Digitizing Coffee Table Books

tubemonkey · 06-04-2012, 04:15 AM

Even though I've stopped buying paper books, I still have a few oversized coffee table books that I plan on keeping. With the advent of PCs and the net, digitizing these types of "books" on a whole host of topics is becoming more prevalent.

Google recently launched a very cool online "coffee table book" called the World Wonders Project; another in its series of projects from its Cultural Institute (Google Art Project, Dead Sea Scrolls, the Holocaust, etc).

Quote:

The World Wonders Project brings to life the wonders of the modern and ancient world. Together with partners including UNESCO, the World Monument Fund and Getty Images, we have brought world heritage sites online so that they can be explored by people around the world and preserved for future generations.

The World Wonders Project also presents a valuable resource for students and scholars and offers an innovative way to teach history and geography in schools. Primary and secondary school teachers can download teacher guides and lesson plans from the website for free and use them in their classroom.

elcreative · 06-04-2012, 09:22 AM

Still a long way to go before screen displays can match large format well-illustrated, photo or art intensive books... existing tech will let you look at an entire image (but usually smaller than life at lower res than reality), let you zoom in for detail (but only as good as res level of scan/photo) and in all cases with a different (lower) colour gamut than either reality or high quality colour print...

Simple example - history of fighting sail, illustrated by contemporary (to Napoleonic era) artwork, approx 2 feet by 1.5 feet with many double page spreads... wonderful but as a whole, would lose considerable impact if full image limited to current screens and resolution with zoom needed for close detail examination... the book, usable anywhere I care to take it...

tubemonkey · 06-04-2012, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elcreative

Still a long way to go before screen displays can match large format well-illustrated, photo or art intensive books... existing tech will let you look at an entire image (but usually smaller than life at lower res than reality), let you zoom in for detail (but only as good as res level of scan/photo) and in all cases with a different (lower) colour gamut than either reality or high quality colour print...

Simple example - history of fighting sail, illustrated by contemporary (to Napoleonic era) artwork, approx 2 feet by 1.5 feet with many double page spreads... wonderful but as a whole, would lose considerable impact if full image limited to current screens and resolution with zoom needed for close detail examination... the book, usable anywhere I care to take it...

Large books cost money and take up considerable storage space; both of which I don't care to expend for things I can see online for free.

Google Earth with Street View lets me roam the world for free, seeing things I'd never get to see otherwise for lack of time and money.

HomeInMyShoes · 06-04-2012, 09:34 AM

While you can see a lot, you don't see the quality. Half of the joy of a good coffee table book is that the photographer really understands the subject matter and when it would be ideal to capture a place. That is what is missing from Street View.

I think the days of coffee table books are numbered as a tablet while browsing flickr suffices for most things. For me though, it's the editing that makes the coffee table book still worthwhile. Of course, someone putting together sets of favourites from places and adding comments could replace the books for me.

tubemonkey · 06-04-2012, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

While you can see a lot, you don't see the quality.

Better to see something online than to never see it in a book or in person.

Giggleton · 06-04-2012, 10:03 AM

A coffee table that is actually a book about coffee tables? What will they think of next!

pagansoul · 06-04-2012, 10:40 AM

I have several cookbooks and design magazines on my iPad, love them. I also have a few DK books which are full of pictures. I don't even want to get into TPB and comics. I have the entire collection Of Illustrated Classics that I just started reading, again. They are all on my iPad. I've even thought about doing my own copy of some of my favorites.

elcreative · 06-04-2012, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Large books cost money and take up considerable storage space; both of which I don't care to expend for things I can see online for free.

Google Earth with Street View lets me roam the world for free, seeing things I'd never get to see otherwise for lack of time and money.

Your right to choose how you allocate your income but some of us are willing to occasionally spend for a quality item, especially if the quality is not matched in eformats...

elcreative · 06-04-2012, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Better to see something online than to never see it in a book or in person.

