1 hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

2 hmmmmmmmmmmmm

3 hmmmmmmmmmmmmm

4 Kindle Books Outsell Paperbacks Not in Egypt

5 Monthy,
There is a downside but on the upside of owning a Kindle I am reading books I never would have thought of reading.  It has expanded my love of reading.

6 nty.

I am such a dork I can't spell your name.  I blame the lack of high speed trains.

7 I did it again.  shit....

8 I am a bibliophile and so this makes me sad. There really is nothing like opening a book. The smell of the ink and the paper. And the idea that the words inside are somehow immortal because there they are, right in front of you, completely tangible in book form. And yes, I am a total geek.

9

I continue to buy both. The Kindle is no good for things that need to be BIG or colorful or used by children.

Which is why I'm wrestling with Barnes and Noble's web site right this minute.

10 Hello?

11 Is that just for Amazon, or industry wide Monty?

12 Never mind, I used the link.

This is probably good for Amazon. I haven't yet got to partake in the joys of the wife's Kindle. She is still holding on to it.

It still has the "new smell" to it.

13 As long as there is massive pirating of books on torrent sites, items that people care about will live on.

14 I have a Nook.. they have a Nook app for the PC which let's me download the same books I have on my Nook to my PC.... so, besides the convenience, it is a nice backup.

And.. I feel the same angst you are going through, Monty.  Books are kinda sacred in a way that goes beyond the words/ideas in them.  Our grandchildren will know that feeling.

15

I used to tell people not to worry about their newspapers and books because you couldn't curl-up with your computer on a couch.  That was late '90's.

Now worry.

16

God, what a lot of mistakes. First, Ebooks can indeed be loaned to friends. Nook and Kindle both offer this right out of the box. There's even 3rd party swap sites where you offer a copy of your book and get a different book for a couple weeks to read. The technology merely shuts off the copy after a certain amount of time, sort of a automatic book return.

As for losing them, hell, you have the ability to re-download anything you bought for the Nook and I believe it is coming to the kindle/Amazon. You have a library registered and you just pull them down when you want.

Your post was not accurate and your objections are not either.

17 I have the Kindle App on my iTouch.  WiFi + $5.00 e-books = impulse purchase of a book I would never drive to Borders to pick up, or wait to have delivered from Amazon.  I have bought more books (e-books) in the last two months than I purchased (usually at airports) in the last two years.  I still like paper books, but they are hard to read in court/church/work than something on the iTouch.

18

That's okay, it'll just be one more thing we have to relearn when the technology fails.

Some stray thoughts: We still read material from thousands of years ago but will people read our material(or will it even survive to be read)?  And just think how much easier it makes some future version of Orwells MinTruth to control history.

It makes Winston Smiths job actually practical.

Digitally created movies and electronic books...reality will become very... flexible.

 

 

19

It just seems to me that we are rushing into a paper-book-free world without really considering what that really means. (And yes, I am aware of the hypocrisy latent in that position, given that I just bought two e-books on my Kindle yesterday.)

No hypocrisy at all, Monty. You are, indeed, considering it.

(For what it's worth, I'd vote for Obama in 2012 if his challenger were Jeff Bezos. Just saying.)

20

We will have the same problem we did with the moon landing tapes.  Eventually, we have the information, but we lack the means to read it.

Just like 5 inch floppy disks and eight-tracks. 

Also, when this collapses, as all things eventually do, the information lost will be immense.  When Rome collapsed, many books survived.  When the internet collapses, I suspect almost nothing will survive.  People will, but they won't be able to rebuild with any of that lost information.

Same with movies on film.  Pictures and statues and books can survive for hundreds and thousands of years.  But does anyone really think any of our physical films will last that long without completely disintegrating?

21 I have mixed feelings. I use the Kindle app on my Android phone more than any other thing I do with my phone (including phone calls!) because it's just so easy to download something I want without the hassle of going to the store (B&N and Borders never have what I'm looking for in fiction.) But it sucks for the craft and sewing stuff I read, and I still love going through used book stores and hunting for hidden treasures. Kindle will probably end up replacing all the stuff I read for entertainment (sci fi, horror, White House economic projections) but if I need something as a resource or reference, I'll want it paper, and preferably hardback.

