Will eBooks create an elite reading class?

[eGeezer]

Originally Posted by scottjl

I'd say we're more in danger of masses simply being illiterate than eReaders creating a reading class.

Excellent point.

[jseay]

I think the ebook revolution may actually increase readership.

1. More authors who would not be traditionally published or published in print will begin to offer ebooks.

2. Ebooks can already be read on personal computers and smartphones. Mobile phone applications will continue to evolve which would make ereading available to most people who own a cell phone.

3. As the technology matures, dedicated ereader devices should decrease in cost. This would enable more readers to have access to a nicer ereading experience.

I'm excited about ebooks and think that they will change the way books are consumed.

[mdovell]

The ease of publishing will also help. One author actually called me up because he self published the book and he said my review on amazon is what caused a publishing company to decide to print it.

If you want to read a rant by an author on writing rather than policies I highly suggest the snippet at the end of Fahrenheit 451. In a nutshell he writes a story not for people but to write a story.

[Froide]

Originally Posted by Crowl

While a very disappointing situation, it isn't a new thing, Bill Hicks has been dead since 1994 and even in one of his routines he had the following joke:

"I was in Nashville, Tennesee last year. After the show, I went to a Waffle House. I'm not proud of it, I was hungry. And I'm eating, I'm alone and I'm reading a book, right? Waitress walks over to me: 'Hey, what you readin' for?' Is that like the weirdest fucking question you've ever heard? Not what am I reading, but what am I reading ... for. 'Well, God damn it, you stumped me. Why do I read? Hmm ... I guess I read for a lot of reasons, and the main one is ... so I don't end up being a fucking waffle waitress.'

But then, this trucker in the next booth gets up, stands over me and goes: 'Well, looks like we got ourselves a reader.' What the fuck's going on here? It's not like I walked into a Klan rally in a Boy George outfit, God damn it. It's a book!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uvs2g5Nj0NI

[crich70]

Originally Posted by jseay

I'm excited about ebooks and think that they will change the way books are consumed.

Aren't they already doing that? At one time I'd have to either go to a brick and mortar store or order a customer catalog from a publisher and hope the prices of the books were still the same. In fact that very problem happened to me once. I had ordered some books of Philip Jose Farmer's riverworld series among others and only part of my order was shipped to me because it turned out the price of the books had gone up since I'd gotten the catalog. I ordered the Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper via a book store in Janesville mall (they didn't have copies on site) and had to wait a couple weeks for them to arrive and a note sent out that my order was ready. Now I can go online, see a book I want, buy it and be reading it within 5 minutes or less. And the books often cost a lot less than their paper siblings. Sometimes they're even offered for free for a day or so. When was the last time you saw someone giving away free copies of a paper book?

[Logseman]

Yesterday I saw an ebook, 4.3 inches of screen size, for thirty euros. I paid eight times that for the 5 inch reader I had in 2010. The elite has not lasted.

BTW, way to necro a 4 year old post

[crich70]

Originally Posted by Logseman

Yesterday I saw an ebook, 4.3 inches of screen size, for thirty euros. I paid eight times that for the 5 inch reader I had in 2010. The elite has not lasted.

BTW, way to necro a 4 year old post

I didn't notice til you mentioned it how old the thread is. At least Froide beat me to it.

[Waylander]

Slaughter seems slightly alarmist, especially given that the upcoming basic Kindle is only £59 in the UK, which is pretty damn good value for something like this.

[BookAdmin]

I agree with Waylander, there are also lot of free ebook for people who can't afford to buy "classics" books.

[sl42]

Seems to be a rather badly thought out argument - first, an inexpensive dedicated reader can be found for the cost of two or three print books (I payed $48 for my Kobo Mini), and second you don't *need* a dedicated reader if you already have a tablet or "smart" phone. Finally, ebooks are generally slightly cheaper than print editions and if someone has *no* income that doesn't need to be spent on necessities like rent and food, anyone with an Internet connection can download a copy of any book they want any time they want - as pointed out by Cory Doctorow in this article ( http://www.locusmag.com/2006/Issues/...ommentary.html ) it takes the same number of "clicks" to pirate a book as to purchase it, making it the reader's choice whether to pay or not.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by BookAdmin

I agree with Waylander, there are also lot of free ebook for people who can't afford to buy "classics" books.

A lot of the "Classics" are also in the PD and therefore available at sites like Gutenberg and Mobile Read at no charge.

[fjtorres]

Four years ago the concern was that ebook reading was too expensive and would become an activity solely for the elites--today it is the elites fretting that it has become too cheap and everybody can play both ends of the game.

That's pretty common, actually, in professional handwringer circles.

For example, back in the 70's, the big concern was that since we are smack dab in the middle of an ongoing ice age, any sign of cooling was a precursor of catastrophe:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Cooling-Ne.../dp/013172312X

Give it a couple years and the wheel will turn and we'll be back to worrying about yesteryear's fears.

[HomeInMyShoes]

Originally Posted by tsantsa

"Will eBooks create an elite reading class?"

I am of the opinion that simply READING has become an elitist class.

EDIT: Not that I'm saying readers are elitist in general, but some people see you as a snob if you read heavily. I don't know about you, but I have a dead-end job filled with knuckle-draggers (elitist? me? no! ;> ) and we have conversations throughout the day. I like to talk about my hobbies and likes. My co-workers are much the same, except for the reading part... Sometimes, I do sense a certain degree of "I bet he thinks he's better than us" responses or looks. Although, I bet when some of them are talking about whatever it is they do, I probably have the same attitude sometimes...

But my point is, they seem to view reading itself as elitist. I wonder what they teach their children.

I work with a lot of very smart people, but only a few of us read a lot. Reading does not necessarily equate to smart or not in my experience. I do find people that read a little more interesting, but that's only because it is another common talking point.

Will eReaders create an elite class. Maybe. But I know almost everyone has a smartphone and most of them can be used as an eReader so I don't buy the argument much.

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

I work with a lot of very smart people, but only a few of us read a lot. Reading does not necessarily equate to smart or not in my experience. I do find people that read a little more interesting, but that's only because it is another common talking point.

Reading isn't an elite activity. Contrary to popular belief, most Americans (76%) read; the median number of books read is 5. Beyond a certain point, reading doesn't scale with education; the number of books read by people with some college, a college degree, and a graduate degree are all fairly close.

[pidgeon92]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

I work with a lot of very smart people, but only a few of us read a lot. Reading does not necessarily equate to smart or not in my experience. I do find people that read a little more interesting, but that's only because it is another common talking point.

I suppose it also depends on how you classify "reading." My husband doesn't read many books every year (and rarely reads fiction), but he reads the news daily and spends a lot of time researching financial topics. He's far more up on current events than I am.