Ugh. The books with screens.

[C. J.]

I do not know how to say things pro or con about whether Kindles and other electronic book systems are great or bad but I always thought (or think now) that reading a book involved getting away from having a screen in your face. I know that the systems take down the "glow" aspect so it is not exactly like a computer but don't these things bother the eyes? I thought reading a book involved "escaping" to another world not scrolling down chapters and plots like you were reading an extended Facebook Note. Do we really need another "SCREEN" type of thing when we already are distracted by apps on smartphones, nonstop cellphone features, Facebook and Twitter and other screen socialities???? Or am I ignorant to what these e-book systems are for and I should quiet and hear the pros to these things? Paper or Electric? If you are for the e-type books that download books (sometimes for free) explain why you love it. No judging. :P

[Sara]

Chris wrote: "I do not know how to say things pro or con about whether Kindles and other electronic book systems are great or bad but I always thought (or think now) that reading a book involved getting away fro..."

Okay, so I don't get why it's an either-or sort of a situation. I love both my Kindle AND my paper books (of which I own over 2,000 at the moment). Paper books are such a splendid all-around experience, from the smell of the paper to the feel of the pages and the ability to actually "hide" behind the cover and sequester yourself, but it's so much easier to read a six-hundred page book on a Kindle! Reading in bed is much less cumbersome, and I no longer have to pack a second twenty-pound bag of books when I travel!

Visually speaking, my Kindle's screen is almost indistinguishable from a standard page on a book. The slightly gray background and the e-ink lettering are exceptionally easy to read. I like that I can get a book I need that's available INSTANTLY. I like that I can get public domain classics like Moby Dick (and The Great Gatsby!) for FREE! There isn't also the "multi-task" distraction you get on a regular computer, because there's no menu bar at the bottom, nothing flashing at you, nothing else going on. It's a solitary and focused experience, just like any other book.

I've heard a lot of people complain about not being able to annotate in a Kindle, but I actually have found myself underlining and making notes a lot more in my Kindle because it takes just a click and movement of the cursor. And Kindle keeps track of your notes and underlines and makes it very simple to access them at any time.

I still enjoy the tactile experience of reading and collecting books, and there are still a lot of books available only in print format. I'm reading three or four books in print format and one or two books on my Kindle right now. There's also nothing that can beat an afternoon spent wandering through the shelves at my favorite indie bookstore, and I still patronize mine weekly.

So I think it's a fine balance. I love both my babies. Both give me the chance to explore the literary world in different ways. But both are equally worthy, in my mind. I know publishing is going to have to adapt to this new medium, but I think that it will end up being a positive result. So many more people are reading, and there's been a great resurgence in the short story and other genres and styles as a result of this new platform. It will just take time to adjust to the revolution.

[Jan C]

I have to agree, Sara. I really like my kindle. How else could I carry a couple of hundred books around with me? And I still have about 1500 unread traditional books. But now I don't have to carry so many of them with me on a trip. I still take a bag of books with me (when travelling by car).

But I like the fact that when I fall asleep reading now, I don't have to guess where I left off. The kindle remembers for me.

And if I want to cook or do something else while reading a book, I hit that old text to speech button and, voila, I'm not only fixing dinner but I didn't have to put down my book to do it. I only recently discovered this feature.

I've been underlining for a while but I didn't know until recently that I could also make a note. Want to recover a note? Press a button and you can find it.

I don't make as many trips to the local bookstore but that's because they took my Borders away and I usually can't find parking by my local Barnes & Noble.

[Whitney]

I agree with everything Sara and Jan said, still love 'real' books, and also love my e-reader (a nook, in my case). Reasons: I can carry a lot of books on one device if I'm traveling; I can change the font size if I'm reading on the bus, in the gym or in a darkened pub; it's easier to hold, especially with one hand; I can prop it up easily to read while eating; I can search the text in longer books when I'm trying to find a scene for rereading; there are thousands of books available free or at low cost.

The readers that use e-ink have pages that are just like regular books, and they don't scroll - with the nook you tap the screen (or make a page-turning motion if you prefer) to turn the page.

