It just occurred to me

[wyndslash]

I think I've seen some cookbooks in ebook format, but are there coffee table books in ebook format?

(i realize i could look this up myself, but i'm new here and I sort of want to talk to someone )

i personally enjoy coffee table cooks and picture books (i have a coffee table book on alice in wonderland), but i don't want to have to buy an ipad just to view it in digital format

[James_Wilde]

Originally Posted by wyndslash

I think I've seen some cookbooks in ebook format, but are there coffee table books in ebook format?

(i realize i could look this up myself, but i'm new here and I sort of want to talk to someone )

i personally enjoy coffee table cooks and picture books (i have a coffee table book on alice in wonderland), but i don't want to have to buy an ipad just to view it in digital format

The thing about coffee table books is that they are very large format and most ereaders have 6" screens.

I suppose if you read ebooks on a 32 inch flat screen you could lay it on the coffee table and enjoy the pictures...

[wyndslash]

Originally Posted by James_Wilde

The thing about coffee table books is that they are very large format and most ereaders have 6" screens.

I suppose if you read ebooks on a 32 inch flat screen you could lay it on the coffee table and enjoy the pictures...

Ah true. The experience is definitely different with coffee table books. I adore the beautifully crafted covers and the feel of the pages

Still, I have so little room for books, and really, it might sound silly, but I don't want the rest of my family knowing what type of books I read and scolding me for buying "useless" ones.

[hols57]

Originally Posted by wyndslash

Ah true. The experience is definitely different with coffee table books. I adore the beautifully crafted covers and the feel of the pages

Still, I have so little room for books, and really, it might sound silly, but I don't want the rest of my family knowing what type of books I read and scolding me for buying "useless" ones.

Hello Wyndslash and welcome to the forum! I love coffee table books too, mainly arts and craft books, but I find that there's room for both! Especially novels - after all, nobody knows what you're reading on a e-reader! If you have no room then a reader would be ideal for you, I would think...

[wyndslash]

Originally Posted by hols57

Hello Wyndslash and welcome to the forum! I love coffee table books too, mainly arts and craft books, but I find that there's room for both! Especially novels - after all, nobody knows what you're reading on a e-reader! If you have no room then a reader would be ideal for you, I would think...

yeah, but I'm going for the secrecy aspect XD i don't want my family to know certain types of books that I enjoy I really would love to buy more coffee table books, but not right now due to space and financial constraints (those can get pretty costly). i do plan to get a kindle soon! reading people's posts about it is getting me excited

[jbcohen]

Try a Bookeen they are ment for these types of books.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by wyndslash

yeah, but I'm going for the secrecy aspect XD i don't want my family to know certain types of books that I enjoy

Yup, we know how that goes (nudge nudge, wink wink)!

Seems like devices like the iPad (or larger versions thereof) would be great for "coffee table book apps," and you might even consider apps like "The Elements" to be close to it. But outside the app store, the only other thing that comes to mind are the CD or DVD collections of magazines (in PDF format, usually) that you can download to your device and read at your leisure.

Of course, if you're looking for cool digital pictures for your coffee table, it might not be that hard to collect pics on your own, organize a gallery, and drop them into a slideshow program.

[wyndslash]

Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan

Yup, we know how that goes (nudge nudge, wink wink)!

Seems like devices like the iPad (or larger versions thereof) would be great for "coffee table book apps," and you might even consider apps like "The Elements" to be close to it. But outside the app store, the only other thing that comes to mind are the CD or DVD collections of magazines (in PDF format, usually) that you can download to your device and read at your leisure.

Of course, if you're looking for cool digital pictures for your coffee table, it might not be that hard to collect pics on your own, organize a gallery, and drop them into a slideshow program.

bet you can't guess the genre
that's true, but well, my favorite coffee table book is one of alice in wonderland. the editor compiled art from different versions and quotations, as well as letters from lewis carroll to friends. and the paper is lovely, as well as the whole packaging. i guess the experience is different from a novel, at least for me.

@jb: a bookeen, huh? i'll look into that

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by wyndslash

I think I've seen some cookbooks in ebook format, but are there coffee table books in ebook format?

What are you going to view your "coffee table books" on? I'm sure they'd look very nice on a 25" LCD monitor, but it won't really be the same experience on a 6" eInk device.

There's certainly absolutely no technical reason that you can't produce eBooks which are optimised for display on 25" monitors.

[Vivian]

In addition to size, most coffee-table books have colour pictures and most ereaders are black and white. But I guess that's not a problem for wyndslash, who'll be reading on an ipod touch.

Same consideration with magazines. Locus magazine has started supplementing my subscription with electronic editions, which is pretty cool but then I can't see the pictures in colour. I look forward to colour e-ink.

[wyndslash]

Originally Posted by Vivian

In addition to size, most coffee-table books have colour pictures and most ereaders are black and white. But I guess that's not a problem for wyndslash, who'll be reading on an ipod touch.

Same consideration with magazines. Locus magazine has started supplementing my subscription with electronic editions, which is pretty cool but then I can't see the pictures in colour. I look forward to colour e-ink.

oh, I just read samples with my ipod touch. I'm getting a kindle. But as for coffee table books, I currently buy physical ones, but I'm running out of space D: i was just wondering how those types of books would fit in with the ebook revolution. i suppose people could just scan the pages and view them on an LCD monitor, as suggested by several posters

[Vivian]

Kindle has an eInk screen, so you won't get to see the pictures in colour.

I think a coffee table book would look pretty nice on an iPad.

[Worldwalker]

I have for years wanted a coffee table with a Marklin Z-gauge train layout inside: minuscule towns and forests, lighting that tracked the sun, computer controls for the train, and of course a lid that lifts up so you can get the damn thing back on track (Z-gauge has its issues). This discussion has given me a different idea, and one probably somewhat more practical: It actually would not be all that expensive to build a coffee table around a moderately large computer monitor, much like the old cocktail table arcade games. Control would be from a laptop that slipped into a little docking slot on the side. It could do coffee-table books, or full-motion video, or just make like a picture frame.

Okay. Now I really want to build one. Really really really. I'm mentally inventorying my parts (from spare laptops to handy glass slabs) even as I type. I'll have to get a monitor....

[wyndslash]

Originally Posted by Worldwalker

I have for years wanted a coffee table with a Marklin Z-gauge train layout inside: minuscule towns and forests, lighting that tracked the sun, computer controls for the train, and of course a lid that lifts up so you can get the damn thing back on track (Z-gauge has its issues). This discussion has given me a different idea, and one probably somewhat more practical: It actually would not be all that expensive to build a coffee table around a moderately large computer monitor, much like the old cocktail table arcade games. Control would be from a laptop that slipped into a little docking slot on the side. It could do coffee-table books, or full-motion video, or just make like a picture frame.

Okay. Now I really want to build one. Really really really. I'm mentally inventorying my parts (from spare laptops to handy glass slabs) even as I type. I'll have to get a monitor....

sounds cool i'm glad my thread inspired you

[DMSmillie]

What you need is a coffee table along the lines of the tables at the Rio iBar in Las Vegas