The Vent and Rant Thread

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by covingtoncat73

I look at eBooks as a replacement for mass market paperbacks.

That is essentially what they are. They serve the same underlying purpose. I expect the MMPB category to go away, cannibalized by eBooks. (I've already heard of MMPBs issued in runs of 15,000, which was apparently the lowest number that could be produced by the process used. I can't imagine they made money, and were likely produced because the publisher felt that they had to offer an MMPB version.)

If I really love a book or am just in a "support my local bookstore" mood, I will buy a hardcover.

I do similar things, and have titles in both HC and eBook format.
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Dennis

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by cromag

My only "rant?" I really think she'd do better with an ereader, and I've mentioned it, but she likes "real" books. So, what are you going to do? Kids today!

Define "better".

I have thousands of books in electronic and print forms, and some titles in both. eBooks are an additional format here, not a replacement for paper.

My standard eBook viewer is a 7" Android tablet (that does other things beside display eBooks,) with a 32GB microSD card to hold the library. I can carry a library with me where ever I go.

But some things really aren't suited for electronic form. I'm an ex-designer, and have volumes on my shelves on art, architecture, design, photography and typography. Most of them simply need a much larger display area than any practical eBook reader will have. (Sorry, but panning around a large image because you can't display it full sized all at once doesn't cut it.)

And even for things displayable on a small screen, there are subtleties in book design that can be approximated but not duplicated in electronic form. One is typography, and the fact that the viewing device is unlikely to have the font used in the print edition, unless you are reading a PDF with the fonts embedded. And PDFs are a poor fit for eBook readers because they generally don't reflow to fit the screen. (Unless there is no other option, I don't get books in PDF form.) And what paper to use in a print publication is an art form in itself. That simply doesn't translate to electronic form at all. eBooks are not tactile, and lack the feel of a print edition.

I'm a neutral in the eBook vs print book wars. Both have their place, and their partisans, and both sets of partisans can take it to extremes.
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Dennis

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

Define "better".

I have thousands of books in electronic and print forms, and some titles in both. eBooks are an additional format here, not a replacement for paper.

My standard eBook viewer is a 7" Android tablet (that does other things beside display eBooks,) with a 32GB microSD card to hold the library. I can carry a library with me where ever I go.

But some things really aren't suited for electronic form. I'm an ex-designer, and have volumes on my shelves on art, architecture, design, photography and typography. Most of them simply need a much larger display area than any practical eBook reader will have. (Sorry, but panning around a large image because you can't display it full sized all at once doesn't cut it.)

And even for things displayable on a small screen, there are subtleties in book design that can be approximated but not duplicated in electronic form. One is typography, and the fact that the viewing device is unlikely to have the font used in the print edition, unless you are reading a PDF with the fonts embedded. And PDFs are a poor fit for eBook readers because they generally don't reflow to fit the screen. (Unless there is no other option, I don't get books in PDF form.) And what paper to use in a print publication is an art form in itself. That simply doesn't translate to electronic form at all. eBooks are not tactile, and lack the feel of a print edition.

I'm a neutral in the eBook vs print book wars. Both have their place, and their partisans, and both sets of partisans can take it to extremes.
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Dennis

Agreeing with all of this.
Some books work better in paper. Like you, I have some books in both hardcover and ebook. I also have a least one book in hardback, paperback and at one point it was also on Cd.
I would say as long as the kid enjoys reading, let her read in the format she prefers. My daughter prefers library books herself.

[cromag]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

Define "better".
...
______
Dennis

She just graduated from college and will be continuing on for her PhD. Ebooks are uniformly cheaper than paper books (she doesn't read BPH best-sellers). They are also more portable as she moves from dorm to apartment (and, probably, to the next apartment, etc.) Things like that.

She ran into this problem last year, when she was went to Shanghai for a semester abroad and a summer research internship. Weight restrictions meant she was very limited in what she could bring with her, and back.

But she's pretty bright. I'm sure she'll see it my way, eventually.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by cromag

She just graduated from college and will be continuing on for her PhD. Ebooks are uniformly cheaper than paper books (she doesn't read BPH best-sellers). They are also more portable as she moves from dorm to apartment (and, probably, to the next apartment, etc.) Things like that.

eBooks certainly have the virtue of portability, and ease of storage. I comment that one nice thing abut eBooks is that you don't call the paramedics if my To Be Read stack topples over on me. (The TBR stack in print editions is largely hardcover, and those might cause injury...)

