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e-Books Vs normal books..

Did you ever try and share books with your friends and relatives with an ereader? Doesn't happen. Hardcovers or paperbacks may be more expensive but when you consider the "share factor", they are much cheaper and more fun to read.
 
Many ebooks are lending enabled; it's a good thing too because you'll never have to worry about getting ti back, unlike with deadtree books.
 
Tom Hill said:
Did you ever try and share books with your friends and relatives with an ereader? Doesn't happen. Hardcovers or paperbacks may be more expensive but when you consider the "share factor", they are much cheaper and more fun to read.
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hear, hear, Tom! I have an ebook reader, I use it, but it simply is Not the same as
having a real book, and sharing is one of the great arguments for them.
there are Plenty of trees, and more being planted all the time, not to mention the
recyling of shavings and chips for great uses.
 
fanny said:
How many of you feel e books can replace the normal books.. i feel all the gadgets and apps in the market are just there to facilitate/enhance the reading.I personally feel none of the e-books nor the apps can ever replace the pleasure that a reader derives from reading a book by holding it in hand.
I must also say this the it is quite impossible to carry all your books when you travel. this is a point where the e-books and readers come in handy.

I own a Kindle. It s very useful i admit but never can replace a book. Earlier all the member s of a book club forum meet up at least once in a month to discuss a book they have read. This not only develops the other readers' knowledge about a book's existence but it also helps in face to face interaction. These online communities have made this easy. Apart from online communities there many apps that aid this purpose. With apps like LiveAlbum(LiveAlbum) (which is not an app for book reading) you can at least share the books you have read and discuss through comments.

So what is your say on this?
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I agree that having a book in your hand is good. But it is really hard to carry a lot of books with me at one time. I'm learning that my ereader has come in handy and its easy to transport some where else.
I read both books and ebooks and write what I think about them on my book blog. I think the way things are going we may end up with less books being published with paper. Hopefully not to soon though.
As time goes on we might see the paper form of books get weeded out. Think about all the book stores that have been closing and the ones that are only popping up on the web. This is the age of digital things and we can't change that but, we can protect the written word on paper by keeping them in our houses.
 
both have their merits. e-readers are good for traveling and I will always have an e-reader with me. but books are good to have as well. there is something about reading an actual book that should not be lost. and there are just some books you can't get on e-readers. if e-readers ever do phase out 'real' books then publishers need to make sure that every book written becomes available in digital format. At the moment it isn't like that even with new books.
 
Downloaded my first ebook today on to my mobile phone which was;

'The Happy Prince, The Selfish Giant, Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories' by Oscar Wilde.

I downloaded the book out of necessity because the copy I've reserved at the library is still out on loan, so the advantage of ebooks as far as I'm concerned is definitely immediacy.
 
um I beg to differ on paper books being easily obtainable. bookstores these days tend not to carry much, if anything out of the mainstream. If you are in a small town it's even worse. If you have to order a specific item it takes weeks. And if you're just browsing for.something new you are at the mercy of whatever limited selection the store decided to stock.
 
It is a sad day for me. I realized that I am beginning to lose my enjoyment of regular paper books. The last 4 or 5 books I read were on an e-reader and I guess it sort of institutionalized me or something. I had forgotten how difficult it is to read certain books and eat at the same time. The flipping things won't stay open. Just when you get the saltshaker positioned right to hold the book open, it's time to turn the page and set the whole thing up again. You feel bad touching the pages with your greasy, buttery, crumby fingers. They won't wipe clean!
I still like them. I like to look at them on a shelf. I like to see the spines and titles and authors all lined up neatly in the real world, instead of cyberspace. I just don't really like reading them anymore.
 
The one thing I really really miss about real books is the smell! There is very few smells that are better than the smell of a new (old) book. Oh! And a book shop? Heaven! :D
 
753C said:
It is a sad day for me. I realized that I am beginning to lose my enjoyment of regular paper books. The last 4 or 5 books I read were on an e-reader and I guess it sort of institutionalized me or something. I had forgotten how difficult it is to read certain books and eat at the same time. The flipping things won't stay open. Just when you get the saltshaker positioned right to hold the book open, it's time to turn the page and set the whole thing up again. You feel bad touching the pages with your greasy, buttery, crumby fingers. They won't wipe clean!
I still like them. I like to look at them on a shelf. I like to see the spines and titles and authors all lined up neatly in the real world, instead of cyberspace. I just don't really like reading them anymore.
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lol I resisted getting a reader for a long time because well it wasn't a BOOK! but then I realised I can put an entire library in one slim light easy to carry reader and I was hooked. However I do still like actual books, and my house will always have lots of them in it.
 
Meadow337 said:
lol I resisted getting a reader for a long time because well it wasn't a BOOK! but then I realised I can put an entire library in one slim light easy to carry reader and I was hooked.
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LOL and with out the inconvenience of someone else "nicking" a book that you want to read. :)
 
Gotlift said:
I get that, but the reason I got a kindle to begin with is because my wife is a bit of a clean freak and books are too much "clutter" for her to handle. We just redecorated our home office and, unsurprisingly, all of my books have ended up in the donation pile. I miss the book shelves, but my two year old son wreaked havoc on it anyway.
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You have GOT to be kidding me.
 
episkopos said:
Mobile phones wiped out landlines and tablets are gradually replacing desk tops so I think e books will be all we have soon. We will get used to reading them.
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Show me a tablet with 8-32 gigs of ram , a RAID array with drives from 500 gigs to 3 terrabytes , dual video cards of 1 to 3 gigs running in Crossfire , a six or eight core processor and the ability to handle a three monitor array.

When you can show me that I'll believe that a tablet will replace the desktop. And as long as the gaming market exists , which is only expanding exponentially every year , it will never happen.

Incidentally , folks here who put forth the notion that publishers " make more profit from a paper book"..............well y'all *really* need to take a look at what's involved in production and the costs thereof , because you're completely in error on that one.

Ask me what it costs just to floor a large format web press , never mind the bindery and finishing department , composition , plating etc. And that's *just* production itself without taking into account the logistics and expense of distribution.
 
which begs the question as to why ebooks arent substantially cheaper especially seeing as you are only buying the right to read it.
 
e readers and e books....definitely.
I use a kindle and find it convenient: its lighter than any book I've held (helps when you have the tendency to read for hours and hours), the font is adjustable (an asset at my age) and the portability is great too.
Another great advantage is I get to comfortably read a lot of books from Project Gutenberg, Classic Reader,etc. which are no longer in print. I use the software, Calibre, to convert html and text files to suit my kindle.
 
I don't think an e-book can ever fully replace a physical book. Personally, I like to maintain a good deal of paper books because you never know what the future will hold.
 
In terms of just reading convenience while traveling etc nothing beats an e-reader. Books are heavy to carry. And you run out of stuff to read.

However in terms of having books in my house - I love books. I love coffee table books and books on architecture and design and those books do not go onto a reader very well. You need the large format to view the photos properly. I think a home without books lacks something.
 
I never thought that I would love reading so much on a kindle. But I do. I loved holding a book physically but an ereader is also ok as well. It has made me read more so that is a plus!
 
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