The end of the bookstore?

[ksinger]

Yeah. Where to begin.

Big fan of physical books here. They have their drawbacks it's true - space requirements, weight, etc. But requiring endless electric charging, equipment upgrading, or handling with extreme care to avoid dropping them and losing your entire library in an instant and having to outlay huge amounts to replace and time to reload them, not so much.

I also don't read much current fiction, which is where these things tend to shine . I buy reference, read current events, history (some of it written long ago, and in musty no-longer-in-print tomes), IT technical, OR art books - as in how-to and heavily graphics oriented. None of those are as yet, heavily represented, or decently presented (as in graphics). It seems that almost every book that I am interested in is not available in e-reader, or is not the kind of content that would be best served by being delivered electronically.

I must say I am a bit surprised at the cavalier attitude towards an impending demise of books. As if this is just progress and we should just go with it. The end of books - which hopefully is a bit overstated - would be far more important than say, the passing technological blip of 8-tracks on the way to CD's and beyond. The actual physicality of books is part of our history for, well, for as long as we've had history. We've lost the long view, not just of history, but of pretty much everything. It's all about short-term and having one's requirements met instantaneously, rather than long-term, durable, or investing. And yes I know I'm going off on a bit of a tangent, but I DO see this as a manifestation of a larger cultural attitude of disposability of pretty much everything.

When I buy content, I want to OWN that content, and in e-reader format you don't - they can yank it back at any time, and now there is a big fight about libraries and e-content. I recall reading that one publisher(don't recall which one) is "selling" their books with a 50-loan limit, at which time they want the library to pony up again for that content and the right to loan it. It's a huge mess.

So as usual, we've solved one problem and created a raft of others.

 

[zoebartlett]

Ksinger -- Good point about upgrading e-readers (and cell phones, etc., for that matter) for the latest and greatest, when the one you have is perfectly fine. That bugs me a lot, actually. I hate falling into that trap.

 

[violet3]

Ksinger and Zoe, glad you brought up some very valid points -- one of the things that has always bothered me about e-content is that you don't actually own the content. For example, if you purchase microsoft office for your computer (which you need if you want to exist in the real world) you purchase the right to use the product, but you don't own it. They own it and they own what you can do with it. You can't (legally) share it with others and there is a limit on how many times you can use it for yourself.

When you buy a book, you can do anything you want with it. You can give it away, sell it, heck you can even burn it if you want to (not that i advocate that idea). I agree with ksinger on that point - there is something satisfying in actually owning the content.

I also agree that people love to upgrade technology just because when their current technology works just fine - i once had a friend who bought a new i phone after one year because they changed the color I can't tell you how much that bothered me.

I do struggle with the idea of the fact that the e-reader is a "green" idea, and i love HopeDream's post above that they have to recycle thousands of books every year that don't sell. For those same reasons, and the one Circe posted about being a horder, I think the e-reader is a great idea....but i still love a real book.

 

[Gothgrrl]

I have nothing against the kindle, it just takes me a while to get on board with stuff. I'm sure if I did get a kindle, I'd use it. But I probably will still buy books, exspecially if I want to keep it.

 

[ksinger]

Ksinger and Zoe, glad you brought up some very valid points -- one of the things that has always bothered me about e-content is that you don't actually own the content. For example, if you purchase microsoft office for your computer (which you need if you want to exist in the real world) you purchase the right to use the product, but you don't own it. They own it and they own what you can do with it. You can't (legally) share it with others and there is a limit on how many times you can use it for yourself.

When you buy a book, you can do anything you want with it. You can give it away, sell it, heck you can even burn it if you want to (not that i advocate that idea). I agree with ksinger on that point - there is something satisfying in actually owning the content.

I also agree that people love to upgrade technology just because when their current technology works just fine - i once had a friend who bought a new i phone after one year because they changed the color I can't tell you how much that bothered me.

I do struggle with the idea of the fact that the e-reader is a "green" idea, and i love HopeDream's post above that they have to recycle thousands of books every year that don't sell. For those same reasons, and the one Circe posted about being a horder, I think the e-reader is a great idea....but i still love a real book.

Well it certainly does raise issues about what we even mean by "content" doesn't it? Obviously, I don't own the copyright of the content of a book, but when I buy that book there is the idea that I forever own the right to THAT book. I'm not sure why e-content would be different, except that is is so much easier (I assume) to transfer book files, just like any other type file format. A book kind of comes with its own limitations. If you transfer the content of a book to another, the book goes with it and you lose access to it (unless you let your husband read it, and then you can rip it out of his hands...and...etc. )

As for the green aspect, well, I'm not so sure about that either, about them being greenER. I know there is a whole industry grown around reclaiming the precious metals in cell phones, and there is still much concern about the heavy toxic metals from our computers ending up in landfills. I assume that our "disposable-because-I-must-upgrade-or-simply-expire" e-readers cum tablets cum cell phones cum cameras etc, come with the same issues. How many people properly recycle those things? At the end of the day, paper is easily recyclable at least, and biodegrades into something bacteria can eat. Not so 200 million e-readers.

I'm not anti-e-reader, really, although I don't currently have one. But all things come with a price, and we are too close (especially those who never consider that change might actually come with too-high a cost) to see the long-term cost of this change. I mean, just the short-term cost of getting cut-off and run down on the sidewalk by morons trying to text and walk at the same time, is too high a cost for ME, but then who cares what I think: I'm clearly not the demographic they're after - for any gadget.

 

[dragonfly411]

I have an e reader, but I keep a little home library, and buy paper copies of as many things as I can. I like to be able to re-read and take notes. I also like to be able to share with others. I LOVE cookbooks, so couldn't imagine not having those. Our Borders already closed and I was very sad. I go to a local bookstore a LOT to help support them so they'll survive.

