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10 Reasons I Hate Print Books
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Shavon
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Mar 20, 2013 06:21AM
Here is my contribution to the print books vs. ebooks debate. Enjoy! http://shavonjones.com/2013/03/10-rea...
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Sorry, I love print books. I like e-books too, because they take up less space and often cost less, but even so, print books trump them every time, in my view.
What C.P. said. Here's something I posted on my FB page:In my heart I am a lover of the paper book. I touch it and hold it like I do my lover. I have a love/hate relationship with my Kindle reader. It is not of paper. It has the warm metal feel of the machine it is. I can't slip it into my hip pocket. I can't take it to the hospital room. I can't sneak it into church. Throw my book in the mud it will fertilize growing things. Throw my Kindle in the mud it will poison. The words on both their pages are the same and God knows I'm a lover of words. However, the holders of the words are not the same.
"There is a potential for papercuts."lol.
In my heart I am a lover of the paper book. I touch it and hold it like I do my lover."Love that!
Shavon wrote: "In my heart I am a lover of the paper book. I touch it and hold it like I do my lover."Love that!"
:) Thanks
C.P. wrote: "Sorry, I love print books. I like e-books too, because they take up less space and often cost less, but even so, print books trump them every time, in my view."+1
The only times I venture into ebooks are:
1) the old classics that are in the public domain, or
2) ARC/copies provieded for review by the author/publisher, or
3) books that are written in my native language but cost too much to ship to my country of residence - in this case I only buy epub.
When I have the choice I always go for the hardcopy.
I like the concept of e-books as others here have said but what about the folks that can't afford an e-reader or smartphone on which to download e-books? What will they do if print books are wiped off the face of the Earth? Because believe me, there are quite a few people that still read paper books out of necessity. I now have a Kindle but in my heart of hearts, I like the feel of a paper book. And it doesn't need batteries.
Good point, Pamela. A lot of people pre-ordered my print book because they don't have iPads or eReaders. And I just got the print version in from the printer and must admit it feels extra special holding it. Maybe the print book purists are holding their ground against the high-tech, travel-lite set.
Shavon wrote: "And I just got the print version in from the printer and must admit it feels extra special holding it."The first time you hold your book and see your words on the pages is magical.
I never got that feeling from an ebook publication.
I read my own work as ePub books all the time. It looks like a "real" book and doesn't waste paper. I also edit my work on the iPad using the Storyist app, free to me as a beta tester but well worth the $9.99 purchase price. And I read classics as well as many novels through the Kindle and iBooks apps (I prefer iBooks, which look more like regular books).I love my iPad for all those reasons. And yet ... Print books are beautiful. Print books are satisfying. Print books draw me in, in ways e-books don’t. You can read them on the plane, even during takeoff and landing. They feel good. They smell good. You can lend them to friends, give them to your local library, sell them to a used bookstore. The experience of wandering in a great academic library, surrounded by the hush of real, physical books cannot be duplicated in an e-world.
So it's not either/or. At the dentist's, I'm happy to haul out my phone and access a Kindle book instead of shoving a paperback in my purse as I used to. But for serious reading, reference books, nonfiction, total absorption in fiction, or just the pleasure of handling a piece of art—print books are best.
My two cents.
I definitely prefer print. I just think that the experience is so much more personal when you are actually turning those pages. I understand the allure of being able to carry hundreds of books on a kindle, but I just don't get the same experience reading from a screen.
You know those cheapy paperbacks that feel like rubbish? The cases I've been struck by are non-fiction. I order a paperback, it comes, it's cheap and nasty, ugly paper -- published with no respect for the book. Or printed, rather. But I had sampled on my Kindle, as I do these days. It looks lovely on my Kindle. The typeface is nice to look at, as are the little doodles, and without the nasty paper, it's a thing of, well, not beauty, but attraction.
Hard copy books are heavy and bulky. Paperbacks are difficult to keep open, and if you have to quickly put them down, you've probably lost your place. I read books on several different devices: one of my three laptops, my iPad, my Kindle and my Droid. I keep those devices in different parts of the house and can pick up anyone of them and immediately start right where I left off. I can pick the font and the size of type. What could be more convenient? Print is dead, or at least dying. When you match the cost of a library of print books to the cost of an electronic reading device, there is no argument. e-reading is cheaper by far. I will stick with my devices.
Bryn wrote: "You know those cheapy paperbacks that feel like rubbish? The cases I've been struck by are non-fiction. I order a paperback, it comes, it's cheap and nasty, ugly paper -- published with no respect ..."Good point, Bryn. Not all print books are beautiful. The ones that aren't look better on an e-reader. ;)
I enjoy both print and digital books. However, I love my library of printed works, especially the older ones lovingly retaining the many memories of reading it with a lovely lady friend.I just can't imagine holding the same magical memories with something digital, considering the possibility the ebook might be lost or unavailable for some reason.
