How many of you read an actual paper book?

[Kaykaykay]

Well, in my experience with a Kobo, and ibooks on my iPad, they both handle relatively well with novels, or other books that you want to read from beginning to end in a straight line. However, most publishers make electronic copies by taking a printed manuscript, and just running it through a large scanning machine. It does text well, but does pictures poorly, as well as charts, and any book that is an "irregular size," shall we say. If you're getting a book that's 15x15 glossy photos, and have it reduced to fit on the iPad, even if they fit on the screen that's going to be a sucky way to look at them, imo...

Also, because of the way that they work by clicking or flicking from one page to the next, they're not good for instructional or academic books either. I.e., anything where you want to flip back and forth between a middle page and the footnotes or endnotes.

It varies from book to book, publisher to publisher. More books are being properly formatted as e-book popularity rises. If you buy from a good e-bookstore like Amazon's and it turns out the formatting makes the book unusable, they will not only refund your money, but also often stop its sales till the publisher fixes it. So you risk nothing by buying from Amazon and seeing whether a book is usable.

 

[antonio107]

Well, in my experience with a Kobo, and ibooks on my iPad, they both handle relatively well with novels, or other books that you want to read from beginning to end in a straight line. However, most publishers make electronic copies by taking a printed manuscript, and just running it through a large scanning machine. It does text well, but does pictures poorly, as well as charts, and any book that is an "irregular size," shall we say. If you're getting a book that's 15x15 glossy photos, and have it reduced to fit on the iPad, even if they fit on the screen that's going to be a sucky way to look at them, imo...

Also, because of the way that they work by clicking or flicking from one page to the next, they're not good for instructional or academic books either. I.e., anything where you want to flip back and forth between a middle page and the footnotes or endnotes.

It varies from book to book, publisher to publisher. More books are being properly formatted as e-book popularity rises. If you buy from a good e-bookstore like Amazon's and it turns out the formatting makes the book unusable, they will not only refund your money, but also often stop its sales till the publisher fixes it. So you risk nothing by buying from Amazon and seeing whether a book is usable.

Huh! Interesting! Definitely not the case with Kobo (run by Chapter's and Border's), where I get a lot of missing punctuation, lower case i's instead of lower case l's...things like that that really make you do double and triple takes!

 

[Kaykaykay]

Progress has been slow but noticeable over the years with e-books. They've finally gained the momentum needed, thanks to Kindle and iPad. We're far from perfection, but readers can vote with their dollars.

I buy almost all my e-books from Amazon, because they have the best customer service. I don't offer crummy businesses like Borders repeat business unless I can't avoid it, because I'd be sending the message that they can continue to offer substandard service and still get my money, lol. (Of course, Borders is going belly up, so the market has taken care of it!)

I complain to publishers and e-tailers, because they're the ones who can make changes. Complaining on a forum might be fun, but is essentially useless, unless a business monitors the forum.

 

[Hasty]

Hmm guess I'm an antique but I love the feel and smell of books.
The heft in the hand, the sensuous turn and whisper of the page, etc..
Guess working in an antiquarian bookseller in my misspent youth has warped my perceptions.

Plus as Anthony Powell wrote "Books do furnish a room" and they make damned good sound insulation too.

 

[wheems]

Hmm guess I'm an antique but I love the feel and smell of books.
The heft in the hand, the sensuous turn and whisper of the page, etc..
Guess working in an antiquarian bookseller in my misspent youth has warped my perceptions.

Plus as Anthony Powell wrote "Books do furnish a room" and they make damned good sound insulation too.

I'm of the old school, too. I *do*understand the need for ebooks if space is limited in your house or if you're traveling. But, nothing, simply nothing replaces the entire experience for me as a good ol' paperback.

"A room without books is as a body without a soul." -- Sir John Lubbock Lord Avebury

 

[Kaykaykay]

Hmm guess I'm an antique but I love the feel and smell of books.
The heft in the hand, the sensuous turn and whisper of the page, etc..
Guess working in an antiquarian bookseller in my misspent youth has warped my perceptions.

Plus as Anthony Powell wrote "Books do furnish a room" and they make damned good sound insulation too.

In humid places with lots of bugs, books can get nasty unless you keep the air conditioning going 24/7.

I do enjoy being surrounded by books in my library, but dust is annoying. Even if I don't do the dusting, I don't like having someone else in my space doing the dusting.

I like being able to take thousands of e-books wherever I go, even if it's months away from home. Especially when overseas, having your library and music with you makes for comfort.

 

[antonio107]

Hmm guess I'm an antique but I love the feel and smell of books.
The heft in the hand, the sensuous turn and whisper of the page, etc..
Guess working in an antiquarian bookseller in my misspent youth has warped my perceptions.

Plus as Anthony Powell wrote "Books do furnish a room" and they make damned good sound insulation too.

Well, I'm a musician, so I save shelf space for scores, which have NOT yet transfered over to the tablet world properly.

