MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Opinion: Would you destroy physical book in exchange for a electronic version?

jamesbeat · 05-04-2011, 07:55 PM

I'm in the process of doing this myself right now with a set of 14 books from my childhood.
My original copies were heavily used, and the glue has cracked. You can't turn a page without it coming off in your hand.
I bought a complete new set a few years ago because the originals are falling apart so badly. This set has since been donated to a kid who I hope enjoys them as much as I did.

The books have great sentimental value, but no monetary value, so I decided to cut and scan them.
Actually, there is no need to cut them, I have just been pulling the pages out by hand because the glue is so bad.

I feel like the best thing I can do for these books is give them a new lease of life by turning them into ebooks. The books may have 'died', but they will live on indefinitely now.

I am toying with the idea of rebinding them once they are scanned, so they will not be destroyed but repaired.
If that doesn't work out, I'll keep the covers in a folder so I can look at them if I'm in a nostalgic mood.

I emigrated from the UK to the States, and I sold off or discarded all of my books except for these ones.
The fact that I couldn't take my books with me was my reason for buying an ereader in the first place.

I used to be one of those people who couldn't bear the idea of losing any of my books, but I was surprised to find that I didn't care as long as I had an electronic version. Nobody was more surprised about this than me, and now I see keeping all those books as hoarding behavior.

If this seems strange or abhorrent, think of all those people who turn their noses up at ereaders, claiming that they couldn't enjoy reading a book unless it was made of paper.
I don't know of anyone who retained this opinion after actually trying an ebook.

I now feel the same way about keeping and storing paper books. I couldn't go back to owning many hunderds of books ever again.

The one concession I am making is that I am gradually making a collection of those 14 books in hardcover first editions. I will own exactly 14 paper books, and no more

The way I see it, people have two reasons for owning books; a storage medium for words, and a collector's item in its own right.

My reason for owning books turned out primarily to be as a storage medium, which has now been surpassed by the electronic form.
My collection of the hardcover first editions is the second type.
I'll probably never read them, because I've been spoiled by ebooks and no longer have the will or desire to read paper ones.

In my opinion, it's only a crime to destroy a book if the book is somehow rare or valuable, or has some artistic merit above and beyond its ability to store words.
Mass market paperbacks?
I say cut 'em, scan 'em and toss 'em, and then use the space they used to occupy for something more worthwhile

Another thing that I occsionally do is buy a copy of a book just to cut and scan it.
Many of the 60's and 70's sci fi books that I like are ubiquitous in paperback form on auction sites, but are unavailable as ebooks, with little or no chance of ever becoming available.

I'm quite happy to pay $5 for the paperback and destroy it to get the ebook.
With the number of copies available, I have no qualms about destroying one of them.

So, to actually answer the original question, yes, if I didn't scan my own books, I would buy a copy to be destroyed in order to obtain an otherwise unobtainable electronic version.

05-04-2011, 07:55 PM	#51
jamesbeat Connoisseur Posts: 70 Karma: 1796 Join Date: Jun 2009 Device: Sony PRS 505	I'm in the process of doing this myself right now with a set of 14 books from my childhood. My original copies were heavily used, and the glue has cracked. You can't turn a page without it coming off in your hand. I bought a complete new set a few years ago because the originals are falling apart so badly. This set has since been donated to a kid who I hope enjoys them as much as I did. The books have great sentimental value, but no monetary value, so I decided to cut and scan them. Actually, there is no need to cut them, I have just been pulling the pages out by hand because the glue is so bad. I feel like the best thing I can do for these books is give them a new lease of life by turning them into ebooks. The books may have 'died', but they will live on indefinitely now. I am toying with the idea of rebinding them once they are scanned, so they will not be destroyed but repaired. If that doesn't work out, I'll keep the covers in a folder so I can look at them if I'm in a nostalgic mood. I emigrated from the UK to the States, and I sold off or discarded all of my books except for these ones. The fact that I couldn't take my books with me was my reason for buying an ereader in the first place. I used to be one of those people who couldn't bear the idea of losing any of my books, but I was surprised to find that I didn't care as long as I had an electronic version. Nobody was more surprised about this than me, and now I see keeping all those books as hoarding behavior. If this seems strange or abhorrent, think of all those people who turn their noses up at ereaders, claiming that they couldn't enjoy reading a book unless it was made of paper. I don't know of anyone who retained this opinion after actually trying an ebook. I now feel the same way about keeping and storing paper books. I couldn't go back to owning many hunderds of books ever again. The one concession I am making is that I am gradually making a collection of those 14 books in hardcover first editions. I will own exactly 14 paper books, and no more The way I see it, people have two reasons for owning books; a storage medium for words, and a collector's item in its own right. My reason for owning books turned out primarily to be as a storage medium, which has now been surpassed by the electronic form. My collection of the hardcover first editions is the second type. I'll probably never read them, because I've been spoiled by ebooks and no longer have the will or desire to read paper ones. In my opinion, it's only a crime to destroy a book if the book is somehow rare or valuable, or has some artistic merit above and beyond its ability to store words. Mass market paperbacks? I say cut 'em, scan 'em and toss 'em, and then use the space they used to occupy for something more worthwhile Another thing that I occsionally do is buy a copy of a book just to cut and scan it. Many of the 60's and 70's sci fi books that I like are ubiquitous in paperback form on auction sites, but are unavailable as ebooks, with little or no chance of ever becoming available. I'm quite happy to pay $5 for the paperback and destroy it to get the ebook. With the number of copies available, I have no qualms about destroying one of them. So, to actually answer the original question, yes, if I didn't scan my own books, I would buy a copy to be destroyed in order to obtain an otherwise unobtainable electronic version. Last edited by jamesbeat; 05-04-2011 at 08:39 PM.