Is anybody disgusted by the ebook craze?

[RavingMac]

Same, I can read short articles no problem. But books are totally different matter, somehow I just can't concentrate on reading the same way as when holding a book.

Really interesting how different people are with this. I have read all of the SPQR series available on ebook (12 novels), Red Storm Rising (Tom Clancy), several David Weber novels, as well as a lot of older SF, Norton, Heinlein etc. To me it is no different than reading on paper and after the first page or so I forget about it being an ebook.

 

[the8thark]

Even here in Australia then down to the stunning Tasmania they cant stop the Old Growth Logging and the whole state is one big 'Greenie'. Im not a greenie by a long measure but i try to support the greenies on this one.

Yes the whole state is run by one homosexual green man. I'm also not green. But trees = my oxygen to breathe + animal habitat + much tourism. So I'm on the green side too

 

[baggss]

E-Books have their place, real books have their place. The key is know what those places are. On the road (airplane, train, hotel) I prefer e-books. Wide selection with no bulk, no hassle just there. At home I prefer real books when relaxing, getting ready for bed, passing the time or whatever.

I like how each has their place and they can be swapped if desired (sometimes it's easier to read a book on the plane vice an e-book) so I feel I have more flexibility.

 

[Leiyah]

E-books are a huge reasons I purchased the iPad. I tried the concept out on my Touch and liked it. I read a lot more now than I have in a long time. I love that some of my college text books are available to download cheaper than purchasing physical copies. I love the ease of searching and downloading books. I love not having to find space for them in my house. I love that I can have a plethora of books accessible for myself and my daughter (age 6) "stuffed" away in my purse.

 

[iWhat]

E-books are a huge reasons I purchased the iPad. I tried the concept out on my Touch and liked it. I read a lot more now than I have in a long time. I love that some of my college text books are available to download cheaper than purchasing physical copies. I love the ease of searching and downloading books. I love not having to find space for them in my house. I love that I can have a plethora of books accessible for myself and my daughter (age 6) "stuffed" away in my purse.

Those old college books are a pain. I really should have sold the majority of mine a long time ago. They are pretty worthless now, in a resale value sort of way. I have about a 2-3 boxes full of college books just taking up space.

But at the time, I went to college a few years ago, ebooks weren't really as popular then as they are now.

 

[Shikarnov]

So long as eBooks are just text on a backlit display, I don't think they're going to go very far. The real excitement is in things like modern textbooks (that interweave multimedia into text, and allow for drill down referencing) and interactive car manuals (like the one that Hyundai produces).

My wife is pregnant, and we've been looking at iPad children's books, and some of the stuff out there is just incredible. Sure, nothing will replace a parent reading to his or her child, but I think many of the interactive abilities inherent to the medium will prove to be of great educational value in years to come.

I can't help but think that the librarians among us, especially, will come to recognize the profound possibilities of eBooks. They say the pen is mightier than the sword, and eBooks just make it even mightier still. It's not quite like the same, but a good analogy of this advancement comes from a recent GEICO Commercial.

 

[dbruns]

Ebooks save the need for print. Even very established authors are using ebooks in addition to the regular book format now.

 

[pam14160]

Really, "No."

 

[fleur-de-bois]

I'm not quite used to ebooks just yet. I love having a printed copy, I find it more classic and more...mine.
The printed word has been part of our history for thousands of years, progress is good but not everyone can accept it readily.

 

[schweb]

Ebooks save the need for print. Even very established authors are using ebooks in addition to the regular book format now.

Well here's another benefit of eBooks. Unknown authors can easily publish their works without the need for a publisher or huge amounts of money to print copies. The startup costs are very low.

For example Amazon has a program for authors to directly sell books via their Kindle Store. I've found some really great books from people who may never have been published otherwise.

It's the same theory as how a lot of indie bands can get music out pretty cheap digitally in a way that would never happen if they needed a big record label.

 

[schweb]

The printed word has been part of our history for thousands of years, progress is good but not everyone can accept it readily.

Actually only about 500 years in a form that's "printed" and at all accessible to the regular person.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printing_press

 

[fleur-de-bois]

I meant as in literature wise... print wise, I understand that but it's how sooo many of men and women have placed down the world's history for us

 

[schweb]

I meant as in literature wise... print wise, I understand that but it's how sooo many of men and women have placed down the world's history for us

But arguably how is an ebook also not print? I mean it's just a different medium than paper.

If we're going to go back through all time of recorded history, the medium used to transmit the written word has changed may times. Stone, wood, cloth, paper, papyrus, beads, and so on, and so on.

This is just another evolution. Books themselves are a rather recent invention in the grand scheme of things.

 

[the8thark]

I think by print they mean ink.
Yes we went from:

1. No ink (carvings into stone)
2. To ink/dyes (on paper, wool, cloth, papyrus etc etc)
3. Back to no ink again (e-readers and ipad).

So we have just come full circle.

 

[schweb]

I think by print they mean ink.

Yes, I realize that. Hence why my question was a rhetorical one.

Rhetorical question - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[RavingMac]

One standard of excellence in writing is when the author and media become transparent and the reader is freed to wander the landscape of imagination prepared for him.

To that end, as long as eBooks and their delivery platforms distract, the experience of reading will fall short. My opinion is much of this is learned. There is no inherent reason why ink on paper should be more or less distracting than electronic media. For me, eBooks were my primary reason for buying my iPad and I have not been disappointed (other than the poor quality control I have seen in electronic texts).

 

[the8thark]

Yes, I realize that. Hence why my question was a rhetorical one.

Rhetorical question - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

That I did not know cause I am not good at mind reading or Telepathy .

Telepathy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[RavingMac]

Yes, I realize that. Hence why my question was a rhetorical one.

Rhetorical question - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

That I did not know cause I am not good at mind reading or Telepathy .

Telepathy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sometimes I think we get a little carried away with the citations. . . . ..
Overboard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[schweb]

That I did not know cause I am not good at mind reading or Telepathy .

Telepathy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ah I see. Usually you can easily tell by the sentence structure.

 

[TattooedMac]

Sometimes I think we get a little carried away with the citations. . . . ..
Overboard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And if that happened you would need the Coast Guard i think to save you from drowning.

Coast Guard ~ Wiki ;P