Jump to content

Ebooks are better. They just are. Stop crying. They are.


Ken Stone

Recommended Posts

I bought and read DwD as an ebook from Amazon. I read it at the gym on my phone, on my PC at work when I could steal a few minutes. On my Kindle at home while feeding a fussy baby (try doing that with the dead tree edition!). Each time I accessed the book, regardless of which device I was reading it on, it sync'd to where I was in the book. In every way it was a better experience then carrying around a brick of mulched wood.

It seems like the pro-physical copy arguments are nonsensical. "I like to turn pages" "I like the smell of paper" "I like to like things that make me seem anti-trendy"

It's a fact, people. Ebooks are better in every way. But they should be cheaper.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ken,

I can read my paper books in all those places and my books don't need batteries.

Really? I found Dance With Dragons nearly unreadable in most situations (insert joke about ADWD crappiness here) It was too big and too heavy and it made reading the thing an inconvenient chore.

ETA; Ken is right but the people that know he's right have already made the switch, and the people that disagree are the same folks who, ten years ago, were proudly declaring they'd never get a cell phone, and then, three years ago, proudly declaring they'd never join facebook.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ken,

I can read my paper books in all those places and my books don't need batteries.

Also you could not read DwD while feeding a fussy baby. You holding that monster in one hand and the bottle in the other? How are you turning pages? Maybe you could try to lie it down flat, but that only works if you are towards the middle of the book.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also you could not read DwD while feeding a fussy baby. You holding that monster in one hand and the bottle in the other? How are you turning pages? Maybe you could try to lie it down flat, but that only works if you are towards the middle of the book.

I wouldn't try to read anything while trying to feed a fussy baby. How do you hold either an e-reader or regular book sufficiently still to actually read it? Your definition of fussy baby must be vastly different from my experience. And with the liquids involved see my above post re-fluid damage.

@Brady: I will never join Facebook. But I was an early adopter of the cell phone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If my mulched dead tree gets wet it'll probably still work fine as long as I dry it out carefully. But even if it's ruined I can replace it for under $10. Can you say the same thing about your e-reader?

Um, yeah, Amazon usually replaces Kindles for free for a wide variety of damages.

ETA: And the actual ebook will never get destroyed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On the cost of E-books vs actual books, I found this:

http://www.nytimes.c...a/01ebooks.html

If it can be believed, then out of the cost of a new hard cover book, half of that money goes to the book store. So the largest contributor to the high price of a new hard cover book is the brick and mortar establishment you buy it from.

Edit that out, and the price comes down to about 13 bucks. Actually printing the book cost another $3.25, bringing the price down to $9.25. The writer gets $3.90 which makes publishing costs (minus cost of reproduction) a maximum of $5.35, some of which has to be profit.

Assuming the publishing industry makes zero profit, reproduction would be more then a third of the pie.

As for the conversion to from hardcover to paperback, I can not really find any data on that, however I do not really see a reason why the brick and mortar establishment wouldn't be responsible for a similar percentage of the price. Factor in the fact that nothing about an e-book has to be converted for the 'this book is no longer a new release' price drop, and there is no physical item produced and shipped, it is hard to justify a price for an e-book that has been out long enough to go into paperback of more then five dollars, plus the virtual marketplace markup.

That said, I wonder how the natural counter to this is going to impact the service industry. The infrastructure for 'zero cost' distribution is already in place. That is after all how piracy works. The actual costs might not be zero, but it is easy to demonstrate that they are near zero, as pirate websites are not bringing in money off of royalties the way e-book sellers are. I am by no means a computer type person, but it seems like it wouldn't be that hard to set up a legal peer to peer distribution method, putting the cost of distribution on the consumers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If my mulched dead tree gets wet it'll probably still work fine as long as I dry it out carefully. But even if it's ruined I can replace it for under $10. Can you say the same thing about your e-reader?

If my kindle gets ruined I can still read the book on my PC,or my phone, or tablet device. Also Kindles have dropped to like $69. That's like two hard covers.

Regardless a little water cannot destroy my ebook. I still have access to it, anywhere. If I leave my Kindle at home I can still read my books. The same can't be said for a paper book.

I wouldn't try to read anything while trying to feed a fussy baby. How do you hold either an e-reader or regular book sufficiently still to actually read it? Your definition of fussy baby must be vastly different from my experience

You hold the baby in the crook of your arm. You hold the bottle with the other hand. The hand that is attached to the arm cradling the baby can easily hold an ebook reader. Imagine holding one page and reading it while feeding the baby. It's really easy. And no matter how you hold it turning a page is possible with your thumb.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I read DwD on my iPhone in mechanical rooms while at work, in my truck while at lunch and countless other places I would never be able to take a book without without having to stuff it into a tool bag. As a matter of fact, I could read anywhere if the slightest urge hit me and I had more than 10 minutes. The best thing was that I have the phone with me at all time (it is my work phone and I am technically on call all the time). I even had the entire series with me if I felt like looking up something in one of the other books.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm getting ready to make the switch over to ebooks, because I would love the convenience of purchasing a book wherever or whenever I want. Also, I have found myself getting angry and resentful towards certain authors who write shitty books that are way too big...I don't have a car and I travel a fair amount, and lugging a giant doorstopper around the city or the globe is, literally, tiresome.

The one thing I would miss, I think, is the book cover. I like having people see what I'm reading and have been involved in some great conversations that started with my book cover. I'm probably just a lonely traveller tho...I'd much rather talk with someone than read in solitude. Also, I'm nosy as fuck and like to know what others are reading. People tend to dislike it when I peer over at their kindle screens. It is known. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love the aesthetic experience of looking at my bookshelf and seeing my book collection. I also love the feel of a book. An e-reader would not allow me to have the same experience reading, or even simply looking at a shelf of books.

Do you like the aesthetic experience of moving your book collection, when you move? How about the smell of your books burning if there was a fire?

My question isn't "Do some people irrationally prefer paper books and make excuses for that irrationality?" Of course they do. The question is "Which is better?" By any metric ebooks are better. Period.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ken,

I think it's a wash at best. Both are portable and books have the advantage of durablity. Ebooks are nice for those who really need instant gratification.

Instant Gratification!???!?! You still have to read the damn thing! It's not like it reads it for you. Well, it does, but the "read to you" feature sucks so no one uses it.

Saying paper books are as portable as ebooks is wrong. It's not opinion. I can read DwD anywhere, on any device, anytime. Period. You can only read your paper book if you brought it with you. Let me say that again. You have to carry a book with you to read it. I just turn on my phone (or PC, or tablet, or dedicated ebook reader) and go. Any book I own. Any time.

Also an ebook is invincible. It cannot be destroyed. Your book can be stolen, dropped in a lake, or set on fire. Any of which will destroy the stupid thing. Until the day I die I will have the ability to fire up any device I own and read DwD. Not only that, but I don't have to pack it when I move. It is always with me. Everywhere. Like magic.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...