e-books, hardbacks or paperbacks our thoughts.

[Diggler]

By the by, I got this offer from Amazon, the other day:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004ZFZCKY/?tag=brite-21

for free subscription to the Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine. I know absolutely nothing more about it than that as I haven't had time to look. As far as I'm aware it is open to anyone to subscribe for free.

It wouldn't let me subscribe because I'm one of those filthy foreigners.

 

[Perpetual Man]

I have actually got the free issue, but I'm not sure whether that is all it is. One issue. Haven't had a proper look at the terms and conditions yet. (or the magazine for that matter).

I did not recognise all the writers names in it, but I recognised a few.

 

[Lord Soth]

Yeah I got that too, started skimming through the first novellete (is that a real word - they seem to be using it..) and after quite a few pages of dodgy introductions finally got to the story.


Then promptly deleted it. To my mind the first story was just the author trying to show how clever and weird he can be, just put me off the whole thing.

 

[AE35Unit]

Personally, I prefer paperbacks because they're lighter than hardbacks and I think e-books take the fun out of reading because you're basically holding a really small laptop. You also have to consider the battery life whereas with a physical book you can read whenever and you don't need to change the batteries.

The only time I would even consider having an e-book is when I travel, especially the times I've gone overseas because that would have really saved space in my luggage...

I dont feel my reader takes the fun out of reading, and it's nothing like holding a laptop! I csn hold it with one hand, use a pop up light at night that doesnt disturb my partner and the battery is good enough for several books!

 

[Vertigo]

Came across another mechanism for "signing" ebooks:

I gave Lucky Bat Books the revised ms. July 7 and at worldcon on July 17 they had 100 finished copies of a big new trade paperback—speedy indeed. Plus a new idea: e-book cards like big greeting cards, the first page the book’s cover, with info on the book inside and back, and a plastic card you could peel off to discover on the reverse the code to download the e-version in any reader you want. This allows book stores to sell e-books. All this cost me about $4000, a good gamble considering I’d made over $300,000 on the 1993 edition.

At the worldcon, both the trade pb and the e-cards sold well. I signed dozens. The e-cards give collectors something signed to put on the shelf. Just mailing the card lets the buyer send a gift to a friend. The hucksters liked that a lot. I found the whole experience enlightening: moving into a new market with a big book, the second edition sporting a new introduction and long afterword.

This is a quote from Gregory Benford's blog: http://www.gregorybenford.com/blog/

 

[Perpetual Man]

That's a great idea.

They could then sell a small 'ecard' album to store them neatly in and you could have one book on your shelf, filled with covers, instead of a large amount of books.

Really like that.

 

[Vertigo]

Yeah I thought it was quite clever and importantly allows for bookshops and browsing them in the traditional way but still buying ebooks rather than paper books.

 

[LadyLara]

I think the most important aspect of a book is always the words, and the information they convey. Yes, it's all very nice having a nice new book smell, but if you start to fetishise that to the degree that it's becoming the most important factor to you, then you're doing it wrong. Go back 15 years and you'll see all the same sorts of arguments being trotted out against digital photography, how it'll never be the same etc. Now look at the situation. So yes, I bought a Kindle, and I absolutely love it. I'm reading more now than I have done for a long time, and I'm even reading more paper books than I have done for a long time as well. Yes, it's not the saaaaame as a paper book, but then I'm sure Mr Gutenberg's printing press spoiled it for some people as it was too artificial looking and not the saaaame as a nice, hand-written manuscript. Or that paper was just never as good as that nice crinkly experience you got with parchment. Or how parchment was just too flimsy and didn't feel as nice and solid in the hand as a clay tablet. There are plenty of arguments against e-readers and e-books, but I don't the fact that it's just not the same as what you're used to is a very good one.

