nastypass
that bitch what arranges the blocks
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eReaders
- Thread starter Phantom
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Abwayax
Wake me up before you Gogoat
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This is why I will always prefer real books. But if that doesn't bother you then at least get an actual tablet and install an ebook app on it. An "ebook reader" is just a crippled version of an ordinary tablet, anyways.
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You've clearly never actually used an ebook reader. Reading ebooks on a tablet is no different to reading ebooks on a computer screen. Reading ebooks on an ebook reader actually feels like reading a book.
Abwayax
Wake me up before you Gogoat
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Except for the part where the books are disappeared, I take it.
Yeah, I suppose they had the legal right to do so, but that doesn't change the fact that while books are owned, ebooks are merely licensed/leased/rented/what have you.
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Yes, I realise that's an issue, but it's not what I was talking about. I was saying that if you want to get an ebook reader, don't get a general tablet because they're terrible for it.
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It really doesn't help coming into a discussion about whether tablets or ebook readers are better and helpfully informing us all that hey, books are also an option. If we're talking about ebooks at all, I think it's safe to say we have excluded books as a possibility!
Tarvos
helt plötsligt blev det tyst
Ebook readers are better, but to me it's always going to feel like a replica of holding a real solid book made of paper in your hands. I find reading on an eReader confusing. The only advantage I can see is that you carry an entire library with you everywhere, but, really, are you ever going to read all of that in one go? I don't think that's a trivial question, sorry. I can see people needing an e-reader on a long haul flight or something too (when it's impractical to carry a huge stack of books for space reasons).
But how often do you really come across those situations? I just can't see myself buying an eReader (or for that matter a tablet, although my parents own an iPad I guess?) and actually using it. Unless I decide to fly to New Zealand now (and even then I'd probably just bring the books) or have to move out and can't bring my entire bookcase with me, it's just easier for me to grab a book and read it.
It's the same thing with using .pdf files as replacements for books as course material. Sure, it's invariably cheaper, but it's not like I don't have the cash to spend on course materials, and I can seclude myself much better to study if I just have the book separately. Reading on a computer is just distracting.
I'm sure people like them, and I'd always go for an eReader over a tablet, but really, I think the question why is warranted.
But how often do you really come across those situations? I just can't see myself buying an eReader (or for that matter a tablet, although my parents own an iPad I guess?) and actually using it. Unless I decide to fly to New Zealand now (and even then I'd probably just bring the books) or have to move out and can't bring my entire bookcase with me, it's just easier for me to grab a book and read it.
It's the same thing with using .pdf files as replacements for books as course material. Sure, it's invariably cheaper, but it's not like I don't have the cash to spend on course materials, and I can seclude myself much better to study if I just have the book separately. Reading on a computer is just distracting.
I'm sure people like them, and I'd always go for an eReader over a tablet, but really, I think the question why is warranted.
bulbasaur
Not quite e^(-(x-μ)²/(2σ²)) / (σ√(2π))
- Cost: Usually, e-reader books are a few dollars cheaper than the physical copy, so that if you had, say, fifty books on your e-reader, you've saved more than enough to make the purchase worth it.
- Space: Not everyone has the space to store a few thousand books, and not everyone will dedicate two large rooms to do that.
- Organization: Try looking for your copy of Orlando amongst your library of 5000 books. Or, try searching for the book that contains the phrase "In the 1920's, Chicago alone had more than 1,300 street gangs, catering to every ethnic, political, and criminal leaning imaginable"
- Built-in dictionary: Some models have this, and it's a huge help.
- Very little maintenance: As a library page, I know how much work it takes to maintain even a few small bookshelves. There's the dusting, the tidying, the rebinding. And don't let me get started about mold. If you're not careful, mold will spread across to other books with an impossible speed. There's really not much to maintain on an eReader.
What I do like about books is how you can flip pages quickly, and the smell of them.
goldenquagsire
Rubber dinghy rapids, bro!
Dannichu
Tragically unbeyachted.
All my books are alphabetised by author's surname (I also alphabetise my CDs by artist and DVDs by title of show). And if I had enough non-fiction books to arrange them by dewey-decimal classification, I'd totally do that, too :p
Second-hand books are usually between £1-3 in charity shops, and you can get a whole ton of books off Amazon for 1p, plus P&P.
And I really dislike .pdfs because I can't highlight and make annotations all over them like I can physical copies! I also don't like spending money printing things. So I mostly ask my lecturers really, really nicely and they print stuff off for me :3
Second-hand books are usually between £1-3 in charity shops, and you can get a whole ton of books off Amazon for 1p, plus P&P.
And I really dislike .pdfs because I can't highlight and make annotations all over them like I can physical copies! I also don't like spending money printing things. So I mostly ask my lecturers really, really nicely and they print stuff off for me :3
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Depends where you get them! Most second hand bookshops I see sell books for around four quid or so, which isn't much different from ebook pricing.
