But You Can't Read an Ebook in the Bath

[neilmarr]

The value of a book is in the words it contains. The very best delivery system is what is most convenient its reader. I think most here will agree that, although treebooks have charm, they do not compare with a comfortable, effective e-reading device.

A lady in another thread here says that her husband couldn't see the sense in an ebook reader. She challenged him to use hers for a month and then re-open the argument. When the month was up, he wouldn't give back the e-reader and had been through more novels in that month's trial than he had read in the previous seven years of their marriage.

That says summat, surely. N

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Can't argue with that point. A bookcase that contains only an eReader doesn't exactly impress the friends, neighbors, and guests with one's intellectual prowess, does it?

I didn't mean "to show off." I meant, when I've asked someone to come over & watch the kids while husband & I go out to a movie, it's nice to offer her something to read. And "browse this pbook shelf" is much easier than "here's my computer, and here's the folder where most of the ebooks are kept, sorted by author and series, and here's the Sony Reader, and you can scroll through its listings ten at a time and see if one of those catches your interest. No, there's no back cover blurb to read, and no front cover artwork unless you open the book, and then you'll have to navigate back to that space in the listings to look at the next one."

It's harder to share ebooks. There's software that helps (like Calibre's cover view), but it doesn't mesh well with the ebook reader hardware.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Back when I was a serious Devil's Advocate kind of guy, I'd tear into someone like that, trying to verbally brow-beat them into seeing reason (mine, of course).

These days, when I hear comments like these, I just ignore them. Because I stop to remember things like Royal Typewriter keyboards... hand-cranked washing machines... the slide-rule... the mechanical cash-box... the quill pen... the wooden wheel... the clay tablet... and many other technological items that people at the time insisted were perfect as they were, but were eventually supplanted by better technology. It's simple evolution... and just as with organisms, you evolve, or you die.

This is why my adopted theorem is: "You get used to what you want to get used to." People make excuses for things they don't want to do, and if they don't want to, I don't feel like arguing with them. They are denying themselves, holding themselves back, and that's their right. I'd rather spend time with people who are interested in the future.

[Shaggy]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

I didn't mean "to show off." I meant, when I've asked someone to come over & watch the kids while husband & I go out to a movie, it's nice to offer her something to read. And "browse this pbook shelf" is much easier than "here's my computer, and here's the folder where most of the ebooks are kept, sorted by author and series, and here's the Sony Reader, and you can scroll through its listings ten at a time and see if one of those catches your interest. No, there's no back cover blurb to read, and no front cover artwork unless you open the book, and then you'll have to navigate back to that space in the listings to look at the next one."

It's harder to share ebooks. There's software that helps (like Calibre's cover view), but it doesn't mesh well with the ebook reader hardware.

What you're saying is that the current implementation of eBooks hasn't matured yet, because it's still in it's early days. I don't think that's necessarily a problem with the idea of eBooks though. All of the points you make could certainly be solved with a more mature technology and implementation of that technology.

There was a point in time when email and the web were fairly difficult to use and you had to be pretty computer savy to even get on the internet. Obviously that isn't the case anymore.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by Shaggy

What you're saying is that the current implementation of eBooks hasn't matured yet, because it's still in it's early days. I don't think that's necessarily a problem with the idea of eBooks though. All of the points you make could certainly be solved with a more mature technology and implementation of that technology.

I expect so. It's not a matter of "ebooks can't be as good as pbooks;" it's just that ebooks as they currently stand, are lacking some features of pbooks. One of those is a good way to display them for easy selection.

And right now, that seems to be pretty low on the software development list--the best we're likely to find in the near future is an iPhone-like approach, where each ebook is assigned an icon, which are all the same size & shape. And as soon as that becomes possible, you run into the customizing issue--do you use publisher-provided icons, or user-set icons? (Obviously, publisher-provided books would come with icons, but converting them to another format would allow the end user to change the icon.)

Other missing features, like "ebooks can't be held open to three pages at once so you can flip between chapters to compare details," are also tech issues. I expect they'll eventually be solved--AFTER we either settle on a single format, or develop software that moves between different formats smoothly enough to allow annotations and other changes to be 'ported as well.

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

I didn't mean "to show off." ...

Didn't mean to dis you! I was only saying that the "vanity factor" of having a well-stocked library/bookshelf is missing with e-books. I wasn't speaking of you, personally. I'm sorry if it came off that way.

From a personal standpoint, I do get a certain satisfaction from having books that reflect my views and tastes. Yeah, it's vanity, I know, but hey...

[PennyPie]

I was at the Annapolis Sailboat show this past weekend. In speaking with several of the authors in attendance there (hawking their sail related books), not a one of them showed any interest in eBook publication. These are 'old salts' & know that seamen don't have the physical space to accumulate loads of pbooks. But yet they were not open to the possibility that having their books available in digital format would increase the # of sales to those to whom they write their books. I told one author, point blank, I would love to have her cookbook, but would not be purchasing it, due to the fact that I would have no room for it aboard my boat.
I really thought I would have better luck with folks who know the necessity of space conservation....oh well, old dogs, new tricks....

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

Didn't mean to dis you! I was only saying that the "vanity factor" of having a well-stocked library/bookshelf is missing with e-books. I wasn't speaking of you, personally. I'm sorry if it came off that way.

From a personal standpoint, I do get a certain satisfaction from having books that reflect my views and tastes. Yeah, it's vanity, I know, but hey...