Pricing may not be better. An old friend I had a conversation with last week talked about buying used PB editions because they were cheaper than the eBook versions. She blamed the big publishers and Amazon. I had to explain that 80-90% of the cost of publishing a book was incurred before it ever reached the point of publication in either format, and the big trade houses couldn't price at the level she'd prefer. (The print/bind/warehouse/distribute costs for print editions are perhaps 10% of the average book's budget, and dropping them entirely wouldn't provide anywhere near the cost savings eBook advocates seem to think they would.)

She ran into this problem last year, when she was went to Shanghai for a semester abroad and a summer research internship. Weight restrictions meant she was very limited in what she could bring with her, and back.

Part of the problem there is that textbooks and technical books are in PDF if they are in electronic format at all, with the aforementioned issues of display on the eBook viewer device.

The Kindle DX was the first Kindle model with the ability to view PDF files, using Adobe's Mobile SDK, and had a larger than normal screen to make PDF viewing easier. It got a tepid reception. Among other problems, students found it problematic to communicate and share information using them. And there's a healthy resale market for used textbooks that goes away when electronic versions are used, which was another source of resistance.

You don't get to choose the textbook you use - it's assigned by your professor (who may have been an author), and textbook publishers concentrate sales efforts on getting their texts to be the assigned works students must buy. If you are a student, and can buy an already highlighted and annotated copy of the book from a student who previously took the course, you pay less, the other student recovers part of their purchase price, and both are happy. If it's a PDF, that can't happen.

But she's pretty bright. I'm sure she'll see it my way, eventually.

She may well.

I'm delighted with eBook editions for straight forward linear narratives like fiction. For other things, the equation may change. I mentioned things in my prior message that just don't work as eBooks for me , and the sort of things your daughter had to read for school would probably join them.
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Dennis

[covingtoncat73]

Don't use Tumblr. I made an account some months ago that I didn't use much. A spam/porn account called "grannyinheat," of all things, "liked" one of my posts and I couldn't find a block/report. Here is where it gets fun.

Tumblr has NO support. The only support is this online form, which, if you fill it out, leads to a "support" email from a bot. No live person will ever contact you or help you in any way. I deleted my account.

[Blossom]

I use Tumblr all the time. You can block anyone you don't want following you.

https://www.tumblr.com/docs/en/social#block

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[covingtoncat73]

Originally Posted by Blossom

I use Tumblr all the time. You can block anyone you don't want following you.

https://www.tumblr.com/docs/en/social#block

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

Yeah, I saw that. I still couldn't find the block feature at all. That was no help and, since they have no real help/support, just the email bot, I'm done with them. Deleted my blog, anyway now.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by covingtoncat73

Tumblr has NO support. The only support is this online form, which, if you fill it out, leads to a "support" email from a bot. No live person will ever contact you or help you in any way. I deleted my account.

I had a go around in email with Tumblr support a while back. I created a Tumblr account back when, but hadn't used it. When I decided to play a bit, I discovered the password I thought I'd assigned didn't work.

Every other site I have an account on has an "I forgot my password" link. Click it, and you get a form where you can provide the email address you used when you sign up, and email will be sent to you with a link where you may change your password to a new one of your choice.

According to Tumblr support, no such function was available, and I'd need to provide proof of my identity in the form of a fax or scan of my driver's license or the like to prove I was me, and the owner of the Tumblr account. All I could say was "You must be joking. Every other major blogging site has a password reset function."

I dropped it at that, and I haven't been back. Life is to short too waste on nonsense.
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Dennis

[Freeshadow]

I would be tempted to send them a fake library membership card assigned to Guybrush Threepwood

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Freeshadow

I would be tempted to send them a fake library membership card assigned to Guybrush Threepwood

Or perhaps a membership card for the Director's Guild of America made out to Alan Smithee...
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Dennis

[pidgeon92]

I just got my 2nd installment property tax bill for 2015 in Chicago. My total year bill went up 23% over 2014, from $8,004 to $9,850. I knew they were going to go up, but this was quite a shock.

[badgoodDeb]

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

I just got my 2nd installment property tax bill for 2015 in Chicago. My total year bill went up 23% over 2014, from $8,004 to $9,850. I knew they were going to go up, but this was quite a shock.

Owwwwch.

[wodin]

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

I just got my 2nd installment property tax bill for 2015 in Chicago. My total year bill went up 23% over 2014, from $8,004 to $9,850. I knew they were going to go up, but this was quite a shock.

I wish I had a tax liability of a million dollars.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Freeshadow

I would be tempted to send them a fake library membership card assigned to Guybrush Threepwood

If you have ever did some helpdesk work, Guybrush Threepwood wouldn't sound that strange, actually. I've heard names that took longer to pronounce than to actually ask the question.

(I see the name is actually a character from Monkey Island, but I was barely around int he computer world when that was released. Never played it.)