The person who wrote that article doesn't love reading specifically; he loves physical books and handling them, and thus got turned off from digital books.
I did buy some (large) physical books, because they are either not available on an e-reader (most of the "History of Middle Earth" series by Christopher Tolkien), or are better on paper (illustrated books), but... it's... difficult.
Because I wanted to read the illustrated version of the Hobbit, I did so on paper, and it's a fairly large book. While I love reading, I didn't enjoy reading that book after having an e-reader for four years now.
I even start to wonder: should I have spent all that money on those favourites I wanted an illustrated edition of? Should I have bought the "History of Middle-Earth" books sight unseen? All of these books are huge, and around 4 inches thick.
Will I ever read them, now that I have discovered that I don't like handling those large books any longer? The only paper books I still like are those you normally read at a desk, which is mainly study material.
The things I need from a digital book are the following:
- An open format, widely supported and convertible into other formats
- Flawless technical execution and good markup/layout
- Correct metadata
- No DRM
Given those four points, it's almost certain a book will convert into whatever format will be used down the line.
So yes, at some point, I *hope* ebooks will stagnate and get 'stuck' technically. IMHO, EPUB2 can already stay as it is. I don't need video's and other stuff in my books. It's a book, not an interactive movie or a website.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DiapDealer
Then the next question--by those who can't relate (of which I'm not one)--is: "then why do you buy at all? Why not just use the library?" (as if the library had every title you might want to read at the time you might want to read it.  ) |
That's the same thing I always think when people say that they don't reread a book or rewatch a movie. Then why buy it at all?