"Why wired.com is wrong about ebooks"

[carpetmojo]

Originally Posted by garrybuck

My favorite is argument #5, books as interior decoration items. There's a much cheaper way to do that than either ebooks or pbooks. Why not just use the props that real interior decorators use then staging a model home? They are empty cardboard boxes that look like a stack of classic books. They are as empty of content as the article in Wired, but it presents the right image.

Far be it from me to say, and without casting aspersions, hurling stones in glass houses, being nasty to anybody, or, well anything, but, shhh.., whisper it softly........

there are a few profiles in the the Forum that seem to display enough ereaders to make quite a substantial interior design statement in their own right !!

(Said he righteously, having only recently purchased a totally unnecessary 350 to hide underneath my 650....... )

[Prestidigitweeze]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

If I needed to remember something for a test, I'd write it down on a piece of paper. I always found that easier to study later than trying to find the "important" parts inside a book.

Some people can work that way, but others really can't, and I tend to think their education is ultimately more important than that one copy of the book. As a student, I could work either way, but if marking the book meant keeping a certain level of concentration or retention, then I did what was necessary (in pencil).

But I did try to use light pencil.

What do you think about the fact that galleys exist partly so that authors and editors can mark up near-final copies of their work? Blues exist entirely for that reason.

[carpetmojo]

Sorry, forgot - this very day I recieved details of a decorative antiques auction in Munich, with a wonderful picture of one of the lots, which is described as, yes,
a decorative library......

Course, the books are all 17th-19thC. editions in wonderful leather bindings, but it just shows, "there's nowt so queer as folks".

[MrsJoseph]

I have tossed a few ebooks but I rarely toss (or give away or loan) any book. I also have written in a few books but only school books. Mainly I relied upon notes.

I also decorate with books. These are books that have been lovingly read over and over again. I know my "decorations" are not fancy and some would even call the MMPB covers somewhat garish (I read a lot of fantasy) but it does say something about who I am and what I love. I love to go into someone's house and drool over their bookcase(s) and I have no problem with someone doing the same to mine (as long as they DON'T TOUCH!).

[djgreedo]

All 5 points are nonsense.

I especially think the point about writing in book margins to be incredibly stupid and backwards. Ebooks allow for notations. There is also a ton of potential for social sharing, etc.

In my Kindle books I can see 'popular highlights', and this is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of social interaction. How long before I can 'follow' a person and see the comments they make in books? This is far more interesting, powerful, and relevant than finding a passage underlined by a random stranger in a second-hand book.

With few exceptions (e.g. certain books don't work well as ebooks and the screen technology is not perfected yet), all the arguments against ebooks are luddite, backwards-thinking crap.

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

In turn, I am going to pose a question that I am curious to know what more of you think of from the orignal wired.com article -

Do you find ebooks more disposable than paper ones?

No.

Do you keep multiple backups?

Yes, both two local copies and a cloud copy.

Are you more apt to delete an ebook or give away a DTB?

Neither. The only time I've gotten rid of DTBs was when I was moving, and even then I only parted with the MMPBs, which didn't make a noticeable dent in my book collection but at least made me feel like I tried.

Do you feel that this is a valid argument against ereading? Why?

Not at all. My ebooks are neither more nor less disposable than DTBs to me - in other words, not disposable at all. To me "getting rid of" ebooks consists of setting a restricted view in calibre so I don't see them, but they are certainly still there.

[MrsJoseph]

Originally Posted by CWatkinsNash

To me "getting rid of" ebooks consists of setting a restricted view in calibre so I don't see them, but they are certainly still there.

I love it! I also have additional files stashed on my computer with names like "old library" and "really old library" - filled with ebooks that I'll never read again.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

Time to shun you! You don't deface a book, not for any reason!

I'm a baaaad man!

[Greg Anos]

Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze

Some people can work that way, but others really can't, and I tend to think their education is ultimately more important than that one copy of the book. As a student, I could work either way, but if marking the book meant keeping a certain level of concentration or retention, then I did what was necessary (in pencil).

But I did try to use light pencil.

What do you think about the fact that galleys exist partly so that authors and editors can mark up near-final copies of their work? Blues exist entirely for that reason.

Muddy Waters would have never believed that....

[Prestidigitweeze]

Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward

Muddy Waters would have never believed that....

I was braced and waiting for that!

People know what I mean by blues, though, don't they? It's a term for the blue copies of the "final" version of a book -- final in the sense that it's your last shot at editing, and because the book is then at the stage when the design and layout are in all in place.

People who find notes in margins deplorable should never have to witness the results of certain red-penned assaults on blues.

[MrsJoseph]

Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze

I was braced and waiting for that!

People know what I mean by blues, though, don't they? It's a term for the blue copies of the "final" version of a book -- final in the sense that it's your last shot at editing, and because the book is then at the stage when the design and layout are in all in place.

People who find notes in margins deplorable should never have to witness the results of certain red-penned assaults on blues.

I don't think that most people would put a work in progress in the same basket as a finalized work that has been mass produced. Editing is vastly different - to me - than just writing in a book.

[Prestidigitweeze]

Originally Posted by MrsJoseph

I don't think that most people would put a work in progress in the same basket as a finalized work that has been mass produced. Editing is vastly different - to me - than just writing in a book.

For me, the similarity between students and editors would be their active interaction with a medium that's normally passive. Their task might involve finishing the book, but the ultimate goal is usually different.

[MrsJoseph]

Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze

For me, the similarity between students and editors would be their active interaction with a medium that's normally passive. Their task might involve finishing the book, but the ultimate goal is usually different.

I would say that there is a greater difference. Students are taking notes to learn something from someone else. They are not making any changes to the work at all. They are also working with finished/completed items.

Editors are making changes and suggestions to the work - which is not complete and is not down to its final format.

[Anthem]

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

My two points:

1) Who are these people who are writing all over their books? I'm not the biggest reader in the world but I like to think I read more than the average person and have read a lot of books in my time but I can't remember a single time I have ever written in a book other than to put my name on the front cover.

I'm currently reading Plato's The Republic, and I can tell you that I have been tempted to write in the margins on no less than three (3) occasions. But I refuse to do so because my copy is beautifully bound.

Depends on what kinds of books a person reads, maybe?

[carpetmojo]

Originally Posted by Ralph Sir Edward

Muddy Waters would have never believed that....

Yo!

Ummm.................


[ or Sony Landreth, Joe Bonamassa, Joanne Shaw Taylor, Robert Johnson,
et al ......... ]

Ummm............... x2.

Sorry, got a bit carried away there ...............