|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 7:23 pm
What is your opinion on them? I don't think this has been brought up yet.
Personally, I'm all for real books. Not this digital stuff. It just feels so much more personal holding a book in your hand and flipping pages. And with e-books, if you see someone with a Nook or a Kindle or whatever, you can't go up to them and ask about the book they're reading because you don't know what they're reading. Sure, you can inquire about the digital reader, but I'd prefer to see someone reading an actual book that I've read. Bam. Conversation.
Actually, there was an article in the New York Times recently about Barnes and Noble and how it's working to stay in business when e-books are slowly taking over. It's like how record stores went out of business now that all everyone does is download music online.
This is the article.
I would honestly be devastated if B&N went out of business. I love going to the bookstore and browsing the shelves.
Actually, now that I just typed the above, I feel like I have discussed this here...oh well.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 9:12 pm
I hate how they have to make everything vertual! I'm all for REAL BOOKS!
|
|
|
|
|
|
One Flew The Cuckoos Nest
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 10:38 pm
I'm kind of divided on how I feel about e-books and e-readers.
There are some definite pluses to them. The big one, to me, being the space they save. I have a personal library of 1000+ books, and it takes up a good chunk of space. An e-reader could reduce all of that space to one small and convenient device. That would especially be a plus for people who travel a lot or people who have small living spaces. There's a lot of free literature with e-books too. A large number of the classics are available for free in their e-book format, publishers will promote authors or series by giving out free e-book copies of one of the books, and some authors even publish all their books in a free e-book format. Then there's lots of little things such as handy features like the ability to change the font size, the paper saved, the ability to instantly access books with wi-fi, etc. So, I can see why it would be convenient for some people.
On the other hand there are plenty of cons also. My main problem being the price. The e-reader itself is fairly expensive, and then I'd have to purchase all the books to put on it. I buy almost entirely used books, and when I do buy new it's almost always with a coupon or sale. I spend an average of about a dollar for older books and somewhere between three and five dollars for newer books most of the time, which is way cheaper than the e-book equivalents. Plus I can sell back any paper books that I don't want to keep for a little bit of my purchase price back, whereas there's no such option of e-books. There's also the issue of lending. With a paper book, if I want to lend it to a friend I simply pull it off my shelf and hand it to him/her. Simple. As far as I know, e-readers have no ability to "lend" books to friends. I also question the selection of e-books available. I know they boast tons of e-books to chose from, and it's probably just fine if you only read new and popular books, but looking up just one shelf of my books I can find several of my books that aren't available. And then there's just my attachment to the whole physical experience of reading the book. I love the smell of books, new and old, and I love the weight of the book in my hands and the feel of the paper. I love to see my books all lined up on my shelves. I would miss not having this physical element to reading.
So overall, while e-books and e-readers aren't necessarily good for me, I can see why people would like them. I doubt they spell the demise of bookstores completely, as I believe that there will always be a large enough number of people who prefer paper books. I think some bookstores may need to adapt a little though to survive.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 24, 2010 11:19 pm
I find it extremely hard to try and read them on little devises like the kindle. I also get a headache if I stare at the computer too long. I like my giant stack of books, I think they make me look kool. Also my computer has a thing for only downloading half a thing. Like songs. Sometimes it'll only download half a song. Well what am I going to do with half a book? I don't want to pay to buy it all over again >.>
|
|
|
|
|
|
One Flew The Cuckoos Nest
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 2:50 am
I like ebooks, but I think publishers and ereaders need to figure out group packaging. A one use code tied somehow to the book. If they did this, I would not mind spending $20 on a hardcover, because then I have a digital edition, as well.
My husband bought the iPad, that does nothing for the eye strain I get staring at a computer screen. Adjusting the brightness causes a different set of issues. I've used the kindle, but I want to play with the Nook and Sony readers before I choose which to buy.
Plus, I'm waiting for the holiday pricing to hit. Kindle's determined to be the cheapest on the market, and they're predicting a $100 price point this Christmas season.
Infinity Outlaw: The Nook has a lend feature, which is useless unless the friend you want to lend the title to has a Nook. It's also only good for 14 days.
I want the best of both worlds. I have three stacks of paperbacks on my desk, and about 20 books on my computer based ereader.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 8:42 am
I see your point (Infinity Outlaw) about it being more convenient for traveling, because I also have a rather large collection of books. But that would mean I would have to re-buy books I already own. I like celesi's idea of the group packaging. It's kinda like when you buy the Blu-ray edition of a movie--you get the regular edition AND a digital copy.
Though, to speak in favor of the Kindle or whichever one it is, the screen is apparently designed to not look like a computer screen...? Like, you know how when it's really bright outside, you have trouble seeing your cell phone or computer screen? Well, they designed it so you wouldn't have that problem. I think.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 8:52 am
I'm undecided about ereaders.
Pros for me:
- You don't have to lug around books everywhere
- Cheaper prices for the actual books
Cons for me:
- I don't want to replace my entire library
- The Nook is so freaking slow! A page turn takes like, 10 seconds. That's a lot of time!
- The reader is expensive
- small screen
So really, I'm not sure. Maybe they'll advance more in a few years, but right now I don't think they're all that helpful.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 25, 2010 9:36 am
That's interesting that the Nook has a lending feature. Kind of useless for the majority of people I would guess, but at least they've considered that people would like the ability to lend books.
The group packaging idea sounds kind of interesting. I'm kind of paranoid about electronic data, so to be able to have a "back-up" paper back book would be nice. It would also let me have my home library while still being able to take an e-reader with me to college.
I agree though, having to rebuy books in e-book form would be a pain. It would be nice if they came up with some sort of deal where you could scan your ISBNs into your computer, or something similar, and receive e-copies of books you already own. Too bad something like this is doubtful since I'm sure it would cut down on profits too much.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
