iPad and Kindle: The demise of the Book

[Mr. Bloom]

My name is SheFly, and I have a book problem. No - seriously. I can only read brand new books - not books first read by someone else and then passed to me. Yes, it's strange, but I was taught great respect for books from a young age - no dog-eared corners, no bent spines, no high-lighting, no notations. And yes, this fetish DID include my college textbooks, and yes, that did cost me a lot of money.

SheFly

Like shefly, I can only read new books...but mine have to be hardback too! There's something about the smell of a paperback that bothers my allergies. I buy hardbacks and then donate them when I'm done.

I'm typing this on an iPad...but haven't taken to reading books on here...the light of the screen has a tendency to keep me awake when I'm ready to sleep, I can't risk dropping it from an exercise bike at the Y, and i can't dog ear the page as my bookmark

[OakLeaf]

Survey says: e-reader owners read more. A lot more. They switch off their other devices (TV and internet) and read...

[Catrin]

Survey says: e-reader owners read more. A lot more. They switch off their other devices (TV and internet) and read...

Interesting results, even though the companies sponsoring the study certainly had a vested interested in the results. I find it especially interesting that apparently iPad users spend more time reading newspapers than books. I wonder why?

Eventually I am going to replace the Sony digital reader I gave to my sister with either another Sony, a Kindle, or an iPad - so I would be interested in knowing why the significant difference in the use of the iPad. Of course the latter is the most expensive option - and it really isn't comparing apples and apples. To me, the iPad is a really large Touch...

I don't really trust Amazon not to abandon their Kindle users like they did their earlier eReader audience - but I don't really care for the glossy screen of the touchscreen Sony Digital Reader (it is pretty much perfect outside of that).

[ridebikeme]

I love to read like many of you here, but do NOT see myself buying either an Ipad or kindle. I will only read books that I can have in my hands simple as that. I have 8-9 magazine subscriptions, and love to look back through them months after I read them. And, like many of you, I do go to the library every week and bring a couple of books home that way as well, in addition to buying books(hardback)from time to time. I also send cards for special occasions and letters... not always email. I like to have the interaction that they generate, emails for me are simply a connection that generally give information without any personal contact. You may know my usename, but do you truly "know" me? AS you can see, I am very much old school.

With that said, I would NOT read more if I had either a kindle or Ipad... I already shut the tv off and read to relax or recover from a hard ride.

Computers are great for many things, but they also have been great at eliminating jobs everywhere and will continue to do so. Personally I like the fact that I can walk into a shop, DRs office and people know me and know background information as well. I enjoy the one on one contact and the conversation that it generates.

[PinkBike]

i have a nook (DH's, really) and an ipod touch and a droid phone. they all have ereader capabilities. i prefer the touch over the nook because its backlit and much easier to navigate. i think the iphone would probably be the perfect solution -- you'd only have to carry 1 device and you could have amazon and bn and sony ereader apps. i'm leaning to an ipad because i cant get an iphone (wrong provider). i'm convinced apple just knows how to do things right. plus an ipad is so multifunctional with a bigger screen than my phone or touch. the only thing missing is a dvd slot--or does it have one?

that said, i read some books on my touch, but am always still using the library for new books. i cant pay $12.99 every time a book comes out that i could get free at the library. and i read a lo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-t of books.

someone mentioned borrowing from the library with their reader. how is that done?

[blackhillsbiker]

I saved Amazon points until I had enough for a Kindle. I've had it for about a week now. I love to read the classics. Our library recently got rid of most of their classics. I had a heck of a time last winter when I was trying to find Oscar Wilde and Somerset Maugham. I found a few in the used bookstore. The free classic ebooks books are amazing. I did pay a little for some of the Mobi-formatted ones. I've only bought one new book (I Shall Wear Midnight, by Terry Pratchett) because I can't find it around here and I couldn't wait to read it. I like having a book in my purse or bike trunk. The Kindle fits nicely. I'll never not have paper books. I do like the portability of the Kindle. I'm working out how to get some of my knitting patterns on it for travel.

Deb

[OakLeaf]

I think different libraries have different systems. I haven't tried mine yet (which, Ohio libraries are doing it through their statewide clearinghouse, so that even the small rural libraries can offer ebooks to their patrons).