22 My husband and I both have Nooks, which we love. I prop one up on an easel when I work out, much easier to read then. They're great on trips, because you can bring multiple books with you without making your bag heavy.

That being said, I love books. I agree with Mandy here - the smell of books is wonderful, especially old ones. My father in law was an English professor and we inherited all his books when he died - we have over 100 boxes packed full of books and another approximately 200 boxes to go. (I'm not kidding). We estimate between his books and ours we have in the neighbourhood of 10,000 books.  Oddly enough, when I was a kid I dreamed of having a nice house with a library filled with books. Now in our next house we just have to figure out a place for all of them.

The sensation of opening a book is so unlike reading on a Nook or Kindle. I'm not a huge fan of the cloud because I like managing my own life, programmes, mail, etc., and having it locally, not remotely. I am wary of too much centralised information and knowledge. If we go to an all e-book society, I worry we might end up with a situation where we open a book one day and see "We were never at war with Oceania".

Joking aside, there's nothing like the real thing. Watch for the libtards to push for it, to 'save the trees'. Knowledge is power. The more means we have to access information, the better.

23 I would really love to see a comparison limited to mass trade publisher type books (hardcover and paperback) compared to their identical e-book sales.  Amazon sells so many short books and works from new (and sometimes not new but really bad) authors, who self-publish by going into e-book format only.  I wonder how these sales are tainting the overall picture.  I have purchased quite a few of these penny, dollar, or less than 5 dollar e-books that were enjoyable fluff pieces to read, but never would have made it into a real book format.

24 When the internet collapses
Posted by: ed

-------
Really?  Really?  When is that gonna happen, ed?

25

And just think how much easier it makes some future version of Orwells MinTruth to control history.

It makes Winston Smiths job actually practical.

Digitally created movies and electronic books...reality will become very... flexible.

This has always been one of my concerns over electronic readers. In the current climate, who's to say the government couldn't take over Amazon at some point and decide certain texts are too "vitriolic" and "uncivil" to allow? (And yes, I recognize this makes me sound like a conspiracy nut, but look at what's in the White House right now and I bet you all have had "out-there" thoughts concerning the government that you never had before). And without hard copies to back up the electronic texts, whose's to say whose version is correct? Look at the controversy over editing out the n-word in the new version of Huck Finn. Think how much easier it would be to do that with e-readers everywhere.

 

26 The ability of e-book providers to modify text without notice or consent is, to my mind, one reason that printed books may continue to be preferred. That said, there are a number of books that would hugely benefit from such a "feature", including the Physician's Desk Reference, Merck Manual, H of C&P, Master Tax Guide, etc.

27 One simple effect will be massive potential  for book piracy. Pretty much every book any wants to read is available for free in pdf or txt form on the internet somewhere. It literally would take you only a few moments to download, say, the 1000 greatest SF novels of all time. You can literally download several lifetimes of reading material in an afternoon.

I expect the textbook industry to be crushed in a few years. Every college student will have a tablet/e-reader. And every textbook is already online for free in pdf form. And they are hugely expensive.

So poor college student decides to:

a) Spend $600 this semester on textbooks.

or

b) Spend $500 on a tablet, pirate all the textbooks for free, and spend $100 on beer.

28 Well I don't have a Kindle, but I don't buy paperbacks from Amazon very often anyway. I tend to go to local bookstores. Its more of an impulse purchase, and the Amazon postage is a larger fraction of the total price.

29 Watch for the libtards to push for it, to 'save the trees'. Knowledge is power. The more means we have to access information, the better.


Posted by: Linlithgow
----------
I'm sure you're right here..  They would never stop to consider that using tree pulp IS being "green" because you are sequestering the carbon in them and making space for new trees to grow and sequester more.  But, common sense is not a libtard strong point.

30 So poor college student decides to:

a) Spend $600 this semester on textbooks.

or

b) Spend $500 on a tablet, pirate all the textbooks for free, and spend $100 on beer.

