Books and other texts

[jayhawk]

Recent innovations, such as the nook and kindle, have made it possible to read a book on an electronic device. Is this a miracle, or is it a curse that has not yet manifested.

 

Let us go into a hypothetical future. You are reading a nook, kindle, or another electronic device, and suddenly the power shuts down. You would have no form of entertainment whatsoever.

 

What point am I trying to get across? This topic is about whether or not books should be kept on paper.

 

I am not sure if anyone has debated about this yet, but the coming future promises that books may be nothing but a thing of the past. Books may serve as a form of entertainment if the power shuts off, not to mention that books do not have a battery that will run out after hours of use. Prolonged exposure to different types of light may also cause seizures in certain people, making this a very unhealthy form of entertainment for some readers.

 

Books have been used since the dawn of time to pass on information to the reader. Nooks and kindles are not able to survive for more than a few hundred years, but papers such as scrolls are able to last for thousands of years if treated properly. This begs the question, is it ethical to get rid of books? Honestly, I do not codone the destruction of books, mainly because of the preservation of certain old ways.

 

What does everybody else think of books?

[Endy0816]

Books cannot contain hundreds books within themselves nor connect to the internet to download more(for free). You can also upload your books to anywhere you feel fit. Your 'book' can be functionally eternal.

 

Not all e-readers are back-lit either. I do get annoyed with my own kindle when the ambient light is too dim to read by, but also keeps me from staying up into the wee hours like I used too.

 

I used to be against switching over but after having tried it I have become a staunch supporter.

Edited January 15, 2014 by Endy0816

[michel123456]

The issue arises already with emails. There is no written correspondence anymore, and many people discard their email very quickly. I struggle to keep my emails from the last years, which sounds bogus to some of my friends but I really find that important.

Also all the history of this Forum will be lost some day.

Books cannot contain hundreds books within themselves nor connect to the internet to download more(for free). You can also upload your books to anywhere you feel fit. Your 'book' can be functionally eternal.

Not all e-readers are back-lit either. I do get annoyed with my own kindle when the ambient light is too dim to read by, but also keeps me from staying up into the wee hours like I used too.

I used to be against switching over but after having tried it I have become a staunch supporter.

(emphasizing mine)
I disagree.
There is nothing more volatile than electronic information. You can lose it with a click. Or with an upgrade.

[Endy0816]

Multiple copies spread across the net and saved on flash drives?

 

I guess it could all go but I think we'd have bigger issues. Some sort of crazy Revolution world going on.

 

Now in practical terms the act of preserving it would need to be constant. That is an issue that plagues physical books as well though.

[Greg H.]

I prefer reading from books. I'm not against the e-readers, but I haven't yet found one that I like as much as simply picking up a book, and actually turning the pages.

[Marshalscienceguy]

Recent innovations, such as the nook and kindle, have made it possible to read a book on an electronic device. Is this a miracle, or is it a curse that has not yet manifested.

 

Let us go into a hypothetical future. You are reading a nook, kindle, or another electronic device, and suddenly the power shuts down. You would have no form of entertainment whatsoever.

 

What point am I trying to get across? This topic is about whether or not books should be kept on paper.

 

I am not sure if anyone has debated about this yet, but the coming future promises that books may be nothing but a thing of the past. Books may serve as a form of entertainment if the power shuts off, not to mention that books do not have a battery that will run out after hours of use. Prolonged exposure to different types of light may also cause seizures in certain people, making this a very unhealthy form of entertainment for some readers.

 

Books have been used since the dawn of time to pass on information to the reader. Nooks and kindles are not able to survive for more than a few hundred years, but papers such as scrolls are able to last for thousands of years if treated properly. This begs the question, is it ethical to get rid of books? Honestly, I do not codone the destruction of books, mainly because of the preservation of certain old ways.

 

What does everybody else think of books?

Well I personally do not like reading normal books on the computer. I have read fan-fiction but those are usually from random/unfounded writers over the internet. Furthermore I had a kindle and it was frustrating! I could not figure out how to erase sites I been on and I could not figure out how to maneuver the apps. Currently there is certain books you can ONLY get as a ebook. Further more I have heard complaints about these books being shortened in Ebook version apposed to the actual version. Which I do not understand. I mean if its digital they should be able to do more since its not like they are killing any trees. I also wonder what will happen to libraries if this happens. I think its a safe bet to say that they will soon become obsolete. I mean people in the 90s where still taught to write cursive and not that as well as printing is obsolete.

[michel123456]

I prefer reading from books. I'm not against the e-readers, but I haven't yet found one that I like as much as simply picking up a book, and actually turning the pages.

I couldn't resist

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFAWR6hzZek

[michel123456]

More seriously:

 

When I read a book (that is related to science), the most important part of the book are the margins. That's the beautiful white space where I can put remarks, interrogation and exclamation points. I always use a pencil. and creates at the beginning of the book, where I can find a blank page, an index with my remarks.

Can I do that with a Kindle?

[Endy0816]

More seriously:

 

When I read a book (that is related to science), the most important part of the book are the margins. That's the beautiful white space where I can put remarks, interrogation and exclamation points. I always use a pencil. and creates at the beginning of the book, where I can find a blank page, an index with my remarks.

Can I do that with a Kindle?

 

Pretty much, you can annotate and then view your note from there or all of them from the book's "menu" function.

 

Exporting could be better. Amazon stores a copy of them for you though you can also use 3rd party code/software. Exporting notes is not a typical book feature so not really losing anything, just not as streamlined as it could be.

Edited January 20, 2014 by Endy0816

[swansont]

Recent innovations, such as the nook and kindle, have made it possible to read a book on an electronic device. Is this a miracle, or is it a curse that has not yet manifested.

 

Let us go into a hypothetical future. You are reading a nook, kindle, or another electronic device, and suddenly the power shuts down. You would have no form of entertainment whatsoever.

 

 

My ebook reader has a battery.

 

If the power shuts down for an extended period then it's a problem, but you have other problems as well. Entertainment may not be at the top of the list of your issues.

[arc]

Books have been used since the dawn of time to pass on information to the reader. Nooks and kindles are not able to survive for more than a few hundred years, but papers such as scrolls are able to last for thousands of years if treated properly. This begs the question, is it ethical to get rid of books? Honestly, I do not codone the destruction of books, mainly because of the preservation of certain old ways.

 

What does everybody else think of books?

 

This was a sad day in our city.

 

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/05/bookstore_in_120-year-old_form.html

 

Many rare old books, some possibly one of a kind were lost. It is the digital technology that will most likely save all books forever, so many copies on hard drives and of course the national archives own digital copies that are deep underground in former mines. It is like most new technologies, it leaves us sentimentalists yearning for the long lost days that shaped us into who we are. I for one mourn for all those 8 year olds who will never find a stack of old National Geographics in their parents attic.