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Author Topic: e-readers are amazing!  (Read 53094 times)

Scandanavian War Machine

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e-readers are amazing!
« on: 28 Jan 2011, 10:40 »

it's the best thing i've ever owned

i was an e-reader detractor too, until i actually got one


i mean, i was reading Anna Karenina on my lunch break, decided that I hated these aristocratic assholes and that I didn't want to read about them anymore for the time being, so I turned on my free 3G wireless internet and bought Hyperion, right there in the parking lot of my favorite sandwich shop. It was downloaded in less than a minute and I was good to go.

it's seriously the best. And it has Scrabble! SCRABBLE  :psyduck:
« Last Edit: 28 Jan 2011, 12:01 by pwhodges »
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ackblom12

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Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #1 on: 28 Jan 2011, 10:43 »

It really is hard to explain why e-readers are amazing unless you've used one in your own personal time.

But they are.
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Elysiana

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Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #2 on: 28 Jan 2011, 10:49 »

Ryan adores his Nook Color. We're probably going to attempt rooting it this weekend, and then he will drool on it and it will have to be toweled down daily.

They're just so handy though! I am a voracious reader and my home library was starting to get unwieldy. I still buy some books, especially ones that I know I will want to lend to friends, but I can put thousands on the Nook and still carry it in my purse. The Kindle is easier on the eyes, but I wouldn't give up the Nook because of all the options it has. I love being able to put multiple bookmarks in on multiple books - we can each be reading a book on there and not worry about losing the page - and I especially love having a dictionary and Wikipedia handy.
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nekowafer

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Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #3 on: 28 Jan 2011, 10:54 »

The original Nook is pretty darn awesome as well.
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Joseph

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Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #4 on: 28 Jan 2011, 11:10 »

If we want to continue this we should probably just start another thread. No need to drag this one off topic when it's pretty fruitful as is.

<Paul>There you are, then</Paul>

It really is hard to explain why e-readers are amazing unless you've used one in your own personal time.

But they are.

I'll just say though, that I have used them on my own time, understand the issue of convenience (Very well, in fact; my only regret about my bookshelves and the books on them is how difficult it makes it for me to move!), but am absolutely certain that they just aren't for me.
« Last Edit: 28 Jan 2011, 12:03 by pwhodges »
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IrrationalPie

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #5 on: 28 Jan 2011, 23:27 »

I love my Kindle.

The Kindle or any other e-ink readers are awesome. 

I really tried liking the Nook Color / iPad, but it's just not built for reading -- the light they emit detract from the experience and strain my eyes.

I'd honestly prefer a book, but when you have the option of not buying another book ever again . . well . . . yea . .

Don't give me shit about not going to the library; the books there are filthy!
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Johnny C

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #6 on: 29 Jan 2011, 00:13 »

that's all well and good but on the other hand death to e-readers
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Barmymoo

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #7 on: 29 Jan 2011, 01:29 »

I love books but I can't afford to buy all of them. On the other hand I can't afford to buy an e-reader really. Someone convince me that the economics of it are worth it?
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sean

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #8 on: 29 Jan 2011, 03:11 »

guys fuck the haters lets welcome the kindle as long as i get to keep my vinyl collection
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Elysiana

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #9 on: 29 Jan 2011, 03:12 »

It depends what you're looking for I think. The Nook Color was worth it to us because it functions as a tablet computer. I wouldn't find the Kindle as worthwhile though because it only functions as an e-reader and doesn't handle any higher functions really.

If you figure ~$10 per book, that's 25-30 books to equal a Nook or 15-20 to equal a Kindle. We don't buy most (okay, any) of our e-books so we basically just had to pay for the actual machine and that's it. If you still plan on buying your books though, you're going to be looking at $6-$10 for the e-reader versions on top of paying for the e-reader itself.
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J

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #10 on: 29 Jan 2011, 05:16 »

I love books but I can't afford to buy all of them. On the other hand I can't afford to buy an e-reader really. Someone convince me that the economics of it are worth it?

www.gutenberg.org
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J

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #11 on: 29 Jan 2011, 05:33 »

also: why i would never buy a kindle

i plan to get an ebook reader eventually. without wireless connectivity.

i'm thinking of waiting till the color ones come out and picking up a b&w unit for cheap.
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IrrationalPie

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #12 on: 29 Jan 2011, 06:41 »

You can buy the wifi version of the Kindle and turn the wifi off. 