Posted by: bobbo at January 28, 2011 04:19 PM (QcFbt)

or c) The university makes it a requirement to but the textbooks from the university bookstore.

31 Most of the high sellers on the Kindle are romance novels aka porn for women. Comparing that to literature ... nope. Doesn't work.

32

Here's the part about the "cloud" I don't care for...  a list kept of every book you've bought.  Not to be too black-helicopter, but if you look at repressive movements in the past and how books , certain books, are criminalized.  Now I kinda don't like the idea of everything I've read , there is an electronic trail, even if I didn't read it.. I had it available to read.. I bought it or downloaded it.

I like the tactile feel of books and don't have an e-reader.  Many of my friends at work who routinely read books have switched over.  I'm conflicted....   and keep hearing helos flying around... watching me.. 

33 Back to the college student. The tablet is a one time $500 purchase. But every semester I had to buy $500 or so in textbooks. That's $4k over a 4 year college career. With piracy a student could save $3500.

I expect a lot of student will pirate their textbooks but not mention that to mom and dad so they can just pocket the textbook money their parents send each semester.

Universities will probably try to add the cost of textbooks directly into tuition or something to fight the piracy problem.

34 Ah, I see oldcat already responded and made the mandatory purchasing argument. I think oldcat is right. But it will take a # of years for the university to react.

35 Just think about it, folks.  This is a boon for the greenies.  The carbon footprint of burning books electronically is so much less than making a big pile and lighting them up in the streets.

36 Are Kindles flammable?

37 Will my words be kept for posterity?

38 I was always more of a magazine reader, but bought my wife a Nook because she loves to read.  One day I got tired of interrupting her and picked up a random book that my kid had to read in high school (The Catcher in the Rye).  That started me on an incredible journey.  I found that I had an insatiable appetite for reading all of a sudden.  Honestly, I've probably only read 10 novels in my adult life.  I decided to read some 19th century American classics.  So in two weeks, I've read, "The Catcher in the Rye", "The Bell Jar", "As I Lay Dying", and now am half way through the incredible "The Grapes of Wrath".  So any suggestions as to what I need to read next?

39 They are outselling them...on Amazon.  What percentage of the US book market does Amazon hold? Man, talk about non-news.

40

27 The ability of e-book providers to modify text without notice or consent is, to my mind, one reason that printed books may continue to be preferred.

 

Sorry, this is not a feature. This is not a problem because it cannot be done. It is like worrying about the ability of dentists to crawl into your nose while you are asleep and sprinkle flouride over your tonsils.

41 18 Some stray thoughts: We still read material from thousands of years ago but will people read our material(or will it even survive to be read)?
________

Thousands of years from now, Steamboat Willie will still be under copyright.

Not that I'm bitter or anything...

42 I have a four-bedroom house.  I turned one of the bedrooms into a library - custom-built floor to ceiling shelves on every wall.  Then I had to build shelves in the guest bedroom.  I was contemplating building shelves in my bedroom, but then I bought a Kindle.  I figure the money I have saved on books and shelving amounts to thousands of dollars.  However, when I read a book I really like, I order it from Amazon in hardcover.  I don't trust that these readers will be around forever, or even that Amazon will outlast me.

43

Back to the college student. The tablet is a one time $500 purchase. But every semester I had to buy $500 or so in textbooks. That's $4k over a 4 year college career. With piracy a student could save $3500.

Yeah, but the bigger problem is that publishers are 1) always printing new versions. my textbooks might be good for two years. and 2) the publishers are going to online subscriptions for homework, which is included with a new book but might be avalible seperately for $40-60 a semester or whatever. this is the real problem. lazy teachers just assign the textbook website homework, which not only requires you to be perfect in typing in a response (for say, math) but also prevents the teacher from any subjective grading policies. it really is the fucking worst.

44 37 Are Kindles flammable?
_____

Mine crashes or needs to be reset about once a month. Does software smoke count?

