I have trouble with the idea of e-books. Nothing compares to walking through a library or a bookstore and looking at rows and rows of books and feeling them in your hands. But I'm sort of old fashioned when it comes to modern technology. I refused to even get a phone with internet. I did get my dad a Kindle for Christmas last year and he really likes it. I guess it's good for people who speed through books at lightning speed and don't like waiting for new ones, but I think I'll stick to one paper book at a time for now.
Completely agree with you! Nothing beats walking into a bookstore spending a good amount of time in there and leaving with some new material to get lost into. Having all your books on bookshelves lined up together just feels right; seeing them, feeling them and the smell of them! Infact, I would love to have a library at home with a comfy sofa, cup of tea and fireplace for the winter and a nice chaise next to a huge window overlooking the garden or countryside with an ice cold drink and get lost into a book for hours on end In addition to what you said on technology; I prefer all the old Sega stuff to all the 3D games, it's too confusing! I don't mind the wii though and email has replaced the beauty and personal touch of handwritten letters I was going to say, I normally take about three books for a trip but then two go in my suitcase and one in my hand luggage, so my post would be pointless lol but then I do look at it and not just look at it, I also read it (almost 4:00am, I think I should go to bed!).
i love printed books. i can't stand those e-books, they are so....well touchy. being 16 most people i know are into the online books or buying the e-book. i love walking around with a paper book, with a nook, honestly i would lose it. but to each there own
Seems to be a lot of weird assumption that if you own a Kindle or other eBook reader, you can never again go into a bookstore or pick up a traditional book again. What's up with that?
I really, really like physical books. I'm only 16 and I have over 250 books on shelves in my room. I just like the feel better of holding a book, progressing through a book; that sense of accomplishment every time you turn the page -- how you can see how far you have left by where your bookmark is, that sort of thing. At the same time, though, I love the idea of an e-book. I'll probably get a Kindle or Nook or something some time, as it would be much easier for on-the-road type of reading. The only problem is, you can't really buy "used books" that way, and as such you have to pay the full price. I wish you could buy a book and receive the e-book of it for free. Ah well.
I got a Kindle for my birthday this year (well actually I got two - my love of reading must be rather obvious!) and as someone who is a lifelong fan of books, including their physical properties (mmm... new book smell!) I'm very impressed with my Kindle, the e-Ink is just as easy to read as a "normal" book, which given I partly read books to give my eyes a break from staring at a backlit screen all day is an absolute essential. An ipad-style screen on an e-reader would have it collecting dust on a shelf or on ebay. The size and weight make it ideal for traveling as does the fact that I can just hook up to a wifi and grab a new book if I finish what I'm reading - as someone who took 11 books with him last time he went to the States carrying one little Kindle is a serious improvement on the luggage front. I no longer have to stress about making sure I've packed enough books to keep me going while I'm away or break my back just getting to checkin. I can honestly say though that the benefits of my Kindle haven't diminished my love for physical books one iota (I still despaired to find flood damage had ruined a box of my books when I came to move house the other week). I still buy physical books, and I still enjoy going to actual bookstores to buy them. I can see both physical and e-books happily co-existing in my reading habits for the forseeable future About the only (realistic) way I think the concept would be improved would be if I could buy physical books and get a Kindle copy included (like Digital Copy on some Blu-Rays), I'd even be happy to pay a couple of quid extra over "paper only" or "e-book only" as long as it was substantially less then buying both seperately. As much as a fan as I am I can understand how they might not be for everyone and I don't think there is anything wrong with people choosing not to use them - I really don't understand the vitriol some people seem to hurl their way though, it just amazes me that someone can actively despise something as innocuous as another reading medium.
I don't understand why so many people think that just because you're pro e-book, it means your either a) you're against regular books b) don't truly see the value of regular books c) are adding to the destruction of regular books d) don't appreciate the "experience" of what a regular book brings e) think they no longer read regular books f) or other crazy idea not mentioned above. It's not one or the other. I am pro e-books. As a student, textbooks are expensive and publishers truly take advantage of students. E-books over the years have made the publisher take a step back and not take advantage of students. And before anyone jumps on me for saying this, I come from a university environment where I have done cost-analysis to have seen this true. It's great for traveling, it's great for audio books because you're not having to juggle a book and a CD player. And I could go on with with the pros and cons... and do the same for regular books. I mean, I have a kindle, but I don't love it. I adore it, I think it's great. But I'm not in love with it over regular books. It hasn't stopped me from going to bookstores, from buying books, or from going to the library. The only thing it has done is made me read more. Nothing else. Hasn't taken anything away from me, hasn't really changed my views apart from also seeing the value in e-books.
Well it's already cheaper than full price "regular" books so... it might actually be the same as a used copy. Not sure. You can loan books on the devices to friend etc, so that's an advantage of getting it free. I think this is coming in the future to be honest. It's already done with some textbooks and I can see it carry over to regular leisure books as well. It might even be "pay full price plus an extra dollar to get the e-book as well" kind of deal. I'm not sure... but it's a pricing strategy. Realistically, because e-readers are so economically priced, a lot of people will own one. And publishers do recognize that this could cause a drop in the sales of regular paper books and in order to combat that, I can see a type of deal where both are kept in production. I can see pricing options easily. *Buy regular book for $6.99 *Buy e-book for $4.99 *Buy regular book and e-book for $8.99
