Lunchtime Discussion: eBooks
Will paper books vanish?
Published: 12:00, 04/08/2010 by Kris [Halbpro].
44Word to the wise, today’s discussion isn’t really about games. In fact it’s not about games at all, so if you were expecting some of that I’m sorry. I promise I’ll write something about games tomorrow. Today I want to take a look at digital books and comics. You can get these on the PSP and Apple’s iOS devices (iPhone etc.) which also play games, so feel happy that it’s at least vaguely related. I mean it’s not like I’m writing about Huskies or anything.
What got me thinking of this? Well firstly I love comics, so it was always going to crop up at some point. On top of that I’ve been playing with eReader apps on my Palm Pre. I’ve got a pretty nice one called pReader that’s free and I can import stuff from Project Gutenberg into, meaning that the whole experience is completely free as long as I want to read books that are out of copyright.
Unfortunately there isn’t a comic reader app for the Pre, so mostly I’ll be focusing on books. I’ve always been apprehensive about the transfer of printed media to a digital format, books are more interactive for me than a CD or game. I don’t mind digital distribution of media that’s already electronic, if I have to put it into a reader to use it then it doesn’t really make much difference; you’re not really losing anything from the experience. With a book or comic holding it in your hand is part of the process, it’s how you experience the content.
At least that’s what I thought until I started using pReader. I honestly thought I couldn’t be converted to one, but even on a small screen I like it. It’s certainly more convenient than carrying a book with me wherever I go, and I don’t feel I’ve lost that much of the experience. However if it I was to chose between buying a book or buying an eBook I’d still chose the physical copy, I think a core part of why I like using pReader is that everything is free. If I actually purchase the book I’d prefer it in my hand.
As for comics I just don’t like reading them in digital form at all. The digital readers that are out do look simply brilliant, but personally a comic is an even more tactile experience than reading a book. I want to be able to flick back and forth over pages, look at the artwork up close, take my time looking it over. Digital versions really just don’t work as well for any of these things, let alone layout. With a book the layout rarely matters, with a comic the layout is everything. Panels are rarely a regular shape, they might overlap or flow into each other. Most comic readers need you take a panel by panel view if you want to get any of the detail, which pretty much removes all of the layout.
So that’s my thoughts on the matter. Looking to the future I honestly don’t think we’ll see printed media vanish completely. Music, games and films may go completely digital, as I said before the media they come on isn’t really part of the process for most people. You can see these in how often the media they come on shifts. In contrast I think books may be here to stay, although digital versions will be pretty much universal for all new titles. How about you?
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04/08/2010 at 12:09
Member since: Jan 2010
wat r bucks?
04/08/2010 at 12:10
Member since: Jun 2009
Dont you get coffee from there
04/08/2010 at 12:13
Member since: Jun 2009
You cant beat curled up in a chair with a cuppa tea and a dog eared well worn book with pages folded over as bookmarks . You cant throw your Ebook in your bag on the way to work or on holiday when you just want laze on the sun loungers
04/08/2010 at 12:15
Member since: Jun 2009
Also Bookcases look impressive and make you feel slightly intelligent with all the literature you have read
04/08/2010 at 13:08
Member since: Forever
Exactly, bookcases maketh a man.
04/08/2010 at 13:10
Member since: May 2009
ironically, the man also maketh the bookcases that made him. It’s a delectable cycle of self improvement.
04/08/2010 at 13:21
Member since: Forever
But what came first? The bookcase or the man?
04/08/2010 at 12:15
Member since: Jun 2009
ha ha, true. PLus you don’t have to keep charging a paper book. You can use it whenever. Something special about having a book than reading it on a screen.
04/08/2010 at 14:37
Member since: Nov 2009
eReaders with eInk technology last about 2-4 weeks if you read on a daily basis. Where’s the problem? The eInk screens look like real pages and because there is no backlight you don’t have eyestrain and it is clearly visible even in bright sunlight.
04/08/2010 at 14:34
Member since: Nov 2009
Yes, eReaders are inferior because one is not able to throw them into his/her bag…. Solid argument. I can be curled up in my bed with my eReader and enjoy a good eBook just like anyone can with a normal book. The condition of the book does not add to my reading experience. And if I ever finish an eBook earlier than expected while on vacation I can simply buy and download a book via free worldwide 3G directly onto my Kindle within 60 seconds. Try finding the book you want to read in a non-english speaking country.
04/08/2010 at 12:22
Member since: Forever
The eBooks App on the iPhone is fantastic, touching and flicking the screen gives you a similar experience to reading and the ability for multiple bookmarks and even notetaking is great.
However digital pricing is still way off, and although there is an element of convenience, I prefer a real book.