Alternatively, you can just refrain from buying books FROM Amazon.
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David_Dovey

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #13 on: 29 Jan 2011, 09:20 »

that's all well and good but on the other hand death to e-readers

I don't get it. Are you mad because a company tried to sell their product based on it's relative advantages over competitors? HOW DARE THEY
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Johnny C

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #14 on: 29 Jan 2011, 10:10 »

no like i'm a massive Book Defender so the girl's smarmy "i paid more for these sunglasses" crack is like, well, i'm reading a graham greene book right now that i spent six bucks on and i can read it in most light conditions
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ackblom12

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #15 on: 29 Jan 2011, 10:24 »

Well, the thread isn't really "death to books" so I don't really think book defending is terribly necessary.

Between the e-books, I love our kindle, but I was quite disappointed by Amazon's insistence on propitiatory file format. In hindsight the Nook is what I would have gone with. Of course you'd have to be within the US to order from the Barnes & Noble store. With the non Kindle offering you can do anything at all e-pub and there are tons of blogs online that offer up free stuff, the gutenberg project that was mentioned earlier and various online e-book stores online that sell DRM free content.

If you're looking for something within the public domain cost of the book is practically a non issue. Even within the Amazon store or Barnes & Noble store, you can find free and $1 - $3 options that have al the proper e-book formatting, and on occasion actually have more content than the "real" publisher's offerings. Or of course as mentioned before get a free option from online and copy it right over.
« Last Edit: 29 Jan 2011, 12:29 by ackblom12 »
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schimmy

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #16 on: 29 Jan 2011, 12:27 »

also: why i would never buy a kindle

amazon changed their terms and conditions after that incident, and they can no longer do that.
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Johnny C

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #17 on: 29 Jan 2011, 12:43 »

Well, the thread isn't really "death to books" so I don't really think book defending is terribly necessary.

i don't actually have a problem with e-readers, just that commercial + its associated attitudes.

i'm definitely in joseph's camp where like i can see their purpose (especially in terms of like people who are regularly mobile or in small apartments or whatever) but they definitely aren't for me
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nekowafer

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #18 on: 29 Jan 2011, 13:47 »

I actually spent less on regular books than I do on e-books - but that's only because I went to things like http://www.bookthing.org/ where I get all the free books I want. I'm not into new books for the most part.

But, just like you can get "free" music, you can get "free" books. Plus, as others have said, there are tons of options for free to cheap books.

I really love my original Nook. It was only $150, I have awesome covers for it, and it's a lot smaller than a lot of the books I'd been reading when I bought it - like A Song of Ice and Fire. Gigantic, heavy things they were.

I wouldn't even consider getting a color Nook or anything like that. As much as I like the software, I'd rather have the e-ink technology.
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Ikrik

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #19 on: 29 Jan 2011, 17:20 »

Mother told me she bought me a kindle today, it's going to be shipping to my house soonish.  As a student, I look at my bookshelves with a sense of terror, sometime soon I will have to move and with it moves tons and tons of books.  I don't think I can deal with that anymore and so having something that weighs almost nothing and takes up no space is a perfect solution. 

For those who have one, what are some awesome things that I need/should know about this little device?
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IrrationalPie

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #20 on: 30 Jan 2011, 00:36 »

Between the e-books, I love our kindle, but I was quite disappointed by Amazon's insistence on propitiatory file format.

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).
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ackblom12

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #21 on: 30 Jan 2011, 06:17 »

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!
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AnAverageWriter

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #22 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.

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...
« Last Edit: 30 Jan 2011, 06:39 by AnAverageWriter »
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CardinalFang

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #23 on: 30 Jan 2011, 06:53 »

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.
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nekowafer

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #24 on: 30 Jan 2011, 08:42 »

As both an avid reader and writer, the growing popularity of e-readers fills me with a sinking sort of trepidation.

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.

There's also a simple script you can find via google that will strip any Amazon bought books from their DRM.

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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Papersatan

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #25 on: 30 Jan 2011, 08:45 »

I have spent countless hours debating the value of a physical book versus a digital copy of the text. I have a literature degree and I took a number of classes which dealt with publishing practices, the history of print, the rise of digital and other relatedly things.  I have read essays on the topic, attended guest lectures, listened to other students argue in classrooms and watched executives for publishers and digital companies argue with experts on literature and typography. And I have found that the argument against e-readers are mostly people stretching to find things that are wrong with them because they like the way books smell. 