[Stephanie]

I love my paper books, but find the ebooks helpful when I want to covertly read some of the classics at work. To everyone else, it looks like I'm working on some kind of document. In reality, I'm reading a novel. I know, it's sneaky and underhanded, but I'm not that busy... :)

[Sara]

Does anyone else ever wonder if Captain Picard (or any of the Star Trek characters) ever read something really indulgent when they were pretending to work, too? ;)

[Stephanie]

Sara wrote: "Does anyone else ever wonder if Captain Picard (or any of the Star Trek characters) ever read something really indulgent when they were pretending to work, too? ;)"

Hahahaha! Definately! Especially Lavar Burton. He had that show Reading Rainbow for years. I'm sure he was doing research ;)

[[deleted user]]

As a mom of two, it's all about convenience. I don't have to worry about my infant grabbing at and tearing pages, or my toddler pulling out my bookmark when I use my Nook. It's also easier to tuck into my coat pocket to take places, and when I need something new to read, I can just go to my computer instead of bundling up the kids to go to the library or bookstore.

[Susan]

Sara wrote: "Chris wrote: "I do not know how to say things pro or con about whether Kindles and other electronic book systems are great or bad but I always thought (or think now) that reading a book involved ge..."

Perfectly said. I completely agree. I love my Nook more than I ever thought I would and I still read print books. I was 100% against e-readers until my husband purchased the Nook for me for Christmas. He has huge issues with my 4,000 plus book collection so it was a compromise. So now when I buy print books I have to hide them:-)

[Mal]

I'm very much a paper book person, but my Kindle is good for traveling, reading samples to determine if I like a book, and for reading free classic and indie books.

[Melanie]

I prefer reading on my Kindle. I buy paper books (because books don't need charged) of my favorites and think that publishing companies should start adding a free digital copy with print books. I also use books because I'm in graduate school and while it is easy to make notes in the Kindle, it's easier to flip to a page for something.

If you're listing a book as an escape, the internet is the same thing--so that's like saying one is a better escape than another. You can still escape into apps on tablets, smart phones, etc. You can still escape into the Kindle and the Nook. The truth is, Kindle and Nook are INCREASING reading. New genres are popping up (including the male romance) because the e-reader is more private than a book with a cheesy cover. And writers are actually getting the amount of money they deserve (working with electronic publishers can get a writer 50-60% of the profits vs 15% or less through standard publishing companies). And while writers get that additional money that they deserve, they get more control over their books and less constrains (such as rushing to put out sequels before they're ready and writing to an "audience" instead of to the integrity of the story).

[B0nnie]

I'm completely surrounded by books (literally) - but - I love my e-reader. I find I can read a lot faster with it.

[Sara]

B0nnie wrote: "I'm completely surrounded by books (literally) - but - I love my e-reader. I find I can read a lot faster with it."

Yeah, isn't that weird? I read like twice as fast with my e-reader as I do on paper. And I seem to retain more, too.

[C. J.]

Wow great answers. I like to hear that features of this kind of book include highlighting places that I guess would seem important.

They can carry around 2,000 books? Didn't know that. And that is a HUGE plus for a reader that loves to get into this medium in public versus balancing a hardcover in the lap on a bus or a trolley.

Are these great at using at night before bed? I always have trouble laying on my back with a book stretched above my head. . . I sit up and read in a chair when I have alone time now. If the light is on the ceiling in a room does that keep the book from being readable if you lie on the back and keep the book above your head? Too dark for the screen? Just wondering.

[Jan C]

You can order a light for the kindle. I've only used it occasionally. But I have no problem reading in bed. And when I fall asleep I don't lose my place.

[Whitney]

Chris wrote: "If the light is on the ceiling in a room does that keep the book from being readable if you lie on the back and keep the book above your head? Too dark for the screen?..."

Assuming we're just talking about the readers that use the e-ink and not the backlit ones like the Kindle Fire, then you need the same kind of light you need to read a paper book. It is easier to use the clip-on book lights with the e-readers since you don't have to turn pages. You can also get covers that have lighting for reading in the dark.

[Sara]

Chris wrote: "Are these great at using at night before bed? I always have trouble laying on my back with a book stretched above my head. . . I sit up and read in a chair when I have alone time now. If the light is on the ceiling in a room does that keep the book from being readable if you lie on the back and keep the book above your head? Too dark for the screen? Just wondering."

