Are paper books dead?

[Block G Raptor]

The new amazon Kindle (Digital Book) http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/18/amazon-kindle-gets-official/ has been released in the States, will it catch on?
it can hold up to 300 books at a time so suppose it could replace the heavy schoolbag for kids and students

[John83]

http://diveintomark.org/archives/2007/11/19/the-future-of-reading

[RogerMilla]

i have a sony e-reader and i love it , but you cant buy the books to load up at the airport etc so i reckon the paperback will always be popular

[jebus]

paperback will always be popular I think, there's nothing myself and my fellow literary nerd friends like best than comparing covers of certain novels (having the movie cover of Everything is Illuminated for example is very shameful), or buying new editions of old classics (Penguin have a green cover series of their classic collection at the moment that are fantastic in prive and look).

Plus I despise readin a novel, or even a short story on a computer screen, need to have it in my hands. Take into account as well that people's travel time in major cities is constantly increasing, and factor it into the amount of people you see who read a book while doing so

[Block G Raptor]

i have a sony e-reader and i love it , but you cant buy the books to load up at the airport etc so i reckon the paperback will always be popular
Suppose thats true I've picked up some of my fav books randomly at trainstation and airport newsagents over the years.having said that I can invision Download Terminals replacing Newspaper Stands and newsagents in such locations in the not too distant future. I do a serious amount of reading and usually carry at least 3 books in my haversack, plus when standing on packed train-bus it can be difficult to turn the page without falling on your face so the Kindle would suit me

[osarusan]

not unless an electronic book can actually recreate the sense of "ludic reading (http://etd.ils.unc.edu/dspace/handle/1901/309)" where the reader is almost transported to the world of the novel they are reading.

The smell, feel and sound (turning pages) of a book all play a role in generating this state.

[pineapple stu]

Plus I despise readin a novel, or even a short story on a computer screen, need to have it in my hands.
Seconded.

[Block G Raptor]

Plus I despise readin a novel, or even a short story on a computer screen, need to have it in my hands.

I Agree I'd never read a novel on a desktop or Laptop, with the Kindle though its almost the same as having the book to hand.
I think eventually we'll see something like this for school kids though to replace the heavy satchel, plus it's more eco-friendly too

[GavinZac]

Dead? No, but due to be about as relevant as scribbling on today's equivilant of papyrus, toilet roll.

I might be an odd one out for having read many a book on my screen but I do have to dim the contrast if im doing it for any length of time. Also a lot of the books would be reference books or practical knowledge so i'd be flicking between them and whatever im using them for.

I have over 100 paperbacks taking up spacing in my room that I may or may not ever get around to picking up again. I think this new device would be perfect, but I can only see it truely catching on when its merged into some camera/camcorder/phone/tablet pc/media player device.

[osarusan]

I think this new device would be perfect, but I can only see it truely catching on when its merged into some camera/camcorder/phone/tablet pc/media player device.

As far as I saw from reading the article, it will be linked to the internet, by some program called "whispernet", which allows you to search the net and download books, magazines, etc, but none of the other functions (yet).

One of the creators said something along the lines of "the aging babyboomers do everything by pen and paper, but the next generation do everything by computer".

For a lot of us, for whom this kind of product hasn't been available until now, it strikes us as unusual and maybe even unnatural.

But for the little'uns of the near future, it may be the natural way to read.

Personally, I hope not, and I actually think not. I can't see that many parents handing over a $400 piece of hardware to their kids as they set off to school. I can see textbook manufacturers and publishers lobbying in some way. And reading begins with picture books as an infant, pop-up books and so on, which this won't be able to replace.

[sonofstan]

Where the paper book will disappear quickest is in academia - already UCD have digitised most of their journals library; if you want the real thing, it can take a week and they charge for it.

These days, I can access nearly all major journals in my field from here on the couch in my sitting-room; actually physically going into the library has become less necessary in a relatively short space of time.

The downside is this; with searchable texts, the temptation to cherry pick what you want and avoid reading the whole thing is strong, and,from correcting undergraduate essays, the temptation among students to lift lumps of text you don't understand and insert them into your hastily written meisterwerk is, apparently,irresistible.

