Is the future of pbooks "Special editions"?

[danskmacabre]

I really like my ereader and other electronic devices for reading books.
I haven't bought any paper backs for years, as it just doesn't make sense to me to have lots of paper backs for books.

However, I like to browse book stores and check out special editions of pbooks, as they often look really nice and have additional material etc.

On the weekend I bought the Hobbit Deluxe edition from out local bookstore:
http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/tolkie...re/CLP0002.htm

And I noticed online the deluxe edition of LOTR:
http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/tolkie...ore/001034.htm
which I've heavily hinted to my wife (I.E. emailed the page link) to get for Xmas for me..

I already have this special limited edition of the Silmarillion
http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/collec...escription.htm
Of which only 1000 were advertised and only about 170ish were actually printed.


I haven't bought a paperback for many years and TBH I haven't really bought pbooks much at all for many years.
However it was a real pleasure to get this special edition of The Hobbit and I can see myself allocating some of my book budget for getting special editions in future.
They look and feel really nice and reading such a high quality book made book is nice too.

I would only do this for books I REALLY like, as part of the pleasure is seeing these nice editions in a prominent place on my bookshelf.

What are other people's views on this?

[rkomar]

Most people don't read very much, so buying one or two paper books per year is no big deal. Going through the hassle/device-expense of digital reading isn't worth it if you don't read much. So, I don't expect paper books to go away anytime soon, especially the best sellers.

[danskmacabre]

Originally Posted by rkomar

Most people don't read very much, so buying one or two paper books per year is no big deal. Going through the hassle/device-expense of digital reading isn't worth it if you don't read much. So, I don't expect paper books to go away anytime soon, especially the best sellers.

Yeah, I get that ATM, as dedicated ereaders are still pretty prominent, so as you say, for most people, it's not worth the hassle.

But phones and tablets are getting better and more suited for ereading and most people own these sorts of things, so even for casual reading, in the near-ish future, it might be considered more of an option.
I like my Kobo ereader, as it's very light and has a fantastic battery life.
But my Galaxy S 8.4 tablet is great for ereading too (and of course a lot of other stuff).
I could see more and more people just not bothering with pbooks for the convenience of just reading on a device they already have anyway.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by danskmacabre

Yeah, I get that ATM, as dedicated ereaders are still pretty prominent, so as you say, for most people, it's not worth the hassle.

But phones and tablets are getting better and more suited for ereading and most people own these sorts of things, so even for casual reading, in the near-ish future, it might be considered more of an option.
I like my Kobo ereader, as it's very light and has a fantastic battery life.
But my Galaxy S 8.4 tablet is great for ereading too (and of course a lot of other stuff).
I could see more and more people just not bothering with pbooks for the convenience of just reading on a device they already have anyway.

My mother prefers paper.
Though e-readers are not for most people. I can pretty much guarantee that there are 3 ereaders on my block, used to be 4 but one died. Now I can also say that there is at least one cell phone per household. But none of my neighbors read.
Now their grown children all have smart phones.
Ereaders are generally used by voracious readers not your 1 to 2 book a year reader.

[DrNefario]

I only really want pbooks now if they're going to be nice objects, to be displayed and admired, for me the answer is yes.

(I will also get them if either I can't get an ebook, or I don't want to pay the ebook price and can get a used pbook, but I'd prefer ebooks in those cases. And for that matter, I'd usually like to have an ebook in addition to the special edition pbook.)

[ekbell]

I agree that while I normally vastly prefer ebooks there are some things for which a pbooks is better.

The last pbook I bought was an art book (size 11.6 by 11.6), containing many 2 page spreads with plenty of fine detail.

[eschwartz]

I still need pbooks for when I read on Shabbos.

[bbqncigars]

The only pbooks I've bought in the last three years are the Girl Genius series, and most of those are gorgeously drawn graphic novels.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

I still need pbooks for when I read on Shabbos.

Now that is interesting.

[danskmacabre]

Yes, other exceptions are things like art books and Graphic novels and generally visual type media (meaning lots of images, as opposed to all text).
Although I don't tend to buy art books or Graphic novels any more.