I love using mine in bed. Reading a big fat book is no more awkward than reading a skinny little novella. ;) I think your other questions were answered rather nicely by Whitney. To give you some reference, the "page" on a Kindle (an e-ink version) looks just like the typical trade paperback page, so augmented lighting will be needed in low-light situations. It's really astonishing how much it looks like a book page. It's also pretty cool that you can go into the settings and change the fonts and the font sizes, so now ALL books can be "Large Print" versions if you want them to be. I love the fact that I can read my books one-handed.

[Luke]

I officially own more books than my removalist had seen in one person's house, and he'd been hauling boxes for 18 years, so I figure I'm a pretty good 'paper rulez' kinda guy. I am a fetishist. I have library cataloguing software because I'd come back from stores with copies of stuff I already had but had forgotten about. So you know, paper is sweet.

I never thought I'd get a Kindle. I thought it was a dick move to do, and that it meant you weren't a True Reader. But you know, like my supposition that I had to only listen to small, no-release indie bands or obscure noise artists because nothing else was REALLY music, that was a pose - and an untenable one.

Music of all types is great (I say that with the caveat that you have to have SOME standards, though.) And so it is with literature - the Kindle only changes the way you consume it, and even then it doesn't change it all that much... it just puts it in a different footprint. And makes it more manageable, sometimes.

While travelling last year I felt bummed out about the amount of space the books I'd need to keep me going were taking up in my luggage. They made me travel more heavily. This year? Not a drama: all of Dickens' works in something the size of a paperback? Awesome!

I'm currently reading Ellroy's trio of books with Dudley Smith as the main character. It's about three inches thick, and reading it in bed (or giving blood, as I discovered yesterday) is nigh-on impossible. But a Kindle makes it all very possible. Something my Mum will vouch for - she's a technophobe and fan of 1000-page biographies, and a Kindle means she can read in bed without fatigue, etc, and at a size that suits her. Seems to make sense.

Dad has an iPad. He can't read books on it, so it now gathers dust, and they've become a two-Kindle household.

It's like any development: until you use it, you can't see how it'll work for you. But when you do, it makes things a lot easier in some respects. It'll never replace books, ever - there's something to be said for the feel of the things! - but it's a useful adjunct, more practical than books in some situations and less so in others.

I've started to go through my collection and weed out books I don't want to keep. Previously I would've kept EVERYTHING but now I'm trying to be judicious. I went through a stage (once I got over the "MUST ONLY READ CLASSICS!" mindset) of collecting airport lit (Hailey, Clancy, Ludlum, etc) because a lot of it's now old enough to have a kind of antique charm, a little like Agatha Christie works. But as you'd know, there's only so many copies of Clavell books you can have on a shelf without it collapsing - but on my Kindle, no dramas. (And none of the shame of having shelves fulla that crap when people come over, ahem...)

So in THAT respect, the Kindle will be great - I can keep books that're fun, that I *might* read again, but I'll be able to save the actual shelf space for the much-loved keepers. It's helping me declutter, and I dig that immensely, 'cause to be taken out by a collapsing bookshelf filled with Wilbur Smiths would be a less than inspirational death, after all.

[Luke]

I do suspect that a sort of ebook playlist idea will come to be the new mixtape, though. Remember when you made tapes or burned CDs to impress people? Same thing, only with books - and much less creepy than giving someone a shopping bag of books...

[Rachael]

Stephanie wrote: "I love my paper books, but find the ebooks helpful when I want to covertly read some of the classics at work. To everyone else, it looks like I'm working on some kind of document. In reality, I'm..."

hahahha i do exactly the same thing!

[C. J.]

I love all of these knew comments and old ones.

You guys have told me of many features and there was a lot I didn't know about the Kindle or the other brand versions.

Uh oh Steph. LOL. I would be a little careful if I wanted to "look" like I was working on a document. Don't do that at work if you get the chance. Hahaha.

[Kayla]

Stephanie wrote: "Sara wrote: "Does anyone else ever wonder if Captain Picard (or any of the Star Trek characters) ever read something really indulgent when they were pretending to work, too? ;)"

Hahahaha! Defin..."

