eBooks, or Paper?
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So, e-books, or paper? What are your thoughts on the issue? Team Paper, or Team Digital?
I prefer paper books. I like the feel of them on my fingertips, that fresh-book smell, and the fact that it’s an opportunity for me to get away from a computer. I also like seeing all of the spines on my bookshelf, row after row, and being able to pick them up at random, or browse a novel I had discarded. I also like the fact that if I don’t like the series I bought, I can sell it, or donate it.
My thing with e-books is this: “Best sellers starting from $9.99.” I just don’t get it. First, I have to buy the e-reader itself, a $69+ purchase. Then I have to pay the same price for the digital copy that I’d pay for the hard copy? Certainly, and yes, some books are cheaper, and you don’t have the added wait time experienced when you, say, order a book online. BUT. Why isn’t the difference reflected in the price of new books, and best sellers? I wait a year for the next installment of a series to come out… I certainly don’t want to wait for it to be cheaper later. The hard copy is… what? 11 dollars when it’s released? 10.99? The digital is 9.99? But the company didn’t have to print the book. Or hire a middle man. They just had to give you a document, sent over the internet. Where’s the reflection in price? A dollar doesn’t seem worth me spending 69 on the machine. I don’t buy a lot of books usually, and it’d take my sixty-nine books to reclaim my investment? Or more, since I’d probably go for a larger screen myself?
I don’t understand the idea of it.
I prefer paper books. I like the feel of them on my fingertips, that fresh-book smell, and the fact that it’s an opportunity for me to get away from a computer. I also like seeing all of the spines on my bookshelf, row after row, and being able to pick them up at random, or browse a novel I had discarded. I also like the fact that if I don’t like the series I bought, I can sell it, or donate it.
My thing with e-books is this: “Best sellers starting from $9.99.” I just don’t get it. First, I have to buy the e-reader itself, a $69+ purchase. Then I have to pay the same price for the digital copy that I’d pay for the hard copy? Certainly, and yes, some books are cheaper, and you don’t have the added wait time experienced when you, say, order a book online. BUT. Why isn’t the difference reflected in the price of new books, and best sellers? I wait a year for the next installment of a series to come out… I certainly don’t want to wait for it to be cheaper later. The hard copy is… what? 11 dollars when it’s released? 10.99? The digital is 9.99? But the company didn’t have to print the book. Or hire a middle man. They just had to give you a document, sent over the internet. Where’s the reflection in price? A dollar doesn’t seem worth me spending 69 on the machine. I don’t buy a lot of books usually, and it’d take my sixty-nine books to reclaim my investment? Or more, since I’d probably go for a larger screen myself?
I don’t understand the idea of it.
Ehm (#93)
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02-7-2014 at 8:09 PM
I'm Team Reading.<br /> <br /> I love my paper books, and enjoy having them -- I don't intend to stop purchasing them anytime soon, either, since I have plans to build a library room.<br /> I also love my e-reader, and wouldn't want to give it up any more than I would my physical books. I have discovered and read so many books and authors -- new and old -- due to the immediate and convenient access to low-cost books from new authors and free public domain books from old ones. Not only that, but it allows me to carry hundreds of books in one hand when I'm travelling, or even just going out somewhere.<br /> <br /> Your problem with ebooks seems to largely come from you believing that they exist so that you don't have to pay as much.<br /> This is not the case.<br /> They didn't start making ebooks so that they could charge people less. That is not the point of ebooks or ereaders. So while it would make sense to charge less because they don't have printing fees -- well. Why, when they don't have to? Why, when it can mean that the publisher and the author can make more of a return, since they don't have to pay those printing fees? Or, why, when instead of printing fees, they're spending money on making sure that the book is well-formatted for all e-readers (it's not magic, it doesn't just come that way, people have to actually put time and effort into that. When they don't, it's obvious).<br /> <br /> No one's forcing you to use or buy an ereader. If you don't like them, don't use them. If they're not worth the money to you, don't use them. For most people that read a lot and travel a lot, or don't have the luxury of lots of space for physical books, they can be invaluable.<br /> <br /> <br /> I don't understand the point of creating a divide between two different formats of the exact same thing. It's personal preference, and personally I don't care which format anyone prefers, so long as they're reading. :P
Haiden [Husky & Sheltie Breeder] (#18607)
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02-6-2014 at 10:56 AM
I do prefer my paper-back or hard cover books to e-books, for the sole reason that I'm paranoid that my e-reader will stop working (It's not a matter of 'If' with me, but 'when') and whether or not I'll be able to recover all of my stories or even remember all of their names!<br /> <br /> (I tend to remember plot's more than titles)<br /> <br /> I also love being able to look at my shelf and seeing all of them right there in front of me, and I also love that 'new book smell' ;D<br /> <br /> There are advantages to an e-book/reader thing that I love. I have an e-reader/book thing that I got for x-mas a few years ago, and i've downloaded a few books on them and it is fun to read every now and again. It also free's up my shelf of some books that would take up quite a bit of shelf space ^^<br /> <br /> I have 2 boxes of books in my basement that don't fit on my shelf up stairs and searching through all of those book to find one I'm looking for is just a hassle and inconvenient. An e-reader (what mine is called) can easily take up the same space as a small tablet and hold over 400 books!<br /> <br /> I do prefer having my paper books, but my e-reader is more convenient at times! :D