I also buy nearly all my books second hand from a charity shop, (they’re very, very cheap and the charity gains) and donate them back when I’m done with them (giving the charity chance to gain again)
04/08/2010 at 12:30
Member since: Jun 2009
Yep im a charity shop hound too and everyone wins
04/08/2010 at 13:54
Member since: Apr 2010
I picked up the Silmarillion for 60p the other day – it hasn’t even been used. I was well impressed :D
04/08/2010 at 13:57
Member since: Forever
Yes, its great. not only do you get great stuff cheap, but you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Everyone wins
04/08/2010 at 14:05
Member since: Apr 2010
I almost felt guilty only paying them 60p for it! I made up for it though – hardback special edition of Dune, £3.50. Unused, and it even has pretty pictures in it! Eh now I feel bad again, because that was pretty much a steal :| (I never take them back once I’m done, I hoard everything – games, books, and I have an obscene collection of MTG cards!)
04/08/2010 at 14:35
Member since: Feb 2009
Yahavage you are not the only one. I seriously need to get rid of some of my games/books and MTG cards. I even found some old Pokemon cards the other day! :/
04/08/2010 at 16:29
Member since: Jun 2009
Seriously drop them off at your local charity shop. You will leave feeling you may have made a difference to a animal/old person/homeless/children and don’t forget to ask to fill out a form that lets them claim the Tax back on the stuff they sell
04/08/2010 at 14:50
Member since: Jul 2009
I hope the book industry does something about the fact that they don’t make anything on you buying second hand books. :-)
04/08/2010 at 15:07
Member since: Nov 2009
Read the final chapter after registering your book online. If you bought it second hand you can buy a new voucher online for only 9,99$!
04/08/2010 at 12:27
Member since: Jul 2009
Have used the ebook iphone and think it’s okay. Problem is that it chews through battery, and the screen is so small – so you’re having to move pages all the time.
I read a lot and love having proper books, they then sit in my bookcase and I can read them again at a later date if I so wish. Plus once books have been out a while, paperbacks are really cheap, so it’s not like you save much money by using an e-reader anyway!
04/08/2010 at 12:54
Member since: Nov 2008
I disagree with the point about comics. I think the comic reader on the PSP is brilliant, it works so well and I love the way it navigates about and gives you control to zoom, go backwards and forwards.
04/08/2010 at 13:10
Member since: Forever
I’m torn on this. I think for regular novel reading, the feel of a proper book far outweighs a digital version. However, for anything that might be for reference – textbooks, guides etc – the ability to search and easily navigate to what you want is indispensible. Comics though I’m not sure on yet, I have a couple on PC, a couple on PSP, and a whole lot on paper, but I haven’t yet made up my mind on which is best. Love having them with me all the time on the PSP though.
04/08/2010 at 13:20
Member since: Apr 2010
I found when revising for exams, even though I had a digital versions of a few text books, I would still use the paper copies. It is the same if I want to read an essay or research paper, I will still print it out. I think reading is as much a tactile experience as it is a visual one, even if digital media is more useful.
04/08/2010 at 13:21
Member since: Jan 2010
What about audio books? I used to work as a long distance wagon driver and I used to listen to a LOT of audiobooks. It was perfect, an 8 hour drive listening to a Stephen King or Dean Koontz books, but one of my favourites was a Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson – it must be 20 hours long, and a fantastic companion for long boring drives.
04/08/2010 at 13:43
Member since: Nov 2009
I am half-way through the abriged version of Moby Dick on Audiobook.
I’d much rather read it but I can’t really read and walk to work at the same time.
05/08/2010 at 07:36
Member since: Feb 2009
Im taking my HGV (Cat C to begin with) in the next couple of months , cant wait so I can get out of my boring job in a shop . My dad has always been a trucker so I know its no walk in the park but I love driving so why the hell not eh .
07/08/2010 at 19:54
Member since: Aug 2010
Good luck, but right now there’s little or no work. It might depend where you live, but I’m slap bang in the middle of Bradford, Leeds, Wakefield, Huddersfield and Manchester, and I can’t get a job to save my life.
Also dont bother with class 2, get into class 1 asap, more money, more respect, much more er… interesting and butt twitching.
Driving rigids is easy, just wait until you drive the big ones.
Good luck.
04/08/2010 at 13:27
Member since: May 2009
all you needed to write was ‘Will paper books vanish – no’. wouldn’t that have made it quicker to read? but in all seriousness, you can’t put a creased piece of paper between 2 e-readers and uncrease (is that a word?) it like you can with real books.
04/08/2010 at 13:44
Member since: Forever
You can… just buy 2 iPads or whatever and put some creased paper between them. Perfect and cheap
04/08/2010 at 13:48
Member since: Feb 2010
You’re going to have a reluctance to straighten up a wobbly coffee table with an electronic book. Though seriously, I like to touch and feel the world around me… So, I worry that one day, with all of these ‘repackagings’ of traditional items – many of the beautifully tactile and varied forms of media will become part of one hermoginised and sterile plastic world. Will we ever remember the smell of a new book, the sound of pages turning… or simply revel in the enveloping bland utopia.
04/08/2010 at 14:04
Member since: Mar 2010
I read alot of ecomics but I do prefer paper. The smell, the physical presense and not having to look at a screen makes paper better. But paper is more expensive to produce and ebooks are more enviormentally friendly. So I think ebooks will eventually take over, but not in a long time.