|
@QuantumIguana: Interesting point of view. We need to stop calling everything a book, and a lot of problems / confusion would be solved. Take graphic novels - if you like to read them then call 'em for what they are - graphic novels. It doesn't really matter what medium they are on, as long as they are displayed the way they were meant to be seen. If it got color, then it needs to be on a color display or printed in color. In case you are interested in them as an investment / collectors item, don't opt for electronic versions - that must be done on high quality glossy paper possibly as low volume limited print edition. But stop calling them graphic novel - it should be (not me personally): I collect rare comic books of this and this and this, but I also like to read any other graphic novel of this genre electronically for convenience.
Same with books. We use the term book both as a synonym for the physical paper pages bound by a cover, and then the book as the content (most commonly some novel). The experience of reading a book (the paper thingy) can IMHO never fully be simulated by an electronic gadget. And neither should it be - the e-reader is simply an evolution for reading convenience. There is not much to improve on paper-books, but e-readers can still be made better as technology improves. In my case, the mere act of reading as in looking at the page, recognizing the shapes that make out the letters and turning them into words, sentences is easier, better looking on e-ink than on paper. The fact that every book looks the same (same font, same size, same line spacing) is a huge added bonus on e-reader.
Just yesterday I looked through the book isle in a store and checked the hard-cover books out. They did feel nice to handle and all, but I could not find two books that looked alike inside. None of them were easy to read - fonts too small, font too fancy, font too condensed (letters in a word almost touching), too many words per line. And that was only the hard-covers. The new "modern" paperbacks that are longer and slimmer are even worse - the margins on inside are practically non-existant.
|