Better to see at high quality than settle for second or third rate... something may be better than nothing but doesn't mean that quality isn't still worthwhile... some of us try to get the best in things rather than just settle... each to his/her own just don't have no books as the only true way... it isn't!

tubemonkey · 06-04-2012, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elcreative

some of us try to get the best in things rather than just settle... each to his/her own just don't have no books as the only true way... it isn't!

I don't consider a 23" monitor as settling.

DiapDealer · 06-04-2012, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Giggleton

A coffee table that is actually a book about coffee tables? What will they think of next!

No. A coffee table whose entire surface can be "turned on" to become a non-breakable, hi-rez touch-screen.

elcreative · 06-04-2012, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I don't consider a 23" monitor as settling.

Is that all???

wizwor · 06-04-2012, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

No. A coffee table whose entire surface can be "turned on" to become a non-breakable, hi-rez touch-screen.

My back hurts just thinking about this.

DiapDealer · 06-04-2012, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wizwor

My back hurts just thinking about this.

No worse than thumbing through a real coffee table book laying on a real coffee table, surely?

carpetmojo · 06-05-2012, 06:09 AM

The whole point of a coffee-table book in our house is to soak up the coffee that gets spilled, with depressing regularity, on the coffee-table.

Also can be known as the single malt/red wine/blackcurrant table-mat.

A useful feature I fear the ereader will prove inept at supplying....

06-05-2012, 06:09 AM	#15
carpetmojo Wizard Posts: 3,117 Karma: 9269999 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: UK Device: Sony- T3, PRS650, 350, T1/2/3, Paperwhite, Fire 8.9,Samsung Tab S 10.5	Mmmmm....... The whole point of a coffee-table book in our house is to soak up the coffee that gets spilled, with depressing regularity, on the coffee-table. Also can be known as the single malt/red wine/blackcurrant table-mat. A useful feature I fear the ereader will prove inept at supplying....

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06-04-2012, 09:22 AM	#2
elcreative Wizard Posts: 2,888 Karma: 5875940 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: PRS505, 600, 350, 650, Nexus 7, Note III, iPad 4 etc	Still a long way to go before screen displays can match large format well-illustrated, photo or art intensive books... existing tech will let you look at an entire image (but usually smaller than life at lower res than reality), let you zoom in for detail (but only as good as res level of scan/photo) and in all cases with a different (lower) colour gamut than either reality or high quality colour print... Simple example - history of fighting sail, illustrated by contemporary (to Napoleonic era) artwork, approx 2 feet by 1.5 feet with many double page spreads... wonderful but as a whole, would lose considerable impact if full image limited to current screens and resolution with zoom needed for close detail examination... the book, usable anywhere I care to take it...

06-04-2012, 09:34 AM	#4
HomeInMyShoes Grand Sorcerer Posts: 19,226 Karma: 67780237 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: none	While you can see a lot, you don't see the quality. Half of the joy of a good coffee table book is that the photographer really understands the subject matter and when it would be ideal to capture a place. That is what is missing from Street View. I think the days of coffee table books are numbered as a tablet while browsing flickr suffices for most things. For me though, it's the editing that makes the coffee table book still worthwhile. Of course, someone putting together sets of favourites from places and adding comments could replace the books for me.

06-04-2012, 10:03 AM	#6
Giggleton Banned Posts: 1,687 Karma: 4368191 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Oregon Device: Kindle3	A coffee table that is actually a book about coffee tables? What will they think of next!

06-04-2012, 10:40 AM	#7
pagansoul Fanatic Posts: 509 Karma: 1098204 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Earth Device: iPhone5, iPad Gen3, Kobo, Kindle Fire, Kobo Vox. Samsung Galaxy Tab 7	I have several cookbooks and design magazines on my iPad, love them. I also have a few DK books which are full of pictures. I don't even want to get into TPB and comics. I have the entire collection Of Illustrated Classics that I just started reading, again. They are all on my iPad. I've even thought about doing my own copy of some of my favorites.

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