Ebook readers and real books... some thoughts

[Uri]

People saying ebooks will "never" replace paper books, remember we are at the very beginning of this technological development. In 1995 it seemed absurd that the Web would replace printed news or become the main way to acquire music; today these are facts of life. Display technology and the experience in general are getting better every year, while paper books pretty much reached their full potential. We're already seeing prototypes nearing Harry Potter moving newspapers - in a few years these and better will be household items. In a few short years, today's e-readers would look like the huge, clunky 80s mobile phones that seemed like they would never catch on.

Digital distribution has always managed to replace analogue, physical distribution because it can always deliver better experience for a lower price. Websites replaced printed newspapers; CDs replaced vinyl, and were replaced with MP3; DVDs are being replaced with streaming media.

Paper books will probably still exist as a novelty item, like vinyl records today. A best-seller might have a limited edition printed in its entirety, word for word, on sheets of paper bound together, and people who really like the book would buy it and display it cover-on on a shelf along with the 3-4 other paper books they collected.

[Piper_]

Originally Posted by Richey79

One of the only things I can't (won't) do with an ereader that I can with a paper-back is read it in the bath. Good job both media are to hand!

Oh, I read my Kindle in the bath all the time! Just pop it into a ziplock baggie, and you're good to go.

As for the OP, I'm a die-hard lover of good paper books, and I'll never stop buying good copies of my favorites, but, to me, nothing beats the convenience of an e-reader for reading linear fiction, just going one page to the next.

They're so much more portable, and in bed, it takes almost zero effort to prop it up, set the text size where I need it, and start reading, just pushing a button when needed.

And on my Kindle, I don't even have to do that to turn pages - just turn on the Text to Speech, set it to the right speed, and it turns the pages for me, whether I want the volume up or not.

[mldavis2]

To add to @Richey79's comment, I have many old pBooks from my college days -- classics that I like to keep around. In going back to read, say, Dostoyevsky's "Crime & Punishment", I find that not only is the paper yellowed, but the print is (now) very small to these older eyes, and the bindings have cracked, split and broken allowing pages to come loose. Paperback books are not made for durability, perhaps on purpose, maybe a form of planned obsolescence. I do plan to return to many of those old classics (currently enjoying Bram Stoker's 'Dracula') but it will be on my K3 which is so much more convenient, lighter and quicker with which to turn pages.

[CaraM]

I'm a book lover and love having my books on the cases surrounding me in my office. I just got a Kindle and love it. I shocked myself that I could love it so much. One thing I've done with books since I learned to read is I go to the last page to see how it ends before I start reading. If there's something in the end I don't like, I won't read the book. I do this for all books except mysteries. I can't do that with the Kindle and that took a little getting used to.