I was just wondering about everyone's opinions on e-books. I have a publisher interested in one of my books, and the first "print" of each book is always in electronic format. One of the reasons I don't do as many reviews here as I could is because I have a very hard time reading more than a page or two at a time on a computer screen. How many people here read e-books? Do you think it's worth it to the writer?
Yeah, I don't think the computer is the most convenient way to read a novel. I prefer a hard copy or audio. Also, I find it easy to get distracted by stuff on the Internet rather than focusing on the e-book.
I think eBooks, particularly on a dedicated eBook reader like Kindle, may have some benefit if you are travelling. You can carry a couple dozen books in a small space. Not so good if you are camping, though, with no opportunity for recharging. But in general, I really prefer paper for reading.
If it gets more people reading, fine. But I don't like it myself too much. I could be doing other things on the computer or online or whatever, frankly.
Paper and print books have a certain something to them that can't be replicated by a soulless electronic object. There's something to the smell of a book and the way it weighs in your hand that makes reading it a more personal experience than it would be reading off a screen. If it's a well-loved book, you come to know the occasional fold of a page here and there and a tattered cover that might give it that character a cartridge for an ebook reader could never acquire. That said, I do see a future for ebooks, especially for academic texts. If the next generation of ebooks could introduce cross referencing, search functions for texts and the ability to highlight certain parts of the text it would save a lot of time in searching for what was needed and allow the user to be more productive.
The Mobipocket Reader I use has all of those abilities (except for cross referencing, which has to be part of the text itself). I never use those functions, but if I had e-textbooks for school, that really would be nice just to lug my laptop around instead of a boatload of books in a backpack.
I was once an e-book antifan, but no longer. I have an iPod Touch which I use as an e-book reader and I love it. So convenient. And best of all for me (and anyone else in a similar situation) I live where it is hard to find titles in the genres I like. Can't even try and drive far away to a better location because my island measures 35 X 100 miles. No where else to go but the internet. On he internet, everything can be had with a simple search, and the great thing about my iPod Touch is that I am not tied to one file format. I have apps downloaded for every format out there.
I discovered about 5 months ago that I could read e-books on my iPod touch through an app called Stanza. It's super easy to use and it accepts most formats. The iPod screen doesn't bother me at all, and you can change the brightness, background, font size, and color if you are having troubles. I like to read big, huge books a lot of times so not having to hold it up to my face for hours at a time is pretty nice. But I do agree that actual paperback books are ideal. Also, I'm just super fascinated by the technology. The only downside to the e-book format is occasional spelling and formatting errors that you just gotta ignore. Other than that I swear by them! (Considering an iPad for a better reading experience....)
I personally have never liked e-books, because I hate being read to, and usually at such a slow pace! I also like the physical feel of a book in my hand--it's one thing that hasn't changed much in this ever-changing tech-obsessed society.
When it comes to reading a novel, then there is nothing that I enjoy more than the weight of a novel in my hands, lying in the bath drinking a glass of red wine, while the water turns from steamy hot to ice cold before I realise how long I have been absorbed in what I have been reading. Or the weight of a novel which actually causes your wrists to start paining when you are lying in bed and reading. Or when your nose and right hand (if you are right handed) gets so cold when you are reading in bed during winter that you start to lose the feeling in them. My favorite part of reading a hardcopy of a book is when a spider crawls within my reach and I can bash it with said book and not run screaming from the room begging my poor husband to "kill it, kill it".
I love e-books. I prefer to buy them in either ePub or PDF format. I also read them on my computer and phone. My phone supports PDF documents. I don't have a dedicated e-book reader, but I'm interested in purchasing one, one day. I read about five books a month in electronic format.
I absolutely hate e-books. There is a reason though. They hurt my eyes far too much, and also, I just can't get comfortable while reading like that. Plus, I enjoy owning hard copies very much. =/
I personally hate e-books. You can't get the proper feel of reading a good book if you're reading it on a screen and having to scroll down etc. I find it's hard to read lengthy pieces on a screen too. The feel of the actual book and the words actually being printed on paper and the general reading experience of sitting comfortably and quickly turning the page to read what happens next, is irreplaceable.
The Cons Reading from a screen makes my eyes hurt. It feels does not feel the same as reading a book I cant makes notes in the book and lone it to a friend who makes more notes etc It does not smell like a book (this does in fact matter to me) Pro- it saves trees, but probably takes more energy to make the device you have to read it on like a kindle.
For some of us who live where getting one's hands on new publications in actual hard copy print can be difficult at best, ebooks have been a blessing.
I think the one drawing factor for me into using e-books is not so much the nature of "reading" it, but rather a genre specifically tied to "electronic" formats. I have no qualms about attempting to adopt reading e-books, but there is that nagging feeling that reading the same story on paper will bring everything out better. If books were written in mind of being published as e-books (basically conveying ideas quickly as expected of most digital media nowadays), they might attract a broader audience. I don't mind reading ASoIaF on an iPod Touch, but I rather read it on paper. On the other hand, I definitely prefer to read short stories (about a thousand, 2 thousand?) words long on an iPod Touch than on paper. For me, it is mainly attributed to how I receive ideas from "reading" a literary piece, and I prefer reading short, contained stories digitally, while long, epic fantasy pieces physically. Personally I think the e-book marketing is targeted at the wrong people. It should be about encouraging people who normally won't buy a book to read to read it on their iPod/iPad instead. Targeting existing bookworms, per se, won't receive the same response, since more "hardcore" readers generally (an assumption) prefer hard-copies. While E-books are convenient, they are not true substitutes for a paperback.
Same feeling. However, I'm trying to improve my English level, and to broaden my vocabulary. In that purpose, I find the electronic format quite genius. I can read and click on a word I don't understand to get the translation almost immediately. The e-books have a great potential but they're under-used today. Maybe in a few years, you'll be able to pass your finger on a word (ex: a personality, a region you'd like to know more about) and surf on Internet to get the infos. Yet, we have to keep in mind that it's obviously a matter of money and I don't believe lots of people are ready to spend much money in reading (comparing to screens, pcs ...).
I don't like ebooks at all. I stare at a computer screen long enough as is. When you get right down to it the feel of a book in your hand just simply cannot be replicated.
I have a kindle and while I prefer regular old books, I have no qualms of reading on the kindle. I have discovered that with the kindle I am actually reading more. Especially during long flights or road trips, I load my kindle with whatever I haven't read and discover by the end of trip, I have at least gone through a few of them.
I think e books are here to stay and will only become more popular in years to come. I myself prefer to read a real, paper book. But now that I'm about ready to try and publish my first book, I have no problem considering electronic publication. Traditional publishing routes and e publishing both have their plusses and cons. But unless traditional publishing changes up their game somehow, they are going to be squeezed in the near future, while electronic platforms will flourish.
They'd be convenient for traveling around, but I think that hard-copy books have a certain 'romance' about them.