I don't think there is anything wrong with liking the way a book smells or any other aspect of its physical form, and there are things that physical books do better than digital copies, but there are also things digital copies do better and there is room in the market for both.  Digital copies are not a replacement for leather bound collector's editions of your favorite book.  They are a replacement for paperbacks.  I have paperbacks which my father read in college and the majority of them are already worn and brittle so arguments about lifespan are really moot.  They were not made to last, they were made to be inexpensive and portable. 

My biggest problem with arguments for books as objects is that it seems to accept as fact the idea that when I buy a book I am buying an object and not ideas.  This was not always so, it was successfully argued by publishers 200 years ago, and led to our current intellectual property laws, but I don't accept it as fact.  When I buy a book I am buying it for the intangible ideas it contains.  Arguments which centered on there being nothing there, or the experience of reading being diminished without a physical book trouble me because they seem to buy into this.  It ideas and the words that form them which make us fall in love with a book, and those words and ideas still exist on an e-reader. 

The rise of digital technology may scare those who love physical books, but it needn't, for one thing I think that it will do good things for the future of physical books.  Print on demand technologies mean that a book need never go "out of print" enabling you to find a copy when you want one.  I think that as more people get e-readers the market for nice physical copies will actually increase, and the offerings for this segment will also increase. 

The cherished memories of passing a book from one generation to the next may slip away, but as I said I think nice editions of books will still exist.  If passing a physical book along does stop, well that tradition had a start, people still loved each other, and shared their knowledge and experiences before there were printed books, and they will continue to do so after. 

As far as obsolescence, that is a real challenge for digital formats, but it is one that people are tackling.  People back up their copies, as linked above there are format converters and "the cloud" means that even if I lose *my* copy a copy will still exist and I will be able to find it. 

I don't think that we are casting books aside for digital copies simply for the sake of "modernity,"  e-readers do a lot of things better.  They make a text inexpensive, portable, searchable and allow me to look up new words as I read.  These are things that print can't compete with, and so like manuscripts gave way to print, print is giving way to digital. 
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jhocking

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Re: What are you currently reading?
« Reply #26 on: 30 Jan 2011, 09:16 »

It really is hard to explain why e-readers are amazing unless you've used one

On a related note, it is really hard to convey to people just how awesome e-ink screens are. Unlike most computer screens that shoot out light, e-ink screens actually rearrange grains of pigment in the screen. awesome

Or how e-ink screens don't need power to maintain their appearance. When I opened my sister-in-law's Kindle, the instructions on the screen weren't a sticker attached over the screen, it was literally the screen. E-ink screens don't need power to maintain their appearance, so at the factory they just display the instructions and then ship it like that.

nekowafer

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #27 on: 30 Jan 2011, 09:42 »

It's apparently very difficult for people to understand this. I'm on a Nook discussion board thingy and there are always questions of "where's the backlight?"
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jhocking

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #28 on: 30 Jan 2011, 10:09 »

Between the e-books, I love our kindle, but I was quite disappointed by Amazon's insistence on propitiatory file format.

They eventually wised up:
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2009/11/kindle-2-finally-gets-native-pdf-support-screen-rotation.ars

Until just now though I didn't realize the original Kindle didn't support PDF, that is fucked up.

It ideas and the words that form them which make us fall in love with a book, and those words and ideas still exist on an e-reader.

Silly! The value of books isn't the ideas and words within, its how good they look lined up on the bookshelf in your den. Nothing classes up a place quite like a bunch of musty old books.
« Last Edit: 30 Jan 2011, 10:23 by jhocking »
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ackblom12

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #29 on: 30 Jan 2011, 10:24 »

Oh that is good news. We have the DX and despite it having PDF support, it's pretty dogshit at the moment. The update sounds like that should improve quite a bit though.

It still unfortunately leaves Amazon as one of the only e-readers not using an open source format though. Obviously not a real problem since I got directed to the file format converter but still irritating.
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AnAverageWriter

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #30 on: 30 Jan 2011, 10:25 »

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.

This is a specious and altogether fallacious argument. The printing press enabled automated book production. It did not, as e-readers are, simply replace the printed format.

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.

Thank you for not reading my post at all, just skimming over it and then picking out whatever you could. I sincerely doubt that, no matter how well made an e-reader is, that it OR the format upon which its books have been written will still be around in a hundred, or even fifty years.

