eReader or Book?

[TheWildWolf]

Yesterday I had a very good argument with someone at my school about which style of reading is better. He was trying to convince me that eventually everything will be read through a tablet like an eReader because it is mor convenient to the reader.

I personally like just reading straight out of a book. You don't have to worry about "charging it", I don't think it is as expensive, and theres just something about me holding a book vs a screen that I prefer. But I can understand that eReaders can be helpful at times with adjusting the brightness, text size, etc...

Which do you prefer? And do you think eventually that everything will only be available through tablets and such?

[Oigres]

There is no doubt in my estimation that books will eventually be obsolete, and almost certainly within thirty years or so. Of course, there will still be book enthusiasts, just as there are still people who listen to vinyl records. But their commercial importance is already in rapid decline.

[Elder Sister]

I use both; it just depends. I travel a good bit and have ebooks on my iPad. I love it, but I also always have books in my bag as well.

I like the iPad because I have about 10 magazine subscriptions as well as my kindle books on it. It's just very convenient.

[Arch-MaesterPhilip]

I'm going to avoid buying an eReader for as long as humanly possible. I like feeling the paper between my fingers when I turn the page, the way it feels, the weight and the way an old book smells. I don't like the fact that you don't truly own an eBook. And reading an eBook to a child isn't the same as reading a book and letting them turn the page.

[Scion of Valyria]

Check out the Lit forum. This should be there anyways, but there are a handful of topics on ereaders or kindles that just devolve into arguments about which is better,

But, before things get bloody, I like both. My kindle for the books I'd normally just buy in mass market paperback (short books, things that don't seem too interesting but catch my eye, or guilty pleasures that I'd be embarassed to be seen with), and physical copies for everything else.

Edited to make more coherent.

[House Balstroko]

Books by far, the thrill of holding a physical copy is something that eBooks can't replicate. I hope books don't become obsolete, but it's something that may become true, especially considering some book chains have gone out of business in recent years.

I can understand magazines going out, because they are periodic pieces and information is much faster to obtain on the internet, but books (especially novels) are not, so it comes down to preference and hopefully publishers will continue to release books on both mediums to satisfy both markets.

[Tuxedo Elf]

I love books, but I'm rapidly running out of space and my tablet is a space saver. It's especially convenient when travelling! But It's safe to say I'm glad it was a £6 book that my toddler threw in the bath, not my £100 tablet!

Cookbooks I insist on having in book format. I can't get on with digital cookbooks at all.

[Spring Bass]

I greatly prefer e-books. They're easier to read, vastly easier to store, and you can mark them with notes while avoiding the guilty feeling that you've "defaced" the book in doing so. I have over 60 e-books on my kindle and kindle cloud reader, which would require 3 or 4 shelves to stock if they were physical books.

I don't think physical books will completely disappear, although they'll dwindle down to the point where nobody does major "print runs" of them anymore. They'll stick around for the physical book fetishists and the collector types, and in fact we have book runs that are pretty much intended to be high-quality collector editions. Those people will probably just end up paying more per copy.

[TheWildWolf]

I'm going to avoid buying an eReader for as long as humanly possible. I like feeling the paper between my fingers when I turn the page, the way it feels, the weight and the way an old book smells. I don't like the fact that you don't truly own an eBook. And reading an eBook to a child isn't the same as reading a book and letting them turn the page.

Took the words out of my mouth :)

[LuisDantas]

I don't expect paper books to disappear, any more than I expect fountain pens to.

However, it is quite difficult to imagine e-ink ereaders becoming less popular than they are currently. And make no mistake, ereaders are very much a successful and popular product already. As are tablets, even if it is currently misleading to assume that the two products are similar; they aren't. Both are suitable for reading ebooks, sure, but tablets are only marginally adequate in their current form.

In all honesty, I don't even expect people to take sides often if at all. There is no good reason to expect people to make a point of avoiding paper books, and even less reason to expect them to avoid ebooks in the years to come. Print-on-demand books are however likely to become wildly more common to the point of soon being the usual format sooner rather than later; the current existing technology and even market realities makes them just too convenient. Very few people will want to avoid the power of choosing the specific format of their paper books. Imagine being able to internet-buy your own custom edition of "A Storm of Swords" with the latest errata, on your choice of paper quality, number of volumes, page dimensions, binding type, font size and type and cover type illustration and extras. Even the maps could be custom-ordered, and independently of the size (and paper type) of the pages of text. Soon enough even the ISBN codes will be expanded to include specific information about those choices. It will be very much a situation of taking the best of both worlds with hardly any drawbacks, although the transition will be in many senses challenging to the publishers.

