginning of a cultural ritual.
Reading is a form of magic that is wholly contained within our culture. Ebo
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Don't conflate art, which is all about presentation, to literature, which is about content. A literary masterpiece remains a literary masterpiece whether it's printed on paper or is digital data in a simple text file. Whether someone can appreciate it only in one form or another says more about the person than the work itself.
Oddly enough, nowadays, the digital copy is probably a closer representation of the author's original creation than a published book. Few modern authors actually use a typewriter or
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It is not a conflation to call an art art, nor is it inappropriate to use more than one interpretive lens. We shouldn't ignore the critical developments of the last hundred years just because the medium predates it. Authorial intent is one lens, but art is not just about expression it is also about interpretation. This is the ritual of language and of semiotics.
Does a dimestore paperback change the reading of a book compared to a leatherbound copy? I'd argue that it does. Does an e-book? Absolutely. Just as
Oh the humanity! (Score:3)
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I don't really see anyone arguing... just discussing the merits and drawbacks of one format vs another. I think most people have long since made their peace with the fact that e-books are here to stay, while a number of people will continue to purchase and enjoy physical books.
Perfect world? (Score:2)
Jury is out (Score:3)
No surprise (Score:2)
I published a couple of novels as e-books, because it seemed easier to stick with one format. Quite a few people asked for physical versions (some of the crankier responses were along the lines of "what, no *real* version of the book?"). Some were older relatives who don't have e-readers and didn't want to figure out how to get one running, but some were posting on a gaming forum and, while I don't know their ages, they were technical enough to play computer games, so presumably just preferred the physical
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There is the real downside of the cost of a good e-reader. Many people use their smart phones but I know that wouldn't work for me. I much prefer my paperwhite with it's e-ink display. But that is an extra cost and not necessarily a trivial one. So I can see how a fan might be disgruntled if an author they followed published a new book that wasn't available in the format they liked and reading it would mean investing in new hardware.
Kill off uni libraries as they are now (Score:2)
1) New books should be bought as an electronic copy and made available for temporary download as required by students. My uni has started to offer that; you get to hold it for only 24 hours
2) ALL books out of copyright should be digitised, packed up and stored securely off site. There is no need - apart from the aesthetics and wow factor - to have old books filling up space. OK
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... vinyl still exists too. i predict something similar. ebooks will be ubiquitous, those seeking nostalgia/retro will still get books. physical paper will always have its proponents... but they'll slowly die off, and as generations come that don't know what that "new book smell" is, analog's market share will slowly but steadily dwindle.
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yeah, but some people also swear by the sound quality of vinyl. which is something that books can't claim.
it's about convenience too, a library in your hand, versus a single book. yes you need power, but i've also taken to reading off my phone. which, single device :)
yay.
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yeah, but some people also swear by the sound quality of vinyl. which is something that books can't claim.
Don't underestimate the feel of quality paper providing the right contrast between ink and page such that reading is very easy on the eyes and on the hands holding the book, the typefaces used in the book, and the kerning that an expert typesetter has chosen to make the printed page easiest to read.
Granted, mass-market paperbacks and cheap hardcovers may not have as much attention to detail, but I've found that ebooks have a lot of problems with special formatting unless they've literally gone the route
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:)
all soluble. When the demand picks up for these features i'm almost certain that ebooks will get them.
same with the appendices... i'd assume there's a near-trivial solution to flipping to the appendices
you might have a point about the physical feel, the page quality, the smell.
but just as there are positives, there are negatives too.
paper cuts
the weight of a tome
having only the coarsest control of lighting
the smell... of a truly old and musty book.
aging makes the paper brittle.
too much use and your book
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as long as the sun is up and you are outside.
ebooks on tablet benefit from being their own light source.
Re:No change (Score:5, Insightful)
The obvious first market for ebooks has been anything you read sequentially, like novels. Ebook adoption climbs a hill for works you need to jump around in. That grease-thumbed reference book you keep beside your workbench will be the physical book's last stand.
As the application interface improves for ebooks, some advantages of the medium will open up, such as the ability to search fast and to display complex, interactive charts. In a few years you will be able to have your reference ebook standing up on the workbench so that you can say, "Hey Siri! Play me the install sequence for the right front wheel motor starting from Step 4!"
While we wait for that halcyon day, can we at least have the Kindle app give us a straight count of 'pages left in chapter' rather than trying to compute some mythical reading time?
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The obvious first market for ebooks has been anything you read sequentially, like novels.
Ebooks are great for new releases as they are generally a shade cheaper than the new hardbacks. E-books (and movie) prices are still wacky on older titles. On older titles, new paperbacks are usually cheaper than the ebooks and used books are considerably cheaper. Movies are even worse, sometimes I can buy the physical movie cheaper than I can rent the digital one. There are also no bargain bins for ebooks or resale value. I can buy a used book on amazon for $4, read it, and turn around and sell it for
In other news (Score:3)
In other news, you can still buy buggy whips, dial-style telephones, and vinyl records, too.
Nostalgia and straight-up Luddite-like behavior are enough to keep almost anything going at some level -- no matter how low its actual utility as compared to more recent replacement tech may be.
