Book lovers have emotional bond with paper

[Mitchll]

Ars Technica says:

"Book lovers have a message for e-book makers: you can have my paperback when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers. "

[TheJohnNewton]

Are people highly attached to a bunch of bound paper with ink smudges on it or to engaging intellectually with the CONTENTS of a book? I'm putting my money on the latter. I also think most people will have to actually use an ebook reader before they really understand the benefits and how easily they can ditch those cumbersome old reams of ink smeared paper.

[NatCh]

Something interesting I noticed about this article, is that way down at the end, it admits that the more people learn about the currently available reading devices, the less resistant they become to the idea of giving up paper.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by TheJohnNewton

Are people highly attached to a bunch of bound paper with ink smudges on it or to engaging intellectually with the CONTENTS of a book? I'm putting my money on the latter. I also think most people will have to actually use an ebook reader before they really understand the benefits and how easily they can ditch those cumbersome old reams of ink smeared paper.

Speaking personally, both.

I have about 3,500 ebooks. I have a corresponding number of paper books, and likely rather more, since I haven't tried to count heads in a while.

An ebook engages one sense: vision.

Depending upon the book, a paper book is also a tactile experience, with subtleties in binding method, covers, and interior paper stock used, such as the embossed covers used on some paperbacks and hardccovers.

A paper book can also be a multi-dimensional experience. Consider the "pop up" book, not always aimed at children, where opening the book to different spreads erects different three-dimensional structures. Or the books printed on light card stock, where the intent is to be able to punch out pieces printed and scored on the page to construct something.

For that matter, a paper publication can be olfactory as well. You don't normally see it in books, but thinqs like inserts with embedded fragrances are common materials in women's magazines to promote new scents made by perfumers.

If all you are concerned with is seeing content, and size and things like realistic color reproduction aren't factors, ebooks may be just the ticket. For other things, paper may be the only choice.
______
Dennis

[Cthulhu]

Resistance is Futile.

*readies his bag to collect many a blood-stained paperback*



;-)

[Cthulhu]

@Dennis:


Have all ways loathed those 'seed packets' that fall from a magazine, and have never willfully opened a scented foldout.

Will concede that the pop-up book is an art form , but beyond that, many of the subtle nuances of paper bundles will one day, and I hope soon, be integrated into the digital reading experience.

As displays improve, and colour comes to the market, Cover Art will be just as relevant. As the processing power increases with resolution, so too will the number of fonts available.

Call me a zealot, but I am eager for our 'brave new world' with such books in it.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Cthulhu

@Dennis:

Have all ways loathed those 'seed packets' that fall from a magazine, and have never willfully opened a scented foldout.

Suit yourself. The point is, that can't be done with an ebook. If you want to do that, you must use other methods.

Will concede that the pop-up book is an art form , but beyond that, many of the subtle nuances of paper bundles will one day, and I hope soon, be integrated into the digital reading experience.

If the nuances concern touch, smell, and taste, I don't see how they can be, unless you postulate direct neural stimulation triggering all the senses, in which case what you have isn't an ebook.

As displays improve, and colour comes to the market, Cover Art will be just as relevant. As the processing power increases with resolution, so too will the number of fonts available.

Font availability has more to do with platform than resolution or processing power. I have several thousand fonts installed on my desktop, and there are many thousands more I don't have. (And a large number I don't want. My rule of thumb for deciding to keep a font is "Could I set readable body copy in this?" The vast majority of fonts are things I might use for a headline. Once...)

And color and processing power will have to improve a great deal. Some of the color stuff I have in paper form would be a bad fit for a handheld reader regardless of color or processing power, because it's just too big. A lot of posters do not scale down well, and having to scroll around and display only a section at a time on a small screen destroys the impact that is the whole point of the poster.

Call me a zealot, but I am eager for our 'brave new world' with such books in it.

I'm all in favor of electronic books as an additional format for reading material. I draw the line at suggestions they should be the only format.

I'm not willing to subject myself to the limitation of engaging only one sense in two dimensions.
______
Dennis

[TheJohnNewton]

Dennis, I agree there are certain niches that are best served by paper especially given current technology limitations. I see the day though where paper will be a specialty item and electronic will be the mass market. My main point is that I think resistance to electronic books probably has more to do with the unknown than with the perceived loss of the paper experience. In other words, once somebody actually tries it, I think they'll realize "hey this really does work better than lugging a bunch of books around". People are just naturally resistent to change.

[delphidb96]

Originally Posted by Mitchll

Ars Technica http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post...ith-paper.html "Book lovers have a message for e-book makers: you can have my paperback when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers. "

Meh! On my Cybook I can store 80+ ebooks in a 6 OUNCE package, more than 2,000 if I use an SD card. Most paperbacks are much heavier and I only get ONE story.

They can HAVE the paperbacks!

Derek

[moz]

Originally Posted by Ars Technica

"Book lovers have a message for e-book makers: you can have my paperback when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers. "

As mentioned, the end of the article says "the more readers know about a liseuse the more they like it". Magic words!

I too have an emotional tie to the books and magazines I shift every time I move, and the boxes and folders of scraps and the random fragments of disintegrating paper notebooks I scrawl in. That emotional tie is closer to a codependent relationship that anything positive though - I'm still in the relationship because I need what I get out of it, but it's making me unhappy.

[JSWolf]

There are things best suited to a pBook then today's eBook hardware. Text books, references books, any sort of books where you'll want to be able to flip though faster, and things where color is import. Also, The one other thing pBooks are good for is they do not run out of power. And you can read a pBook during take off and landing. I carry one normal sized paperback with me when I fly for that very reason as well as my 505.

[HarryT]

Although I'm a fan of eBooks (and have been for over 20 years), there's something about a well-made, properly-bound hardback book which eBooks can't replace (for me). The feel of it, the smell of leather and glue - the whole "experience" of it.

[Ortep]

This link point to a Dutch cartoon

http://www.catullus.nl/images/Canon_...PEG_groot2.jpg

The first monk is saying:

That printing process is not going tot stay, It's a hype

The second one replies with:

People always want to read hand written books

[astra]

I also thought that I am emotionally attached to pbooks. Cannot read from big LCD screens, dispise small screens as well... until I got Sony Reader PRS-500(505 has far superior screen!). I bought it only for holidays time, so i don't have to take a couple of hardback editions with me.
In one month time I forgot my emotional attachment completely. It doesn't exist anymore.
Although, I do love some pbooks, like special editions of LotR or a huge Sherloke Holmse edition

[Puddytat purr]

I learned to read at a very young age because both my parents were avid readers - in our house, we sat and read in the evenings instead of watching TV!

I have already posted a poll about replacing ones library with an elibrary as I'm seriously considering this myself - although I must agree with previous comments here about reference books etc, yes I imagine that a hardcopy would be more convenient (but then, isn't the iLiad more for reference type books?). Personally, I don't have reference books, just lots and lots of fiction books which I'm quite happy to replace after having to carry a load of pbooks into hospital for a week long stay several years ago!

Originally Posted by HarryT

...the smell of leather...

Which you get with your 'leather' cover