Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction discussion
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eReaders vs Dead Trees
Here's a link to a post of an author that I like, Richard K. Morgan, about this subject: http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_.... Enjoy.
Simona wrote: "Here's a link to a post of an author that I like, Richard K. Morgan, about this subject: http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_......"
Very good post, thanks for the link Simona.
Simona wrote: "Terri wrote: "Well vs is still okay. Lol.Fairly innocuous. Like saying. Walnuts vs Macadamias. Which do you prefer? :-)"
Both! Both! Expecially in cookies..."
Oh definitely Macadamia's for me. I've never been one for walnuts. Plus the Macadamia is a native species of my country (and of my area) so I prefer them from a patriotic stance too. :D
Got myself a new toy today, a galaxy tablet. Liking it so far easier to use than the ipad. Will try to read a book on it tomorrow.
Please let us know. It's looking more and more like I'll need to replace the laptop and since I can't afford another at the moment, I'm considering a tablet. I don't want an Ipad, I have an iTouch and have an idea of it's limitations. I've been eyeing the Galaxy though.
Kind of got this instead of a new desktop pc. Its a galaxy2.
I would be good to know. I'm looking at a Galaxy Note 8 as my foray into the tablet market. It's been getting some really good reviews but it's a little steep on the price side.
I have a galaxy 2 (the 7") and I really like it for reading and also can watch movies or play games, the graphics are very nice. I do mostly use it at home (but I take it with me everywhere for just in case I get a chance to read) and so I can plug it in whenever I need to charge the batttery. It has a micro sd slot so you can load it up with tons of stuff. The only thing I don't like is that you have to use the samsung plug, its not a generic micro usb, and it won't charge if I try to use it with a generic cigarette lighter adapter in my car. The charge wont last nearly as long as with a plain kindle type reader but charging it while I sleep is not a problem, and I don't watch movies or play games too much when not at home. For reading its fine and I have the kindle app and also cool reader which I use for non-mobi books.That said, I had a cheaper generic tablet before and it worked just as well, until I sat on it. If its mostly for reading, the cheaper ones for around $100 or less work perfectly fine. I'm being extra careful not to sit on this one ;)
I am up to my 3rd e- reader. I had the the original kobo ( no touch screen, black & white, not backlit). Then my husband bought me the kobo vox ( backlit, colour, touch and wifi ). I loved the kobo's. I really thought I would not like digital. But had to go that way by necessity. ( selling house to live and travel in caravan is not conducive to book collecting). The vox however was kobo's first foray into that style and it was clunky and not friendly. I now have an iPad, which I just love! However I don't use iBooks, I still just use the kobo app. I only use iBooks for the monthly free book they have highlighted or if they are dramatically cheaper, which is rare indeed. Even if I wasn't travelling I would still have one for its ease of use. At the end of the day, to each his own I guess.
I mainly bought my Sony e-reader for my study. Reading 100+ pages off a computer screen isn't fun. Though I'm starting to use it more for leisure reads too. BUT I'm only reading old books on it that I can download for free. I refuse to spend money on a product which I cannot share with my bookloving family and friends. That's why I love my paper book collection. Browsing through someone else's bookshelf to find a new book to read is the best thing :) There's nothing like sharing books. I do hope that they'll find a way to make it easier to share your digital books too. The software is there: libraries can already lend out e-books. So why not have this option for readers as well...?
One question I have for e-reader users: Do the books you are reading on the e-readers seem, I don't know, less polished or well written than the ones on paper? I often have that feeling, although I am not sure if it is due to the fact that I have been reading a few debut novels that could use more polishing, or because the medium itself does not have the same impact on me.
I have only read ebooks from mainstream authors, non from self published e-authors. I have two self published authors on my pc ready to be loaded on my reader or tablet.
Dawn wrote: "I would be good to know. I'm looking at a Galaxy Note 8 as my foray into the tablet market. It's been getting some really good reviews but it's a little steep on the price side."
Hi Dawn, I downloaded the android for goodreads while it was better than the ipad version, I can still more with the web browser version.
Eileen wrote: "One question I have for e-reader users: Do the books you are reading on the e-readers seem, I don't know, less polished or well written than the ones on paper? I often have that feeling, although ..."I do think I read and approach text differently on an e-reader than with paper books. I don't have that feeling that a text is less polished, but I do have more trouble staying concentrated or losing myself in the story. On my e-reader, I read less pages in one go than with paper books.
You know that feeling that you're reading a book and you're so immerged in the story that you didn't realise you only have a few more pages to go? Never had that feeling with my e-reader and I did read some pretty good books on it.