Hell, I own a vacuum tube stereo system made by Scott in the 1950's -- my father bought it when it was new, it's been with the family ever since, and now it is mine. I'm really quite fond of it in the "I actually use it" sense
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In other news, you can still buy buggy whips, dial-style telephones, and vinyl records, too.
Nostalgia and straight-up Luddite-like behavior are enough to keep almost anything going at some level -- no matter how low its actual utility as compared to more recent replacement tech may be.
Hell, I own a vacuum tube stereo system made by Scott in the 1950's -- my father bought it when it was new, it's been with the family ever since, and now it is mine. I'm really quite fond of it in the "I actually use it" sense, though considered in the light of my home theater system, it's neither particularly functional or particularly high quality (though in its day, it absolutely was The Shite.) Still, it glows in the dark in a most pleasing manner. :)
I keep it in my office and enjoy listening to it regularly. My physical book collection, however... several thousand volumes... in boxes in the basement. I am a total convert to e-books. Textbooks, fiction, reference material... all right in my pocket, 100% accessible 100% of the time in 100% of the places I go (unless I'm diving or swimming, but hey. And I could get a waterproof, good to X-depth case for my phone, and then... :)
No not nostalgia,
I can read copy of the latest Dresden Files book while outside while walking my dog and not have to turn up the screen brightness to read in the sunlight then run out of battery.
I don't worry about Amazon deciding to delete copy of 1984 because I bought my copy from a publisher from New Zealand. - see Amazon 1984 deletion débâcle.
I can also loan my a my copy of A Canticle for Libowitzs to my sister to read without being sued for sharing.
I can underline highlight annotate without h
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As you say, you're speaking for yourself. They're just fine for me, and many others. None of the things you perceive as problems manifest as problems for me.
Outside? Text-to-speech, with the added benefit of I can still watch where I'm walking.
Arbitrary deletion: Amazon deleted one version of one title, once, for which they were roundly and publicly criticized. Hardly a cause for "worry" Loaning... pfft.
Loaning: others
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In other news, you can still buy buggy whips, dial-style telephones, and vinyl records, too.
Nostalgia and straight-up Luddite-like behavior are enough to keep almost anything going at some level -- no matter how low its actual utility as compared to more recent replacement tech may be.
It does generally make more sense to view new technology as adding to existing technology, rather than replacing it. After all, the invention of books didn't replace talking, and the invention of the telephone didn't make person-to-person speech obsolete.
One of the things I liked to point out back in the 1990s, when we still had tech bookstores, was that when you walked into one, the first bookcase you'd see had all the current best sellers, and if you opened them to the first pages, you'd inevitably fi
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Hmm. I don't think you've been observing the current crop of teenagers closely enough.
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Most of that, very good.
One thing, though: the only way vinyl records are "better" than a well recorded CD is if there is no well recorded CD of the material, or you love the cover/liner art in that particular format (Cheech and Chong's "Big Bambu", for instance.) Vinyl itself is a terrible format, it has no inherent audio benefits whatsoever. I own a very high end turntable for those few platters that I can't find well-recorded (or any!) CDs of. They sound terrible -- because they're vinyl. Hugely worse si
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My basement is climate-controlled -- humidity and temperature -- so no worries there. If I run into anyone who wants the textbooks here, I'll gladly hand them over. Might be a long wait, though. Small rural town. Football trumps engineering by quite a bit here. :)
The SF collection is a business asset, so it stays. But it stays in boxes for now.
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The obvious first market for ebooks has been anything you read sequentially, like novels. Ebook adoption climbs a hill for works you need to jump around in. That grease-thumbed reference book you keep beside your workbench will be the physical book's last stand.
Possibly - but I think the reason why ebooks haven't taken over the world by now is more complex. One problem is that ebook readers only last for a short while, compared to a printed book. I have had a Kindle for about 18 months, and it is now broken: the dreaded screen failure that many have had already. By comparison, I can still read books that are 150 years old. Printed books are altogether more rugged - you can still use them even after having dropped then in your bath etc.
The other nuisance for me has
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One of the main reasons ebooks sold so tremendously (in volume, not price) on Amazon in the first few years was the huge number of public domain books that were suddenly free for the downloading. There was also a big spike in volume and price from this being the next generation of a format, rather like CD sales were inflated during the first few years of their popularity because people were getting on CD what they previously had on LPs or cassettes.
Where illustrations, graphs, tables, or seeing a page as
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Some of it is because the people digitizing the books are just clueless.
There have been several cases where I specifically looked for a high resolution scan of a book from archive.org and did not get the Project Gutenberg one, because the Project Gutenberg one either did not include illustrations or included them in very low resolution. PG could include high res illustrations--they just don't, and in fact have guidelines which tell you to digitize the images at a resolution which is ridiculously low for to
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Your reasons are all good, but there's a few caveats for a lot of other people. My kids don't buy their textbooks in high school, so they aren't writing in the margins or making notes. They also have to carry them around ALL DAY (the lockers are not satisfactory), and my son's latest books are as big as the biggest physics books I had in college.
What I wish they could do is have them as e-books while in school and leave the huge, physical book at home. The school offers "online" textbooks, but the stupid