Tipping Point

[dstampe]

My own switch to e-books was not entirely voluntary. I'ts still nice to be able to browse a bookstore and get used books, but that has become very difficult in the last 5 years or so. The reason is that I have picked up some kind of allergic sensitivity to newsprint, cheap acidic papers, and many kinds of inks. This means I can't read 95% of new paperbacks, almost all aged paperbacks, and 50% of hardcovers without getting athsma and swollen eyes within a few minutes.

The problem started with older paperbacks with yellowed pages, as the acidic paper self-destructed into dust. This was followed by issues with the cheap, smelly inks used in a lot of paperbacks. Then certain kinds of paper and especially newsprint. Now, it even affects some magazines and books printed on fine, glossy paper (I suspect this is because of something in the ink or the sizing used to make the paper glossy).

My only remedy has been a collection of book covers, ranging from cut-open page protectors to sheets of anti-reflection coated glass. These make reading awkward and don't entirely eliminate the problem. So reading was getting limited to a few magazines and new hardcover books, not all of which were good either (Baen seems the worst for having cheap paper in their hardcovers).

So it was a long-anticipated experiment that could be tried once the critical mass of e-books was reached and the Sony Reader became available. I have been able to read significantly more since getting it, but it is still not an optimal experience. I would say that less than 50% of what I want to read is available, and all of the books I've collected are off-limits (and will until these are re-released in text form). There are encouraging signs that many out-of-print books will become available this way, assuming the publishing lobby doesn't manage to crush pioneers like Google's efforts.

Compared to reading physical books, I have no allergy problems with the reader (other than the cover that came with it, which did cause problems). It's readability is not as good under the dim lighting conditions I can tolerate compated to a real book. On the other hand, assuming the book is available in a modifiable format, I can increase text size to be readable, unlike books. It's bizzare how publisghers have started to use really odd, rather unreadable fonts in some books, maybe trying for some artistic ideal. I managed to get through S.M. Stirling's "Summerlands" trilogy recently, despite the small, thim font with punctuation marks half the size of the rest of the text, but even in hardcover it was a matter of holding the book 12 inches away).

So I'm looking forward to more ebooks, better readers and all that. Still, 90% of the written word remains off-limits without elaborate precautions, which really removes the spontinaity of reading. It's harder to explore an e-book than a physical book (at least on the Reader) and I don't want to read from a computer screen as U've never found a laptop that is portable as even the most awkward hardcovers.

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by Alexander Turcic

... I just lost my own main backup harddrive due to stupidity.

Ouch. I'm very sorry for your loss, Alex.

The advice is well taken, though. I've got mine on one hard drive, and also on my flash drive. I plan to let the collection get a bit bigger (it's only ~230 Mb, at the moment) before I start backing up on CD/DVD. For now, I figure the two copies are probably sufficient.

[Tenkian]

Originally Posted by Alexander Turcic

Guys, while you are phasing out your beloved hardcover books and converting them into electronic copies (either by repurchasing or ocr'ing them) - make sure to backup!!!! I cannot say this loud enough because I just lost my own main backup harddrive due to stupidity. Among many other things I lost all the e-books that weren't still stored on my reading device.

For this purpose may I cheekily reccommend Mozy :

It’s a company called Mozy that gives you 2GB of free space on their servers for you to backup your important data. The software is decent and lets you schedule, bandwidth throttle and encrypt your data.



I use it to backup my books, pictures and emails every night, once the initial backup is done, it only does the changes after that.



If you use it and use my referral we both get an extra 256MB of space.

https://mozy.com/?ref=4UAR33

[UncleDuke]

Backup my music, backup my books.

Hey RWood, bold move for a collector. Me, read 'em and return 'em. Longest I ever kept a book other than the Bible was a college textbook they wouldn't buy back.

[yvanleterrible]

I've compared my now large ebook collection to my paper one and parted farewell with the doubles. In paper that is. Try to lookup litteracy programs in your region. They accept your books.

Man! Alex I can't believe what happened to you. That is painful! I have a 120GB external hard drive expressly for the purpose of archival storing. It contains books, photography and music. Someday I plan to acquire one drive for each category.

