What I miss from the pBooks

[Elsi]

Originally Posted by BookishDreamer

I miss the little plot synopsis that's usually included on the dust jacket or back of the book, especially when it's one of the books I've downloaded for free and don't know enough about the plot to know if I'm currently in the mood to read it. Lately I've read 5-6 pages into a book before realizing it's not the one I wanted to read.

Here, here! I have taken to copying the book info from either Amazon or the site that I got the book from and pasting it into a text file. I then push the text file onto my Kindle and can refer to the "blurb" at any time I want.

The Kindle download guide from MobileRead includes all the description provided by the uploader, so that's available to me when I'm reading. The download guide from Feedbooks contains the reading lists that Hadrien has created, and those often contain some narrative info on the set of books in the list.

I'm seriously thinking about adding some description at the end of the books that I create. I like having the MobileRead logo in the front matter, so I want to create an HTML file with that as boilerplate so I can suck it in.

[MickeyC]

These are all pleasant aspects of pBooks and I do miss them especially the cover art and paging ahead to see when a chapter ends. OTOH, the extraordinary convenience of eBooks sure helps make up for these features.

[Gladtobemom]

I miss just browsing my shelves.

I have a whole section that's "books I bought but haven't read yet" and I have a "keep them close to my chair" set. Some books I jsut keep coming back to over and over.

Most all of my books are packed up right now--haven't built new bookshelves yet in the new house. I'm sort of seeing how I feel about having lots of my "favorites" in my cybook.

I miss being able to flip through the book, and that sense of "how much is left" is different when reading a Pbook. I really miss the cover art and the synopsis more than I thought I would.

[arit]

It would be nice if there were bookcovers to download, print and putting into dummy cases just like DVDs.

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by BookishDreamer

I miss the little plot synopsis that's usually included on the dust jacket or back of the book, especially when it's one of the books I've downloaded for free and don't know enough about the plot to know if I'm currently in the mood to read it. Lately I've read 5-6 pages into a book before realizing it's not the one I wanted to read.

Dreamer

It's kind of a pain in the rear but you could copy and paste the synopsis/description from Amazon into a text file and name it after the book then copy it onto your Kindle (or whatever). You could do one for each book or per author or just one big file you could search to find the synopsis.

Edit: Sorry Elsi, I hadn't read you post before I wrote mine and we're saying basically the same thing.

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by arit

It would be nice if there were bookcovers to download, print and putting into dummy cases just like DVDs.

Why?? Wouldn't they just sort of take up space?? I mean, I got rid of my DVD jewel cases ages ago.

[BookishDreamer]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

It's kind of a pain in the rear but you could copy and paste the synopsis/description from Amazon into a text file and name it after the book then copy it onto your Kindle (or whatever). You could do one for each book or per author or just one big file you could search to find the synopsis.

I like the idea of creating one synopsis doc. It'll be like a little browsing bookshelf doc so I don't have to hunt through multiple docs when I'm looking for a specific plot but don't remember the title or author.

Dreamer

[arit]

> Why?? Wouldn't they just sort of take up space?? I mean, I got rid of my DVD jewel cases ages ago.

So that browsing the "bookshelves" would still be possible

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by arit

> Why?? Wouldn't they just sort of take up space?? I mean, I got rid of my DVD jewel cases ages ago.

So that browsing the "bookshelves" would still be possible

Well, what about using something like http://www.shelfari.com?? That wouldn't take up the space, and it might give the person much of the same feel.

Or, if you don't like the idea of having it online ... just create a shelfari bookshelf on your own PC.

[slayda]

I miss having to build new bookcases for my books, but I'm glad to miss it. Maybe when I retire, I'll do more transferring from P to E thus clearing more shelfs.

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by Over

- Nice and stylish covers. Call me shallow, but I really miss a colourful cover in my books. It's as if the books lost a little bit of identity after ebook conversion (only black & white covers and, most of the times, not full screen or even absent. And you'll only see it once, when you start reading).

There's that old saying "Don't judge a book by its cover", but I still thoroughly enjoy judging a cover by its cover (the other day I saw a simple but brilliant modern cover for Dante's Purgatory. I was most impressed, and wanted it just for that).

I reckon things will improve here, with the technology. Eventually I can see the glorious arrival of full-colour e-inked book-covers for e-books presented in full-page form and with more natural browsers associated (sorry if my optimism is annoying. I do feel the same as you, for what that's worth ).

- The feel of volume and weight of a pBook. It's VERY good to have a weightless ereader and is allowing me to read in places and positions never tried before. However, I still miss a little bit of that sensation of holding a real book.

Perhaps you could set up some kind of "weights" system for attachment to your device or its cover. Varying weights can be added for varying length tomes.

No, you're right, it's not the same, is it?

- Not being able to skim some pages. Sometimes, I like to take a peek of the following pages, to know when I will reach a chapter ending or a text break, to plan how much I will keep reading in that session. With ebooks, that's not pratical.

I miss the "flick-through", when I'm trying to search back a few 10's or 100's of pages to some point, letting my eyes skim. Using it as a reference, that "skimming" for location is equally missed.

I never skim forward. There's too much risk my eye will spot a word and "spoil" it for myself.

And you?

What do/will I miss? Bookcases full of books...everywhere. My ideal house has every wall with built-ins to the ceiling, only gaps for artworks and necessaries. My "house-as-library" will now likely only find reality in collectables and large pictorials, and that can be an expensive hobby to get into Still, it's a dream, and maybe I shouldn't let it die - someones got to look after all the old pbooks, hey?

Also, I miss bookstore "book-browsing". Hey, I missed it even before the Iliad, because there's none of the big bookstores here (I just moved here last year), but, well, I'm missing it more as it becomes less "necessary".

Cheers,
Marc

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Over

- Not being able to skim some pages. Sometimes, I like to take a peek of the following pages, to know when I will reach a chapter ending or a text break, to plan how much I will keep reading in that session. With ebooks, that's not piratical.


And you?

That depends on the eBook format. I have a Sony PRS-505 and if it has a full internal ToC, I can then see what page number the next chapter starts on.

[MickeyC]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

That depends on the eBook format. I have a Sony PRS-505 and if it has a full internal ToC, I can then see what page number the next chapter starts on.

I have a Sony but most of the ToC's that come with my books, just list the Chapter numbers without the page numbers. Realize I can click on the Chapter and that'll open it to its first page...but I'm lazy.

[slayda]

While reading a pbook at work during lunch, I realized that I miss having to find something to hold the pages down while I'm eating. I'll be glad to get back to my Cybook. It's much more convenient.

[vivaldirules]

I love my Reader. But I miss the paper, the bindings, the color prints, the clean white paper, the smell of the book, the feel of an old one that was once owned by someone else unknown to me, the sense of possession that comes with holding a physical object, the enjoyment upon stumbling on an old favorite while browsing my library, the marks I've made in the margins, the marks that others made there, the look of a physical library, the ability to loan or give away one to a friend, the ability to buy an old one in one of the few remaining used bookstores. I miss all of those and the other things that have been mentioned (dust jackets, art, browsing in bookstores and libraries, thumbing through them). I still have plenty of pbooks so these sensations aren't entirely disappearing for me anytime soon. But as I spend more time reading electrons I do sense a bit of a loss. Silly, really.