Why do/dont you have a "wireless reading device"?

[Richardb]

I'd buy some device of the sort, but I'm loathe to possessing a book only in this one way. If you would get the right of access to an e-book with buying a physical book, I would only see it positively. It's lighter to carry and easier to hold. You don't need to be as careful with it. But it's also easier to forget and disregard.

Wouldn't life be great if there was a bundle option, where you buy the physical book and get the ebook bundled in for 75% off! Sort of like blueray's coming with the dvd also.

 

[Deren]

That wouldn't be great. And in Bluray there's a considerable improvement in quality, whereas you could consider buying access to the text in a book along with the object of a book.

 

[Hobbit]

Wouldn't life be great if there was a bundle option, where you buy the physical book and get the ebook bundled in for 75% off!

You know, Richard, I'm sure there's some out there trying this. I think it was Baen books did that for a while - not sure if they still do. It was something like if you bought the physical book through the website, you could download an e-ARC.

Something like that, anyway.

Mark

 

[suciul]

Regarding ebooks, my sincere opinion after quite a few years reading tons of them on a bunch of devices from Ebookwise, small tablets (Nokia 770), to iTouch and various Sony Reader incarnations (hate ugly devices and both Nook and Kindle gotta rank there in the top ugliest recent such) - though for much less time that the true ebook pioneers of the late 90's - is that you either get them or you do not and the rest are excuses.

Like a true believer once you get them and for the first year or so, you will try to convert others (been there, done that some years ago too) and after that you will just avoid arguments since soon they become like politics and religion, a sink of time and energy and just go on happily reading ebooks (alongside print since nobody says you gotta be exclusive...)

 

[Richardb]

That wouldn't be great. And in Bluray there's a considerable improvement in quality, whereas you could consider buying access to the text in a book along with the object of a book.

I don't really understand what you are saying. Why would it not be great to have access to a discounted ebook along with purchase of the physical book? How would that not be beneficial? If you don't want the ebook, no loss and no additional cost. If you do, you get the bundle cheaper than buying independantly. Nothing but a win, right?

My point about blueray is that you get multiple versions for one discounted price to increase the utility... that is the only point I'm making, not trying to compare the two scenarios from a qualitative standpoint, just a bundling standpoint.

 

[Werthead]

They do need some sort of method to make sure the rampant piracy of their works doesn't happen.

Except that DRM never, ever stops piracy, and only ever punishes the legal purchaser, as has been repeatedly proven time and again over the last few years. The ineffectiveness of DRM is shown by the fact that any one of us could click on google, type in a few words and be able to download a significant proportion of all the SF&F books published in the English language to date in a very short period of time for absolutely nothing.

 

[DarthV]

Except that DRM never, ever stops piracy, and only ever punishes the legal purchaser, as has been repeatedly proven time and again over the last few years. The ineffectiveness of DRM is shown by the fact that any one of us could click on google, type in a few words and be able to download a significant proportion of all the SF&F books published in the English language to date in a very short period of time for absolutely nothing.

True, it won't stop it completely, but most copy protection is done to prevent casual copying. Nothing is going to stop determined people. I won't mind paying for ebooks, specially since all it takes is running a python script to strip off the DRM. Nice of them to use a very easily bypassed DRM

 

[Deren]

I don't really understand what you are saying. Why would it not be great to have access to a discounted ebook along with purchase of the physical book? How would that not be beneficial? If you don't want the ebook, no loss and no additional cost. If you do, you get the bundle cheaper than buying independantly. Nothing but a win, right?

My point about blueray is that you get multiple versions for one discounted price to increase the utility... that is the only point I'm making, not trying to compare the two scenarios from a qualitative standpoint, just a bundling standpoint.

With your Bluray comparison, which didn't seem equally desirable to me, I thought you were being flippantly sarcastic. So I was basically saying "it's not like that". Certainly a bundle option would be attractive.

 

[Jon Sprunk]

I don't have a problem with ebook readers, but I have no desire to own one. I enjoy printed books too much. I like their (illusion of) permanence.

Simply a matter of preference.

Two hundred years from now, how many retro-geeks are going to get stoked about finding an ebook copy of The Gathering Storm signed by Brandon Sanderson in a used ebook store...

 

[Gilgamesh]

I don't have a doubt that electronic content will replace dead-tree books.

When? Not in 10 years I think. The reasons to cling to the paper books are numerous. There are various aspects that influence the speed of adoption. The unwillingness of the publishers certainly don't help. The readers' technologies and the prices are other important factors. We, the readers, have certain habits as well. Looking for the feel of paper is one of them (at least, it seems, for most of us). So it's going to be more of a "generation" question.

