Quote:
Originally Posted by EndlessWaves
Actually the Adobe Reader method used in epubs is designed for eReaders. It doesn't reference the page numbers in a paper edition but instead has one 'page' per 1000 characters so different people can find the same location despite varied font and margin settings and different screen sizes.
Be careful comparing eReaders to books. Generally new technology starts off close to old technology and then gets further away. Expect future eReaders to drop book-like features rather than adding them.
Not that I'd expect chapters to go. The index will vanish, replaced by search, but chapters are helpful for avoiding sections as well as finding them.
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You make some good points, and I think we are already seeing some of the separation from traditional publishing, but I disagree about the use of indexes. Writing them is a specialized form of writing and especially valuable for complex non-fiction. There are an amazing number of ways to think about facts; a professional index writer studies the text closely until they understand all the elements and how they are connected to each other before designing the index.
As to separation from the printed method of publishing, it seems to me there are different kinds of people eBook readers appeal to. The extremes are speed readers and close readers. Speed readers like eReaders that can completely fill the screen with text, they adjust the eReader to show narrow line spacing, eliminate margins and find the smallest font they can read without slowing down. They want hardware with high definition screens and the fastest possible page turns.
Close readers read more slowly. They notice the appearance of the book and are sensitive to its design. They like a little white space to open the book up and look for a font that is attractive rather than simply utilitarian.
Another group is composed of people with reading problems that can sometimes be helped by the flexibility of eReaders, such as fonts designed to help with oddities of vision. For example, I have trouble seeing edges and prefer a more open font than any typeface I've seen used in printed books, so some eReaders allow the owner to supply their own fonts. eReaders with "read aloud" features help the blind and eReaders with automatic scrolling of the text help people with trouble holding the reader and turning pages.
The Kobo Aura series do better at meeting these various needs than any other I personally have found. That's why I'm enthusiastic about them.