Having said that, I think this period of having dedicated e-readers will be a brief one. Things are definitely tending towards having one device that does everything, and it's been that way for a while. Phones are now also mp3 players, cameras, movie players, mass storage devices, web browsers etc. At the moment an iPad doesn't do anywhere near enough a good job as a dedicated e-reader, but I think in 10 years time the iPad 7 will be smaller, lighter, cheaper and have a battery life 10 times as long, and will feature some sort of new or hybrid screen that is perfectly acceptable as a replacement to e-ink, and that'll be the death knell for dedicated e-readers. Which is a shame in some ways, because when you have something in your hand that has a web browser and a hundred other distractions a finger-flick away, then it's going to make it that little bit harder to immerse yourself into a book without getting the nagging urge to check your email. My Kindle can just about act as a web browser, but not much else, and so I think this might actually be the golden age for e-readers, where you get all the convenience but without the inevitable distractions that lie down the road. But that's all a bit speculative

 

[Vertigo]

I would agree with you LL. I think dedicated eReaders will have a very limited lifetime, although I suspect Amazon will delay that process as long as they stick to a non-open ebook format. Eventually everything will certainly be combined into a single media (?) device that will cover 'phone, email, web browsing, camera, book reading, music, film, tv... the lot. I think this is what will finally put foldable screens into common use.

 

[Metryq]

I think this is what will finally put foldable screens into common use.

It won't be foldable screens. The trend will be high-res video visors that tuck neatly into a pocket, or hang from a collar like sunglasses. (The main unit will be a smartphone.) The HUD style display will allow the wearer to see data suspended in space in his field of view (what's known as "augmented reality"), or the user my opt to darken or totally black out the visor so that only the data is visible.

Those who do not feel comfortable with the visor will opt for slightly less portable, "olde fashioned" tablets.

 

[Vertigo]

You may be right Metryq, but we've had that technology for quite a while now (as we have had foldable screens admittedly) and there is no real sign of it coming to the general market. To be fair I shouldn't even have suggested foldable screens; I'm usually wary of predicting technology especially in detail. Just look at all the past failures; Blish has people using slide rules two thousand years from now, aother author I read recently had sophisticated technology to allow the golf ball typewriter head to do a carriage feed incredibly quickly without damaging the mechanism, Asimov still had chemical photographic film being used in the Caves of Steel alongside robots. So I guess I'll wait and see what comes. Porbably safe to say it won't be a long wait, this sort of area is moving astonshingly fast now.

 

[LittleMissy]

Oooo, the advance of technology... both a blessing and curse!

I love proper books. As I've said elsewhere, you can't beat the real thing... the smell, the joy of turning each page and seeing how far through you've gotten and how little you have left to read before you get to find out how it all comes together and it finally makes sense!!! Even more so, I love having the books right there on my shelf to be picked up whenever I want to, or so that others can see what I've read and maybe they get interested in them too! Plus, when I visit friends I like to have a nosey at their bookshelves and maybe borrow some from them that take my fancy!!!

I have hardbacks, I have paperbacks (the latter being much easier to carry around in my bag for reading on the work commute - or even en route to visit friends - and definitely less painful to read in bed, much less chance of concussion when you drop a paperback on your head )

I wasn't too sure about the idea of eReaders, initially I thought I would never succumb, but... then, I did

I downloaded Kindle to my PC, and then to the laptop. At least with the lappy I can read on the sofa in some comfort, but bedtime reading is still difficult. You can't lay back and enjoy a book on a hefty laptop, it's just not comfortable.

Then... this month my mobile was up for renewal so... I got an HTC! Now I have Kindle and an Adobe .PDF viewer on my phone and can read books in bed in comfort. Plus, when it comes to commuting it makes life easier as I don't have to think about only reading small paperbacks (since that is all that will fit in my bag), now I just have to remember to take my phone with me!!!

This means that I can now enjoy more books, which is always a plus point. And, if I like the book then I will go out and by a proper paper copy (much like when I borrow books from the library)!!!

So, to summarise, I think the eReader does have it's place. But, for the true book enthusiast, I don't think it will ever replace 'the real thing'

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Having said that, I think this period of having dedicated e-readers will be a brief one. Things are definitely tending towards having one device that does everything, and it's been that way for a while.<snip>Which is a shame in some ways, because when you have something in your hand that has a web browser and a hundred other distractions a finger-flick away, then it's going to make it that little bit harder to immerse yourself into a book without getting the nagging urge to check your email.