Sanne wrote: "I do think I read and approach text differently on an e-reader than with paper books. I don't have that feeling that a text is less polished, but I do have more trouble staying concentrated or losing myself in the story. On my e-reader, I read less pages in one go than with paper books.You know that feeling that you're reading a book and you're so immerged in the story that you didn't realise you only have a few more pages to go? Never had that feeling with my e-reader and I did read some pretty good books on it. "
Well said Sanne. I was having trouble really expressing what it is, and you've done it. This is exactly how I feel about them, and the whole missing the physicality of the book.
Really, I can still get into what my family call the markzone when reading, I get so into a book the surroundings don't exist to me, dont see or hear anything. People have to touch me or throw something at me.I am doing this with my sony ereader, but it depends on the book and how it effects me.
Darcy wrote: "Sanne wrote: "I do think I read and approach text differently on an e-reader than with paper books. I don't have that feeling that a text is less polished, but I do have more trouble staying concen..."I have the exact opposite problem. I have been using some form of a Kindle(paperwhite now) for the past 3 years and just started reading physical books again and can't stay focused on them. Had to pick up a 1000+ page physical book that is not available in digital format. The weight and having to keep the ceiling light on is really annoying.
I read with just a floor lamp next to the sofa or bed, no overhead light. I can imagine switching from one medium to another, especially with ceiling light on, would be annoying. Or in the daytime I sit in the recliner next to the deck door and get the outside natural light coming through the glass panel of the sliding door.
I read both. My main problem with my Nook is that my roommates don't realize I'm reading, they think I'm online and can still talk. I still get sucked in to where I don't hear you talking until at least the third sentence and that you're talking to ME for another two, minimum. I've been reading both real and ebooks since I got my Nook and have no trouble either way. But then I read cereal boxes and bathroom cleaner bottles, so that may explain that. lol About the quality of writing on ereaders, a book by Bernard Cromwell is still a book by Bernard Cromwell and a book by a pulp writer is still pulp. It's easy to find pulp in ebook format, more so than when we had only dead trees and publishing companies, and easy to think you're not finding pulp when you are... the covers don't give as good of clues when self-published, they're deliberately making the synopsis and covers look better than the pulp they're selling because the author thinks it's good writing.
Crystal wrote: "I read both. My main problem with my Nook is that my roommates don't realize I'm reading, they think I'm online and can still talk. I still get sucked in to where I don't hear you talking until a..."Perhaps that is my problem. There is a lot of stuff out there offered for free that would otherwise have made its way quickly to a publisher's slush pile. And you could also get lured into taking the book by sock puppet reviews that talk about this "amazing book" which really should not have seen the light of day. And then there are the reviews that give the impression they were done by the author's family, friends and neighbors.
I refuse to read anything that isnt available on my kindle. Havent read a dtb in over 3 years, but read hundreds on my kindle.
Dreck--that's one reason I stay away from eReaders.
On pulp: the last time I read a paperback that meant absolutely nothing to me, I kept thinking (tried not to, the thought crept in) - what a waste of paper. I minded that it had used up this paper and took this size, a big physical book and a waste. My visceral reaction, a new one, must be a result of ebooks. I've been engrossed in ebooks, I don't think I read differently, ebook and paper. I mean, I can be very very unengrossed on paper.
Bryn wrote: "On pulp: the last time I read a paperback that meant absolutely nothing to me, I kept thinking (tried not to, the thought crept in) - what a waste of paper. I minded that it had used up this paper ..."I understand that feeling. That's why I changed from paper magazines and newspapers to digital. (Will never change for books though...for all the various reasons I have mentioned in this thread since it began, which are similar and the same as what Sanne said a few posts back in this thread).
But with the eco thing. The tree thing doesn't bother me when it comes to books. Because they still rip coal out of the earth and chug fumes into the atmosphere to charge that eReader to read that eBook. So don't feel too bad about the dead tree. :D At least that is and can be (if the publisher sources the earth friendly paper) a sustainably manufactured product.
More and more publishers are using paper from sustainably managed forests.
Now...I can't say as much of the Independently published books...from my experience because they are trying to cut costs they don't use the certified paper from sustainably managed forests, but the major publishers are embracing certified paper.
However! I have actually been p#ssed that a tree died for an awful book before! Think I have even said it in my review of those books.
I hate seeing a tree die for no reason. :-)
Ditto what crystal has mentioned : no matter the format the book is still the same. The one great thing I love about going digital is that i take it with me no matter where i go. Who knows when I might sneak in another 5 minutes reading time, lol. And I can carry my entire library and it never gets any heavier.I do worry when I buy a " bundle" that it is abridged. There is nothing to tell you one way or the other. I have bought a few bundles now, and I have tried to google this but haven't really come up with a satisfactory answer. So I will assume they are the complete version and live in ignorant bliss.
Bundle? That's term I have never seen before. But then I am not into eReading so it's no surprise. :-)
Saw this story in the Twittersphere.Amazon Debuts New Kindle Paperwhite with Goodreads Upgrade
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by...