45

43   However, when I read a book I really like, I order it from Amazon in hardcover. 

This is what I do - the Nook is for previewing and enjoying books as entertainment and for portability - the hardcover is for my inheritors.  I buy the hardcovers of the important books, the ones that I get more out of when I read them in a physical book - like Tolkien. Or Dickens.

46 Two things about e-books: Kindle might not allow sharing, but the Nook app on my ipad allows me to loan books to another Nook user for 14 days. Sharing is available, though not through all the services (at this time) Also, while e-books are somewhat cool, there's an AWFUL LOT of titles still only available the 'old fashioned' way. It will be a while before everything is downloadable, so paper will be around for a the forseeable future.

47 Matticus Finch: "So any suggestions as to what I need to read next?"

Hemingway is pretty decent. Not 19th-century though. More very early 20th.

48 Why the Book On Dead Tree fetish?  Why is it evil to burn a book, but not evil to burn a disco album?  At the risk of sounding like a filthy hippy, it's the IDEAS, the WORDS, man, and those don't go away.

Film deteriorates, vinyl scratches, books fall apart.  No medium lasts forever.  And yet, we can still watch A Trip to the Moon, still listen to Mozart, and still read Homer.

So freakin' what if film cameras, music cds, and paper books go the way of the flashbulb, the vinyl record, and papyrus scrolls?  So what?

If paper books go away, it won't be any more like the loss of the Library at Alexandria than Hurricane Katrina made jazz music go away.  The words are still out there, and, with the miracle of modern technology, we don't even need Irish monks to hand-copy ancient texts one at a time - I can just ask the nice folks at Amazon, or MobileRead, or Feedbooks, or Manybooks, or even the pirate sites for a new copy.

Besides, I get tickled at anybody saying that losing physical CD's is a tragedy.  I'm only in my 40's and I remember the uproar that losing vinyl records would be the end of Real Music, because CD's were electronic signals, just 1's and 0's, not actual sound waves being picked up on vinyl.

I am NOT old enough to remember if there was an uproar over the switch from wax cylinders to vinyl discs, but I have my strong suspicions.

49

I predict that instead of the worries of a wholly-digital world in publishing that there will be a tiered set of options going forth. The digital press will be for entertainment and to open up the publishing world to authors who had not been able to get published because their product isn't quite "fit" for the current publishers. Now a work that doesn't particularly seem "marketable" can be prepped for distribution for only a few hours of editing and proofreading.

The next tiers (paperback & hardcover) would be for works that were from authors who had racked up proven sales. I'm pretty optimistic about the possibilities.

50 My husband and I both have Nooks, which we love. I prop one up on an easel when I work out, much easier to read then.

I hadn't thought about that. My exercise bike has a very narrow holder that will only accommodate a magazine. If I try to use a book I have to hold it in my lap with my hands.

More reason to grab my wife's Kendle.

And for all you folks talking about college text books. That is the biggest industry scam on earth just short of AGW. I hope the people marketing that scam ALL go bankrupt.

50 years ago it was just a rip-off. Now it is unconscionable.

51 Matticus- It is wonderful that you are enjoying novels. There are so many good ones. You might enjoy some Dickens too such as "Nicholas Nickleby" or "Great Expectations". As far as American novels, the two best recent ones I have read are called "Gilead" and "Home"; I'm having a blank on the author's name. I also like "The Great Gatsby" just to name a few, or since your handle is Matticus Finch-how about "To Kill a Mockingbird"?

52 Anachronda: "...Does software smoke count?"

Probably not. Just trying to gauge required inventories of kerosene.

53 I am NOT old enough to remember if there was an uproar over the switch from wax cylinders to vinyl discs, but I have my strong suspicions.

Posted by: VKI at January 28, 2011 04:44 PM (LZK9H)

Actually it went from lacquer disks to vinyl and we still have vinyl. Some people still swear by them.

I have owned every medium there has been during my life time.

54

is Matticus Finch-how about "To Kill a Mockingbird"?

 

That's one of the 10 that I've read in my adult lifetime.  I love it, but I have to tell you that "Grapes of Wrath" is pretty amazing.  I can't imagine why I haven't read more books.  I'm really ashamed that I'm getting such a late start. 

