Who killed the bookstore?

[kennyc]

This is taking a very strange twist, once more things are being blown out of proportion. Who said anything about de-activating accounts?

How about we just get back on the subject topic?

[Ron.]

It was me, I did it, I confess

[J. Strnad]

I remember once trying to read Weathering Heights online, but my eyes kept hurting me or they'd become blurry, so I had to abandon that and use the paper version. Right now I'm thinking about getting either an Ipad or a tablet, but I'm still undecided about it. At least with this forum I can make an informed decision before I delve into anything financially too.

Because of this statement, I'd advise against an iPad or any kind of backlit device. Some people can read for hours on end on such a display, but most people find eink far, far easier on the eyes, comparable to reading on paper.

Eink, like paper, is a reflective medium. It isn't lit from behind, but depends on light reflecting off the screen. This is why you can't read in a dark room without a light, just as with a paper book. It's why you can read outside in bright light that wipes out a backlit display.

It also means you don't get the eye fatigue most people get from backlit screens. Plus, you get much longer battery life, in terms of days or weeks instead of hours.

This is what makes a dedicated reading device like a Kindle, nook, Kobo, Sony, etc. better for reading ebooks than iPads and other tablets.

Of course, the tablets do other things that dedicated ereaders don't, but they compromise the reading experience to do so.

People who have tried ereading on iPads, tablets, phones, computer monitors, laptops, etc., haven't really tried ereading. You need to try it on an eink device.

I'd advise you get a Kindle and try it for 30 days. If you don't like it, send it back.

[Ken Maltby]

There are also non-backlit reflective LCD and even "Transflective" LCD screen tech.

The reflective LCD of the Ectaco jetBooks and Aluratek Libra Pro, has many of the same
benefits as eink display.

Luck;
Ken

[Poppaea]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

There are also non-backlit reflective LCD and even "Transflective" LCD screen tech.

The reflective LCD of the Ectaco jetBooks and Aluratek Libra Pro, has many of the same
benefits as eink display.

Luck;
Ken

may I end the sentence with the vital information?

The reflective LCD of the Ectaco jetBooks and Aluratek Libra Pro, has many of the same benefits as eink display but sadly lacks the eInks battery life.

They go for, don't want to lie, but was it 6 hrs? instead of 2 or 3 weeks.

[GA Russell]

Originally Posted by Poppaea

may I end the sentence with the vital information?

The reflective LCD of the Ectaco jetBooks and Aluratek Libra Pro, has many of the same benefits as eink display but sadly lacks the eInks battery life.

They go for, don't want to lie, but was it 6 hrs? instead of 2 or 3 weeks.

Poppaea, that's not right. I use rechargeable batteries with my jetBook Lite, and I get two weeks.

[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by Poppaea

may I end the sentence with the vital information?

The reflective LCD of the Ectaco jetBooks and Aluratek Libra Pro, has many of the same benefits as eink display but sadly lacks the eInks battery life.

They go for, don't want to lie, but was it 6 hrs? instead of 2 or 3 weeks.

My testing of the standard NiMH rechargables gave 25-30 hours of actual
reading time per charge. It's hard to make a valid comparision between
"page turns" and actual hours of reading.

Perhaps the e-ink might last a little longer depending on how fast you turn
pages. One thing that the reflective LCD certainly does "lack" is the flash on
page turns. And the page turns have been generaly faster with the LCD,
although I have heard that the latest e-ink is much improved in both regards.

Luck;
Ken

[GeoffC]

A BBC Scotland take on the issue of bookstores ...

The publishing industry is heading for the London Book Fair, at a time of unprecedented challenge, and a real threat that many British towns and cities could be left with no bookshop.

Experts reckon we're close to a tipping point from paper to electronic books.

In the UK, it is at about 5% of the market, but growing fast, whereas in the United States, it has reached 10%.

Amazon announced in the middle of last year that book downloads were outnumbering its sales of hardbacks. By the end of last year, they had outstripped paperbacks.

[OtterBooks]

Woot.com has the Nook for sale (only April 13th), but the amusing part relevant here is their typically humorous product description.

An excerpt:
I remember when I was a boy and the first Barnes & Noble megastore set up shop at the South end of town. Seems like just yesterday they were putting ol’ Jack Hanegan’s bookstore out of business. I remember Dave Sisk’s little music shop closing their doors not long after. Seemed like everywhere you turned that little 4,000 sq. ft. book-sellin’ monolith was carving out their niche in town: coffee shops, comic book stores, the little breakfast nook Betty Dehn used to run down on Timber Avenue. It was a different time, by gum.

And now our sweet and innocent Barnes & Noble franchises are under attack from all sides...

[carpetmojo]

We (ie the citizenry of the world ) are helping to make it very difficult for the small
bookstore - they haven't died yet in the UK - by not buying books from them. Whether that's 'cos of price, prejudice, "convenience", ereader, whatever................
and, the big supermarkets who stack it high and sell about 10% of a bookstore's offerings ( a lot of Mills & Boon and Dan [? that right? Don't care!] Brown come to mind......)
and, the big bookstore chains are not helping the small bookstores, obviously........

Small bookstores survive by doing everything that's in their power, better , more helpfully, quicker, in a more personal way, from a larger choice, and by making less profit, than the giants.
And they could very well outlast them.
I hope................

[mldavis2]

It's clear that the popular vote is short-sighted. If people can buy a book cheaper at the mega-store than at Bennie's Book Boutique, the majority of indiscriminate readers will do so to save a penny. If the selection is larger at the mega-store, they'll go there to look over new covers. Most competitive success is similarly short-sighted because no one wants to look beyond tomorrow, they just want profits/savings now. We just hope the decisions of people today are those they can live with, because often, there is no going back.

[jessicalynn]

Well I for one would like to know what "weathering" heights is. Lol.

Originally Posted by rleguillow

But when I knowthat I can buy that book from B&N online cheaper than in the store, and with free shipping, why should I go to the brick&mortar store and spend my hard-earned dollars? If I spend less on this book, I have more to spend on that book.

I'd like to see in-store books selling at the same price as online, or for less. I know that B&N makes more money out of me, through impulse buying, when I'm in their stores. I walk in going for one book and come out $100 poorer and carrying a lot more than I was going for. Problem is, since I know I can get the same book online for less, I'm more likely to go online for my one book - and I don't do much impulse buying online. If they reversed their system - cheaper in the brick&mortar than online, they might see some trends reversing also.

Just my opinion.

I completely agree. I have a barnes and noble within walking distance of where I live. However, on the rare occasion I buy a paperbook it's usually online, because I can even get it cheaper on barnes and nobles website. If it was the same price in the store i would definitely walk over there and probably buy a coffee and maybe a few more books on impulse. I wonder why barnes and noble does this?

[Quexos]

It's Wuthering Heights, and it's called a typo.
Would you like to know what a typo is ?

Originally Posted by jessicalynn

Well I for one would like to know what "weathering" heights is. Lol.

[elcreative]

And that was an attempt at wit rather than a lack of knowledge, hence the lol which, in case you don't understand, stands for "lots of laughs"

Originally Posted by Quexos

It's Wuthering Heights, and it's called a typo.
Would you like to know what a typo is ?

[carpetmojo]

Now now girls, settle down.....................