Sara and Stephanie - Great thoughts, love it! :)

[Heather]

I just recently got a Kindle. While I do prefer paper books(mainly because I like people to see what I read haha) I just don't have enough room for all the books I want. Plus, with the Kindle I can get books for free and there are some novellas I've wanted to read that only come in e-book format.

[Richard]

am a kindle convert. have had one for 4 weeks now and am on my 5th book, grabbed a swag of free stuff from amazon and am currently loving Jack London's People of the Abyss which i am doubtfull i would ever have tried in hardcopy. also have some Proust and some Aristotle. my Kindle Touch is comfortable and easy to use

having spent years saying "but i just love the feel of a book" i am happy to retract and say "i just love reading, and reading on the kindle is simple and cheap"

[Whitney]

This was pretty much the same as my conversion. I still love books as objects, but find I usually prefer actual reading on the nook. This article from the NY Review of books discusses differentiating the appreciation of books as objects as opposed to books as text, and suggests that ebooks may offer a more direct engagement with the text.

http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/...

[C. J.]

To ---Tony: hahahaha! I am glad that there is a reason to read it on paper. That was one reason I didn't see coming. . . haha.

To Whitney-- You had a "conversion" because of the many reviews that you can instantly find online. I love that! So many differing and interesting reviews.

I hope you guys keep commenting.

[C. J.]

OOOOOhh! A question that has startled me because I want to publish books in the future and the technology has kind of frightened me even tho I am only 24 years old.

Do you think because of the free books that are available that people should only get them when they are free?? Do you think Kindles and other devices keep businesses from profit?

Would you want YOUR book if you had one in the publishing process made free . .?

[Lisa]

I still like reading novels the old fashion way - in books. : )

[Sara]

CJ wrote: "Do you think because of the free books that are available that people should only get them when they are free?? Do you think Kindles and other devices keep businesses from profit?

Would you want YOUR book if you had one in the publishing process made free . .?"

I don't know about other markets, but Amazon offers certain books for free (or at an extremely reduced price) as promotions. The idea is to get people to pick up the emerging writer's novel and then reel them in to buy the next one by the author or in the series (or to buy the physical book itself, which I've learned some people do when they like the Kindle version). Most of the time the free and cheap books are only that way for a short time--sometimes as little as a day or two.

And prices are set by the publisher and are established based upon a contract with the author, so the author has already agreed to offer the book at a particular price point (or for free).

[Luke]

If I was an author and signed myself into a contract whereby a publisher could put my work out for free against my will, I'd deserve it.

Why would the technology frighten you? Publishing and writing isn't dead. It's the transmission of words that's important, regardless of how it's consumed. What's unhelpful is the assumption that one mode of enjoyment - hardcopy versus ebook - is inherently 'better' than another.

[Whitney]

The free or super cheap books on Amazon are usually offered for such a short time in order to drive up the sales position and to get more 'people who bought this book also bought...' tags. Many of the ebooks are self published, in which case the author is determining the price.

I got the idea that what CJ meant by being 'frightened by the technology' is that it may threaten the writer's ability to make a profit on their work. Ebooks are eroding the traditional publishing model to be sure, but writers are developing new models of marketing their ebooks and are finding advantages in not being reliant on big publishers.

[Luke]

Are they, though? I buy no fewer 'real' books than ever I did, and I doubt I'm alone. If anything, ebook readers and many of their owners - who just use the equipment to buy something in a different format than "enormous tome" - are putting more money in publishers' pockets than not.

I don't have any figures but it wouldn't surprise me if the secondhand industry was suffering from the ability of publishers to put cheap e-versions of their works up for sale - a 75per cent cheaper edition sold through Amazon still makes more money for the author and publisher than a second-hand copy of the same book sold anywhere.

More likely, parallel importing and the increasing power of places like Amazon are putting the push on traditional publishing models, as they're able to place more pressure on book production methods and on the margins made.

[Whitney]

I'm by no means an expert on the publishing industry, but the ease of producing and distributing ebooks is definitely a challenge to the standard methods of the big publishing houses, who provide a significant investment for the printing and marketing of hardcovers. No doubt, publishers can still do well, but I suspect they will have alter the way they do things.