Will paper disappear completely? Probably not. In the near future, e-books will be alternative. Then the adoption rate would shift towards the e-books where dead-tree format will become an alternative. After a while, paper books will probably stay as collection items, antiques, etc.

At the moment, in most situations, using an e-Paper reader is more comfortable than reading a paper books, especially compared to clumsy hardbacks. Some of us are romantic about "smell of paper", "the feel of a new book" but at the end of the day, for me, the content is the most important bit. If I can get it in a convenient format, why wouldn't I choose it over paper?

It's really hard to compare the paper vs. e-book situation to other near-historical events. CDs, vinyls, tapes, walkman, video tapes examples go only so far without becoming unapplicable. But I personally don't doubt that electronic books (regardless of the technology) will eventually replace paper books.

Without getting into format discussions, we can even discuss the future of books. Are they going to survive this century? Or are they going to slowly disappear because of all sorts of other entertainments, audio books, computer animated movies, etc. and probably new sorts that we can't imagine at the moment. Are we going to have reading glasses where the lines are projected to the lenses? Or are we going to be hooked up to some futuristic headphones that send the story directly to our brain, just like dreams?

 

[ColdSun]

Love both - use both. no reason I feel the need to choose one over the other when both of them have their use.

P.S. I love reading on my iPod Touch!

 

[Glelas]

I use both. If I am in a "not sure what to read phase" I go to the kindle and just start flipping through books until I settle in on one. It beats carrying around a stack of 20 books.

 

[Orbison]

I tried reading books on my iPhone but I just couldn't get on with it. Like others have said, it's not quite as good the real thing.

I'm not dismissing e-books entirely because I'm sure there are some situations where they're helpful (poor light, limited storage space, on the go etc). But, when I'm reading in the comfort of my home, the real deal reigns supreme.

 

[Skara]

Okay, I'll admit, I love holding real books and I love having a shelf full of my favorite books, but.... having a Nook is much cheaper and it works really good. (But I will eventually own a house and be surrounded by hundreds of fantasy/scifi books. )

And as someone above said "It beats carrying around a stack of 20 books." It's nice for long trips, because all of your room for packing isn't taken up by tons of books.

 

[Sfinx]

I tried reading books on my iPhone but I just couldn't get on with it. Like others have said, it's not quite as good the real thing.

I'm not dismissing e-books entirely because I'm sure there are some situations where they're helpful (poor light, limited storage space, on the go etc). But, when I'm reading in the comfort of my home, the real deal reigns supreme.

Well, yea, what he said...

And: Stanza (for instance) offers a wide array of out of print books I would otherwise never (well, or only with much more difficulty) could get my hands on.

Cheers,

Sfinx.

 

[wwfward]

Bundling the ebook with the hardcover is a great idea. It'll make the consumer rationalize and accept the higher price of the hardcover as "worth it" because it will be like getting two products in one package. A major problem with this approach concerns the writer and the royalties associated with the bundling.

 

[BettyCross]

In response to the original question --

I don't own a wireless reading device because I can read ebooks on my laptop. Why get a separate device?

Betty Cross

 

[Sidonie]

I know this is very paranoid, but I do not like these devices because I'm afraid of books becoming obsolete. And then what would happen if our civilizations had a complete meltdown? All the world's knowlege....mostly lost! Like when the library of Alexandria burned! LOL. I'm sorry, I'm sorry...I know that is paranoid.

 

[Evandar]

I know this is very paranoid, but I do not like these devices because I'm afraid of books becoming obsolete. And then what would happen if our civilizations had a complete meltdown? All the world's knowlege....mostly lost! Like when the library of Alexandria burned! LOL. I'm sorry, I'm sorry...I know that is paranoid.

You're contradicting yourself, aren't ya. The library of Alexandria didn't have these devices, yet no information survived. And if our civilization has a meltdown, it's pretty irrelevant anyway.

I bought a Kindle last month, and I've read two books on it already. It's so brilliant I'm never going back to a normal book. In fact, I'm giving away all the paperbacks and hardcovers I have. Begone!

 

[Sidonie]

You're contradicting yourself, aren't ya. The library of Alexandria didn't have these devices, yet no information survived. And if our civilization has a meltdown, it's pretty irrelevant anyway.

I bought a Kindle last month, and I've read two books on it already. It's so brilliant I'm never going back to a normal book. In fact, I'm giving away all the paperbacks and hardcovers I have. Begone!

LOL...no, I'm imagining in like 100 years there won't be any books at ALL (who needs 'em?), and everything will be digital...and then WHAM! Something happens and we can no longer access our digital "books." And surely there will be SOME survivors who'll need our knowlege!