 

[blacksand]

I don't own an e-reader, but I have iBooks and the Kindle app on my phone and can get any Kindle book I want that way. At this point, they aren't very useful to me. They just don't have the kind of books I read. I don't read current fiction. If I read fiction at all, it is generally in languages other than English, to practice my language skills. They are just starting to have more books in other languages now, but they never used to. Most of what I read is nonfiction about languages, linguistics, language development in children, music or history. A lot of what I'm most interested in is now out-of-print, so I buy a lot of my books used. I love used books, anyway! I do often check iBooks and Kindle first before buying a book I'm interested in. They almost never have what I want in an e-book format, so I go ahead and order the physical book. I do think, if the kind of books I read start to become more readily available in e-book format, that I might consider getting an e-reader eventually. But I will miss physical books dreadfully.

One thing that bothers me about e-readers is that I'm not really a linear reader. I don't start at the beginning and read straight through to the end. I will do that if I am reading light fiction (I confess, I am an avid Harry Potter fan), but for most books, I jump around, A LOT. I read forward, then jump back a section to better understand the connections, then back again to the intro to remember how it all fits into the bigger picture, to check on the specific language used and see if it could be interpreted another way in light of the new information I have just read, etc. I also grab other books for reference all the time. It takes me a long time to read a book, because I'm not satisfied unless I have really digested everything it has to offer. e-books don't lend themselves to that kind of reading, in my opinion. I think they are improving, in that [I think?] you can now create multiple bookmarks and write notes, but I still feel they are designed primarily for linear, light reading. Fine with me if I'm sitting on the beach or at the train station, but not for when I want to really delve into something. But I think I will have to get used to it sooner or later regardless, so I'm trying to stay open-minded.

 

[galeteia]

I'd like to see the big chain stores disappear and little indie stores come back for the niche market of hard copy books.

E-readers are really changing how books are published and allows little publishing houses a fighting chance against the big juggernauts.

i totally agree with this above. I would also love to see the big chains drop out and the little guy get another chance to resurge in the book world. I don't, however, think it will change publishing industry -- conglomeration has become so large the the big guys will be the publishing houses i think. The independent bookstores however, will probably have a chance at coming back.

I also love sharing books with friends - i usually use the phrase "pass it on!" I love to get a book, and if i find it really stimulating, give it to a friend. I then encourage them to pass it to whomever they think would love it as well. Many of my friends and I have gotten to share books in this way. My friend who now has her kindle loves it, but i'm sad we can't share the books any more. She has such great suggestions on what to read but they're all on her kindle.

That's my hope! Now the little guys can reduce overhead from hard copy publication and invest in promotion of new authors.

As for book sharing: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200549320 it's still limited, but it's possible. You don't even need a kindle to share her kindle books!

 

[sillyberry]

I don't own an e-reader, but I have iBooks and the Kindle app on my phone and can get any Kindle book I want that way. At this point, they aren't very useful to me. They just don't have the kind of books I read. I don't read current fiction. If I read fiction at all, it is generally in languages other than English, to practice my language skills. They are just starting to have more books in other languages now, but they never used to. Most of what I read is nonfiction about languages, linguistics, language development in children, music or history. A lot of what I'm most interested in is now out-of-print, so I buy a lot of my books used. I love used books, anyway! I do often check iBooks and Kindle first before buying a book I'm interested in. They almost never have what I want in an e-book format, so I go ahead and order the physical book. I do think, if the kind of books I read start to become more readily available in e-book format, that I might consider getting an e-reader eventually. But I will miss physical books dreadfully.

One thing that bothers me about e-readers is that I'm not really a linear reader. I don't start at the beginning and read straight through to the end. I will do that if I am reading light fiction (I confess, I am an avid Harry Potter fan), but for most books, I jump around, A LOT. I read forward, then jump back a section to better understand the connections, then back again to the intro to remember how it all fits into the bigger picture, to check on the specific language used and see if it could be interpreted another way in light of the new information I have just read, etc. I also grab other books for reference all the time. It takes me a long time to read a book, because I'm not satisfied unless I have really digested everything it has to offer. e-books don't lend themselves to that kind of reading, in my opinion. I think they are improving, in that [I think?] you can now create multiple bookmarks and write notes, but I still feel they are designed primarily for linear, light reading. Fine with me if I'm sitting on the beach or at the train station, but not for when I want to really delve into something. But I think I will have to get used to it sooner or later regardless, so I'm trying to stay open-minded.

I think this is exactly right. My carry-on and suitcase have gotten A LOT lighter since buying a Kindle, and I'm pretty much reading fluff. I do think it would be extremely difficult to use the Kindle as any kind of reference book. I mean, I have a hard enough time trying to figure out how to get back to the table of contents or something, I definitely don't need to try anything more involved!

 

[gardengloves]

I'm totally addicted to my kindle on the ipad, and I say this as a dedicated hard copy book lover, who resisted technology and who loves to browse in stores and keep hard copies of my favorites.

With ebooks, it takes a minute to access books out of print, and the latest best sellers ---- works that I would have searched for months are available on ebooks, at a moment's click . The downside- its hard to mark favorite passages and go back to re- read or navigate table of contents and it's impossible to share with friends. So many times I said to friends you've got to read this---- great recipes, or travel segments--- but I cannot forward it.

On the upside its great to be able to explore and google a word or passage for historical background, and add notes, which ebooks has available. It's hard to really evaluate the benefit, on the upside- there is a treasure trove of works available, some free in a minutes notice, on the downside- lovely weekends perusing book stores and wandering on a Sunday mornings. With ebooks- in one minute I can have a favorite authors entire works delivered to my ipad and cozy up for an extended pajama clad weekend.

I can even lie in bed and order the next books in a great series in a second.. I am thinking.. A Dance with Dragons....