The significantly cheaper ebooks you are seeing are generally not coming from the large publishers who tend to keep the prices of ebooks as high as the price of the softcover or even the hardcover. The smaller publishers and independents seem to have a 'saner' ebook pricing model. Again, I'm no expert, just an interested party.

[Sara]

Whitney wrote: "I'm by no means an expert on the publishing industry, but the ease of producing and distributing ebooks is definitely a challenge to the standard methods of the big publishing houses, who provide a..."

The ease of publishing and producing books is also a big challenge for critics and readers. When there's SO MUCH in the market, it can be difficult to find great writing.

On the flipside, some of the great writing that's been suppressed by mainstream publishing because it lacks the ability to be squeezed into a genre now has the opportunity to be experienced by those artists able to market their product intelligently.

There are definitely trade-offs and I'm glad I'm not a publisher trying to walk this very difficult tightrope, but this is going to transform publishing and the way we consume literature on a massive scale and will eventually be remembered as a great adventure for the written word.

[Jennifer]

I use a Nook B&W and it looks exactly like the page of a book. I wouldn't want an iPad, Kindle Fire or any of that for that reason.

Is some of the romanticism of book-reading lost in e-readers? Absolutely. I dont' deny that. But I've sold my soul for the convenience my book collection and a bookstore in the palm of my hand, and I'm not looking back. I still love my paper books--the way they smell, the way they feel, the way I can read them in the bath (because you're crazy if you do that with a machine). But I'm sold on this. It enhances my enjoyment of reading and I truly love my Nook.

[Luke]

Whitney wrote: "but the ease of producing and distributing ebooks is definitely a challenge to the standard methods of the big publishing houses, who provide a..."

I don't know it's such a problem. Most likely analogue for a bunch of publishing on Kindle et al is vanity publishing - the costs to the author are just less, which is why there's much more floating around online.

Cream always rises with writing - it's just that the signal/noise ratio is worse these days. Yeah, there's the chance of a gem being given greater prominence - but that presupposes wading through a lot more crap to find it...

[Melissa]

I'm with CJ. I read to escape always having a screen in my face. If I want to stare at a screen, I have two computers and a television in my house.

[Luke]

Completely different experience than either a TV or computer monitor.E-ink is more like a printed page than a screen at all. It's more like reading an endless book than looking at a screen.

Less glare than some high-gloss magazines, actually.

[Amy]

I have the Nook simple touch (e-ink screen), and I love it, especially for big books. I still use the library more than purchasing books (I couldn't afford to read everything I want to if I had to buy every book), and if the eBook version is not available at the library but the printed version is, I'll read the printed version rather than pay for the eBook version.

[C. J.]

This is going off on a tangent but we must keep businesses open that are like stores and businesses that are not "apps" because jobs are possibly dwindling. I am not personally "frightened" by the technology. . . it is that Borders and other places have closed down. It seems like we are becoming less and less like a social society. People don't even like to just stand in public anymore without being drowned out by their Mp3 players. . .
On a different note, comic book stores are getting shook by the fact that there are now animated comics that make the "plain, paper" ones boring by comparison. People are downloading these things and my local comic book store is great as a place to get paper novels and comics.
I don't want to see anymore businesses shut down. . . poor Borders

[Amy]

CJ wrote: "This is going off on a tangent but we must keep businesses open that are like stores and businesses that are not "apps" because jobs are possibly dwindling. I am not personally "frightened" by the ..."

Excellent points. There is a lot to be said about the feel of a bookstore.

[Melissa]

Heather wrote: "I just recently got a Kindle. While I do prefer paper books(mainly because I like people to see what I read haha) I just don't have enough room for all the books I want. Plus, with the Kindle I can..."

I like people to see what I read sometimes, too, Heather. It's also easier to see what other people are reading when they're using real books, or to see if they're looking at an ebook or using an iPad, too. ;)

[Cam]

I don`t have a kindle. I think it`s a nifty idea, but a book that I can actually hold and flip pages, I think that is amazing, and I don`t know if I`m the only one who does this when I buy a new book, but I smell the pages. Weird I know....but that is my favorite smell EVER. A new book.

