e-book or paper book?

[curlyqlink]

Reading books on a computer screen is just awful. But there are times I've been very glad the option is available. Online is the only place I could find Voltaire's mock-epic poem about Jeanne D'Arc. And there are times when I just want to have a quick look into something and don't want to make a trip to the library (and the library might not have it!)

Reading on a screen is such torture that I'm not inclined to invest in a dedicated electronic reader. It's not just the glare, I hate the scrolling. The codex replaced the written scroll for good reason! Being able to flip through a book to find a passage is something I will never voluntarily give up.

[amanda_isabel]

e-books are a good option, but I don't think I'd keep an e-book under my pillow anymore than I would put a set of encyclopedias in my jacket pocket

[slobone]

Ugh, are people actually reading e-books? I can't stand the idea. I spend enough time in front of a CRT as it is. The tactile sensation of holding an actual book in my hands is an important part of the pleasure I get from reading.

[DapperDrake]

and what is the actual point of that? would you ever really need 100 books in your jacket pocket?! you must be a fast reader

Ever been on holiday and stuffed your suitcase with books? plus as I said, one eReader can contain a whole library without you having to give up your spare room (if you even have a spare room).

maybe some people on here think that it is a good idea, but i should imagine the great majority of literature lovers would never swap books for ebooks

it is just a gimmick in my opinion

It is a little gimmicky at the moment granted, though current eReaders shouldn't be underestimated, but you've got to think about the future... eReaders will become as cheap as a book, eReaders will become something you can comfortably fold away and put in your pocket like a sheet of paper, the battery life will be months, the storage capacity will be millions of books, you'll be able to buy or download new books on the fly (kindle is a forerunner)...

Yes paper books have their value and their charm but their mainstream days are numbered, perhaps you're right, perhaps the "great majority of literature lovers" won't want to give up paper books - but the up and coming generations won't have such qualms.

[Kafka's Crow]

Ugh, are people actually reading e-books? I can't stand the idea. I spend enough time in front of a CRT as it is. The tactile sensation of holding an actual book in my hands is an important part of the pleasure I get from reading.

You still use a 'crt'? I am amazed!

[Hank Stamper]

Ever been on holiday and stuffed your suitcase with books?

yes! but im still not convinced an e-reader is suitable for the beach or by the pool... or are they sand proof/waterproof? because lets face it, no matter how much care you take of your books, they always come back with sand in them or slightly damp

and what about glare off the screen in the sun?

sorry i am going to take some convincing on this!

[Kafka's Crow]

I have more than 2500 ebooks on my laptop (ran a search yesterday to get this figure) at the moment, most of them classics. I don't search the internet for literature any more. I needed a line from Lermontov's A Hero of Our Time this morning, just searched my hard drive, found the book (in MS Reader or .lit format) entered the search word 'rien', and bingo! Here I go again, this is what I was looking for:

"Ne craignez rien, madame, je ne suis pas plus dangereux que votre cavalier" . . .

Finding the book and the exact line took less than a minute. I just re-ran the search while composing this message and copied and pasted the above line! What can be quicker and more comfortable than this?

[sofia82]

Sure you can. You just have to shell out $300+ on one of those new ebook readers (iLiad, Kindle, etc.).

I do not know if the feeling of reading a book with ebook readers is the same as paperbooks or not, those who have, is it the same?

[sofia82]

Yes, in front of the fireplace, or sitting by the window, listening to the rain outside...We cannot do that with e-books...

I prefer this one, sitting by the window, listening to the rain outside (at least if you can concentrate on your reading) and read a book, turn the pages ... not clicking or using a mouse.

