Paper Books vs. Electronic

[Shryke]

I'd be more willing to make the switch to ebooks if the eReaders weren't so damn small and didn't seem to take so long to flip pages.

[Aerys Blackfyre]

paper forever

but also I don't dislike audiobooks, they're relaxing

[kungtotte]

You can get the Kindle app for a tablet device of your choice if the screen size of eReaders is bothering you, Shryke. That would also solve the page-flipping delay.

[Shryke]

You can get the Kindle app for a tablet device of your choice if the screen size of eReaders is bothering you, Shryke. That would also solve the page-flipping delay.

And would involve lots of eye-strain unfortunately.

Also, wallet-strain.

[Spring Bass]

I have a Kindle, and it doesn't take long to flip pages. I've also never gotten any eye-strain from it, not like when I read on a back-lit screen.

[Mr.Howard]

Have a kindle, but I never intended on just buying ebooks when I bought it. If I'm in a bookstore and I see a book I want I'll buy it (if i can afford it that is :P ) and if I see an ebook I want I'll buy it. I enjoy both reading a real book and an ebook, because no matter what I use to read the story stays the same.

[Noroldis]

I just got one a couple of weeks ago. I've had nothing but trouble with it. The display has a lot of shadows and bluring, which appearently is a production problem that a lot of people seem to be encountering. I sent it back and got a new one, and the new one still has the same problem, so I sent that back too. It's a shame, because the parts of the display that aren't messed up look incredible, even in low light. Also, It's really light, way lighter than my Ipad and a bit lighter than my Iphone, and super comfortable to hold.

I would caution on getting one until the production problems are fixed up though (or be prepared to keep returning it until you get a good one).

Thanks for the warning, mjgambino. I've noticed that at Amazon's Kindle Store, the Kindle Paperwhite is currently only expected to ship on December 21 (and before that it was December 17). Maybe they just ran out of stock, but maybe they're also correcting the defect you encountered. Certainly they can't long tolerate what seems to be a widespread problem on one of their flagship products.

[AverageGuy]

I like paper books. Generally I've found that it's easier to find cheap used books than electonic editions. I never have to turn my book off on the plane, and I can loan out a book more than once without worrying about DRM issues. That said, e-books are very convenient. You can download a book instantly, you can carry a library around with you, and looking at my multiple full bookshelves, storage is not so much an issue.

Also, for any sort of educational or work text, I really prefer e-books. Highlighting has never done anything for me except make me feel like I'm being productive; if I actually ever did go back over what I read, just looking at the highlighted portions wasn't all that helpful. So I never used to highlight, instead took separate notes in a notebook with an occasional page number jotted down for reference in case I need to follow up on it later. With an e-book, however, I can highlight and attach a comment to the highlighted section for basic context, then later read through my comments the same way I read through my notes. The main advantage, though, is that I can now search in comments specifically if I need a reference, while said comment will jump me right to the relevant location if I need additional context. I know you can search in any e-book generally, but searching my notes tends to take me to the most relevant section of the text while also giving me a better immediate summary. For me at least it's been the most useful way to mark up a book.

[Seli]

I read both of them, my e-ink reader gets a bit less use now after the USB connector broke and I have to jump through hoops to recharge or load books, but I read bits on my phone.

I do use the library and bookstore as well for books I want to own, or just want to try respectively.

[Frey Pie]

Paper books all the way for me so far, although i wouldnt be against trying out e-books. I just find the whole paper book thing more appealing, but perhaps when my home gets more and more cluttered ill convert. Cant see me ever throwing out any of my books to make room for new ones. I enjoy seeing my WOT books side by side numerically too much

[mjgambino]

Based on what I've read on the mobileread forums, this defect seems to be limited to one (very large) production batch. This seems to be the case with e-readers, unfortunately. My first Nook froze constantly, my second Nook (the touch model) had a battery life of about 2 hours. These were both production flaws in the early units. Now this issue with Kindle Paperwhite...

Amazon strikes me as a company that has their shit together, so I imagine that whatever issue the the new Kindles were having will be straightened out by the time the big Christmas stock starts shipping.

Thanks for the warning, mjgambino. I've noticed that at Amazon's Kindle Store, the Kindle Paperwhite is currently only expected to ship on December 21 (and before that it was December 17). Maybe they just ran out of stock, but maybe they're also correcting the defect you encountered. Certainly they can't long tolerate what seems to be a widespread problem on one of their flagship products.

[Honey Badger]

I tried some e-books but never took for me. There's already too much screen time at work and from watching TV/videogames, so dead tree edition is a nice escape. But I recognize real advantages with e-books.

What's nice about physical books:

- crisp pages, physicality, age and reverence for older books. If you can't appreciate the beauty of an old leatherbound that demands reading with cloth gloves on, then just eat a gun now. My God, you are without soul.

- owning a nice hard cover is just as nice as owning a nice laptop, nice piece of furniture, etcetera.

- owning a shelf with hard covers you love. There's no digital equivalent.