Anyway, I agree books are much easier when you're studying (you can flip back and forth between sections easily, it's easier to annotate, and so on), but for novels ebooks are fine. Plus I tend to read three or more books simultaneously so it's nice not to have to carry them around.
Hiikaru
Run.
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I don't really mind about losing books someday! I have them now, and they're not that expensive, and lots are free, and I'm not especially bothered by the idea of paying to rent a thing for a long time instead of owning it forever. I probably bought a book because I want to read it, and so I do read it! So it's not like the money just went down the drain. It's like paying to rent a game instead of buying the game. It's fine.
I would prefer if the DRM weren't a thing (and I hope they'll work on it and think of creative ways to prevent stealing but still allow other things!), but I'm not going to stop liking reading on a Kindle because of it.
I really don't want an e-reader application on a thing that's not designed specifically to read books, either. The point of a Kindle is that its design is special to make it comfortable to read wherever you are (unlike a paper book, and unlike a phone or a tablet), including allowing you to use one hand (and either hand) to read, and having a not-lit screen so that you don't hurt your eyes.
Also, what does it mean when it says a book is forever tied to a single Kindle...? That's inaccurate, the book is trapped with your Amazon account, not with your Kindle. My Kindle and also my Mom's Kindle are attached to her Amazon account, and so she can give books she buys to me and also have them. You can switch Amazon accounts, too.
I'm not being swindled, and I don't think anyone else is, either - you can know all about the DRM before buying anything, so no one's swindling you, they're just selling a product with restrictions that you're not very happy with.
I'm not going to read my entire Kindle library all at once, no, but you're thinking too big. Even if I only read one book, the Kindle won't get bent and ruined from being carried with me, and it's smaller than most books I want to read! (and way way smaller than some books I'd like to read - there are some really good ones I can't take with me ever because they're just too bulky) I can put it in my vest pocket, and zip the pocket up. I can't do that with a book, it would get smashed up and ruined, or, at best, just not fit. Plus, once you get to reading more than one book, it becomes increasingly convenient with each book you read. And you don't always read all the way through every single book, it's really nice to be able to flip through one and decide to swap books, or lend or show your Kindle to someone, or check up on something!
Plus, why are you only seeing someone taking lots of books on an airplane? I would've loved to take a big stack of books (or at least more than one) to school with me every day, and I really like taking my Kindle to restaurants or to the store or wherever I go without thinking about which book I want with me and making sure it's one I'll want to be reading the whole time! Or even if I'm just at home, it's a lot more convenient. I don't even own that many books, and I still can't find anything. You said that you can always find your book, but understand that that's the exception in people, not the rule. I buy books so I can stop getting them at the library and then... lose them. It's really annoying that there are some books I actually own, but they're lost - and I can't find a Kindle copy!! All books need an e-reader version why isn't there one help.
It doesn't feel like a replica, anyway, it just feels easy to hold! I like reading paper books as much as anyone else (it's flippy and papery and fits!), but I actually mostly like reading on my Kindle better. I hate squirming around trying to find a comfortable way to hold my book in bed (there is no comfortable way to read a paper book in bed!!) and I always want to lie on my side but then I can't turn pages. I would really like flipping capability (like opal said) - even if I'm reading a novel, lots of times I want to flip back a few pages to check what someone said, or I want to check when the chapter ends so I can put the book down and go to bed. But mostly I'm happy reading on a Kindle!
What's confusing about an e-reader for you? Which ones have you tried that were confusing? The Kindle is honestly really straight-forward, up and down to search books, right and left to flip pages! The control pad is annoyingly small so that it's hard to use (and they don't appear to be doing anything to fix it), but that's not confusing, it just really hurts your hand to play minesweeper.
I didn't actually like my Kindle very much at first - I got it as a graduation present, played with it a tiny bit, and let it sit in a bag on the floor for a few weeks. I can't remember what bothered me about it, though, I think mostly I was just skeptical and didn't really give it a chance. Also, for the record, multiple people have told Dad "nah, I like real books," and he handed them his Kindle for a few minutes, and they went out and bought one immediately (within a few days, maybe the same day, I'm not sure). So you shouldn't just assume that you wouldn't like a Kindle.
I don't disagree with this at all, though. Reading on the computer and having things you need to take home and study on the computer is the most annoying thing. We had some of our books online in K12, and I just kind of avoided actually looking at them because it was just too annoying. It even wanted me to read it in my browser and it was impossible to download it and it had the worst interface ever.
Reading on a Kindle isn't reading on a computer, though! There aren't distractions, or bright light, and you're not forced into one spot. You can carry it away and hole up somewhere just like you could with a book, so it's okay!
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