I agree. The distractions of a do-it-all device might actually be a detriment to the reading experience. But I guess it depends on how easily one gets distracted, as well. I'm sure there will be plenty of people who have enough focus that when they're reading, they'll tune out the rest.

I would agree with you LL. I think dedicated eReaders will have a very limited lifetime, although I suspect Amazon will delay that process as long as they stick to a non-open ebook format.

Not necessarily. Amazon is a major player in the book retail industry, and they have shown that they understand book (and ebook) selling better than anyone else. It's entirely possible that this hypothetical ultra-ereader could very well be made by Amazon in a few years. Let's not forget that while ereaders have existed for years, it wasn't until the Kindle came out that they became mainstream and the opened the floodgates.

As for the folding screen, I seem to recall that the guys behind eInk had demoed a prototype of a foldable (or at least flexible) eInk display that could potentially have a range of applications. One example they showed was a form of digital wristwatch.

So foldable screens might actually be a lot nearer to reality than we think.

 

[Metryq]

and definitely less painful to read in bed

Whether paper book or ebook, get a pair of prism "bed spectacles."

They're also great for sprawling out on the floor to watch TV. The cat loves it when I spend more time on her level.

 

[Vertigo]

Well they were first demonstrated a long time ago so I guess it's about time!

You may be right about Amazon, but it worries me that they have the potential to completely monopolise the book market. I think Apple got a lot closer to that with the music industry than many of us appreciate. I just see so many parallels; both brought out their own proprietary formats, both tried to sign people to sell only through them. If they could enforce their proprietary formats (prevent copying to other formats) then their dominance of the market could quickly move to monopoly.

I love those specs Metryq, do you really have some and if so just how comfortable are they?

 

[LadyLara]

Not necessarily. Amazon is a major player in the book retail industry, and they have shown that they understand book (and ebook) selling better than anyone else. It's entirely possible that this hypothetical ultra-ereader could very well be made by Amazon in a few years. Let's not forget that while ereaders have existed for years, it wasn't until the Kindle came out that they became mainstream and the opened the floodgates.

I think Amazon are more concerned with the sales of ebooks, rather than with the devices themselves, hence all the free Kindle for X free software. Amazon will probably be heavily involved with whatever comes along next, but I just don't see the dedicated e-readers lasting all that long.

 

[Cayal]

I was of the same opinion as the Original Post about e-readers/books. I hated the idea and preferred physical books.

But I recently bought a kindle after a friend got one and loved it and my mind changed. It's easy to read (like a book) and the idea of carrying hundreds of books in something that fits into a sleeve is appealing, especially when I am going on holidays and the idea of lugging around books to read wasn't ideal.

 

[Dornish First Sword]

I think dedicated ereaders will be around for quite awhile. They have 3 major selling points over other devices at this point in time, these selling points are also technological sticking points. Battery life is quite fantastic, e-ink readability, and price. Until these things can be replicated on other platforms or more multiple use devices I really do not see them being ousted anytime soon.

 

[antiloquax]

I think the most important aspect of a book is always the words, and the information they convey. Yes, it's all very nice having a nice new book smell, but if you start to fetishise that to the degree that it's becoming the most important factor to you, then you're doing it wrong. Go back 15 years and you'll see all the same sorts of arguments being trotted out against digital photography, how it'll never be the same etc. Now look at the situation. So yes, I bought a Kindle, and I absolutely love it. I'm reading more now than I have done for a long time, and I'm even reading more paper books than I have done for a long time as well. Yes, it's not the saaaaame as a paper book, but then I'm sure Mr Gutenberg's printing press spoiled it for some people as it was too artificial looking and not the saaaame as a nice, hand-written manuscript. Or that paper was just never as good as that nice crinkly experience you got with parchment. Or how parchment was just too flimsy and didn't feel as nice and solid in the hand as a clay tablet. There are plenty of arguments against e-readers and e-books, but I don't the fact that it's just not the same as what you're used to is a very good one.

Well said! That's pretty much what I say to the Kindle h8rs!

a

 

[thaddeus6th]

Dornish First Sword, I agree with that. The e-ink readability is the big issue. There's no real need to make all screens that good (unless it becomes very easy/cheap to do so) but it's critical for an e-reader which, obviously, is intended for prolonged and intensive reading.