Still, the economics of academic publishing, where 5-600 copies will be printed of a work you'll spend years writing, and published at a price such that only libraries can afford it, are quixotic; the difficulty is maintaining the standard of peer review expected in real books after the migration to the net - how will you know that what you're reading can be trusted?

[dahamsta]

I wouldn't call the Kindle "amazing". I haven't used either that or the Sony, but by all account the Kindle is a poor relation of the Kindle, and the Sony's pretty crap.

[pete]

Not used any of these devices but I don't read long articles on screen. For work I will print paper copy as easier to read & concentrate. While almost all my music might be digital I like physical books.

[dahamsta]

Same here. If it extended over a couple of screen scolls, it's easier to print.

[John83]

Where the paper book will disappear quickest is in academia - already UCD have digitised most of their journals library; if you want the real thing, it can take a week and they charge for it.
And still I print 90%+ of the journal papers I read. Maybe it's something that e-ink and further advanced display technologies will end, but a straw poll anywhere will return very few people who are comfortable reading anything of substance on a screen.

There's also a major concern among a minority about copyright issues. I own a copy of, for example, the Lord of the Rings. I can read it, move it, lend it to a friend, give it away... whatever - it's my physical copy.

If I download a copy to my ebook reader, the DRM - 'digital rights management' - (some people prefer to tag that with 'defective by design') means that I can't give it to a friend, not as a loan, not as a gift. I can't move it to a new device - that might be piracy, and I can go to hell if I think I'm going to just move it to my new reader.

No, I'll stick to the real thing for a while yet, thanks. At least until fair use is properly enshrined in law and supported by case law.

[sonofstan]

And still I print 90%+ of the journal papers I read. .

Same here - but is it necessary that there be a print 'original' anymore? if we all access stuff online rather than going to the library and finding the appropriate volume, then I would guess online only publication is going to become the norm quite soon.

[onceahoop]

Same here - but is it necessary that there be a print 'original' anymore? if we all access stuff online rather than going to the library and finding the appropriate volume, then I would guess online only publication is going to become the norm quite soon.

Which would you rather have? A book in it's current format or a bundle of A4 pages that you have to bind to keep in order. Personally I have to print off most things which I have to read which is a pain.

Not neen facetious, but is there a health and safety issue with spending hours in front of a monitor reading. Thought you had to take breaks every 40 mins. I can get lost in a book for hours.

[GavinZac]

Which would you rather have? A book in it's current format or a bundle of A4 pages that you have to bind to keep in order. Personally I have to print off most things which I have to read which is a pain.

Not neen facetious, but is there a health and safety issue with spending hours in front of a monitor reading. Thought you had to take breaks every 40 mins. I can get lost in a book for hours.

the idea of this "electronic paper" is that it is much easier on the eyes and more akin to reading a book.

[sonofstan]

Which would you rather have? A book in it's current format or a bundle of A4 pages that you have to bind to keep in order. Personally I have to print off most things which I have to read which is a pain.

.

A book, obviously, but when it comes to journal articles, conference papers etc., you always end up with a photocopy or a print-off anyway since individual subs to every journal in the field would be impossible - which begs the question as to why they need to print up hard copies of stuff that virtually everyone who uses it is going to end up with that bundle of loose sheets, or reading off a screen.

[stojkovic]

A book is alot easier to read when your sitting on the jacks than a laptop.

Also when sitting in Dublin's traffic, I know its illegal but what else are you gonna do.

[GavinZac]

A book is alot easier to read when your sitting on the jacks than a laptop.

Also when sitting in Dublin's traffic, I know its illegal but what else are you gonna do.

yes but this thread is about the Kindle and other e-paper devices.

[CollegeTillIDie]

Books aren't attacked by computer or any other form of virus apart from mildew :D
Johann Guttenberg take a bow ! :D

[Schumi]

A book is alot easier to read when your sitting on the jacks than a laptop.Agree. Sitting on a laptop is pretty uncomfortable.