 

[55julie55]

Well, in my experience with a Kobo, and ibooks on my iPad, they both handle relatively well with novels, or other books that you want to read from beginning to end in a straight line. However, most publishers make electronic copies by taking a printed manuscript, and just running it through a large scanning machine. It does text well, but does pictures poorly, as well as charts, and any book that is an "irregular size," shall we say. If you're getting a book that's 15x15 glossy photos, and have it reduced to fit on the iPad, even if they fit on the screen that's going to be a sucky way to look at them, imo...

Also, because of the way that they work by clicking or flicking from one page to the next, they're not good for instructional or academic books either. I.e., anything where you want to flip back and forth between a middle page and the footnotes or endnotes.

Now you have made me curious.
I will buy a book with illustrations just to see for myself
Thanks for the info

 

[wayneborean]

Well, I'm a musician, so I save shelf space for scores, which have NOT yet transfered over to the tablet world properly.

Scores are the reason I predicted the IPad would be a success before it was released. Most musicians I know used to carry around binders full of music. Now musicians are moving to the IPad as I predicted. Phil Mills excellent AutoSongBook (available in the App Store) is one of many apps for musicians. I prefer his - he's a family friend so support is fantastic

Check the App store, you are missing the boat.

Wayne

 

[antonio107]

Well, I'm a musician, so I save shelf space for scores, which have NOT yet transfered over to the tablet world properly.

Scores are the reason I predicted the IPad would be a success before it was released. Most musicians I know used to carry around binders full of music. Now musicians are moving to the IPad as I predicted. Phil Mills excellent AutoSongBook (available in the App Store) is one of many apps for musicians. I prefer his - he's a family friend so support is fantastic

Check the App store, you are missing the boat.

Wayne

It depends on whether I'm performing something or just using it for leisure. The apps I've found don't have very responsive editing features, and quickly realize that I'm used to a bigger page size than the iPad can offer!

Will check out the AutoSongBook, though!

 

[singlestick]

With the recent news of Borders' impending liquidation, I was wondering how many still pick up a paperback book versus an e-reader? I, for one, don't read on my iPad. Or have purchased a Kindle or Nook. I still enjoy the aesthetics (the smell of old paper and ink, the way it fits in my hand) of an actual paper book and consider it a piece of art.

What about you?

I bought three physical books within the past couple of weeks, and also bought four ebooks. I enjoy reading. The format is immaterial. The three physical books I bought were on sale at Barnes and Noble.

Not only can books be works of art, so can literary apps. Although it is supposedly a children's book, check out The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore iPad app for an idea of what is possible.

There was a time when paperbacks were considered to be inferior to "real books," and this reminds me a lot of the resistance to ebooks.

 

[emilysmiley]

I prefer to read by my iPad is more cooler

 

[The Alternative]

For me, the story is king. I will deal with any format that has the stories I want. That said, I have very little living space so digital is a boon when it is available.

There is something to be said for an elegant hardback for truly classic titles you want to keep forever. Paperbacks are good enough to read, but they are not worth keeping for their own sake.

I love electronic books but I will never stop purchasing paper books. It's impossible to replace my signed "Stranger in a Strange Land" for instance, or the 100 other signed paper books I own with an electronic version (just wouldn't be the same.) I know that Gollantz plans to release 1,000+ out-of-print books in ebook format next year but looking at the list of authors it's not yet an incentive for me to toss out all my no longer available out-of-print books. Plus, there is a hard to explain quality about holding a paper book in my hands. Don't get me wrong I love reading on the iPad but I also enjoy holding a hardcover book in my hands, as well.

 

[wigsajumper]

Actually since getting the iPad I have actually been being hard cover of the ebooks I really like. I have been slowly getting rid of a lot of my paperbacks especially the ones that are not in that good of shape and replacing the paperbacks with ebooks.

It has been a good visual improvement to our library. My wife wasn't a big fan of how my scifi/fantasy book shelves looked full of paper backs but now since I have replaced a lot of the really good ones with hard covers I don't get nearly as many complaints.

 

[wayneborean]

I love electronic books but I will never stop purchasing paper books. It's impossible to replace my signed "Stranger in a Strange Land" for instance, or the 100 other signed paper books I own with an electronic version (just wouldn't be the same.) I know that Gollantz plans to release 1,000+ out-of-print books in ebook format next year but looking at the list of authors it's not yet an incentive for me to toss out all my no longer available out-of-print books. Plus, there is a hard to explain quality about holding a paper book in my hands. Don't get me wrong I love reading on the iPad but I also enjoy holding a hardcover book in my hands, as well.

Why toss them out?

Pardon me, but I keep getting the impression that people are going out of their way to be stupid about this, and that comment is a good example. Owning an EBook reader doesn't make your current print books unusable, unlike the way the switch from Betamax to VHS made you existing library unusable, or the switch from 8-track to Cassette did.

Think before you post.

Wayne