That said, I certainly don't expect people to buy any less tablets than they already do, either. Much less to use them any less often for reading; we have, after all, been reading electronic texts for decades now and that activity isn't giving any indications of being a fad, despite a noticeable rise of podcasts and videos as alternatives for reading. That said, general-purpose tablets will have to change quite a lot before becoming an actual acceptable main plataform for reading. They are simply not the best choice whenever the desired use is actual reading. While few people took full notice of that fact, dedicated ereaders are a much superior choice. The two products will definitely keep becoming more like each other for a few years, until we eventually settle into a number of popular concepts (much like there are SWs, SUVs, sedans and hatchbacks among cars). There will be a very confusing time very soon (but only for a very short time) when people will have trouble deciding whether they truly prefer an ereader or a tablet, and which size of each. Maybe it will be usual to have a half dozen reading plataforms and switch among them somewhat chaotically as we do with shirt types and styles.

Still, the general trend is definitely towards paper becoming a minority choice for books. A popular, well-liked, well-known and well-supported format for books (in fact, in some senses a better supported format than it currently is) for certain, but still very much a minority choice. The advantages of ebooks are simply too overwhelming to be ignored - and they do include actual property of the book, despite a popular perception to the contrary. After all, once one loses, destroys or misplaces a paper book he is out of luck, while an ebook is pretty close to yours for life no matter white (think of how indelible one's possession of Steam-bought games is). In about five years time it will be very commonplace for people to keep something _very_ similar to a kindle pretty much all the time (and use it for web browsing quite often as well). People will have favored screen sizes and carry paper books often as well, but the ereader will be used more often for most people.

[TheWildWolf]

I don't expect paper books to disappear, any more than I expect fountain pens to.

However, it is quite difficult to imagine e-ink ereaders becoming less popular than they are currently. And make no mistake, ereaders are very much a successful and popular product already. As are tablets, even if it is currently misleading to assume that the two products are similar; they aren't. Both are suitable for reading ebooks, sure, but tablets are only marginally adequate in their current form.

In all honesty, I don't even expect people to take sides often if at all. There is no good reason to expect people to make a point of avoiding paper books, and even less reason to expect them to avoid ebooks in the years to come. Print-on-demand books are however likely to become wildly more common to the point of soon being the usual format sooner rather than later; the current existing technology and even market realities makes them just too convenient. Very few people will want to avoid the power of choosing the specific format of their paper books. Imagine being able to internet-buy your own custom edition of "A Storm of Swords" with the latest errata, on your choice of paper quality, number of volumes, page dimensions, binding type, font size and type and cover type illustration and extras. Even the maps could be custom-ordered, and independently of the size (and paper type) of the pages of text. Soon enough even the ISBN codes will be expanded to include specific information about those choices. It will be very much a situation of taking the best of both worlds with hardly any drawbacks, although the transition will be in many senses challenging to the publishers.

That said, I certainly don't expect people to buy any less tablets than they already do, either. Much less to use them any less often for reading; we have, after all, been reading electronic texts for decades now and that activity isn't giving any indications of being a fad, despite a noticeable rise of podcasts and videos as alternatives for reading. That said, general-purpose tablets will have to change quite a lot before becoming an actual acceptable main plataform for reading. They are simply not the best choice whenever the desired use is actual reading. While few people took full notice of that fact, dedicated ereaders are a much superior choice. The two products will definitely keep becoming more like each other for a few years, until we eventually settle into a number of popular concepts (much like there are SWs, SUVs, sedans and hatchbacks among cars). There will be a very confusing time very soon (but only for a very short time) when people will have trouble deciding whether they truly prefer an ereader or a tablet, and which size of each. Maybe it will be usual to have a half dozen reading plataforms and switch among them somewhat chaotically as we do with shirt types and styles.

Still, the general trend is definitely towards paper becoming a minority choice for books. A popular, well-liked, well-known and well-supported format for books (in fact, in some senses a better supported format than it currently is) for certain, but still very much a minority choice. The advantages of ebooks are simply too overwhelming to be ignored - and they do include actual property of the book, despite a popular perception to the contrary. After all, once one loses, destroys or misplaces a paper book he is out of luck, while an ebook is pretty close to yours for life no matter white (think of how indelible one's possession of Steam-bought games is). In about five years time it will be very commonplace for people to keep something _very_ similar to a kindle pretty much all the time (and use it for web browsing quite often as well). People will have favored screen sizes and carry paper books often as well, but the ereader will be used more often for most people.

Very good points, thank you !

