paper books versus ebooks

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Quexos

I don't know guys, while I love my e-readers (Kobo and Ipad) I still find it an enjoyable experience to go to a book store and perusing through all those nice paper books, admire their covers, the texture etc.
I think I am torn between the old fashioned books and the very nice e-book devices available nowadays.

Oh, too true. I love paper books, especially the huge, old fashioned hardcovers.

However, nowadays, an ereader is more practical, with its selectable font, smaller size and weight and its own lighting I still intend to buy the History of Middle Earth though; 12 books in 3 parts. They're huge. The only way to read them is to put them on a reading desk. Only the first two books are available as ebooks, AFAIK.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

Oh, too true. I love paper books, especially the huge, old fashioned hardcovers.

However, nowadays, an ereader is more practical, with its selectable font, smaller size and weight and its own lighting I still intend to buy the History of Middle Earth though; 12 books in 3 parts. They're huge. The only way to read them is to put them on a reading desk. Only the first two books are available as ebooks, AFAIK.

I have the set of three hardbacks, and they really wouldn't work as ebooks, I don't think. Do get them when you can - they're fascinating reading.

[LadyKate]

Originally Posted by Salgueiros

On the other hand, you have to clean the screen of your ereader every now and then, because, in contrast to a paper book, your "page" is always the same so dust collects on that page, besides fingerprints. In a paper book that doesn't happen, since you are always turning the pages.

i am really picky about this, and it really annoys me that i can't completely clean the screen. I don't find it easy to clean that small space between the screen and bezel, and when i do clean the screen with liquid (the same i use for a computer monitor) and wipe with a cloth, that is where some of the aggregated dust moves to, and it is a bit hard to remove it completely.

With e-books you don't get coffee spill marks and those "what was that!?!?" marks like paper books get. I've had a few from libraries or used book stores that were yucky.

Forgot to say I also use the screen protectors that work very well. When they get too dirty to clean I remove it and put on another one.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I have the set of three hardbacks, and they really wouldn't work as ebooks, I don't think. Do get them when you can - they're fascinating reading.

I'll have to get them through Amazon.co.uk. In the Netherlands, they have prices I'm not willing to pay.

These are some of the books I don't mind having as normal books. I can't imagine reading them on public transport, for example. This stuff is almost like studying history

[HarryT]

It's not just "almost like history" - it IS history! The history of Tolkien's development of his mythos. We're extraordinarily lucky to be able to "watch over his shoulder" and see his ideas develop. A fascinating read.

[MeSue]

Originally Posted by Quexos

I don't know guys, while I love my e-readers (Kobo and Ipad) I still find it an enjoyable experience to go to a book store and perusing through all those nice paper books, admire their covers, the texture etc.

I think I am torn between the old fashioned books and the very nice e-book devices available nowadays.

Nothing wrong with that. That's when I just (discreetly) get out my scan app, and scan the barcodes to go home and buy the ebook version. Buy a gift item in the bookstore if you feel guilty about it.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by HarryT

It's not just "almost like history" - it IS history! The history of Tolkien's development of his mythos. We're extraordinarily lucky to be able to "watch over his shoulder" and see his ideas develop. A fascinating read.

I know. I have the first two as ebooks, but I'd like to have them all. The three part set is the cheapest option.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

I know. I have the first two as ebooks, but I'd like to have them all. The three part set is the cheapest option.

I have a few of his "Book of lost tales" volumes that his son Christopher has put out. It is interesting reading.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by crich70

I have a few of his "Book of lost tales" volumes that his son Christopher has put out. It is interesting reading.

The Book of Lost Tales (consisting of Volume I and II) actually is the first two books of the History of Middle Earth, and the only ones available as an ebook. (Officially, that is.)

The set of three hardcovers would set me back €135. That is a serious amount of "normal" e-books, and the only reason why I didn't buy them yet. Second hand, they're non-existent here. At Amazon, the can get as low as €29 per book, but then the condition is only "Acceptable", which is not good enough.

[Marcus365]

E books are convenient and special, but hard copies are sacred also...hold on to them and cherish them

[lol.systema]

If you move a lot, then ebooks are your best bet. If not, then a physical collection is nice to have.

I've met people whose families have set up a collection so big and detailed they even customize the books into identical hardcovers. They're not moving anywhere and if they do, it's just once in their lifetime, so they don't worry that much.
They don't care about losing books either. They've given me quite a few of theirs (and they have awesome vintage hardbinding)

There are some books that are in my list of NOT LOSE, NOT GIVE, NOT DISPOSE OF because of my personal story with them... still, the list doesn't go further than 8 books I have with me.

It all really meshes out with the need-vs-practical use. Sure, it'll hurt a few months and you'll regret leaving those books behind but it's not like you abandoned your dog/cat. It's just a book so it's easily manageable.
However, if you can take your books with you, then do it. As long as it doesn't do much of a burden when moving out

[crich70]

I think generally both paper and ebooks have their uses. Which format a person prefers to use is mostly dependent upon their individual circumstances. Is there a lot of room for books where they live? Do they move about a lot or no? Is waiting for the book to arrive (if ordering a paper book at a distance) easy or problematic? These and (no doubt) other questions determine which format is best for the individual.

[crossi]

There's the future to consider. Eventually your eyesight will deteriorate and all your nice paper books will be unreadable. And retirement homes are tiny. They have very little room to store books or anything else. I'm very much in favor of minimalizing the amount of "stuff" I own. The less stuff you have the less you have to worry about storing, maintaining and eventually moving or disposing of. Best to start the process early by cutting down the stuff you buy, getting rid of stuff you don't use and converting to digital.

I love ebooks, but they should be so much better than they are at the moment. Their potential is limitless, but they're crippled by DRM, ereader limitations, etc.

[Rev. Bob]

Originally Posted by UnicornSalesman

I love ebooks, but they should be so much better than they are at the moment. Their potential is limitless, but they're crippled by DRM, ereader limitations, etc.

That's certainly true. I've been thinking about writing a "please quit making these stupid mistakes" open letter to e-publishers just on the topic of how they handle things presently - existing technology that they're neglecting or misusing. Yes, DRM's on that list, but so are other things like "use relative units, not inches or points," "clean up your HTML code," and "specify complete metadata."

A personal pet peeve is when the publisher deliberately specifies a small text size as the book's standard. I've seen several books lately where, right there at the top of the governing stylesheet, they say (translated) "make the type 10% smaller than whatever's currently called for - just because." So if I've got my reader set to display text at 20 pixels tall, their book shows it at 18. There's no point to it, and I strip that out whenever I see it. Or, if they bury that sort of declaration deeper (like in paragraph styles), I'll insert such a line to compensate: "Oh, the standard paragraph is 80% of normal? No problem; I'll make the document start at 125%, and because 80% of 125 is 100, the text will look right."

Of course, small copyright-page text is a different matter, just like big text in headers and certain other size changes are. I'm just saying that the standard text size in a book should match the reader's preferences. Radical concept, eh?