Quick question for the Readers amongst us, eBooks, you do, don't, never will

Jethro

Well-known member
Thoughts on the rapidly expanding eBook thang; would you prefer to have a printed copy in your hands, are happy to get the cheaper option of an eBook, or think the whole thing is the work of the devil or IB?

While clearly the rapid growth in self publishing (and before anyone starts complaining about quality remember Stephenie Meyers got published by a Major), ezines, and the rest, is giving more choice, I guess my question is would you be happy to grab that latest Stephen King/James Herbert/John Irving/whoever in eBook format?

Downunder we're currently researching the eBook thing and trying to come up with a whole bunch of articles giving the pros and cons from different perspectives. Only mention that cause I got asked to write an article, maybe they'll collect them and publish them as an eBook, that would be cool ;)

http://jiraiya.com.au/?p=1159, Cummings throws his weight behind the research.
 
I love having printed copies but man is my house full of books. Still I have issues with eReaders that would need to be addressed first. Such as the ability to transfer them to upgrades, software backups, hardware pricing and stuff like that.
 
I won't purchase an eReader until there is an efficient way to tag specific passages, scrawl on the "E-margins", and have some sort of mechanism to collate it all. Something akin to Vannevar Bush's idea of the Memex, except portable and a little more elegant.
 
I have a kindle and love it. I do alot of field service work in remote locations and use the kindle for holding all of my product manuals etc. Before the kindle I carried around a dozen binders. I prefer the real thing when it comes to recreational reading, especially if its something from the wheel of time series.
 
I read both, I own a Nook and have since they came out. I love it because I commute for about an hour and a half each day on the train and it makes it easy to take new books with me all the time. I do still love hitting the library though and reading hard backs :) Nothing quite like it.

They both have their places in my eyes.
 
I read both, I own a Nook and have since they came out. I love it because I commute for about an hour and a half each day on the train and it makes it easy to take new books with me all the time. I do still love hitting the library though and reading hard backs :) Nothing quite like it.

They both have their places in my eyes.

This is in no way a critcism, but what would the advantages of an e-reader be to having a pdf, or similar format, on a laptop (which also allows 101 other things)?
 
Also I think the newer kindles can export books, and you can always use kindle reader for iphone and export as a pdf :-)
 
Amazons Kindle/E books is killing the book markets , Borders is going belly up because of it and the rest are not far behind.

Same way netflix killed national chain stores , blockbuster is barely hanging on , and netflix made an announcement that DVD's will soon be a thing of the past as they are focusing there business on streaming once they perfect that Blockbuster is dead unless they ditch dvd's and move to digital via walking into the store and plugging your jump drive in under the movie you want and downloading a copy of it ,, your movie is always "in Stock"... they will either do that or go bankrupt IMO
 
Neither do they if they steal your single book. But you can lose a whole library of purchases with an eReader.

I'm not sure what ebook reader you are talking about, but a kindle allows you to download whatever you purchase from amazon free for life.

Link:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002Y27P3M/ref=sv_kinc_0

Quote:

Worry-Free Archive
Books you purchase from the Kindle Store are automatically backed up online in your Kindle library on Amazon. Re-download books wirelessly for free, anytime.
 
This is in no way a critcism, but what would the advantages of an e-reader be to having a pdf, or similar format, on a laptop (which also allows 101 other things)?

Size and batteries, I can use my e-reader for 2 or 3 weeks on one charge, and sometimes the trains are very crowded and I have to stand...so I can't use a laptop :)
 
Ohh yeah forgot...kindle (over here anyways) gets free 3g internet service....that's always a plus for those wanting to browse new books and don't have a mobile broadband card or the ability to use their phone as a modem.
 
I have had a Kindle for over two years. It is the best for pleasure reading. It is lightweight, has very good contrast, and is easy on the eyes. Did I mention that I have extremely low vision? With the Kindle, you can enlarge the type to a comfortable reading size. Most books can be read with the text to speech synthesizer. The eInk is much easier on the eyes than any backlit lit screen including the new Nook color.

I love books. I used to own a bricks and mortar bookstore. Modern hard back are nothing more than glorified paper backs with a stiff cardboard cover and a very high price to match. They are also heavy to hold. I therefore prefer paperbacks. But the Kindle is better. No storage space, no wasted paper, and very light weight. My wife has one of the newest Kindle's. It is smaller, lighter, and has better contrast than my old version. She loves it.

I still don't like it for textbooks or technical documents. I like to scribble too much on the margins. You can save notes and bookmarks on the Kindle as well. They are all organized in a file folder on the Kindle. You can then jump back to the linked text. Even so, for technical books, I still like the real thing.

Just my 2 cents worth.....

Jeff
 
If I had unlimited space and mobility was not an issue, I suppose hardcover book would be my vote. If I were in front of a fireplace and it was snowing outside and I had a choice, probably for sentimental reasons, I would prefer the feel of a hardcover.

(Back to the real world): E-books, hands down.

I use iBooks and Kindle on my Iphone 4. It is portable, easy to read (in my opinion), cheaper to download books, easier and more convenient than going to the bookstore....only downside I see is that not all books are readily downloadable (an example, I have a teenage son and we were watching "Enter the Dragon" last week and I thought, "hey, let me see if I can find Tao of Jeet Kune Do, by Bruce Lee on iBooks/Kindle." There were none, though a ton of "real" copies available on Amazon.com). Over time, I imagine this will change. A significant plus, too, is that there are a ton of free books available.
 
I prefer physical books, my eyes get tired rather quickly when reading from an electronic device(phone).
 
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