- large sized images and maps are better. The physicality of a map shouldn't need explanation, especially for fantasy fans.

- in Chinese, a single page is called a "epp," while two pages flattened against a table are called a "bahn." The "bahn" format is superior in a physical book. Large splash pages, comics that use two full pages to show a scene. Maps that span both sheets or are fold outs. I'm currently ready a leather bound copy of The Divine Comedy with illustrations by Gustave Dore. It's amazing having the image of the left and the cantos on the right as I'm reading along. Again, the bahn format is no small thing, and should be considered as a big plus for printed books.

- ownership. I've seen ignorant readers stating it's paranoia to discuss the DRM issue. It's not. You don't own anything in the digital era, just a usage license; a license subject to change. If the company collapses or changes hands, they have no obligation to support your licenses. The seller still owns what you bought. You don't have the right of first sale, the right to mod, manipulate, or change the product. You can't gift or transfer the license. This is a huge deal to me as I buy a lot of used books, and give books away to free book exchanges and libraries. Publishers want to kill the secondary market, and we're allowing it to happen.

- pricing. e-books have this annoying tendency to avoid market trends, so books that are marked down and priced to move don't enjoy the same pressure online. Having physical inventory means I can often find a marked down book for much cheaper than the digital $9.99 equivalent, especially when you consider the used market. This may change over time, but for now I notice many e-books remain at a high price, while physical book prices fluctuate much more and can usually be found for cheap.

Advantages of e-books:

- out of print or copyright free books. This isn't a small issue. It can be difficult finding an old hard cover title, not to mention expensive due to rarity. A lot of old work is now archived online, for free. You can read content that was once hard to obtain.

- convenience. On a small device, you don't need to carry additional books around. This is less of an issue for paperbacks.

- searchable text and online resources. It can be difficult finding a passage in a large book. I have online devices next to my books, but still. The search function is powerful.

[TrackerNeil]

To me, the biggest advantage of e-books is that I don't have to make room for them, especially nice if I am not sure I'd want to. I don't keep every book I buy; if it's not something I'm pretty sure I'd read again, even if I enjoyed it, I give it away or donate it to charity. If I liked it enough to keep it I buy the paper version. (Now that I have become an author, you see, I never begrudge giving an author more royalties.)

[ghost23]

As long as the e-book is on some sort of e-ink device such as the Kindle. I can't stand reading on backlit screens such as a computer or iPad because they hurt my eyes way too much. And not to mention that an iPad uses up way too much power compared to a Kindle. If you read for a couple of hours each day, the iPad needs to be charged every few days whereas Kindles can last a month.

I enjoy paper books as well because its great having that tactile feeling when you are reading. However, I'm considering reading A Dance with Dragons on e-book because the paperback version that I bought is so ridiculously large that its going to be so annoying to hold.

[Callandoril]

I just want to voice my opinion.

I am only just 17 and although I'm young, I've been around electronics all my life and much much more then my friends(I'm basically the nerd friend, though I'm able to play that role down) so reading books on a computer/laptop/ebook(or similiar) doesn't bother me. Confession time - I have read GRRM's books on my comp/laptop, but I haven't bought them - it is an easy excuse to make, but these books cost more in my country(Croatia) than in yours and I haven't got the money to buy them, which I surely will in a few years after I start a new, succesful game-developing studio, I'll pay the price in gold and blood if need be.

Back to the topic, even though I don't mind reading electronically(I quite enjoy it actually), I prefer books, preferably new books which have a printing smell(a friend of mine bought a new Headway book which in my highschool we are taught english from and it smells like tempera, a reminiscent of the joy I had in primary school, though I am a pretty lousy painter), old books are awesome too, and it feels much better than an electronic book.

[TrackerNeil]

It's a brave soul who admits on westeros.org that he/she has stolen the work of George R.R. Martin.

[Errant Bard]

Meh, it's not like he was going to buy them in any case. Perfect example of how downloading is not stealing.

[Mr. E]

Meh, it's not like he was going to buy them in any case. Perfect example of how downloading is not stealing.

And the 3.50 that GRRM doesn't have is just a hypothetical too, right? :P

That being said, not going to blame anyone in Croatia for downloading anything, really.

[TrackerNeil]

Meh, it's not like he was going to buy them in any case. Perfect example of how downloading is not stealing.

I changed my mind; I'm not going to get into this debate again, because it's going to end up with someone redefining theft as something innocuous. However, I'd say that if you really think downloading A Dance With Dragons from some shady Web site is not stealing, feel free to email GRRM and let him know. After all, if it's not stealing, what's the problem, right? Having been told by a reader that he was planning to find and download my own book, instead of paying for it, I can imagine what George might say.

[Liffguard]

Having been told by a reader that he was planning to find and download my own book, instead of paying for it, I can imagine what George might say.

I'm not trying to defend IP violation but it would be more accurate to say that he was planning to find and download the book instead of not reading it at all. The owner gets no money either way.