55 The comic book industry is also facing this problem. Kindles don't have the color to properly display comics. But iPads do. And comics are an expensive habit - $3-$4 per comic.

The comics industry (ie DC, Marvel) works on big events. One of DCs big events for 2011 will be Flashpoint. It'll feature a 5 issue main mini-series and 15 addition 3 issue side mini-series (typically how other characters respond to the events of the main Flashpoint story) and then a whole bunch (5-10+) of single issue one-shots. So that's probably 55-60 comics @ $3-$4 a pop if you want to experience the whole Flashpoint storyline. So $180-$200+ depending on pricing.

And that's just one event from DC. The big characters (Batman, Superman, Spider-man, X-men, Avengers, etc) typically have several comics each month that feature them.  And DC and Marvel typically have 2 or 3 "events" each year.

Comics come out every Wednesday and the industry is built on obsessive geeks who buy 10-20 comics every week. $50 a week, $200 a month, $2k+ a year.

The problem for the publishers is that every comic is scanned and available in CBR format for free on the internet within a few hours of being released.

At some point it goes all digital and revenues collapse. Right now the comic book market is in trouble but there are still enough obsessive middle-aged collector geeks who feel compelled to own every Batman comic ever published.

They spend years and thousands of dollars creating this perfect library of comics of their favorite character that reminds them of their lost childhood. But now they could just spend an afternoon and download every Superman comic ever published in perfect high-res glory and flip through it with ease on their iPad by dinner.

The good news for the comics industry is that there is still enough demand for their product that people bother to pirate it.

And when every 10 year boy has their own iPad, Marvel and DC might finally get some young readers again. Free weekly spider-man comic in exchange for watching an ad for Frosted Flakes or something.

56

It seems like there would be an aesthetic loss as well if paper books were to disappear. While space may be saved, homes and offices would seem quite sterile without books lining the shelves on the walls. And a social loss as well. If everyone is using an electronic reader, no one can tell what anyone else is reading. No noticing what someone is reading, saying to them "Hey, I read that book" and beginning a conversation in a coffee shop or in the park.

57 When i first moved over to the Kindle and did away with buying regular books, i was kind of worried about loosing books and documents.  In order to back up my books and also to convert free books in to formats the Kindle and use, i found Calibre was the best program.  I easily pulls the books i have on my Kindle off of it and backs it up on my hard drive.  Just FYI. 

58

I have been a science fiction writer for more than 30 years, publishing my first work in 1979.  I spent 15 of those years with Ballantine-Del Rey and sold a total of about 250,000 books.  Good, but not spectacular.  In 1995, I went into business for myself and developed both a website and a home-based book manufacturing capability. My website is, I believe, the oldest author owned/operated bookstore on the web, simply because the one that preceded me seems to have gone belly up.

I have been predicting the end of the paper book since I first went online, but this is the first year it has looked like it is coming to pass.  My site sales, which four years ago were 50-50 trade paperback - ebook, at the moment are 10% trade paperback and 90 percent ebook.

Moreover, I put twelve novels and a book of short stories on Kindle in May of last year. Sales started slow, but  grew.  Then they began to take off.  My December sales for the first four weeks of the month were 30% larger than they had been in November.  On Christmas day, they doubled and stayed that way for the whole week.  This is a tangible indication of just how many Kindles were unwrapped under the Christmas tree.  They fell back a bit in January, but are still running 50% ahead of early December and show signs of slowly rising as the month goes on.

The question, of course, is whether this is sustainable.  I don't know.  Theoretically, I should sell a fixed (microscopic) percentage of the installed base and as the base rises, so will sales.

Also, I have my books at IPAD, Barnes and Noble, etc. I haven't gotten enough sales reports to tell about those markets yet, but the principle should hold for them as well.

What I see here is a return to the last days of the typewriter.  When the screen resolutions and contrast get ever closer to paper and the ereaders can hold 3500 books, the end of the paper book would appear to be inevitable, which will be a sad day for those of us who love them.

