Fun Stuff > CLIKC
e-readers are amazing!
IrrationalPie:
--- Quote from: ackblom12 on 29 Jan 2011, 10:24 ---Between the e-books, I love our kindle, but I was quite disappointed by Amazon's insistence on propitiatory file format.
--- End quote ---
http://calibre-ebook.com/
Calibre converts any format (nearly) to any other format. There's also a simple script you can find via google that will strip any Amazon bought books from their DRM.
Convert whatever you want to MOBI format and you're good to go (for your Kindle).
ackblom12:
Ha! I should have known something like this was out there. Still doesn't fix my irritation with Amazon's decision, but still great. Thanks!
AnAverageWriter:
As both an avid reader and writer, the growing popularity of e-readers fills me with a sinking sort of trepidation.
It's not so much that reading itself, to me, feels like it's being threatened, persay, because of these devices. It's that the essence of a book goes far beyond its content, beyond just the simple reading of the text. When you hold a book in hand, it's an experience, an ownership of a THING. Every book has its own unique characteristics, feeling, print, smell. And that book, regardless of the progress of technology or the state of whatever new computers comes out, stands as a testament to not just the reader, but to the future readers.
I have in my possession a very, very old children's book. It belonged to my grandmother as a child, who passed it along to my mother, who was kind enough to pass it along to me. All in all, there's about a hundred years worth of history in this book, yet I can open it and peruse its pages to read it to my son. This can be accomplished as easy today as it was back then.
And it makes me wonder- what of, sixty years down the road, when this book will still be readable? Even today, the likes of Warren Adler are discussing going "e-book only", abandoning the classic print altogether.
What will happen to the cherished memories, the fond passing of a book from generation to generation? What of when Amazon eventually ceases to exist, and the batteries on these readers have died?
I feel like a cherished art form is slipping away, simply for the sake of modernity...
CardinalFang:
I think one of the great advantages of e-readers is that you can make every book a large print book and for visually impaired readers that is a wonderful thing.
nekowafer:
--- Quote from: AnAverageWriter on 30 Jan 2011, 06:35 ---As both an avid reader and writer, the growing popularity of e-readers fills me with a sinking sort of trepidation.
--- End quote ---
This type of thing has been said because of just about every "modern" change. People that copied books by hand said this about printing presses, for example.
Just because your child (should you have one) won't necessarily have the same experience as you did with books doesn't mean they won't still very much enjoy them. The printed word will likely never disappear, it will just become less and less used. Some purists will use it for as long as they can hold out.
I have hundreds of books of my shelves, and I love them. I love the smell of a really old sci-fi novel that cost 25 cents to purchase when it was new. Going into a book store is one of my favorite things to do, especially if it sells old books.
But I also love the plastic-y smell of my Nook, in its real leather case. I like the feel of holding it and I love having at least 500 books ready to read on the spot.
--- Quote from: IrrationalPie on 30 Jan 2011, 00:36 ---There's also a simple script you can find via google that will strip any Amazon bought books from their DRM.
--- End quote ---
Just do remember that this is illegal. Not saying you shouldn't do it, just be aware. Also, Calibre will never convert anything with DRM, so you will have to strip it first. Personally, I like my Nook a lot more in this regard - so much already comes out in epub format, I have little that needs to be done to read what I want. I can also get books from the library which is pretty awesome.
I do love Calbre though. It helped me organize my non-B&N books (which are stored differently on the Nook than those bought from the store) so I can find what I want easily.
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