What is the future of Books?

[waryan]

Amazon recently came out with this Kindle thing, which allows you to download ebooks to the device, which is neat but I've always been more of a book person.

I read e-books at times but can't do that a lot though friends of mine like to say "who needs books when you have wikipedia?" But I have my doubts that even they could do without physical books altogether. What do you guys think the state of books will be in 25-50 years?

I feel like they'll persevere but not in the same strength as once before with things like Kindle taking over.

Oh and small rant but why would I pay 14 or so dollars for the ebook when I could get the real book for the same? I've seen ebook sellers charging maybe a dollar less than the real book.

[Sarasvati21]

Hmm...I don't know what it will be fifty years or so from now, but I've gotten all the books on my Sony e-Reader for probably about a quarter of what the price in the store would be.
I know what you mean, though. I wouldn't bother with it if the books were the same price. I kind of like being able to flip through the pages and find what I'm looking for.

[Joreads]

I am the same I like to be able to see all of my books on the book case and for $14 I can do that. Besides which e books are harder on the eyes (at least they are on mine). Long live the print book!!!!

[johann cruyff]

Why anyone would want to stare at a screen rather than enjoy the beauty of a normal book is beyond me.

[cipherdecoy]

I'd prefer reading books in physical form rather than reading them on the computer. Spoils your vision, plus a book would be more handy.

[CognitiveArtist]

I think Wikipedia won't really change the future of books. The Kindle though, I believe it will. Text will probably go a similar path to music, people will centralise it, and keep it on the Kindle. Although printed books won't go away, just as cds and vinyl are still around. In about 5 years when Australia gets the right internet for the Kindle I'll purchase one. The convenience and efficiency of possessing and navigating through your texts on the Kindle is something I personally find too good to pass over. Although, I'll still read and appreciate reading my books, which I expect will be mainly done at home. Also I'm sure I'll travel with some books now and again. But as I see it the Kindle (which will undoubtedly improve, like the iPod) with it's electronic paper and smart convenience will change the future of books.

[Kafka's Crow]

Amazon are pushing all kinds of proprietary stuff through Kindle. Kindle ebooks can only be read on the specific Kindle. We have seen this kind of protectionism in Apple iPods before. Buy a liberated ereader like Cybook, iLiad or even Sony. Books will be around but like vinyl and CDs as somebody else suggested.

http://www.mobileread.com/

I have thousands of ebooks and audio books. Changes in life would have totally stopped me from reading but my audio books keep me going. I appreciate technology and it is nice listening to Joyce while making dinner etc (Finnegans Wake goes perfectly with spaghetti bolognese!)

[waryan]

i agree 100% with everyone, especially that you simply supplement your bookshelf with gadgets such as kindle- certainly a step above than below as i was previously thinking!

[Nossa]

I gotta say, I do download books sometimes, only when I can't find them in bookstores here, or if they're too expensive. But I don't like reading them much, there's nothing like a book.

[DapperDrake]

I love books, I really do but they are uneconomical. Currently I have a full book case - where am I going to put new books? a new book case? I have no room. If I had the money to have a room spare I would fairly rapidly fill it as a Library but I don't, and when you consider that hundreds of thousands of texts could be stored electronically in a small box you can put on your desk (I have a NAS box) it starts to make sense.

Personally I'm waiting for a decent eReader device. Something that folds away into your pocket but which also has decent screen size when you're reading. I'm hopeful that it won't be too long now with all the inovations in memory, LCD, and batteries.

As it is I already do about a third of my reading on my laptop.

[Kafka's Crow]

I love books, I really do but they are uneconomical. Currently I have a full book case - where am I going to put new books? a new book case? I have no room. If I had the money to have a room spare I would fairly rapidly fill it as a Library but I don't, and when you consider that hundreds of thousands of texts could be stored electronically in a small box you can put on your desk (I have a NAS box) it starts to make sense.

Personally I'm waiting for a decent eReader device. Something that folds away into your pocket but which also has decent screen size when you're reading. I'm hopeful that it won't be too long now with all the inovations in memory, LCD, and batteries.

As it is I already do about a third of my reading on my laptop.

So this is what you are looking for, eh? (shame about the mobile phone thingy, I want me ereaders for nothing but reading bookhttp://www.polymervision.com//frameset.php?id=&page=s):

[Kafka's Crow]

I gotta say, I do download books sometimes, only when I can't find them in bookstores here, or if they're too expensive. But I don't like reading them much, there's nothing like a book.

ebooks are a blessing for countries located outside Europe and America. Classics are sold at excruciatingly high prices in places like Egypt and other countries. I couldn't believe at first but you can pick a classic for even £1 or even cheaper in the UK, same books are sold for huge prices elsewhere. Feedbooks is another excellent site for classics and other CC license (Creative Commons) and Public Domain books (there is no excuse for not reading classics any more):

http://www.feedbooks.com/discover/top

[Nossa]

ebooks are a blessing for countries located outside Europe and America. Classics are sold at excruciatingly high prices in places like Egypt and other countries. I couldn't believe at first but you can pick a classic for even £1 or even cheaper in the UK, same books are sold for huge prices elsewhere. Feedbooks is another excellent site for classics and other CC license (Creative Commons) and Public Domain books (there is no excuse for not reading classics any more):

http://www.feedbooks.com/discover/top

Actually, I believe that classics are sold for relatively good prices here, at least they're affordable. Not all of them of course. But it depends on where you look. If you go to places like Virgin stores or something you'll find a book that'd elsewhere cost you 15 or 20 pounds, you'd fine it there over 70 and 80 pounds. There's always the used books stores. I remember buying Of Mice and Men at the book faire for 10 pounds, and then when I saw it in another bookstore (a supposedly famous one) it was sold for 70 pounds.
Modern books and translated books are always a problem. I've been waiting for almost a yead now for Khaled Hossenie's A Thousand Splendid Suns to be cheaper for me to buy. Also the complete works are just way too expensive. But overall, I think classics are pretty much the only thing that could be bought here, though not all the time.
But though ebooks helped me a lot with many books I needed and couldn't find/afford, they're tiring. And to tell you the truth they're not as enjoyable as books. So yeah, though I'd rather have books, sometimes I have to settle down for ebooks.
Thanks for the link too :D

[DapperDrake]

So this is what you are looking for, eh? (shame about the mobile phone thingy, I want me ereaders for nothing but reading bookhttp://www.polymervision.com//frameset.php?id=&page=s):

That's the sort of thing, I was thinking of the new flexible LCD technology but as you say I would want something minimalist - just a reader.

However I'll check it out as I wasn't aware anyone was using flexible LCD in a commercial product yet.

Edit: Well I've spent an hour researching eReaders and it seems the technology I pretty much where I though it was, it's still very immature, the eReaders all cost far too much to be anything other than a geek toy and they all have significant design/feature/functionality short commings. Ebooks are not going to really take off until its more convenient in every way for the end user to use an eReader rather than books.

What I really look forward to is true ePaper, i.e. where you have a cheap flexible sheet of lcd that can be rolled or folded and treated almost like you would paper but be functional as an eReader.