Take a look at your library's website!

[ScaldedCat]

My Dad just bought himself a Kindle, he loves it, my son has asked his Grandparents for one for Christmas.
I have the Kindle app and iBooks on my iPhone of course but I still mainly read books the old fashioned way and usually from the library or second hand from ebay or Amazon Market Place.

[limewave]

I want to get at kindle for DH for Christmas. He says he doesn't want one but I see him looking at mine with envy all the time.

On the topic of the "demise of publishing" . . .
I have to try and remain somewhat anonymous here, but our Amazon.com sales were up this year and almost 30% of the sales were Kindle. And, if we separated out Kindle/eReaders from other distributors the Kindle would be in our top 10 sales sources. Demise of publishing, absolutely not.

[Pascale]

I don't even actually have a Kindle, I just use the free downloadable version on my android phone or my iTouch - I absolutely love it!

[katibosch]

I have an eBookwise reader (more obscure than Kindle, Nook, etc.) that I bought several years ago. Still functional, lots of books available. I am having trouble justifying the cost of the books I buy for it, though. I buy almost all my (paper) books used and also sell the ones I've read back to the used bookstore, for a net cost of around $2.00 for a paperback book. Same book purchased for my reader would be around $5.00 - 6.00 or more, with no possibility of resale, obviously. For now I think I'll mostly stick to paper books, although I am trying to downsize on them a lot -- have two big bookshelves currently, would like to get down to one much smaller one.

[Bike Writer]

I don't have a Kindle or other type of electronic reading device and would have thought that book lover me would never consider one. I have been intrigued by them because of

• size
• portability
• lower cost than a hardcover
• ability to hold a whole library
• etc.

so the key word is intrigued but not sold. I think they have their application and purpose for travel and portability and will appeal to a lot of people and to those who love them I say great!

For myself, I like the "experience" of a hand held book, the way they smell, especially leather bound books, the feel of them and particularly the weight of a book on your chest after you just read a fablous passage that makes you want to pause and reflect or ponder on it before you move on or reread that passage for the sheer joy it gave you.

Even if I ever were to buy an electronic device I could never give up that experience. Plus the fact that I love to be surrounded by books, on bookshelves, propped between bookends on desks and tables and stacked in various piles and places both at home and in my workplace. I'm hopeless in that I find comfort in just looking at books I've read or are waiting to be read.

[KnottedYet]

Even if I ever were to buy an electronic device I could never give up that experience. Plus the fact that I love to be surrounded by books, on bookshelves, propped between bookends on desks and tables and stacked in various piles and places both at home and in my workplace. I'm hopeless in that I find comfort in just looking at books I've read or are waiting to be read.

It's not an either/or proposition.

You can have both.

I love my iPod for reading. I love my books. I used to live and breathe libraries. I catalogued new books. I worked in the mendry repairing old books. I know several authors who LOVE that their books can sell in ebook form. I know a lot of readers who are thrilled to find out-of-print books in e-form.

Having a e-reader is not a form of betrayal. What matters is the story. What matters are the ideas. Doesn't matter if they come as pixels, print, script, CD, radio broadcast, American Sign Language, or Braille. Fondle the media, but honor the story.

[Bike Writer]

Knotted, agree with you 100%. I have considered one, however it's not a priority for me at this time. I like reading about the positive experiences people are having with them because it gives me more reason to consider a purchase some time down the road.

But when I get one it will be for convenience and portabilitiy, it won't replace snuggling up in a big easy chair with a warm throw, a cup of coffee and an old fashioned book

As you can see from my bike, I'm a throwback from a different era - but I do appreciate and embrace teckkie stuff too and find it difficult to be far from my blackberry.

[KnottedYet]

But when I get one it will be for convenience and portabilitiy, it won't replace snuggling up in a big easy chair with a warm throw, a cup of coffee and an old fashioned book

It doesn't have to "replace" anything. It is it's own thing. I can play a CD of Bach in my car, but that doesn't mean I have to give up going to the symphony. You can have both, nothing has to replace anything else.

As you can see from my bike, I'm a throwback from a different era

Nah, no more than all the rest of us who have similar bikes.

Enjoy the ride!