Just a thought... when I die, who will care about a hard drive full of data? When grandpa died, I got a lot of his books. Once in a while I browse through the old 1910 encyclopediae, just for the kick of comparing with today's knowlege. We can't do that with edata!!! There is still a place for books...

[Snassek]

Originally Posted by Tenkian

For this purpose may I cheekily reccommend Mozy :

I have been using Mozy for a couple of months. Overall I am satisfied. I paid for two years since I back up all of my music, pictures, ebooks and documents. While I keep them on a separate harddrive, that doesn't prevent the disaster of losing that harddrive.

Originally Posted by yvanleterrible

Just a thought... when I die, who will care about a hard drive full of data?.

If technology continues at it's present pace, probably a good chunk of the family and friends will. Books (including diaries and journals) have to be parceled out (or carefully burned. Depends on family I guess). Pictures? Some get copied, some trashed, some sorted. Music? Movies? Health records? Incriminating federal phone taps? So it goes for most of a persons records of life.

But now? Lot of crossover happening. Photos? Digital. Home movies? Digital. Diaries/journals? Okay, still mostly paper but I know several kids keeping stuff on their systems and I've started keeping more and more records myself on a tablet . If you also add in a possible library (both eprint and video) and the continually increasing size of storage why wouldn't someone be interested in your hard drive when you check out? It wouldn't take much room and could be useful in the future.

Plus it's the sort of packrating you don't have to explain to people coming over. (Unlike, say a large collection of hand-carved decorative cuckoo clocks from your grandad on the walls of your server room. Er, not that I know anyone with them.)

Seriously, a lot of information is lost just because it is a singular object that may not seem important at the time or even useful in the foreseeable future. A hard drive with a persons life? Yea, I think that will be given a hard look.

(Reminder: Even after you have shuffled off your mortal coil, encryption programs can be your friends. Some things are best NOT known to posterity. )

[flumbo]

Thanks for the suggestion on Mozy. I've been using Carbonite for the past year and like it a lot.

Only problem with Carbonite is that if I back up something from my desktop pc, I can't access it from my laptop when I'm on the road. Mozy allows you to see the files on their web site and create a package to download them to any pc. They even have a create and fedex dvd backup option for emergencies.

Thanks!

[Daft Willie]

I'm planning a move across town in a few years, and I'm also thinking about giving some books a good home at the used bookstore, or the library, or a school. If you're looking for something a bit more out there, I came across this in the news:

The Guardian: Camel Bookmobile
Camel-based bookmobile in Kenya.
Their site: http://www.knls.or.ke/camel.htm

I know nothing about it other than the article in the Guardian, so I can't vouch for it personally, but it's the most interesting thing I've seen all week.

[RWood]

I am also thinking of Book Crossing. It seems to be a read and release program for books. Sort of a "set your books free" movement.

[yvanleterrible]

I'll say it again... litteracy programs! You'd be surprised at the numbers of people who can't read... here! Not across the world... here!

[grimo1re]

www.bookcrossing.com

That's where my paper books (how old fashioned!) are going.

[Amalthia]

I have so many books I can't find copies for in electronic format...and some of the books I've downloaded have errors. But I'm also considering giving away some of my doubles because my bookshelves are running out of room.

The advantage of keeping the paperback copies is that you can lend those out to friends a lot more easily than lending out your e-reader.

Basically, I'm trying not to buy new books because those are much easier to find at ebook stores than books that came out in the 70s and 80s, especially romance novels and some fantasy authors are impossible to find at affordable prices or at all.

[RWood]

Originally Posted by Amothea

... The advantage of keeping the paperback copies is that you can lend those out to friends a lot more easily than lending out your e-reader....

I never lend any book I ever expect to see again.

[Moonraker]

I have more ebooks than I can read in my lifetime so I don't know why I find it so difficult to dispose of my paper books. My study is crammed with books on 3 walls and there are more crated up in the attic. I am the same with my vinyl collection. I have hundreds of 45's that I inherited from my father. I don't even have a turn-table on which to play them.