This, and the other walls of text hastily written in defense of the e-reader, have unfortunately missed the point. They say that the printed word will not "disappear" when in reality it's already occurring- as was mentioned before, authors such as Warren Adler have already begun the transition to "digital only" formatting, forgoing the printed book altogether.

I suppose it was too much to expect anything from digitalophiles here to actually appreciate the advantages books have to offer beyond "their smell". After all, in a hundred years, when every ebook on the market has been forgotten and the only records of our current lives will be the fragmented remnants viewable on some holodeck somewhere, NOBODY would ever want to preserve anything we've written today! No, sir, put those books in the fire of time with LPs and the Nickelodeon. After all, today's books can't satisfy our desire for instant search gratification or be censored to remove "bad" words (ala Huckleberry Finn) at the push of a button.

Ugh.

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jhocking

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #31 on: 30 Jan 2011, 10:28 »

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.

This is a specious and altogether fallacious argument. The printing press enabled automated book production. It did not, as e-readers are, simply replace the printed format.

lol yep that's all e-readers do



Speaking of which, I think Kindle has a software development kit so I was thinking of borrowing one and developing "choose your own adventure" books on it. It really seems like the perfect platform for that sort of thing. No "flip to page X if you choose Y," just press the button. And I could put in a back button for when you want to go back and try a different decision.
« Last Edit: 30 Jan 2011, 10:49 by jhocking »
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ackblom12

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #32 on: 30 Jan 2011, 10:29 »

You know, you're being a massive dick.

Also you missed a lot of the point of Papersatan's point about it not totally replacing print. Re-read it and stop assuming no one here loves books.

Also Huck Finn is a terrible example since it's in the public Domain. If any printer decided to remove the racial slurs they could. Any other printer then could release it with them included or just not remove them in the first place.
« Last Edit: 30 Jan 2011, 10:37 by ackblom12 »
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AnAverageWriter

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #33 on: 30 Jan 2011, 10:37 »

You know, you're being a massive dick. Also you missed a lot of the point of Papersatan's point about it not totally replacing print. Re-read it and stop assuming no one here loves books.

Insulting me and repointing out a point already dismissed doesn't somehow make the point valid. As was already pointed out, large numbers of authors have already begun the transition to digital-only, in effect and fact "replacing" the printed book.

Again, calling me names doesn't make your point valid. In fact, it proves my point exactly.
« Last Edit: 30 Jan 2011, 10:39 by AnAverageWriter »
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ackblom12

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #34 on: 30 Jan 2011, 10:45 »

Nor does trying to prove your point by calling anyone here digitalophiles and crying "OH WOE IS ME."
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AnAverageWriter

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #35 on: 30 Jan 2011, 10:45 »

E-Readers: An Average Writer's Lament

And one that will soon be forgotten, I imagine. My kind will fade to the mists of time, relegated to the dustbin of history.
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jhocking

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #36 on: 30 Jan 2011, 10:51 »

e-readers... simply replace the printed format.

I guess you missed by little jab so I'll be more explicit: is this seriously what you think?

Ozymandias

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #37 on: 30 Jan 2011, 10:55 »

Man, I ain't feel like arguing on the internet too much so I'm just gonna go ad hominem.

As a future librarian, lover of old and rare books, someone who is inevitably going to have bookshelves for walls in his house, and an owner of a Kindle:

You're a stark raving moron, dude.
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AnAverageWriter

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #38 on: 30 Jan 2011, 10:59 »

More baseless insults!

Why am I not surprised?
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ackblom12

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #39 on: 30 Jan 2011, 11:02 »

Man, you realize that insults weren't thrown around until you insulted several people essentially saying that anyone who disagrees with you is a digitalophile who can't possibly understand right?
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nekowafer

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #40 on: 30 Jan 2011, 11:04 »

You could try disproving all the insults by disagreeing in a less douchey manner.
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Ozymandias

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #41 on: 30 Jan 2011, 11:05 »

More baseless insults!

Nah, the insults are based on your posts.
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AnAverageWriter

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #42 on: 30 Jan 2011, 11:09 »

You could try disproving all the insults by disagreeing in a less douchey manner.

Tried it.

Got my entire post reduced down to "the argument against e-readers are mostly people stretching to find things that are wrong with them because they like the way books smell", followed by more BASELESS insults by people with penis melons as their avatars and walls of text. Even now, you'll notice, at this very moment.

What's the point in composing a well thought out argument only to have it reduced to arguments about smells and insults by penis-melons?
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jhocking

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #43 on: 30 Jan 2011, 11:12 »

More baseless insults!

