Ser Scot A Ellison Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Raja,Well said. When my wife and I went to Brevard NC for our anniversary last year we found a great little book shop that was carrying titles I have yet to see in "Barnes & Noble". We spent about two hours brousing before lunch and bought a ton of books. I really miss that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hornblower Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 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.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.I agree with both of you, there is nothing better than the feel, smell taste (too far?) of a book, new and old. but i think in the end e readers will take over (as much as i don't want that to happen)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.On the storage point, that's why i love books, there's nothing better than having a full bookshelf. anyway if paper books disappeared, what would i put in my library? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lany Freelove Cassandra Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 On the storage point, that's why i love books, there's nothing better than having a full bookshelf. anyway if paper books disappeared, what would i put in my library?I guess it depends on how much room you have and how much you read. I read over 100 books a year. I have a pretty good sized house but all my books shelves are full and I have books in boxes in the basement. I tend to keep my books as I do reread most of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Scot A Ellison Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Lany,Laura and I have books everywhere. There is not a room in our house that does not have at least one book shelf. I like it that way. A house without books just seems... lacking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deleted01 Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 I highly doubt I'll ever buy an e-reader. I toyed with the idea of getting a Kindle last year for how quick and easy it is to get and store books, but I just love real books. I love going to little bookshops and finding old, battered books for 50p, I love the feel and smell of a book, I love the covers, I love seeing books on a bookcase. Storage doesn't matter to me, I'd happily fill a room with books. I think they make a room. I have around 200, split between my mum's house and my student house, and yes moving them when I have to move house will be a pain, but it's worth it to me. I tend to keep the vast majority of my books, but if I think someone else will enjoy a book, it's easier to lend or give than an e-book. Undoubtedly e-readers are popular, and I can see their good points, as I have the Kindle app on my computer and phone, for university and those free e-books you can get, but when it comes to reading for pleasure nothing beats an actual book for me. I hope they don't die out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lany Freelove Cassandra Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Lany,Laura and I have books everywhere. There is not a room in our house that does not have at least one book shelf. I like it that way. A house without books just seems... lacking.Same here. I have books everywhere. I don't get that is has to be one or the other. Why can't people have both and love both? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arch-MaesterPhilip Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Raja, Ser Scot , My favorite place in NYC is the Strand Bookstore. They boast having 18 miles of books. I can't ever imagine not going there. I've spent hours there waiting for the right book to find me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Scot A Ellison Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Lany,There isn't anything wrong with that. However, there are those who think it will be a good day when paper books are only sold as collector art pieces and not marketed to the general public (Cory Doctorow intimated that this would be a good thing during a panel at the Montreal Worldcon). I will not see this as a good thing, but that's just me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Tyrion I Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 My favorite place in NYC is the Strand Bookstore. They boast having 18 miles of books. I can't ever imagine not going there. I've spent hours there waiting for the right book to find me.I guess I'd have to go a second time and take two days of exploring that bookstore.That sounds grand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arch-MaesterPhilip Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 I guess I'd have to go a second time and take two days of exploring that bookstore.That sounds grand.If you ever find yourself in New York again you must. They have three floors and the basement full of regular books and one is by appointment only and that's for rare and collectible books. You can even buy books by the foot. The Strand Book Store is at the corner of Broadway and 12th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Tyrion I Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 I just checked out the link - yeah.This is truly awesome.Books... everywhere. I like the smell of old books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arch-MaesterPhilip Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Whenever tourists ask me for recommendations I always send them there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cseresz.reborn Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Which do you prefer? And do you think eventually that everything will only be available through tablets and such?E-books cannot compete with the paper books. That's a fact. ;)Take a look at hardcovers from Library of America (beautifully printed and bound)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sturn Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 I fought against the ereader take-over, but finally gave in a couple years ago. For books I really love, I still ALSO buy the physical version to put on a shelf as a collection item. I do all of my reading with Kindle software (not necessarily on a Kindle).I have the Kindle app on my Iphone and Ipad. When I'm sitting in bed reading before going to sleep I have the Ipad out. When I find myself stuck someplace with a few minutes to spare (toilet, waiting for an appointment), I pull out my Iphone. The Kindle app sync's automatically to the last page I read on either device.I actually read more because I always have my current book in my pocket wherever I might be.EDIT: I picked Kindle over the Nook since I was worried B&N would go belly up someday like the other book chains. I don't see Amazon going under since they are the masters of digital media and will only get stronger as ereaders grow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naz Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Again, why the binary argument? It's un-American to not have the best of both worlds, I tell you!After using e-books for a few years now, I've come to the following conclusions:E-book advantages:- Instant purchase- Saves space (This is a BIG one. I've gotten over needing walls and walls of bookshelves, and I travel often)- Built-in dictionary- Great for fiction or anything that is just read straight through.- Cross-platform (iPhone, laptop, e-reader)- I have it forever (as long as I back up with Calibre)E-book disadvantages:- Clunky interface (Kindle, at least)- No tactile quality (in an earlier thread, someone referred to this as the pornographic quality of real books)- DRM issues- Not so good for textbooks or doing research where you need to skip back and forth between chapters or between text and endnotes- Illustrations, maps, and diagrams aren't as good.Basically, I use my Kindle for fiction (novels, short stories, bios) that I read straight through and are mostly text and I buy paper books for my academic research and books with lots of visual information (most architecture and art books). I think this is a comfortable medium. I DO NOT think paper books are going anywhere anytime soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
House Balstroko Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 I agree with both of you, there is nothing better than the feel, smell taste (too far?) of a book, new and old. but i think in the end e readers will take over (as much as i don't want that to happen)Not at all, I love the smell of print media. Walking into a bookstore feels so freshening. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paralyze7 Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 I love my Kindle and don't think I'd ever go back to paper but not sure there always needs to be a "winner". Everyone has their own tastes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naz Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Btw, I've been a loyal Kindle fan for years, but after reading books on an iPad and what with all the other benefits that tablets have (color, swiping, better interface), I'm thinking of selling my Kindle Touch and getting a Kindle Fire or some other cheap tablet. I'm not quite ready to buy an iPad yet since I already have an iPhone and MacBook Air, that would be overkill, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raja Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 If I'm not wrong , Beyond the Wall has a good essay on this . I can't remember the exact title but I'm sure it's there. Oh Arch-MaesterPhilip that place does sound great , I've recently moved to a different country and I'm having a hard time finding book stores which keep a good collection of books or are bigger than the size of your average living room. I do think we'll see plenty of people move to the Kindle/Nook though , the availability of some books makes it impossible to not take that route. For example just shipping Legends, Legends 2 and Warriors from Amazon cost me as much as buying them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Tachyon Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Looks like dedicated ebook readers are on their way out:http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/29/us-ereaders-future-idUSBRE89R0JQ20121029Even Amazon pimps tablets now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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