Ebooks on the way out?

[Zombie_Babies]

I used to think the same. But I decided to give it a try (after I went to the Caribbean with my wife and had finished two of the four books I'd packed before we arrived) and bought a Kobo Touch. I'm very pleased with it. No eye strain because the e-ink is very stable and easy on the eyes (and adjustable font size is nice too). It's easier to read in bed, if I have one arm around my wife I don't have to disturb her every time I want to turn the page. I can download the books straight onto the Kobo without needing to wait for them to be delivered or finding the time to go to the bookshop and hoping what I want is in stock.

I don't read in bed so it's not something I'm concerned with. I do read while I eat lunch at work and haven't experienced any real annoyance at having to flip pages while masticating. It's all in what you're comfortable with, I guess.

As for waiting for delivery, well, that's a real concern. I've solved that problem by ordering several books at once and doing so when I've got about half of my last one to go. It's worked perfectly so far and 'so far' has been at least seven years.

It wasn't a drink, but I did drop my Kobo in the bath once. Put it in a plastic bag with some rice for two days, hit the reset button and it worked fine. (And it didn't cost me $200 either -- 90 pounds, whatever that is in dollars nowadays.)

That's two days without your book. I don't have to worry about that unless I completely destroy the thing somehow.

By the way, 90 pounds is about $150.

 

[Umbran]

(And it didn't cost me $200 either -- 90 pounds, whatever that is in dollars nowadays.)

90 pounds works out to about $150 at the moment.

In the US the Kobo Glo goes for $129 right now. The Kindle Paperwhite and Nook Glowlight each go for $119.

 

[trappedslider]

Most of the books I buy are $20 or less. That's plenty cheap and I read a lot. Like, a lot. Right now I have 4 books on my desk at work cuz I don't wanna run out in the middle of one. I never order one book at a time. I guess I either don't buy stuff that's expensive or just don't see the money I do spend as a lot.

Well, the most recent NEW release wise books i bought were both close to 20 dollars in hardback, but on the kindle it was just 10 dollars. There was one series that I wanted to get in physical form despite the cost,and one of the books was in hardback which was 15 dollars. It was the Gone series.

One of the books i have on the kindle is out of print and so it was just easier and cheaper to get it on the kindle.

 

[Umbran]

Meh, I'd still rather have a book. There's ritual to it that no electronic device will never capture.

No argument there. But turning pages generally requires two hands. If I'm using two hands on my book when the subway lurches, there's a problem. What's more important to me, the ritual or not falling over on the train?

What's odd in my case is that when I game I use my laptop to search rules.... It's clunky as hell but it beats lugging around a hundred pounds of books every session.

Most games, as a player I only need one book. As GM, I'm almost always running in my own home. So, the lugging around isn't an issue, for me.

Most of the books I buy are $20 or less. That's plenty cheap and I read a lot.

On my Nook Tablet, I have access to the Boston Public Library and Minuteman Library Network ebook collections any time I have access to wireless. Free books! Admittedly, they won't always have exactly what I want, but they always have something I'd like.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I'm in kind of a middle ground.

I vastly prefer the paper book for most situations. Indeed, I have only one eBook, which I got for free, from someone I know.

However, I anticipate that will change as I start looking at buying my professional reading material in electronic format. I have many PDFs already, which I'm lukewarm to, but the sheer amount of paper in my profession that needs to be updated continuously is amazing. And being able to carry a huge reference library in my briefcase is seductive, to say the least.

But for fun stuff? RPGs? Novels? Anthologies? I predict that I'll largely stick to physical books, or at least will buy them in addition to eBooks. The main reason I can see for change in that arena is the aging of my eyes. While I rarely suffer eye fatigue- so far- I can definitely see how the availability of the zoom function is a flat-out winner. It's why we got my mom an iPad2 in the first place.

 

[Nellisir]

Well, as I said earlier, I prefer a physical book. I found flipping back in the Kindle to check something extremely annoying; otherwise it was a pretty neutral experience.
The Kindle is more convenient for travelling, and if I had to commute by train, the Kindle would be better. If I bought a lot of books new, the Kindle would be more affordable. When I'm on a streak I'll do a book a day, and that's in between work and everything else.

But I don't commute and my town has a massive used book sale twice a year, so paper wins handily. I like having the Kindle around as a backup, but the physical presence of the paper book is nicer, and I can resell them if they suck or put them on my shelf if they don't (I'll admit I do view books as some kind of trophy.) I've got 150-200 books on my shelves right now waiting to be read, so there's no rush for me to switch.

 

[frogimus]

If it were possible to convert my collection to ePub format, I would quickly and happily truck a few hundred pounds of books to the recycler.

I can store 30k books on my memory card

I charge my device about once a week even though it can last about 3weeks on a charge (weekly is easier to ritualized)

I can buy and download a book from anywhere using my phone as a WiFi hotspot

 

[Jhaelen]

Ebooks are superior to paperback novels in every way. Since I've bought my Kindle Paperwhite I haven't looked back.
- You can have a whole library with you
- It doesn't take up any space
- You can adjust font size
- You can read in the dark
- You can look up words by highlighting them
- You get lists of quotes and bookmarks for everything you've read
- It's cheaper - once you hit a couple dozen novels you start saving money

I wouldn't want to replace rpg source books with ebooks, though.

 

[Nellisir]

Ebooks are superior to paperback novels in every way.

Can you flip easily between three different pages that aren't adjacent to each other? I got annoyed having to spend 5 minutes looking for a previous reference.

- It's cheaper - once you hit a couple dozen novels you start saving money

Not for me.

 

[Dioltach]

Can you flip easily between three different pages that aren't adjacent to each other? I got annoyed having to spend 5 minutes looking for a previous reference.

This is one problem with ebooks, particularly fantasy books with maps or thick historical novels with a cast of characters (Dorothy Dunnett, for example). I've mostly given up consulting maps in books, and I must say that I don't miss them. Still, it would be nice if ebooks/ereaders could add a feature where you call up certain information or pages with one tap on the screen.

On the other hand, it's quite easy to use the Search function to find a reference much more quickly than with a hardcopy book.