Hardbacks, paperbacks or E-book Reader ?
Hardbacks: I have always had a preference for hardbacks when it comes to buying books and often buy 1st editions from Abebooks. There is a certain solidity and permanence in a hardback that's missing in a paperback and generally bigger print as well. The Redhead says that they are too heavy to read in the bath !
Paperbacks : Paperbacks seem to have a sense of disposability, yet are convenient to travel with as they are lighter, but don't have the same reading satisfaction and pleasure as a hardback. Often due to the heat on a beach they fall apart and you spend your holiday fumbling with loose pages, coming home with a missing page.
E-Reader : The Sony Reader was displayed at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago. Apparently a marked improvement on previous e-readers with a capacity of about 80 E-books, portability being the size of a paperback and a battery life of 7500 page turns. This already indicates a move towards digitization and is like an i-Pod for books. There is a long post at the Guardian predicting the future of the printed book and the eventual move towards e-books. It will be a sad day when a piece of fucking plastic and a bunch of pixels replace the standard paper book.
So what do you prefer, hardbacks, paperbacks or moving towards the idea of being an e-book reader ? Please leave a comment with your views.
Tags: Sony Reader + Hardbacks + Paperbacks + Books
Paperbacks : Paperbacks seem to have a sense of disposability, yet are convenient to travel with as they are lighter, but don't have the same reading satisfaction and pleasure as a hardback. Often due to the heat on a beach they fall apart and you spend your holiday fumbling with loose pages, coming home with a missing page.
E-Reader : The Sony Reader was displayed at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago. Apparently a marked improvement on previous e-readers with a capacity of about 80 E-books, portability being the size of a paperback and a battery life of 7500 page turns. This already indicates a move towards digitization and is like an i-Pod for books. There is a long post at the Guardian predicting the future of the printed book and the eventual move towards e-books. It will be a sad day when a piece of fucking plastic and a bunch of pixels replace the standard paper book.
So what do you prefer, hardbacks, paperbacks or moving towards the idea of being an e-book reader ? Please leave a comment with your views.
Tags: Sony Reader + Hardbacks + Paperbacks + Books
posted by Rundaas at 2:36 am
12 Comments:
Hardbacks (first-editions too): totally my preference, too.
I buy paperbacks... mostly because of price. I would quickly go broke if my book obsession relied on hard covers! It is hard, though, to wait a year or more for some of my favorites to be released in paperback.
I prefer hardbacks, but like the price of paper. I love the net and blogging, but ai don't think I could read an ebook.
I don't care if it is paperback or hardback.
But I read somewhere that the reason electronic books aren't taking off is because people like the feel of books. So maybe they should make one where you actually turn the pages.
I doubt and hope that digitization never replaces the printed word. There is nothing more satisfying than having a well stocked library of hardbacks in your house.
I buy the paperback because of price. If I like it enough, I will invest in the hb. But if it's a new release, on sale and I think I'll like it, I'll get it.
Going against the comments here, i welcome the introduction of a "good" e-book device.
Not that it will take over the printed word (ever) but what stands in the way of progress?
I prefer hardbacks as well and I love abebooks.
I don't thik that a good old used book store will ever be replaced though.
via BE
I read books on my Palm. Shitty platform to read on, but the books are free. I posted on this some time ago.
Paperbacks are OK too. Main problem with dead-tree books : take too much space.
So I'm all for electronic reading devices. They solve so many issues (easy archival, easy searching, easy storage).
I like paperbacks best. Hardbacks make my arms ache. There's also something a little bit precious about them. E-readers should only ever be used for information: directories, dictionaries etc
And how do you arrange your books? Alphabetically? By subject? Colour?! Or not at all?
Alphabetically.
I prefer paperbacks...I have small hands and hardbacks make my hands hurt. However, if I read a paperback to death, I buy the hardback AND another paperback copy. I am a hoarder of books. I keep textbooks and business reading on my palm because that's the kind of thing I read on the go.
I can't imagine curling up in front of a roaring fire with some wine and any form of e-book reader.
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