[Altherion]

The advantages of ebooks are simply too overwhelming to be ignored - and they do include actual property of the book, despite a popular perception to the contrary. After all, once one loses, destroys or misplaces a paper book he is out of luck, while an ebook is pretty close to yours for life no matter white (think of how indelible one's possession of Steam-bought games is).

Other way around. Check out this recent thread or this older example which is more amusing because of the nature of the deleted books. Yes, it is possible to lose or destroy a book you own, but at least you actually own it. Most e-books (or Steam games) are not your property in the same sense as paper books are your property -- they are only yours as long as Amazon (Valve in the case of Steam) or whoever you bought them from thinks they are. With a physical book, they would need a court order to come into your house and take it away from you. With e-books, all it takes is somebody changing an entry in a database with no need to give you any justification beyond "We believe you have violated our terms of service." Now, there are currently ways to prevent them from doing this, but it requires effort and I don't think most people do it.

All of that said, I do own a Kindle and it is my primary means of reading books. I'd love to have a paper book collection, but my job requires me to move around too much for that to make sense. E-books are certainly convenient... but it is important to understand the technology and its limitations.

[Warg Arry]

I love my Kindle beyond all reason. The amount I've read and am reading has more than tripled since owning a Kindle (best birthday present ever.)

But some of my most prized possessions are books. I have my ASOIAF books. The Harry Potter books. The first 3 trilogies by Robin Hobb. In pride of place in my personal library.

They are familiar and loved. It's a special thing. To take hold of one and revisit with them. Like a mix of catching up with dear life long friends and comfort food. Holding that book gives a physical connection. It becomes something more than just a story you enjoyed.

My sons have personal libraries. From things they are interested in right now. like The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Spot. Fly Away Home. To Classics like the Far Away Tree. Peter Pan. Treasure Island. The Fudge collection by Judy Blume.

I want my kids to know that feeling. To be excited to pick up new books or old favourites. To see books as something special. Something to experience.

But more than all of that. I want them to love reading. No matter how they choose to consume books. In the end they will find the way that means the most to them. Like I have.

[scotcat]

I love reading. I always have. Growing up I loved the smell of a brand new book I was reading for the first time. Unfortunately, books are going to go the way of the dodo. Perhaps not imminently, but soon-ish.

My Dad got me a kindle for my birthday last year and, much to my surprise, I really like it. From a practical standpoint it is so much easier to store what you buy. That said I have this thing where if I've started a book series in paperback/hardback I won't switch to the ebook version. I like the continuity of having a whole set in one format.

So I buy both. I will continue to buy both for as long as possible.

[King Tyrion I]

I'm going to avoid buying an eReader for as long as humanly possible. I like feeling the paper between my fingers when I turn the page, the way it feels, the weight and the way an old book smells. I don't like the fact that you don't truly own an eBook. And reading an eBook to a child isn't the same as reading a book and letting them turn the page.

I couldn't have said it better.

I totally agree.

[Solmyr]

I choose neither. Audiobooks for me, thank you very much. My eyes have been working for ~20years, time to outsource some of that labour to the ears.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

Paper books. I don't own an e-reader.

[Lany Freelove Cassandra]

I love my nook. I have nearly 300 books on it, and believe me, I do not have room to hold that many books at home. Other than the storage, I love that I can stick a 1000+ page book in my purse and it doesn't weigh a ton or take a lot of room. B&N allows up to 5 devices on one account so I have my classic nook, my PC, my phone and the nook I bought for my mom. Some books do allow for sharing as well.

The books that are important to me I do get in regular form.

[Raja]

I don't own an E-reader yet and I really hope I don't have to at any point , growing up I had specific places I would go to to shop for my books. One of the favorite parts of my weekends would be exploring the huge bookstore in the middle of the city as well as checking out smaller bookstores where you could get books for quite the bargain. The experience of "finding" my book is one I still enjoy , which is why I've only ordered 2 books online. I completely see the downside of it though , I spend days wondering which books I should take when I travel usually limiting myself to two paperbacks. Furthermore , I'm the kind of person to let people borrow my books out as much as possible. I like getting them into different books and I'm not sure how to do that with an eReader, I suppose I could get them to buy it but that's not the same thing.

[aimlessgun]

I just started using a Kindle a couple months ago, and for certain applications it is unquestionably superior.

-Better for traveling (if you're going places long enough that you'll read more than one book).

-Can play audiobooks too (nice for when you're exercising, driving, walking, whatever).

-Easy access to english books while in a foreign country (I'm in Iraq, english novel availability sucks).

Faster/easier acquisition in general is arguably a plus, but I enjoy the physical bookstore experience a lot so that's a wash for me.

Actual reading experience is better with a real book though, except maaaybe a massive hardcover, which is a pain to hold.