Philosophy
E-books are here and will remain but they cannot replace the ambiance of holding a "real" book and absorbing special odors. And you cannot write in the margins of an E-book.
There are no two ways about it: E-books are here to stay. Unless something as remarkable as Japan’s reversion to the sword occurs, digital books are the 21st century successor to print. And yet the e-book is fundamentally flawed. There are some aspects to print book culture that e-books can’t replicate (at least not easily) — yet.
Let’s put this into some context first. Amazon sparked the e-reader revolution with the first Kindle a mere twothree-and-a-half years ago, and it now already sells more e-books than all print books combined. Barnes & Noble, the century-old bricks-and-mortar bookseller, is being pursued by Liberty Media not because it has stores all over the place but because its Nook e-reader is the Kindle’s biggest competitor.
Reasonable arguments that the iPad would kill the e-reader seem laughable now, as both thrive and many people own one of each. One thing E-books and books are equally good at: In their own ways, they’re both platform agnostic.
But for all of the benefit they clearly bring, e-books are still falling short of a promise to make us forget their paper analogs. For now, you still lose something by moving on.
It isn’t always that way with tech: We rejoice at cutting the phone cord, we don’t fret that texting causes lousy penmanship and we are ecstatic that our computers, tablets and phones are replacing the TV set.
I’m not resorting to variations on the ambiguous tactile argument (“The feel and smell of paper is an integral part of the reading experience….”) that one hears from some late-to-never adopters. And — full disclosure — I have never owned an e-book reader, because I have an ingrained opposition to single-purpose devices. But since getting an iPad on day one, I haven’t purchased a print edition of anything for myself.
I am hooked — completely one with the idea that books are legacy items that may never go away, but have been forever marginalized as a niche medium. With that in mind, however, here are five things about e-books that might give you pause about saying good riddance to the printed page.
Fix these problems, and there really will be no limits to the e-book’s growth.
- E-books?
Amazon has announced that its sales of e-books has surpassed its sales of hard cover books. The idea is to settle (in their interest) whether the e-book is for real or just the latest new Coke. I'm not a luddite, but I am a late adopter. I'm not...
- Comic Bookstores Going The Way Of Regular Bookstores?
"Will Amazon Do To Comic Shops What It Did To Book Stores?" by Lauren Davis April 10th, 2014 io9 Big news today in the comics publishing world: Amazon has purchased Comixology, the largest retailer of digital comics. So what does that mean for your local...
- Printed Books Aren't Dead
"Authors stand up for traditional books over e-books" Just a few years after the launch of the Kindle, old fashioned books are making a comeback as authors promote the joy of bookshelves and well thumbed pages over the e-book. by Louise Gray July 21st,...
- A Backfire In The E-book Biz?
"2 E-Books Cost More Than Amazon Hardcovers" by Julie Bosman October 4th, 2010 The New York Times Readers of e-books may not be able to turn paper pages, lend their copies to friends or file them away on living room bookshelves. But they do have the...
- Book Sources
Book junkie? Here are some sources. BOOKS NEW AMAZON BARNES & NOBLE BIBLIOFIND DAVID BROWN BOOK CO. DOVER POWELLSBOOKS USED ABEBOOKS ADDALL ALIBRIS ANTIQBOOK ANTIQUARIAN BOOKSELLERS'...
Philosophy
Does an electron have an aroma?
E-books are here and will remain but they cannot replace the ambiance of holding a "real" book and absorbing special odors. And you cannot write in the margins of an E-book.
"5 Reasons Why E-Books Aren’t There Yet"
by
John C Abell
June 3rd, 2011
Wired
by
John C Abell
June 3rd, 2011
Wired
There are no two ways about it: E-books are here to stay. Unless something as remarkable as Japan’s reversion to the sword occurs, digital books are the 21st century successor to print. And yet the e-book is fundamentally flawed. There are some aspects to print book culture that e-books can’t replicate (at least not easily) — yet.
Let’s put this into some context first. Amazon sparked the e-reader revolution with the first Kindle a mere twothree-and-a-half years ago, and it now already sells more e-books than all print books combined. Barnes & Noble, the century-old bricks-and-mortar bookseller, is being pursued by Liberty Media not because it has stores all over the place but because its Nook e-reader is the Kindle’s biggest competitor.
Reasonable arguments that the iPad would kill the e-reader seem laughable now, as both thrive and many people own one of each. One thing E-books and books are equally good at: In their own ways, they’re both platform agnostic.
But for all of the benefit they clearly bring, e-books are still falling short of a promise to make us forget their paper analogs. For now, you still lose something by moving on.
It isn’t always that way with tech: We rejoice at cutting the phone cord, we don’t fret that texting causes lousy penmanship and we are ecstatic that our computers, tablets and phones are replacing the TV set.
I’m not resorting to variations on the ambiguous tactile argument (“The feel and smell of paper is an integral part of the reading experience….”) that one hears from some late-to-never adopters. And — full disclosure — I have never owned an e-book reader, because I have an ingrained opposition to single-purpose devices. But since getting an iPad on day one, I haven’t purchased a print edition of anything for myself.
I am hooked — completely one with the idea that books are legacy items that may never go away, but have been forever marginalized as a niche medium. With that in mind, however, here are five things about e-books that might give you pause about saying good riddance to the printed page.
Fix these problems, and there really will be no limits to the e-book’s growth.
- E-books?
Amazon has announced that its sales of e-books has surpassed its sales of hard cover books. The idea is to settle (in their interest) whether the e-book is for real or just the latest new Coke. I'm not a luddite, but I am a late adopter. I'm not...
- Comic Bookstores Going The Way Of Regular Bookstores?
"Will Amazon Do To Comic Shops What It Did To Book Stores?" by Lauren Davis April 10th, 2014 io9 Big news today in the comics publishing world: Amazon has purchased Comixology, the largest retailer of digital comics. So what does that mean for your local...
- Printed Books Aren't Dead
"Authors stand up for traditional books over e-books" Just a few years after the launch of the Kindle, old fashioned books are making a comeback as authors promote the joy of bookshelves and well thumbed pages over the e-book. by Louise Gray July 21st,...
- A Backfire In The E-book Biz?
"2 E-Books Cost More Than Amazon Hardcovers" by Julie Bosman October 4th, 2010 The New York Times Readers of e-books may not be able to turn paper pages, lend their copies to friends or file them away on living room bookshelves. But they do have the...
- Book Sources
Book junkie? Here are some sources. BOOKS NEW AMAZON BARNES & NOBLE BIBLIOFIND DAVID BROWN BOOK CO. DOVER POWELLSBOOKS USED ABEBOOKS ADDALL ALIBRIS ANTIQBOOK ANTIQUARIAN BOOKSELLERS'...