Nah, the insults are based on your posts.

hee hee

EDIT:
What is a penis-melon?

EDIT2: oh wait you mean stephen

people with penis melons as their avatars

EDIT3: Come to think of it, his name is pretty awesome in the context of this discussion.
« Last Edit: 30 Jan 2011, 11:16 by jhocking »
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ackblom12

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #44 on: 30 Jan 2011, 11:16 »

It is a penis-melon wearing a santa hat goddamnit get it right.
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Alex C

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #45 on: 30 Jan 2011, 11:21 »

Bottom line, if you condescend to people on this forum, you will get called out on it. You're not going to get a gold star and some street cred for restraint on this particular forum just because you implied someone is an idiot rather than actually typed it out.
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Barmymoo

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #46 on: 30 Jan 2011, 11:24 »

I believe Stephen is the penis-melon in question.


AnAverageWriter, I'm intrigued as to what you mean by "your kind". Do you mean people who like books? People who like reading? People who misunderstand the purpose of a discussion? You are fully entitled to have your own opinion. You are allowed to express that opinion. It's even allowed to be opposing to everyone else's! This isn't Congress, you're not trying to sway people's opinions in order to change the way things turn out. E readers exist regardless of whether you like them or not. If you don't like them, don't buy one - that way you'll be doing your bit to ensure books don't die out.

I really love books, I love seeing them lined up on my shelf, I love waking up to find one next to my pillow, I love the feel of the pages and the different covers and having a physical representation of how much I have read. But sadly I can't afford to buy every book I want to read, and I don't have the opportunity to get them all from the library. An e-reader would allow me to read as much as I wanted but I guarantee that I would go out and buy physical copies of books I really loved.

I take your point about passing along books, because I'm looking forwards to doing that too. I've got a special collectors' edition copy of the complete works of Beatrix Potter I intend to hand on, for a start. But really for me it's the content of the book which matters and that is much more likely to be preserved by e-readers. An important thing to consider is the fact that publishers just stop printing books if they aren't being sold very well, whereas a digital copy can be replicated if there's demand for it.
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AnAverageWriter

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #47 on: 30 Jan 2011, 11:30 »

I believe Stephen is the penis-melon in question.
AnAverageWriter, I'm intrigued as to what you mean by "your kind".

I was referring in that instance to the individual who took my entire post and insinuated that it was nothing but an old-fashioned, quaint, outdated longing for book smells. I do have a concern for the future of print. I've seen authors abandon it firsthand- which was why I mentioned Warren Adler.

I'm sure I'll get mocked for this post too.
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jhocking

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #48 on: 30 Jan 2011, 11:31 »

Since you are so sure e-readers don't have any positive points themselves I wonder if you've considered this: e-readers enable people to read more often. Both in the access sense (note SWM's post at the top of the thread; he didn't have to plan out his reading ahead of time) and in the sense of being more convenient to carry around (I know plenty of people who read books a Kindle on their train ride that they aren't about to start carrying around.) Starting from an assumption that more people reading is a good thing (and if you disagree with that then, um, I'm not sure what to say) then e-readers do have the positive characteristic of causing more reading to happen.

I point this out not to discard the positive aspects of books (indeed, every person who's posted in this thread appears to love books, not sure where you got the idea that we don't) but rather because you don't seem to see any positives to e-readers.

Also, you keep mentioning authors who are abandoning print books; what exactly is the reason you think they are making this decision?
« Last Edit: 30 Jan 2011, 11:33 by jhocking »
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Ozymandias

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Re: e-readers are amazing!
« Reply #49 on: 30 Jan 2011, 11:32 »

Also, now that we have a new page, gonna go ahead and elucidate why you're wrong, despite your eventual continued insistence that you're not.

See, Kat's point about the printing press that you dismissed without debate is actually completely on the money, not because there were luddites among the monasteries, but because those luddites were, in a way, correct. The advent of the press allowed for the spread of literacy and ideas and art, BUT, it began a process that would finally end in the 19th century with large scale mass production of books. The process, of course, was the death of the book itself as an art form, something you claim the e-reader will do. Unfortunately, it's already gone. It can't be made any more dead.

In fact, with the advent of the e-reader, it might be able to have new life breathed into it. Now in order to sell a physical book, that book has to be worth buying. It's not something you have to buy just to read the words inside and, thus, it no longer merely has to be functional, it now also has to be beautiful. It has to be worthy of its contents.

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