[Cam]

Glad to know I`m not the only one who enjoys that smell.

[Pam]

I love the smell and the feel of a good book, and you can always tell how interesting a book store will be by the smell of it when you first step in.

That being said, I also love my Kindle. I've had it for over a year now, and there are two reasons I set it above hard-copy books: 1) VARIETY -- I don't have to break the bank to get books that are virtually impossible to find at my local libraries. I can get my hands on a MUCH wider range of titles in .mobi format than in paper format. 2) BULK -- It's slim and compact, even with a lighted case. I have about 200 books on my Kindle at the moment, which means I can read whatever I want during my office hours without busting the seams on my attache. Heck, when I was reading Moby Dick, I couldn't even fit it in my bag, which meant I couldn't bring it to work with me (I need that other hand for my tea!). My Kindle lets me bring whatever books I want wherever I want without being a weighty, bulky burden.

I will always love the smell and feel of hard-copy books. However, those sensory perks are not worth the monetary cost or the bulkiness. I won't get rid of my hard-copy books, but I won't exactly go out of my way to buy more, either.

[Luke]

CJ wrote: "This is going off on a tangent but we must keep businesses open that are like stores and businesses that are not "apps" because jobs are possibly dwindling. I am not personally "frightened" by the ..."

If you want to look at why smaller bookstores close down, look to larger bookstore chains. That's got more to do with it than the rise of e-books.

[Amy]

Luke wrote: "CJ wrote: "This is going off on a tangent but we must keep businesses open that are like stores and businesses that are not "apps" because jobs are possibly dwindling. I am not personally "frighten..."

A combination of large chains and online ordering - like Amazon.

[C. J.]

But Borders WAS a large bookstore. It did seem, now I see in retrospect, they started hitting a few financial lulls probably a couple of years ago that were noticeable. The one that I went to took out Music players, changed around the cafe area (live music was no longer accepted), and there were more things that were made out of decisions because of seeming profit problems. There were no bookstores by "large chains" that kept it from growing. . . quite the opposite.

I feel that one decision was keeping the chain from really making a comeback. . . I heard that a wave of them closed down before the entire group did.

Wow. I am kinda depressed. Can't think of a question to say now.
sorry.

[C. J.]

Sorry. Don't think that I am completely crazy everyone (:P). I was not depressed about bookstores.

I was depressed about something completely different.

Hmmm. . . are kindles and online ordering (if it was not buying books on paper) worth it? Should they be made for the profits that are probably cheaper to their businesses than so-called "normal" ways??

What are the pluses and minuses to these ways. . . ???? :)

[Kim]

Personally I'm glad that ebooks are around. They are not the reason why Borders went out of business. Borders was overpriced (even online) and they didn't service their customers very well. Barnes and Noble beat them out with the Nook, but they also had better prices when compared to Borders. There is a question of whether embracing a Border-exclusive ereader would have saved the company, but that's pure speculation. We have no idea if the Borders ereader would have compared to the Nook or if the prices would have made it desirable. I feel bad for small bookstores, but they were on their way out before the ebook was even conceivable- B&N can beat their prices any day and people rant about wanting to support small stores but would rather save the extra money at a large store. That's just capitalism.

Ebooks are convenient for me since I'm a college student and have to regularly move into a dorm and back again. I remember my reason for giving up on the written book (for the most part) was due to losing my place in a book after having to pack additional crates dedicated to just books to move into my dorm. So not only did I have to re-read the book to find my place, but I didn't have the space needed to transport and store the books on a continuous basis. With my Nook, I can potentially have hundreds of books of varying sizes with me at any time, and they're all stored in the same device that takes about as much space of a slim book when inside its case. It's very portable and easy to store. I don't need all of those books at the same time, but I think of it as someone would think of a personal library- I just don't have the space to have them in person and need them digitally. The prices are about the same as the book in print. I read on an original Nook, so it has a matte screen and feels like I'm reading a real book.

I think ebooks also open up more self-publishing opportunities for authors too. Publishing in print is expensive and there's really no money in it. A file can be made of a book once, however, and downloaded countless times. So a smaller fee to make the file and place it on Amazon or B&N, cheaper sale price to heighten accessibility, and a greater profit margin for the author.