Are Books Dated Now?
Discussion
Ewan S said:
IainT said:
I certainly do. I also enjoy my papery books as well.
In a perfect world I'd have a nice Library room with some comfy chairs to read in, dark oak bookshelves floor to ceiling packed with all my favourite books. Which I'd then read on an e-reader (kindle is not the only option, others might work as well, ymmv).
Goldblum - re-read your comment - it's the most pretentious load of old tosh I've read on here for a long while.
Totally agree, a mate of mine and I have set each other the challenge to be the first to achieve this, and we're also agreed we both want a side table with a whisky decanter on it in said library room. In a perfect world I'd have a nice Library room with some comfy chairs to read in, dark oak bookshelves floor to ceiling packed with all my favourite books. Which I'd then read on an e-reader (kindle is not the only option, others might work as well, ymmv).
Goldblum - re-read your comment - it's the most pretentious load of old tosh I've read on here for a long while.
JayTee94 said:
Yup! iPads are nothing new in schools.
In Florida they gave each student an Apple MacBook Air to do the studies and work. It was to reduce back-pain on students so they didn't have to carry large textbooks. It was a good idea in theory, but I found it strange e-mailing my teacher my homework.
...but we always had a 'Summer Reading Project' to do so we didn't eliminate books completely.
Hopefully a re-post so I won't cause much further offence but....In Florida they gave each student an Apple MacBook Air to do the studies and work. It was to reduce back-pain on students so they didn't have to carry large textbooks. It was a good idea in theory, but I found it strange e-mailing my teacher my homework.
...but we always had a 'Summer Reading Project' to do so we didn't eliminate books completely.
Awww, diddums, poor ikkle school kids having to carry their text books...
As for kindle vs hard copy, depends very much on the user. If you read books purely to kill the time on the commute, Kindle's probably for you. If you read books because you like the story/characters etc, Kindle can probably f
k off. I'm in the latter camp. Same with CDs. I could pay 80p a track, or £5-10 for a downloaded album off the net. Or I could pay a fiver for it on an HMV deal, or less from a charity shop, and have the sleevenotes and artwork as well. Same with books. You don't know what you're going to read next, this is how I got into Arthur C Clarke, Andy McNab and Deighton. Especially Deighton. Cussler was a mistake... but that comes with the territory.It's also cool to have a floor to ceiling shelving unit full of CDs, books etc. You're not a serious human being until you own 500 records.*
- not my words admittedly. They're from a BOOK.
RobDickinson said:
I've had floor to ceiling books and CD's.
They hurt in earthquakes.
Give me kindle and mp3 (well flak) any day.
No idea why you think you cant follow story and characters on kindle.
I probably didn't put it over very well, but that's probably because it's not that easy to put over. I have meat hands. On a practical level it's good to be able to skip back through the pages to double check earlier plot development (not retarded here, so don't start!) but on a more basic level I just like the tactile experience. I like turning a page. I like books.They hurt in earthquakes.
Give me kindle and mp3 (well flak) any day.
No idea why you think you cant follow story and characters on kindle.
The difference between a kindle and the real thing is like when you have a hired euro/jap box for a few days with work, then get back into your own (presumably better) car. I like a stiff gearshift that needs shoving into place. I like a positive steering input. I like having to remember tio release the handbrake before driving off, or remembering that it's now raining so I'd better turn on the wipers. I like old, slightly yellowed paper and broken spines. I like having 14 Fleming PAN paperbacks on the shelf. Etc.
I don't like a car that decides it's now dark enough for dipped headlights, or it's now raining enough to warrant wipers, or that releases the handbrake when it sees fit.
And I don't like a plastic machine with flappy paddle page turners.
goneape said:
I probably didn't put it over very well, but that's probably because it's not that easy to put over. I have meat hands. On a practical level it's good to be able to skip back through the pages to double check earlier plot development (not retarded here, so don't start!) but on a more basic level I just like the tactile experience. I like turning a page. I like books.
The difference between a kindle and the real thing is like when you have a hired euro/jap box for a few days with work, then get back into your own (presumably better) car. I like a stiff gearshift that needs shoving into place. I like a positive steering input. I like having to remember tio release the handbrake before driving off, or remembering that it's now raining so I'd better turn on the wipers. I like old, slightly yellowed paper and broken spines. I like having 14 Fleming PAN paperbacks on the shelf. Etc.