The "vanity factor" of Shelves of Impressive Books will probably go the same route as the Shelves of Impressive Music, which was replaced by a strategically-placed iPod and speakers on a tastefully-bare shelf. If the reading device is easy enough to browse (and no dedicated device should be that hard to browse), visitors should be able to thumb it on and flip quickly through pages of content in seconds.

Of course, with better screens, maybe cover thumbnails could be added to the browsing function, giving visitors the visual cues that Impressive Bookshelves feature...

[Superlucky]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

From a personal standpoint, I do get a certain satisfaction from having books that reflect my views and tastes. Yeah, it's vanity, I know, but hey...

We all have that. I'm single, and when I'm entertaining a gentleman caller I always arrange the p-books before his arrival. For some reason self-help and anything by Dan Brown ends up in a drawer whilst the books that reflect my literary tastes and political leanings stay on the shelf. I enjoy people's reactions to the books.

[kindlekitten]

I too am guilty of the vanity (yeah, I admit it) of having a well stocked p-library, showing off the titles I have read (or hope to read) and also, and this has been a real situation, sparking discussions/conversations over some of my reading materials. I miss having that. I haven't gotten rid of my treaured p-books, and do not intend to. I do miss however having someone comment on seeing a book; "I've wondered about that one, what do you think?", and then tossing said book to the commenter and engaging in a conversation....

I wonder... what if there was an option to purchase an empty cover of a book with the art work, back cover comments, inside jacket remarks, and so on (think video store empty box displays). Then, maybe you can have a dedicated "this is my house e-book", to let guests browse the cover, possibly purchase the book themselves, or somehow borrow it in e-book fashion.

For me personally, this would help retain my library presence and continue to encourage the focus on the written word.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by PennyPie

These are 'old salts' & know that seamen don't have the physical space to accumulate loads of pbooks...

"Aargh, matey!" (ptoo!) "Whadaya need them thar new-fangled gim-cracks fer? A real sea-farin' matey knows all he needs is two books anyway (besides mine, that is): Moby Dick and Robinson Crusoe. The rest properly belong as silt on top o' Davey Jones' locker! Ain't that right, Polly?"

"Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight!"

"Ahr, right... that'll be sixteen bucks, mate, pay the laddy at the door..."

(Ahem... glad I got that out of my system!)

That example shows how hard it is to get some people to consider new things, even when it has obvious advantages for them. Unfortunately, many new technologies had to be almost literally forced down some people's throats, either through price manipulation/taxing, peer pressure, or simply removing the alternatives. People tend to forget this once the technology is fairly ubiquitous... in fact, they often forget their initial resistance to it.

It's not wonderful to imagine a world where printed books are so hard to find or so expensive that the populace is pretty much driven to e-books. If it does happen, these "old salts" will be squawking the loudest...

[fugazied]

Dropping a paper books means ruining a book but it is still readable but crinkly. Drop that kindle into the bath and it is alllll over.

The smell of books is kind of gross when you think about what it is.. decaying paper, possibly mites or some other bug eating the paper (breathing in dead bugs??), microscopic mold/decay in the pages, dust.

[jenieliser]

Originally Posted by neilmarr

I love the first pyjamas my children and grandchildren ever wore, Jen. They're lovingly looked after and preciously stored. I would not ask my son and daughter and their offspring to wear them again, though. They're kept purely for sentimental reasons. They look pretty, bring back memories ... and are totally surplus to requirements. I'll never throw them out, of course; but if young butts feel the cold these days, I'll buy clothes that suit the job: just as stylish and surdy, but practical, too. N

Interesting, but it's apples to oranges my friend. Call me crazy, but I have yet to "outgrow" my loved hardback copies of Jane Austen etc, as if they are some holey (as in full of holes), moth eaten pjs. I actually (gasp!) still pull out my paper books and thumb through them, read them, lend them to friends. Wow...must be absolutely shocking huh?
Well, back to the main point of my original post-DESPITE this love of my pbooks and libraries etc....I still use my Reader, constantly and really enjoy it.

[zacheryjensen]

Originally Posted by fugazied

Dropping a paper books means ruining a book but it is still readable but crinkly. Drop that kindle into the bath and it is alllll over.

The smell of books is kind of gross when you think about what it is.. decaying paper, possibly mites or some other bug eating the paper (breathing in dead bugs??), microscopic mold/decay in the pages, dust.

I think you should drop a kindle in the bath before you make a claim like that. Shockingly many electronic devices, as designed today, will survive such a catastrophe as long as you respond intelligently to the situation. The worst thing the kindle has going for it in such a scenario is the built-in battery. But it's not a write-off til it's actually dead. Often, once dry, life will be back to (mostly) normal.

[zacheryjensen]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

Wouldn't there be issues with colour settings on the PC?
With an art pbook, you get it as the producers intended - two PCs would be unlikely to display the images the same way.

Though almost nobody bothers, the calibration and color representation accuracy of monitors is quite a well studied concern. You can go out and buy a calibration tool and make sure your monitor is doing its best to display colors correctly. Now, publishers do the same thing for their printing process and there are color gamuts that are known and named and so there is a standard target. Usually for digital works the standard target is Adobe sRGB. And while it's true most consumer monitors display around 75% of that, it's not noticeably by most people, and those who DO care will have much better monitors.

So yes, it's a concern, but it's not one without a solution. Movies in home theatres suffer the exact same problem, if not worse with black levels being a bigger concern. The enthusiasts deal with those problems in that realm, the art enthusiasts can deal with the same problem, with less hassle, in the computing realm.

And furthermore, if dedicated reader technology continues to improve, you can be sure that, once possible, color accuracy will be a major point made to impress publishers and readers alike.