Quote:
Originally Posted by David Marseilles
I used to do a lot of book collecting at university and library book sales, used book stores etc. It was a little like antiquing. I also always had one book with me everywhere I went, just in case. I still treasure my personal library. I began reading on my Palm m500 (a PDA) in 2003, buying books from the company B&N recently bought in preperation to launch the nook and relaunch their ebook effort. At first, it was light reading, but I instantly began to realize the many benefits. Even with a tiny SD card back then, I could carry dozens and dozens of titles and have nearly unlimited selection on hand at all time (because how can you really be expected to know what you'll want to read hours later?). With current SD cards as big as big hard drives were back then, I could carry more books than I could ever read in my lifetime.
And as far as collections go, what books once did for our base of knowledge, the internet does today. eBooks--from google's digitizing works, to the gutenburg project, to independent authors who haven't yet been able to get the attention of publishers--provide even more opportunities for the same "great finds" that I got while collecting old and unnoticed paper books.
Of course, you don't have to abandon paper books to enjoy this new world too, just keep in mind the ebook experience is full of it's own joys.
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Thanks so much for your reply. I also feel as if I do a lot of "collecting" of paper books. I guess my fear is that paper books may end up completely disappearing; however, I hope that if that's the case, it'll be a long time coming. I think I also feel a little guilty that I'm looking at e Readers, since I love print so much...but, I feel that I have to change with the times, too.
As you pointed out, there is a place for both types of books!