I don't like a car that decides it's now dark enough for dipped headlights, or it's now raining enough to warrant wipers, or that releases the handbrake when it sees fit.
And I don't like a plastic machine with flappy paddle page turners.
http://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2011/09/30/the-kindle-changes-books-again-with-kindle-x-ray/The difference between a kindle and the real thing is like when you have a hired euro/jap box for a few days with work, then get back into your own (presumably better) car. I like a stiff gearshift that needs shoving into place. I like a positive steering input. I like having to remember tio release the handbrake before driving off, or remembering that it's now raining so I'd better turn on the wipers. I like old, slightly yellowed paper and broken spines. I like having 14 Fleming PAN paperbacks on the shelf. Etc.
I don't like a car that decides it's now dark enough for dipped headlights, or it's now raining enough to warrant wipers, or that releases the handbrake when it sees fit.
And I don't like a plastic machine with flappy paddle page turners.
Honestly , I love books but paper ones have well had their day.
RobDickinson said:
Honestly , I love books but paper ones have well had their day.
Really? Is that what you think is going to happen or did someone tell you that?In which case you're either wrong, or misguided:
"Ebook Sales Soar but Physical Book Sales Unaffected"
From http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/385563/20120918/...
Its what I think.
Last book I bought was half the price of the paper version )Peter F Hamiton, the great north road), was also available in the uk for £2 or something, the paperbacks weigh a ton and I need to find somewhere to store it, go out and buy it or wait for it to be delivered.
Last book I bought was half the price of the paper version )Peter F Hamiton, the great north road), was also available in the uk for £2 or something, the paperbacks weigh a ton and I need to find somewhere to store it, go out and buy it or wait for it to be delivered.
RobDickinson said:
Its what I think.
Last book I bought was half the price of the paper version )Peter F Hamiton, the great north road), was also available in the uk for £2 or something, the paperbacks weigh a ton and I need to find somewhere to store it, go out and buy it or wait for it to be delivered.
Ebooks have many fantastic advantages, not least that no book will ever go out of print again. Last book I bought was half the price of the paper version )Peter F Hamiton, the great north road), was also available in the uk for £2 or something, the paperbacks weigh a ton and I need to find somewhere to store it, go out and buy it or wait for it to be delivered.
However, I still like my dead trees. No batteries, if I get them wet I can dry them on the radiator, and if I leave one on the bus (which I do quite regularly) it's not a big loss.
davepoth said:
RobDickinson said:
That worked really well for the LP didnt it!
It's the only physical music media whose sales are growing, mainly to young people who don't have record players and just hang the albums on the wall (HMV carry the frames) so yes, it did. 
- Physical sales slumped again by 8.7% globally to about $10.2 billion.
- Digital revenues grew by 8% to $5.23 billion. Digital now accounts for 31% of the music market.
- Fees from subscription services like MOG, Spotify and Rhapsody were up in the States by 14% to $241 million, with total subscribers growing to 1.8 million.
I've given up on novels for books. The kindle replaces them well with electronic ink.
I still like books involving photography though, but it has to be beautifully designed and enjoyable to look through. They are going to be more a piece of art in the future I think as much as a piece of content. I enjoy looking at photos on my iPad, but don't feel like buying a photo book on there for some reason. I guess because it's restricted to the size of the iPad or whatever tablet being used. Whereas a book can be any size (potentially, I know they are usually standard format sizes).
I still like books involving photography though, but it has to be beautifully designed and enjoyable to look through. They are going to be more a piece of art in the future I think as much as a piece of content. I enjoy looking at photos on my iPad, but don't feel like buying a photo book on there for some reason. I guess because it's restricted to the size of the iPad or whatever tablet being used. Whereas a book can be any size (potentially, I know they are usually standard format sizes).
I read a lot on holiday, and prefer something I can use at the pool or beach that I don't care if it gets damaged or nicked.
I generally buy a cheap second hand copy, then if its been a good read (so something I'll read again) I buy a nice fresh copy for the bookself at home.
I can't see me ever moving over to electronic books.
I generally buy a cheap second hand copy, then if its been a good read (so something I'll read again) I buy a nice fresh copy for the bookself at home.
I can't see me ever moving over to electronic books.
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