Which paper books would you like to have as ebooks.

[Baroness]

Battle Royale.

[xendula]

I'd say all the out of print titles should come back as ebooks. And, it would be great if I could download an ebook, then pick what language I want to read it in, with the ability To switch back and forth, like you can do with DVDs.

I hope paper books will be around forever. I love them, and they look nice on sheves and in libraries, I just can't be bothered to read them if I can find the ebook instead.
There a some ebooks I read this year that I loved so much that I thought I should get the hard cover versions - only, I realized I would get them for the sake of getting them, as I would never read them.

[NNolan]

To reread: Tigana and A Song For Arbonne

To read for the first time: Sunshine and Dancers at the End Of Time

[sakura-panda]

Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series. I've read two, found a hardcover of another one at the used book store, and that's all. I'd like to have the whole series as epubs. I did find that the last two are ebooks now, but I'd like to have the entire series in a digital format.

[SteveEisenberg]

Originally Posted by PurpleStar

A lot of people can't afford fancy e-readers or have credit cards to buy the e-books, or even money to buy the e-books.

Predicting is often a fool's game. But I think, twenty years hence, eReaders will be less than US$5 (in 2012 dollars), and new English language papers books will be an expensive luxury item. Other languages will be behind on that curve, but moving in the same direction.

If anyone has a big problem with that, well, complaining on the internet will not help. The only thing that will help is to buy paper, not eBooks. I'm not recommending this, as I consider the transition to eReading inevitable.

Why twenty years? Well, a lot of readers prefer paper, and it will take time for them to move over to the cheaper ecosystems.

What would happen to public libraries then, if paper books were gone?

The twentieth century was a stupendous period for publishing, and libraries will keep on housing those books for centuries, and keep lending them out for many decades.

Libraries have many missions other than handing out current books. So we're not talking about library extinction. eBooks do, however, create a challenge for them, and I think we will see branch closings.

My neighborhood public library has a sign asking folks to volunteer for the board. I wonder if this might indicate that eBooks are already drawing community interest away from the library.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg

....
My neighborhood public library has a sign asking folks to volunteer for the board. I wonder if this might indicate that eBooks are already drawing community interest away from the library.

Internet already did that....

[Anabana]

A Treasury of the Familiar, edited by Ralph L. Woods; and other books which don't require a concentrated read. One that comes to mind is Cobwebs and Cream Teas by Mary MacKie which is about working in/caring for a National Trust house. Books which can be read a chapter or two at a time; perfect while waiting for an appointment or a short trip on public transportation. Any of the William Least Heat-Moon books...

[dandelioncottage]

I have my mom's old copy of this; she used to describe it as a book you can open anywhere and start reading.

Originally Posted by Anabana

A Treasury of the Familiar, edited by Ralph L. Woods; and other books which don't require a concentrated read.

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by Anabran

I dont care about existing books but going forward I think the paper book should be phased out.

Why I wonder? If paper books should be phased out it will be only because no-one is buying them. If people buy them then they are fullfilling a purpose for them.

If it is for ecological/dead tree reasons, I wish they would phase out junk mail as I get at least one paper book's worth every week.

Then there is the paper towel, frozen/takeout food packaging, other packaging, toilet paper and other disposable paper products. A paper book is like drop in the ocean compared to that and gets reused more often than that.

I woud not like to live without toilet paper, but I don't see where I need paper towels and all the packaging and junk mail. Still others must need them I assume, just as others may need paper books.

Helen

[AnemicOak]

One I book I'd like to see as an ebook is Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa. Also wouldn't mine seeing Taiko by the same author.

[odiakkoh]

Originally Posted by Baroness

Battle Royale.

Already an ebook. It was on sale a week or two ago as well.

I'd love to see Pippi Longstocking available as an ebook.

[xendula]

Originally Posted by odiakkoh

Already an ebook. It was on sale a week or two ago as well.

I'd love to see Pippi Longstocking available as an ebook.

I can't believe they are not available as ebooks yet, since they could bundle them with the movies and audiobooks - they could add them to a special edition Kindle fire for younger kids!

[xendula]

If anyone remembers them from their childhood, Enid Blyton's "The Famous Five" are now available as ebooks, though the US store uses weird covers for them. Here's the UK link.

[elemenoP]

To Kill a Mockingbird. That's #1 for me.

eP

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by elemenoP

To Kill a Mockingbird. That's #1 for me.

eP

Good choice!