User Tag List

+ Reply to Thread
Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: E-readers versus Real Books

  1. #1
    Points: 11,467, Level: 25
    Level completed: 69%, Points required for next Level: 283
    Overall activity: 0.1%
    Achievements:
    SocialVeteran10000 Experience Points
    Cedric's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    1370
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Texas
    Posts
    420
    Points
    11,467
    Level
    25
    Thanks Given
    75
    Thanked 268x in 160 Posts
    Mentioned
    0 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)

    E-readers versus Real Books

    The following is in response to an overlong and densely written online homage to real books with flippable pages as opposed to e-readers. The author seemed impervious to the irony that his homage was being accessed via an Internet based article: http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/c...ok.single.html

    I'm not disagreeing with the fellow -- in so much as I grasp his main point -- though truth to tell I may have failed to properly grasp whatever point he was striving to make -- it was definitely a dense conglomeration of unnecessary wordage. Still it struck a cord of sorts within me and the following is my reply:

    As different types of artist and educator my entire home is a library. This is both a professional necessity and personal choice and yet I have absolutely no trouble with the thought of future generations replacing all these tomes and reference texts and novels, children's texts and math texts with unobtrusive electronic storage, accessed via a screen system or two. Humans need to adapt to change. Especially as we age.

    Besides which if humans living in the most humble of circumstances can still have immediate access to entire libraries of entertainment, information, poetry, prose, and facts then they are free regardless of other circumstances. Some aspects of the Star Trek utopia dream are accessible and should be pursued with vigor for the good of humanity in general, and if that means that only eccentrics will one day know the 'joys' of turning the pages of a book then so be it -- assuming that it also means that everyone else will have free access to entire libraries of information and data and so forth in the palm of their hand. It's nice to see humanity mucking about with the beginnings of that dream during my lifetime even though I will not live long enough to see it come to fruition.

    As a youngster my pre-internet frustration came from the fact that what libraries were available to a pedestrian, or to someone restricted to the range of a bicycle, were limited in resources and too far apart. Book store chains and used book stores were fine, but without enough money and a way to get to them, they might as well have been on the moon. But today, with what is freely available with mere internet access? It is now possible for nearly anyone to gain a useful knowledge base in nearly any subject area. One's dedication to the concept of intellectual self-improvement is now the limiting factor -- in general terms, that is.

    But people are adaptable and for all the sensual input from handling a traditional book, still the words on the pages and not the pages themselves, are the important things. The words found on screen are going to be the same words. Any resulting epiphanies are going to be just as profound . . . and perhaps easier to come by since one will no longer have to jump through hoops to get access to them in the first place. I can live with that.

    All this said, though; still I would mourn were real books to vanish from the human experience . . . but then again I'm just a sentimental old softy.

  2. The Following User Says Thank You to Cedric For This Useful Post:

    Conley (11-15-2012)

  3. #2
    Points: 664,075, Level: 100
    Level completed: 0%, Points required for next Level: 0
    Overall activity: 90.0%
    Achievements:
    SocialRecommendation Second ClassYour first GroupOverdrive50000 Experience PointsTagger First ClassVeteran
    Awards:
    Discussion Ender
    Chris's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    433119
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Posts
    197,306
    Points
    664,075
    Level
    100
    Thanks Given
    31,903
    Thanked 80,708x in 54,608 Posts
    Mentioned
    2009 Post(s)
    Tagged
    2 Thread(s)
    I've tried several times to switch over to e-readers--I have a Kindle, but always return to paper.

    There's a wealth of free material available for download, but e-readers don't always format then properly.

    At work we have a lunch and learn book club to discuss various subjects in software development, for those I do purchase electronic versions.

    But there's nothing like the feel of paper and dog earring a page for later flipping through the pages to find that one passage. True, e-readers let you do this but just not as good.


    I would wonder what the "shelf" like of e-books are, long as battery life? Books last a long time.

  4. #3
    Original Ranter
    Points: 112,719, Level: 81
    Level completed: 69%, Points required for next Level: 931
    Overall activity: 0.1%
    Achievements:
    SocialTagger Second Class50000 Experience PointsYour first GroupVeteran
    Conley's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    7413
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Posts
    22,473
    Points
    112,719
    Level
    81
    Thanks Given
    4,582
    Thanked 2,511x in 2,019 Posts
    Mentioned
    238 Post(s)
    Tagged
    1 Thread(s)
    The author seemed impervious to the irony that his homage was being accessed via an Internet based article


    I started reading PDFs and now reading books on readers feels pretty natural to me. My mom used to get mad at me if I dog-eared pages, she said it was disrespecting the book...and most of our books were from the library anyway. One thing I like about e-books is the control-F (or other find feature) to find what I'm looking for more quickly if I need to refer to something.

    I do like the feel of a good book in your hands, maybe sitting in a chair in front a fire...I know I'm not alone and I don't think we've seen the last of that.

