"Our love I tried to kindle..."

[Bubba]

So I read an article yesterday stating that Ebooks are outselling printed books for the first time ever.

In a way I suppose this is great news for the environment. If I'm honest though, it made me a little sad. I'm pretty sure I'll never get a kindle or a similar device. I understand the practicality of it but I don't think I'll ever stop reading printed books.

Yes, maybe I'm not being environmentally friendly. Yes, maybe I'll pay lots more for my reading pleasure but... I don't care. I love books. I've got loads of my Dad's old books that have that really great 'old book' smell. I just couldn't get that emotionally attached to yet another electronic device.

What do we all think? Choose a side!

[Shorty]

I greatly prefer the novelty of physical books but with all the moving around I've been doing lately, I have to say that I see the merit in ebooks. Lugging around boxes of books is terrible and it's a wonder I didn't toss them all out. I think that as time goes on, I'll lean more toward buying ebooks that I haven't read yet and obtaining a physical copy if I like them enough.

Reading is reading, though. Doesn't matter how you do it.

[Madame Adequate]

I wasn't at all convinced by ebooks until I visited Pike, who has an ereader, and I found it to be much better than a printed book in terms of convenience and stuff.

An entire library on something smaller and thinner than a single paper book? Yeah I can get behind that!

[Bubba]

No no! What will happen to all our libraries???

Beautifully structured buildings filled with rich history and culture, excitement and adventure, passion and romance. Just the simple act of sliding a small, rectangular object from it's wooden home can transport you to a world beyond your wildest dreams. Hours can feel like seconds as you sit in a comfortable chair surrounded by walls of knowledge. You forget about your most basic needs... food, sleep... even the simple act of breathing in and out can be overlooked. It's only when you are politely asked to leave by Oliver the elderly librarian that you realize you've enjoyed five hours of pure pleasure.

What will become of these sanctuaries of knowledge? All converted into Apple stores with unnecessary space, smaller gadgets and excessive staff levels.

I don't want this, EOFF. I simply don't want it!

[Rantz]

I'm curious about the role of physical books, and books overall, in the future. The threshold for what gets published will become significantly lower, of course, which will lead to a lot more trash to sift through but also many gems that would otherwise have gone lost. A large share of what gets printed now will likely soon become exclusively digital, too. I doubt textbooks have much future in print, for example.

Because of the age of the book as a medium and its roots in our culture, though, I think it'll be a very long time before printed books are hard to get a hold of. It's not like with much younger media such as vinyls, which are already retro collector's items. Literary classics will keep being printed for a very long time. Less distinguished books are sure to start dropping off at some point, though! The question is just how quickly.

I think most people who grew up reading will always have nostalgic feelings for printed books. Again, like vinyl records but to a greater extent, many people will always treasure physical books and love to keep them around, but in x decades, only a stubborn few will keep reading them more than for the occasional nostalgia trip. Throughout history, convenience has almost always won out over silly stuff like feelings. Which is sad in a way, but there's no denying the digitalisation will have some huge beneficial effects on literary culture.

Overall, I'm excited about e-books.

[Faris]

Ugh! Ugh! Ugh! Man I hope books don't go the way of movies, TV, and games. Most things are only digital now and I haaaaaaate it. I am a hands-on type person, so being able to hold onto a physical copy of something gives me an added experience.

Now before anyone says "don't knock it until you've tried it, gurl~" I have tried digital books on my iTouch and I just get too distracted by everything else that I can do on it. That and batteries don't die on paper.

[Shlup]

Every single person I know who owns an e-reader started out with "I love books! I love the smell, I love turning pages..." I felt the same way, but now we all love our Nooks and Kindles. Now I carry all of my favorite books with me, a stack of manga, and all of the hard copies I do buy are beautiful.

Now before anyone says "don't knock it until you've tried it, gurl~" I have tried digital books on my iTouch and I just get too distracted by everything else that I can do on it. That and batteries don't die on paper.

A tablet/smartphone is not the same as an ereader. Using eInk is very different than trying to read on an LCD, and the only other thing I can do on my Nook without WiFi is play sudoku, so it's not distracting at all.

[Parker]

I'm really, really torn on this topic. I love physical books and pages. I LOVE libraries, some of which are among the most awe-inspiring places on earth. I have a smallish collection of books that might sell for an ok amount of money (but won't at all if they all get re-released as eBooks).

However, sometimes I don't want to be carrying Infinite Jest around, and the lightweight kindle (i stood on mine tho) is an ideal alternative. The e-ink is great too, and doesn't hurt my eyes like reading from a monitor does.

[Shorty]

Librarians will be laid off.

I am damn sure not getting rid of my Goosebumps collection with all of this up-and-coming ereader stuff, though.

[Tigmafuzz]

xkcd always relevant:

[CimminyCricket]

I have a Kindle, but if an author I know I love is coming out with a new book in a series I enjoy I will buy the book. If it's an author I read in passing I'll buy the kindle version. I like the Kindle because if I go on a trip, I don't have to carry the 8 books I'm going to read over the course of the week or so I'm gone, I just have to carry a little slab that fits in my pocket.

[Scotty_ffgamer]

Which version of books I buy all depends on the price, usually. The kindle is great for getting a lot of older books for free, but I find a lot of physical books for cheaper or around the same price as the ebook version. That being said, I've been focused on getting physical copies of books lately just because I am trying to build up a library of books for my future classroom that my students will be able to borrow and read. One of my life goals is to also have a huge, awesome library for my house.

[GhandiOwnsYou]

Both mediums have their place. I do a lot of my reading on an iPad or iPhone lately. I don't usually carry around a book with me, but i usually have at least one of the two devices on my person. It makes it convenient for me to read a bit when I get stuck in an unexpected line or something. I can't see myself carrying a kindle or nook though. It kinda goes against why I like reading on a digital device if I have to start carrying something else specifically for the purpose of reading. I see books as the next generations vinyl records. They'll be a luxury purpose for people that want the sensation of taking a tactile object and handling it in order to enjoy the medium. I already treat books the same way as I do Vinyl. It's kind of like the collectors edition of a video game. I'm not going to buy it for EVERY title, but for titles which I'm particularly excited for, want to support, or feel like are enough of a landmark to deserve special note.

[Pike]

I'm not gonna lie; I don't quite get the "I NEED PHYSICAL BOOKS" thing. I love words and stories, not the medium they're printed on. Biggest merit a physical book has over an ebook is that it doesn't run out of batteries. (And that I can fidget with the bookmark while I read.) But then an ereader can hold hundreds of books wherever you go and you can download something and read it right away instead of having to go to the bookstore, so it more than evens out as far as I'm concerned.

As an author I've sold about ten times more ebook versions than physical versions of my stuff. Now THAT sort of saddens me but only because the money I get from selling paperbacks is a heck of a lot more than the money I get from selling ebooks. xD

Maybe I'm the anti-romantic, but truth be told the only time I've ever been disappointed about an up-and-coming technology usurping an old and established one is digital photography getting rid of film and that's only because god damn I love the darkroom; there is something truly magical about handmaking your own prints. I concede that that's me being romantic and not practical.

I have tried digital books on my iTouch and I just get too distracted by everything else that I can do on it. That and batteries don't die on paper.

As Shlup said, definitely try digital books on a dedicated ereader. The experience is much different. There's nothing else to do; it's just words. The screen is also much better.

[Old Manus]

State education put me off reading books for life. I'm sorry guys, I can't join your party.