Book Buying Addicts Anonymous discussion

Check this out: "Books Without Batteries:The Negative Impacts of Technology"
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by...

I must admit, I like a lot of what this guy has to say. What do you think?

Joseph wrote: "Check this out: "Books Without Batteries:The Negative Impacts of Technology"
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by......"

Very interesting, and I can see from the comments that not everyone agrees. I myself prefer the low-tech aspects of "regular" reading. My husband lives for his Nook -- which I bought for him, BTW. I disagree with those who think ereaders will completely replace physical books. I think there will always be people who prefer books to ereaders, and I think there will always be a market geared towards them. I hope so, anyway! Great article.

That was an interesting article. I don't own an e-reader and do not plan on buying one in the near future. However, I do not think that e-readers will force paper books out of existence. In five years, I do think that many bookstores will be closed which is really sad. I don't think that that is just from e-readers though. I think that is partly from being able to buy books cheaper online.

im still undecided which should i get kindle or nook my preference in terms of price is the original kindle but in terms of quality im leaning towards the nook not the nookcolor. Which should I pick? help!!

Joseph wrote: "Check this out: "Books Without Batteries:The Negative Impacts of Technology"
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by......"
that is really sad I am planning on buying an e-reader soon but i also love having the experience of going into the cold book smelling library in the summer and just sitting down with a good book and I mean who doesnt love walking into barnes and noble or borders and the smell of books makes me want to smile Its sad that it might all end with the beginning of advanced technology

Kathy, the Kindle and the Nook are both great products, I own both of them, but I far prefer the Kindle. The Kindle is much lighter and smaller, with the same size screen. The Kindle is much more user friendly, it's very intuitive. The dictionary feature on the Kindle is far superior, so easy to use. Dictionary feature on the Nook is clunky. Kindle has text-to-speech, where it will read the book to you (if permitted by the publisher). You can also download MP3 audio books on the Kindle.

All these things are my opinion only, I'm sure others feel the Nook is superior. But I'm a true Kindle lover, I'll admit it!

Patricia wrote: "Kathy, the Kindle and the Nook are both great products, I own both of them, but I far prefer the Kindle. The Kindle is much lighter and smaller, with the same size screen. The Kindle is much more..."

thank you so much Patrica

He may have had a point with the costs of building an e-reader vs. making a physical book, but I thought the article in general was too drenched in melodrama and technophobia to be worth anything. He sets up the article with facts of how the Internet makes our attention spans shorter, saying how we can't finish books anymore, while failing to realize the obvious: that e-readers are meant for reading books. "What author would write exclusively for an e-reader?" What is he talking about? It's a different medium of reading, not something that requires a change of style on the authors' behalf! If you have a short attention span and can't read beyond three or four paragraphs, like the author's friends at the beginning, then why on Earth would an e-reader be for you?

Also, I really can't see dead tree books going out of fashion anytime soon. "Within five years"? I highly doubt that.

there is one pointt I want to make.

With e readers I think paper books will be harder to find etc..

I.e look at the ease of buying books on the internet /supermarkets which has let to the individual book sellers going out of business. and on the physical booksellers difficult to get books published earlier or are not considered popular (some of which were obtainable in the individual bookshops)

when the book shops realise can not compete with online more will close and same with the kindle and such like

Valerie wrote: "He may have had a point with the costs of building an e-reader vs. making a physical book, but I thought the article in general was too drenched in melodrama and technophobia to be worth anything. ..."

Physical books are here to stay! I read faster on my ereader and cherish my books. My book closet is bursting again. I can lend the physical books, but I can't lend the e-books.

I used both the Nook and Kindle app's on my laptop and still buy plenty of physical books ... I enjoy both too much to give up either.

Right-one doesn't have to supplant the other.

When I was a kid, the big debate was "Are computers here to stay." This reminds me a bit of that.

I think it's important to concentrate on how to use technology effectively & how to teach our children how to use it both effectively & responsibly.

I think it's a waste of energy to complain about it generally or to try to stop people from using it.

And why would you want to? But it's here, I think it's staying-people (including myself) like convenience, & the question,imho, is how it can best be used.

Great points Ellie and Valerie.

I agree with Valerie that I think the article was a little melodramatic, so much so that you question the validity of what he says especially in regards to the cost of creating the actual eReaders versus printing eBooks. This could be a very interesting topic and worthy of further investigation but the author loses my trust with his very biased opinions.

I also agree with all those that say the paperbook is not going to go away. I ADORE my eReader but I love my paper books too. I have hundreds of paper books to read and hundreds of eBooks to read.

Like Ellie says - we need to find a way to best use the eReader as I, too, feel they are here to stay.
To me its not the format, but the story itself. Did people make this big of a stink when audio books came out? How is an eReader any different from an audio book (theoritically not physically, of course).

People made a stink when Gutenberg invented the printing press-no really, I'm not joking. There was fear that there would no longer by the beauty of those hand-copies manuscripts.

And I read somewhere people writing about "real" books vs. e-books, & I thought that, really, all books are ultimately extremely abstract. We talk about getting lost "in" a book or being "in the middle of" a book but those are metaphors for the experience reading.

Whether it's a scroll, a paper books, or an ebook, books are a series of marks that stand for things or concepts & that are manipulated by the writer to create worlds that the reader than translates into his or her interpretation of that world. It's none of it and all of it real.

What's real is what the reader experiences however it comes to him or her.

Ellie wrote: "People made a stink when Gutenberg invented the printing press-no really, I'm not joking. There was fear that there would no longer by the beauty of those hand-copies manuscripts.

And I read some..."

Very profound, Ellie. I like the way your mind works.

:D

Love that explaination Ellie!!!!

Ellie, you pretty much mirror my feelings. I've got a Kindle and love it but will never stop reading my paperbacks & hardbacks. Isn't there a place for all of them?
I have tons of books stored in my Audible library and found that I can load & unload them on my Kindle & listen to them while my Kindle is in my pocket. Be aware that audio takes a lot of space on your Kindle & drains your battery quicker, but that's not a biggie since you can plug in and continue to listen when the juice starts to go. Since you can load & dump them back onto your pc, I find it a great way to get through all those audios & never found time to listen to. Love my Kindle.

If I could only find a way to read one book while I listened to another, I could cut that to-read shelf down to manageable in no time! :D

Ellie wrote: "If I could only find a way to read one book while I listened to another, I could cut that to-read shelf down to manageable in no time! :D"


Haha, I bet you wouldn't! You'd just add to it faster!

Lea, you are so right!

I always swore that I would only do physical books and I got a Nook from my husband.....I still will buy hardcovers but the nook allows me to read more by making the books I read far more portable...I can have 500 books in my purse and I can have a variety so when I am done with one I have lots to pick from....I still read regular books and will collect the hardcovers of my favorite authors but the ebook has allowed me to read out of print books that are difficult to find and the other positive is that since it tracks what I purchase also makes suggestions on things I might like and thus has expanded my horizons with books I might have passed by