  5. #4
    Points: 69,181, Level: 64
    Level completed: 20%, Points required for next Level: 1,769
    Overall activity: 0.1%
    Achievements:
    Social50000 Experience PointsVeteran
    Mainecoons's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    19769
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Posts
    16,741
    Points
    69,181
    Level
    64
    Thanks Given
    10,256
    Thanked 6,437x in 4,426 Posts
    Mentioned
    260 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    I like my Kindle because I can set the print size. Too many books are hard to read for us seniors.

  6. #5
    Original Ranter
    Points: 297,248, Level: 100
    Level completed: 0%, Points required for next Level: 0
    Overall activity: 27.0%
    Achievements:
    SocialRecommendation Second ClassOverdrive50000 Experience PointsVeteran
    Mister D's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    416461
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Posts
    117,673
    Points
    297,248
    Level
    100
    Thanks Given
    25,273
    Thanked 53,406x in 36,393 Posts
    Mentioned
    1102 Post(s)
    Tagged
    1 Thread(s)
    Nothing like a real book for me. I don't like reading the PC either. I'll print out files if they are longer than a three pages.
    Whoever criticizes capitalism, while approving immigration, whose working class is its first victim, had better shut up. Whoever criticizes immigration, while remaining silent about capitalism, should do the same.


    ~Alain de Benoist


  7. #6
    Points: 664,075, Level: 100
    Level completed: 0%, Points required for next Level: 0
    Overall activity: 90.0%
    Achievements:
    SocialRecommendation Second ClassYour first GroupOverdrive50000 Experience PointsTagger First ClassVeteran
    Awards:
    Discussion Ender
    Chris's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    433119
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Posts
    197,306
    Points
    664,075
    Level
    100
    Thanks Given
    31,903
    Thanked 80,708x in 54,608 Posts
    Mentioned
    2009 Post(s)
    Tagged
    2 Thread(s)
    I was thinking an e-reader that looks, opens, reads like a book, then found it:



    There's actually a couple out there like this.

    Asus's New E-Reader Looks More Like a Real, Live Book is one.

  8. #7
    Original Ranter
    Points: 856,676, Level: 100
    Level completed: 0%, Points required for next Level: 0
    Overall activity: 99.9%
    Achievements:
    SocialCreated Album picturesOverdrive50000 Experience PointsVeteran
    Awards:
    Posting Award
    Peter1469's Avatar Advisor
    Karma
    496108
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
    Location
    NOVA
    Posts
    241,090
    Points
    856,676
    Level
    100
    Thanks Given
    152,933
    Thanked 147,118x in 94,140 Posts
    Mentioned
    2547 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    I have switched to e-readers.

  9. #8
    Points: 84,254, Level: 70
    Level completed: 76%, Points required for next Level: 596
    Overall activity: 6.0%
    Achievements:
    SocialVeteranTagger First Class50000 Experience Points
    roadmaster's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    10156
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Posts
    18,747
    Points
    84,254
    Level
    70
    Thanks Given
    3,286
    Thanked 6,299x in 4,606 Posts
    Mentioned
    143 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    I prefer the books. Have some very old ones still going strong.

  10. #9
    Points: 56,719, Level: 58
    Level completed: 19%, Points required for next Level: 1,631
    Overall activity: 0.0%
    Achievements:
    Veteran50000 Experience PointsTagger Second Class
    patrickt's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    17597
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    Living in Oaxaca, Mexico, born in Memphis and worked in Colorado
    Posts
    11,977
    Points
    56,719
    Level
    58
    Thanks Given
    916
    Thanked 5,009x in 3,481 Posts
    Mentioned
    54 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    When I left the U.S. and abandoned 60 boxes of books I decided there was a lesson. A few years ago I discovered Kindle, and Amazon as the book seller, and I've never looked back and I won't. Convenience, ability to get English books in Mexico, price, are all on the side of ebooks.

    The idea that the "book" lasts as long as the battery in your Kindle is laughable.

  11. #10
    Points: 29,613, Level: 41
    Level completed: 98%, Points required for next Level: 37
    Overall activity: 0.1%
    Achievements:
    SocialRecommendation Second Class50000 Experience PointsVeteran
    oceanloverOH's Avatar Senior Member
    Karma
    19414
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Posts
    5,622
    Points
    29,613
    Level
    41
    Thanks Given
    2,071
    Thanked 2,745x in 1,897 Posts
    Mentioned
    324 Post(s)
    Tagged
    0 Thread(s)
    The arthritis in my wrists got so bad I could no longer hold a regular bound book to read it which really sucks, cuz I love the feel and scent of a good old book. Hubby bought me a Nook Touch....I like it OK, but of course with only one page at a time visible, you have to "turn" the pages more often, which I find intrusive to a comfortable settle-in with a good story. I can still manage my trashy romance-novel paperbacks, though, and take those into the bathtub with me

+ Reply to Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts