Bored with ereaders?

[Wearever]

Originally Posted by BilboBaggins

I would never get bored with ereaders, nor with paper books.
I mean:

1. Paper books are wonderful when the book are my very favourite books: all Tolkien books for example, so I have them in my physical library
2. For all other book, I have them in ebook format, for space (and money) saving

I do the same, I have favorite authors in paper books on some shelves. Not as many since I started reading e-books. My husband has a collection of Stephen King hardcover books and those are his favorites. He will buy the hard covers to add to the shelf whenever a new King book comes out. He also reads them as e-books too.

[Wearever]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The author has no input into the design of the cover in traditional publishing. Covers are commissioned by the publisher.

Thanks Harry I didn't know that. It makes sense now that I think about it. Some books I have will change covers in my library, I guess that's the publisher trying different covers for marketing purposes.

[Wearever]

Originally Posted by skillachie

Interesting post. Did not get an ereader for the novelty but the convenience and the lack of wear and tear of carrying a physical book around.

Do you think it is the "community" aspect of physical books you miss where your friends can see the books on your bookshelf, browse them and borrow them or strike up conversations?

I do think there is a community aspect to seeing people's physical libraries. People seem to be interested in what books they have on the shelves and are drawn to them. They are good conversation starters.

[Timboli]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The author has no input into the design of the cover in traditional publishing. Covers are commissioned by the publisher.

While I know that to be true for new authors, it is not always the case for more established ones, especially those with a large fan base.

Sure the author may not commission the cover in most instances themself, but they often get to choose from a range provided by the publisher or just a chance to nay say. They can also often state what they don't want and what they would like, and the publisher will often take that into account.

Talking about decent publishers here, not the dictator ones.

[vikarti]

I bought exactly 0 paper books in last 2 years (I received some as gifts).
I bought (and get for free via legal means) a lot of e-books.
I mostly read from mac and my mobile devices.
Finding at least semi-usable eInk reader device + software which will be at least sem-usable for me was a big problem. (Current half-solutions are Likebook Mars + Bookari (issues - minor sync issues, issue with usage on big display, it's Android-only app and keeping separate monitor for DeX is overkill), or Bookfusion (issues - bad e-ink support, bad library management, let's see if promised updates for this will materialize in 2019))

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by crossi

Where they need improvement is library management for prolific book buyers. A standard windows folder system where you can name and nest folders as suits you best is what I would really like with the folders not containing the book files themselves but links to the books which are all stored in a separate folder. That way you could have the same book link in multiple folders (Author, series, genres, read/unread, and so on).

I don't understand this. On my Kobo, I can pull up, say The Two Towers by Author, Series and Genre (I don't know if I can sort by read/unread. But I believe Kindle just introduced that).

Point is, when I'm on my reader, I can do what you say you want to do. So what does it matter to me what the file structure behind the scenes is?

[barryem]

Something I've noticed recently, and I'm sure others have as well, is that there's less interest in forums and blogs these days. I wonder if that's a sign of boredom with ereaders or just a sign that the technology is now more stable and settled.

This forum is still pretty active but not as much as it was when I first began reading it. Other forums and Yahoo groups involving e-stuff are far less active and the blogs have all slowed down a lot.

That's sad because I've enjoyed discussions of ebooks and ereaders for a long time and now there's less of it. Maybe Amazon and Kobo can toss out all their good stuff and start over to help keep me entertained. Barnes and Noble seems to be taking steps in that direction already.

Barry

[crossi]

The ability to nest collections which is not possible with kindle collections is the main reason file structure matters. Consider the mess your computer would be without nested folders.

[theducks]

@Barry
I think you have it right. The technology has become stable-main stream now.
I remember the days of Compuserve forums, where computer users came together in self-help forums (many sponsored by the product producers).
There was no way the producers could provide the massive support for folk learning to use a new technology (personal computers), let alone a new product.
The same happened with Color TV (US NTSC, needed color adjustments or the colors were horrible), VCR clock setting (the dread blinking 12:00).

At least, those devices - programs came with printed manuals. Today, you are lucky to get a Quick start guide (even luckier, a link to a full PDF manual).
Everyone seems to assume a new user knows al the gestures and taps to use a tablet. Ha!

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by crossi

The ability to nest collections which is not possible with kindle collections is the main reason file structure matters. Consider the mess your computer would be without nested folders.

Sounds like maybe Kindle just isn't the right reader for your needs. Kobo seems to be able to do what you want without using the file structure you are talking about.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Sounds like maybe Kindle just isn't the right reader for your needs. Kobo seems to be able to do what you want without using the file structure you are talking about.

Last I checked Kobo doesn't support nested collections, either.

e.g.
Fiction -> Children's -> Fantasy
Fiction -> Romance -> Humor
Fiction -> Romance -> Mystery
Non-Fiction -> Biographies
Non-Fiction -> History -> European -> Medieval

Ironically enough, these are supported on Kindles running older firmware versions which don't have Cloud Collections (5.4.x?).

I also had this feature on my PRS-350 running PRS Plus custom firmware. Software-wise, I loved that thing. Too bad it didn't have front light and wifi.

[ekbell]

Originally Posted by barryem

Something I've noticed recently, and I'm sure others have as well, is that there's less interest in forums and blogs these days. I wonder if that's a sign of boredom with ereaders or just a sign that the technology is now more stable and settled.

This forum is still pretty active but not as much as it was when I first began reading it. Other forums and Yahoo groups involving e-stuff are far less active and the blogs have all slowed down a lot.

That's sad because I've enjoyed discussions of ebooks and ereaders for a long time and now there's less of it. Maybe Amazon and Kobo can toss out all their good stuff and start over to help keep me entertained. Barnes and Noble seems to be taking steps in that direction already.

Barry

There's less interest in parenting & fandom blogs and forums as well (a number that I used to pursue have become defunct). In those cases I know that the discussions have moved to the current social networks (mostly facebook and tumblr).

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Last I checked Kobo doesn't support nested collections, either.

e.g.
Fiction -> Children's -> Fantasy
Fiction -> Romance -> Humor
Fiction -> Romance -> Mystery
Non-Fiction -> Biographies
Non-Fiction -> History -> European -> Medieval

I suppose not. But then again, I can't imagine requiring that granular level of detail on my ereader. Perhaps I lack imagination.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

I suppose not. But then again, I can't imagine requiring that granular level of detail on my ereader. Perhaps I lack imagination.

I'm the type who would love to be able to carry my entire library on my ereader. Unfortunately, absent better library management, that's not exactly practical unless one has good memory recall. Hence, my wishing for something similar to Calibre Companion as a native interface or failing that, at least support for nested collections.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by ekbell

There's less interest in parenting & fandom blogs and forums as well (a number that I used to pursue have become defunct). In those cases I know that the discussions have moved to the current social networks (mostly facebook and tumblr).

I suspect you are right. A number of web boards that I belong to have become less active over the past several years.

The other thing that I've noticed is that online forums tend to be driven by a few prolific posters and a lot of lurkers (i.e. people who mostly read but rarely post). When a few prolific posters stop posting for various reasons, then posts go down. Forums also need new blood every so often to keep conversations from going stale.