Curious, it's not a selling feature for me but I like the idea.
Not a selling feature for me either...am also curious.Would like to 'drive' one and see how integrated it is with GR.
My Kindle broke at the weekend. I really miss it already
Tim, the same happened to me. I endured more or less 7 hours, then I bought a new one...
I love paper books but I also love my Kindle. Two reasons for me are: 1) Weight. Some of the history books I read probably weigh a few pounds and it's nice to be able to hold the same book (actually hundreds or thousands of books with one time)with one hand. 2) Backlight. Makes reading in bed so much better!
I didn't actually do anything as far as I can see. I just went to switch it on and half the screen is frozen. Nothing seems to fix it, even a reboot/reset. I suppose this wouldn't happen if it was a paperback.
Technology is so treacherous. Just up and quitting like that! :)
Last night I lit my new log burner for the first time, the temperature in England haivng fallen far enough to make it worthwhile, and then opened my new Kobo ereader, also for the first time!I have downloaded Alexander Dumas' 'The Three Musketeers', possibly my favourite historical novel, certainlyt he one that got me reading historical fiction.
There were things about reading an ebook that I did not like, but I have to admit that there were things that I did like too!
It looks like I'm sitting on the fence, I know, but I can see the benefits of both mediums and I don't think that there's a good reason to abandon one in favour of the other.
Yeah, I think most people agree both have their positives. Some people refuse to read paper, some refuse to read digital, but they still agree there are good points to both mediums.For me though, in regards to 'there's no good reason to abandon one for the other'...I do have good reasons to abandon one for the other. My brain refuses to accept digital reading as reading.
If a person just can't make digital reading work for their brain, then unfortunately, there isn't much one can do about it. :)
I am preparing for a two week holiday. I have got to say I love being able to load up a kindle with a dozen choices. No more late night desperation at having nothing to read!
Terri wrote: "Yeah, I think most people agree both have their positives. Some people refuse to read paper, some refuse to read digital, but they still agree there are good points to both mediums.For me though,..."
I can see that Terri. I don't find it natural to read digital and I like the book in my hand. Having said that, I suspect that I could adjust if I read digital on a regular basis. Given some of the plus points, it might be worth it.
I have been reading digital in the form of documents and reports for many, many years, so for me, forcing myself to read ebooks on a regular basis would still never break me in. It isn't, in my case, that my brain isn't used to digital reading, it is that it isn't reading to me, it is working.Everyone is different though. That is only my individual case.
I bought a tablet finally and have read a couple books on it now. I'm finding it depends on the book on whether I like to go digital, audio or paper. Odd but it's working for me. :)
Wow. Now there's a surprise. :-)
How can you predict for yourself which you like which way, Dawn? I'm curious. Is it a type of book?
I have a general idea of which will work better but it's not exact. Mostly chosen by genre.Audiobooks need to be short and with action or suspense. I usually go for mysteries, though China Miéville and Patrick O'Brian have worked in audio and I would not have predicted them. Non-fiction and fantasy don't work at all.
So far digital has been brilliant for classics. I've tried HF and SF and neither have worked.
Paper for most everything though a must have for the non-fiction and fantasy.
I became attached to my Kindle because of all my travels. If you keep switching continents, you're always leaving a library behind. But it was most important when I was recovering from a ski injury. I was in a back brace, flat on my back in the hospital, one arm in a cast. My Kindle was light enough to hold over my head to read and I could turn the pages with one hand. The stories I read helped distract me through very difficult days.
I have had a Nook ereader for years and I love it, although I have totally ditched my actual Nook and I use the Nook app on my ipad. I have a question and I don't know where to post it. I want to find some Nook friends who have similar reading tastes so that we can 'borrow' ebooks from each other. I joined this group just now, because I enjoy historical fiction. Is there a way to post a thread on this group asking for people to add me to their Barnes & Noble web site as a Nook friend?
If there is not a specific thread addressing this, if any of you have a Nook, please feel free to send me a friend invitation to L.L.M@zoominternet.net. This email invitation would need to be sent when you are logged into the B&N web site under the "My Nook" section. (You are also welcome to add me as a Goodreads friend if you like)
I posted under a Nook Friends Group here on Goodreads, but it appears that group may have a huge percentage of people who mostly read paranormal romance, zombies, etc. (bleck!)
Thanks!
Hi Linda,This is the right place to post that request.
As long as it is all legal lending (and from what I am reading it seems legal, but I am not an eReading person so don't know these things).
I like reading on my kindle but I honestly prefer to read actual books.
Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Ben Pastor (other topics)Robert Low (other topics)
China Miéville (other topics)
Patrick O'Brian (other topics)
Richard K. Morgan (other topics)
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Fairly innocuous. Like saying. Walnuts vs Macadamias. Which do you prefer? :-)"
Both! Both! Expecially in cookies...