Shifting back to physical books...

[BeccaPrice]

I just purchased a book - in hardback, even - and found that it was unreadable. Too small type, the lines too close together, not enough paragraph demarcation. I wound up getting the kindle book just so I could read it. I'm still not sure whether I'll return the hardback or not... I kinda would like to keep it around as a reference book (it's a study about fairy tales).

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

Helen's Ode to Ebooks.

Now,now. Every one is entitled to an odd smooshy moment

Helen

[Joykins]

I've been switching back to hard copy in the sense that I've been checking more of them out of the public library. Otherwise I slightly prefer ebooks for convenience and the ability to crank the font up to where I like it. I suspect the next step is progressive lenses, alas.

[bfisher]

I read 65/35 ratio of paper to ebook. too many books out there to be read that are either not going to be published as ebooks (backlist or orphan), or too expensive to purchase so I will try to get the paper copy from the library.

[Hampshire Nanny]

I buy almost no books printed on paper. I do, however, read about 100 paper books a year compared to 50 electronic and audio books. Part of this is due to winnowing out the backlog of books in my cottage, getting back-list books from the library, and participating in a couple of online book swapping groups.

I pick up lots of free eBooks throughout the month, buy the occasional eBook that I'm just dying to read (like the new Formic Wars books by Orson Scott Card), sometimes buy the Baen bundle if the books look good to me, and have a subscription to Audible.com. If I'm buying a printed book, it's usually a gift.

[Prestidigitweeze]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

Now,now. Every one is entitled to an odd smooshy moment

Helen

I suspect BMB was talking as much about the form as the content, since the line breaks and syntax made your post read like a conversational modern poem. (That's a compliment, not an insult.)

If you don't believe me, have a look at Frank O'Hara:

"Poem (Lana Turner Has Collapsed!)"

Also, your poem/post is more like a modern litany than an ode. For an example of that, see Allen Ginsberg's "America." I won't link to it and will only quote excerpts because of the copious four-letter words and MR-unfriendly political content, but notice how the poem unfolds and then look at your post:

America I've given you all and now I'm nothing.
America two dollars and twenty-seven cents January 17, 1956. . . .
America stop pushing I know what I'm doing. . . .
When can I go into the supermarket and buy what I need with my good looks?
America after all it is you and I who are perfect not the next world. . . .

[cortman]

It seems funny to me that the main gripe most people have with analog books is the fact that you can't change font size. Frankly, I never change font size on my ereader- I found a size that works for me well and I can't see any reason to ever want to change it.

[mbovenka]

Originally Posted by cortman

It seems funny to me that the main gripe most people have with analog books is the fact that you can't change font size. Frankly, I never change font size on my ereader- I found a size that works for me well and I can't see any reason to ever want to change it.

But what if the font size in the paper book isn't the one you want? I have a book that I can hardly read because the font is so small. If it was an ebook, I could set the font size to something I can read...

And that's the freedom an ebook gives you that a paper book doesn't.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by cortman

It seems funny to me that the main gripe most people have with analog books is the fact that you can't change font size. Frankly, I never change font size on my ereader- I found a size that works for me well and I can't see any reason to ever want to change it.

Not every ebook has the same font size.

One book can have a bigger or smaller font than another if you keep the reader at the same size.

[pdurrant]

I'm short-sighted. I'm also nearly 50, so my accommodation is almost all gone.

When reading during the day with my glasses on, I like quite a big font (say, 14pt), since I need to hold my book 50cm away.
When reading at night without my glasses (i.e. in bed), I like a very small font (say, 6pt), since I need to hold my book about 10cm away.

Varibale font size really is very useful.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I'm short-sighted. I'm also nearly 50, so my accommodation is almost all gone.

When reading during the day with my glasses on, I like quite a big font (say, 14pt), since I need to hold my book 50cm away.
When reading at night without my glasses (i.e. in bed), I like a very small font (say, 6pt), since I need to hold my book about 10cm away.

Varibale font size really is very useful.

As someone who is very short-sighted (-10 diopter) and who has almost no accomodation since birth, I can recognize this. I actually don't like to read using glasses. If I read without glasses, I can use a 6-8 point font and keep the book somewhere between 10 and 20cm.

For me, that's actually the least straining way to read. The only way I'm using glasses when sitting behind a computer is that *not* doing so looks extremely ridiculous (not to mention you lose all oversight), especially when using a >= 17 inch monitor.

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze

I suspect BMB was talking as much about the form as the content, since the line breaks and syntax made your post read like a conversational modern poem. (That's a compliment, not an insult.)

If you don't believe me, have a look at Frank O'Hara:

"Poem (Lana Turner Has Collapsed!)"

Also, your poem/post is more like a modern litany than an ode. For an example of that, see Allen Ginsberg's "America." I won't link to it and will only quote excerpts because of the copious four-letter words and MR-unfriendly political content, but notice how the poem unfolds and then look at your post:

Thanks for the compliment. I was merely making a list.

The infinite monkey theorem in action.

Helen

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

The infinite monkey theorem in action.

You have monkeys writing your posts?

They're rather good. Please tell me where you got them.

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

You have monkey's writing your posts?

They're rather good. Please tell me where you got them.

This guy might have some for you
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolog...akespeare.html

[WillAdams]

One can change font size on some books --- that's what the large print edition is for.