I hate the throwaway print books, as I think I said above. Disposable books. Disposable books? These days, if I invest in the print, I demand more than I used to, because now I can think 'I'd have been better off with the ebook'. I resent ugly books more. I do both. My Kindle is my teddy bear and I am certainly emotional about him, so it's not like it's a sterile lab experience to read books thereon.
Ted wrote: "I enjoy both print and digital books. However, I love my library of printed works, especially the older ones lovingly retaining the many memories of reading it with a lovely lady friend.I just ca..."
I like what you said, Ted. 'Feel the same way. But, I have to agree with Bryn on some of the newer paperbacks; seem to have 'planned obsolescence'. Of course, I'm old enough to remember that they were that way when I was young and a good novel in a cheap binding was that way because it cost pennies - glued with something more like library paste.
I've grown to like being able to order books from Britain (much better quality for the most part). They seem to value books a bit more than we do here.
For me, the rise of ebooks allows me to read without the ridiculous expense of replacing them. My disabled son won't suffer a book to keep its cover, hardcover included. He hasn't yet figured out how to defrock an ebook=) My last surviving treasures are boxed up and hidden.
I have had a hardback copy of Forerunner Foray since it first came out in 1973. It's signed by the teachers that gave it to me (I'm sure that at least one of them is now sadly deceased) I have dragged it around with me for forty years and have read it at least 10 times. It was in hospital with me when my first child was born (my mum couldn't find the book I asked for and grabbed the first one she found), I lost it to an ex husband and it took a year to get it back. The cover is tattered and the pages are yellowed. Don't get me wrong, I love my kindle but I doubt that any book on that machine will ever hold the same memories.
Mike wrote: "Hard copy books are heavy and bulky. Paperbacks are difficult to keep open, and if you have to quickly put them down, you've probably lost your place. I read books on several different devices: o..."Some folks still can't afford them, especially at the rate that tablets and smartphones are constantly being "improved". I do believe that there is a place for both. You can't sign an e-reader at a book signing. ;)
Marie wrote: "I have had a hardback copy of Forerunner Foray since it first came out in 1973. It's signed by the teachers that gave it to me (I'm sure that at least one of them is now sadly deceased) I have dra..."Exactly, Marie.
And for the bathroom readers, if you drop your tablet or c-phone in the toilet or sink, you're done! LOL!
Pamela wrote: "And for the bathroom readers, if you drop your tablet or c-phone in the toilet or sink, you're done! LOL!"They're not happy when you drop them in the river either :-(
I have a 1930 dictionary that is literally 20 pounds. Will keep forever because of the antique paper, but one day that will be one of the few print books (not written by me or my personal acquaintances) that I will own. Well, travel books are better in print too. Don't want to whip out an iPad in South America and get robbed!
I don't know if this is a fairly new development: increasingly I find I can buy new paperbacks that, with shipping, are cheaper than amazon's kindle prices for those books. Although I really prefer to buy for my kindle, I won't pay more for the privilege. I think there's a niche for paperbacks until whoever is setting the kindle prices gets more realistic.
As authors, it's irrelevant how we feel about print books. Why would an author risk alienating a potentially large number of readers when it is simple enough to publish a print (POD) book?Me personally, I don't care for either, print or ebook. My preference is the Vulcan mind meld, which puts the contents of the book directly into a readers head.
There are also readers who will pay for a print book even when the ebook edition is free.
Lee wrote: "I don't know if this is a fairly new development: increasingly I find I can buy new paperbacks that, with shipping, are cheaper than amazon's kindle prices for those books. Although I really prefer..."Yes, I've noticed this too. Some of the older books are cheaper in print than in eBook. I don't buy them either. I wonder if they are selling.
Pricing is crazy at the moment. Lots of new, traditionally published books cost almost as much as e-books as they do in print.I know that e-books do not really cost much less than print books to produce. I even wrote a blog post on the subject. Fact is, I will not pay more than $9.99 for an e-book. Period. And I will not pay more for an e-book than for a print copy of the same book. When the Big Five (or Four, or whatever they are this week) figure that out, they will get my attention.
Bookshelf space is precious, but not THAT precious. ;)
C.P., you must be joking: "e-books do not really cost much less than print books to produce." POD technology is fairly cheap, but not that cheap! Then there is the cost of distribution. Once the basic investment is made (e.g. amazon), the cost of distribution is almost nil. Amazon charges authors $0.04 a copy for e-distribution and I'm sure makes a profit on it. Ebooks are so cheap to produce (the publisher bears the costs of formatting, etc.) that distributors make money on books that sell only a few copies a month.