[sofia82]

As far as eInk is concerned, seeing is believing. I can't wait till summer, this summer will be the summer of reading in garden. No need to carry loads of books on my holidays either. I stopped doing that a couple of years earlier when I started reading on my Pocket PC. I would rather carry a thousand books on my ereader than drag a few paperback around. It is like the Abbasid caliph of Baghdad (I think it was Haroun ul Raschid), he never traveled without his whole library. But he needed hundreds of camels and an army of librarians to make possible that instant access to knowledge, anywhere any time. My iLiad sorts the books and I can search any title out of my hundreds of books within seconds. Each to his own. These readers are well over-priced but that's what happens with emerging technologies. My 4 GB iPod cost me £280 in 2001. Now you can buy the top of the range machine for that money. Epaper is expensive but within some years its price will come down and many would change their mind about it like they did about the iPod.

Although i prefer paperbooks, during journies ebooks are the best options because fof what you said about Haroun ul Raschid, and about the heavy dictionaries and encyclopedias it is better that paperbooks, too. Yesterday, I borrowed a book which contains all of Shakespeare's plays it really makes me trouble bringing home as it is really heavy and now got problem in reading. The only way to read it is that I have to put it on the desk, cannot hold it up, cannot read while lie down in the bed, cannot put it on my knees while sitting. And about taking notes, we use different colors to highlight or write notes in the book, it is possible with the ebooks even better than paperbooks. If you have lots of things to write and there is no enugh space in your book, ebooks become the best option, as said before. All has its advantages and disadvantages.
One interesting thing, I have allergy to old books, the smell and the dust on them. What can I do that I like reading these books? (

[Kafka's Crow]

yes! but im still not convinced an e-reader is suitable for the beach or by the pool... or are they sand proof/waterproof? because lets face it, no matter how much care you take of your books, they always come back with sand in them or slightly damp

and what about glare off the screen in the sun?

sorry i am going to take some convincing on this!

My Iliad looks very sturdy and the screen is specially designed to remove glare from the sun. It is not a shiny screen. Soon there'll be sand and waterproof covers available for these devices, till then I'll use cling film!

The number of ebook readers is growing faster and the prices of reading devices are also in a nosedive. Amazon slashed the price f the Kindle recently, Astak Mentor are about to launch a sub $200 ereader which should shake the market and drag the prices lower, iRex released a silver, no-frills, version of iLiad last month, it has no Wifi but it is significantly cheaper than the version that I use. Exciting things are going on in this area of technology:

http://www.mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=78

[Hank Stamper]

I have more than 2500 ebooks on my laptop (ran a search yesterday to get this figure) at the moment, most of them classics. I don't search the internet for literature any more. I needed a line from Lermontov's A Hero of Our Time this morning, just searched my hard drive, found the book (in MS Reader or .lit format) entered the search word 'rien', and bingo! Here I go again, this is what I was looking for:

Finding the book and the exact line took less than a minute. I just re-ran the search while composing this message and copied and pasted the above line! What can be quicker and more comfortable than this?

so basically it is good for literature students... not sure how many casual readers need to look up a specific line of text... but I concede it would certainly be good for research/essay writing etc if the stuff you need to look up is available for download... however you can do searches on certain websites already (google books etc) so it is only really beneficial if you need to do this remotely/where you haven't got internet access

not convinced about taking it to the beach tho, even wrapped in clingfilm

I'll stick to the paperbacks cheers

[Kafka's Crow]

so basically it is good for literature students... not sure how many casual readers need to look up a specific line of text... but I concede it would certainly be good for research/essay writing etc if the stuff you need to look up is available for download... however you can do searches on certain websites already (google books etc) so it is only really beneficial if you need to do this remotely/where you haven't got internet access

not convinced about taking it to the beach tho, even wrapped in clingfilm

I'll stick to the paperbacks cheers

I heard similar words when I bought an iPod 7 years ago. They found all kinds of deficiencies in the product. Now everybody and his mum has got one! Rest assured I will be digging out these threads in a couple of years time

[bej6s]

While I love that this website offers older texts on the website, I sit at the computer enough while I'm at work. I definitely prefer paperbacks anyday! and so encouraged that so many other people do too.

[Agatha]

I prefer paper books definitely. Ebooks for me are good if i want to read something short, but I can't imagine read ebook of "War and peace" or "Middlemarch". Besides, I just like to put all my books on stacks and from time to time just glimpse at my collection