Lee, you are forgetting the costs of pre-production, especially for books that are also being traditionally published in print (those are the books I was talking about, since traditional publishers are the ones who jack up their e-book prices), and the costs of advertising/marketing.E-books cost less to publish and less to distribute (essentially nothing, in both cases). But the editing, book preparation, cover design, and marketing costs are essentially the same—assuming you want a high-quality book that can compete head on with traditionally published books.
The e-books that the Big Five/Four price at $11.99 or more, however, are not pegged at that price to reflect the cost of the e-book but to prevent e-book sales from cannibalizing print sales. That is, they reflect the total cost of producing the book in all formats.
I went through the topic in much more depth here: http://blog.cplesley.com/2012/09/does....
I had to laugh when I read the topic title! Not that many here can identify (or can they, I wonder...), but my books are written for readers generally over 40. Most members of the boomer generation and older, still prefer reading paper books, so as long as they (we) are above-ground, I'll make sure my work is available in print as well.
Being of some years and traditional, I only read material written with a quill pen.
Ah, touche William, but I have a specialized quill font to cover that eventuality!
C.P. wrote: "Lee, you are forgetting the costs of pre-production, especially for books that are also being traditionally published in print (those are the books I was talking about, since traditional publishers..."C.P., I tried to read the blog post but the link directed me back to goodreads.
Mind meld and the quill pen/font. LOL!
I am hoping humor is appreciated in this group. Perhaps some of us are not selling enough books or reading too much Dickens!
Either way, plug me in! Uhhh... no not into the inkwell... keep that quill to yourself!
Sorry guys, I was off-topic on that last remark. Been trying to relate to the undisciplined general public too much. On topic: I have yet to try e-read but am about to take the plunge.
Shavon wrote: "I tried to read the blog post but the link directed me back to goodreads."Weird. The link was to my blog, and not to my blog on Goodreads. Maybe you can access the Goodreads version: http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_....
If that doesn't work, I made the post on Sept. 22, 2012. So you can go to my blog at http://blog.cplesley.com and navigate to that date. It may be faster just to Google it: "Does It Really Cost Nothing to Produce an e-Book?" and C.P. Lesley should pull it up. There are a bunch of posts on the blog that address similar questions, but that one is the most closely tied to the current discussion.
Once I started reading eBooks, I was hooked almost immediately. I am creating a paperback now because I know there are others who still want a book in their hands. I think you'll like e-reading. What will you be using? Robert wrote: "Sorry guys, I was off-topic on that last remark. Been trying to relate to the undisciplined general public too much. On topic: I have yet to try e-read but am about to take the plunge."
Mary - I am going to borrow a friend's Kindle to see if I like it. I'm a cheap old #$%tard and don't want to waste money on some toy I won't like. What, in your opinion is the best e-reader, or combination phone, internet, e-reader (should I really decide to get spendthrifty?
Robert, I have a Kindle Fire so that's the only one I can speak on. I love it. It's a tablet and you can go online (if you have a wi-fi connection) do email, Facebook, Twitter, and GR, etc. They come in different price ranges depending on what you want. Next year (or sooner) I'm going for the bigger one.Robert wrote: "Mary - I am going to borrow a friend's Kindle to see if I like it. I'm a cheap old #$%tard and don't want to waste money on some toy I won't like. What, in your opinion is the best e-reader, or com..."
Robert, for what it's worth, I have the standard (cheap) kindle. It's great for buying and reading. I like it even better than having a print book in my hands. For one thing, you never lose your place.
Ha! Ha! Not losing your place is a big issue at my age, but can it find my lost wallet?
My nook -- the simple one without all the bells and whistles -- came free with a year's subscription to the NY Times, through B&N. I already subscribed, so it was a no-brainer as the monthly was more than cut in half. Ebay regularly has refurbished and used eReaders at really low prices. Once I began to want to be able to see color images in periodicals, I sold my Nook simple on Ebay for $50, and then bought a refurbished Nook Tablet for $60 more on Ebay. I figure the reader paid for itself before the first required subscription year was up. I still like to read paper books, but I also read a lot of eBooks.
Oh, yes, Robert, we can't forget about the color, and games. (No, I'm not addicted to Angry Birds.) I think maybe it's like buying a boat and you get 2 foot fever. Starting out without bells and whistles, you will probably want to advance before long. Unless, you only want it for reading. I still like a paperback, too, but my eyes aren't what they used to be, and I can make the font as big as needed with my Kindle Fire.
Thanks everyone - I'm pecking away on a 12 year old laptop now that is ornery and on its last legs so a change is in order. You've given me food for thought.