Of course, since Kindle and Apple pay the authors 70% of the cover price (versus 6-8% for the traditional publishers), I guess we'll just have to learn to live with our sadness.

Michael McCollum

http://www.scifi-az.com

59 I absolutely love Kindle on my iPhone.  Much easier to read in bed.

60 53 Anachronda: "...Does software smoke count?"
Probably not.
________

Killjoy.

61 Posted by: Michael McCollum at January 28, 2011 05:14 PM (lDv7Y)

LOL, I gave my wife a Kindle for Christmas and allowance on Amazon for a small amount just above $100.00. She has just about spent all of it in less than a month.

62 Oh, and do love to see real authors posting on the Monty book threads, especially SiFi since I would say at least 70% of the Morons are SF geeks.

63 58 In order to back up my books and also to convert free books in to formats the Kindle and use, i found Calibre was the best program. I easily pulls the books i have on my Kindle off of it and backs it up on my hard drive.
_________

Scofflaw!

64 Although I love the physical books, I just don't have rom for all of them.  If I'd had a kindle all my life I could go back and re-read some old favorites that I got rid of in a moment of house-cleaning thoughtlessness.  No, I definitely miss the paper books, but for most reading I'll take the kindle.  One important point though - I worry any time we replace the ability to do something physical with electronics, like relying on calculators and not teaching children to multiply.  I don't have any confidence that we will always have access to good electronics.  Physical books and real human skills really need to be kept up as just-in-case items.

65 I would like to point out that if you care, it's entirely possible to strip the DRM from all of the ebook stores.  For example, that's what I do.  I don't have any books that I can't copy freely and read on any device, despite paying for more than a few.  And no, I do not just buy from webscriptions (which is DRM free).

66 First, Ebooks can indeed be loaned to friends. Not unless they have an e-reader too. And you can't sell your Kindle book to your friend if you don't want it any more. And Amazon can take your book back any time they want (technically), even though you already paid for it. In Amazon's world, books are software, not...you know, books. It's software that you pay for, but never really own.

67 My friend's sister recently gave me her Kindle after she bought an iPad.

I heart it.

That is all.

68 Most of the high sellers on the Kindle are romance novels aka porn for women. The "romance" was the very first novel form. (Though we'd probably call it an "adventure/thriller" now.) I don't get the disdain for ladies' romance novels. Sure, they're not very well-written as a rule...but neither are about 90% of mainstream "literary" books. Or sci-fi books. Or thrillers. Sturgeon's Law, in other words -- 90% of everything is crap, including novels. Also, women read a lot more than men do -- they are probably 75-80% of the target audience for novels and magazines right now. So any survey of bestsellers is going (inevitably) to be heavily-skewed to the female audience. Look at the fantasy genre. What used to be an almost exclusive domain of male nerds has now shifted decisively to the female audience. Hard sci-fi and military/thrillers are really the only predominantly-male genres left.

69 Amazon's data storage has a huge amount of redundancy, you'd have to nuke data centers in 3 separate cities simultaneously to loose your Kindle data. And I suspect you'd have more important things to worry about if that ever happened. I've run out of space for books in my home, so I've been digitizing my printed books and throwing away the paper for a few years now. I've already made the mental transition to not relying on paper anymore and, though I do miss some things about paper copies, on the whole I've been able to keep and access more written material that way than I could before.

70  Calibre is the answer to your concerns about losing access to your eBooks. I have all my books backed up on my laptop, and Calibre manages it wonderfully.

71 Really?  Really?  When is that gonna happen, ed?

Posted by: Chi-Town Jerry at January 28, 2011 04:16 PM (f9c2L)

I have absolutely no idea.  In 100 years?  250 years?  500 years?   Maybe even a 1000 years.

Look, I know what you're driving at.  Yeah, it sounds crazy, talking about "the end of the internet."  Well, I'm not suggesting that it's going to happen right away, and that I'm digging holes in my basement to prepare for systemic collapse.  I still buy green bananas, because I figure I and society will be arround long enough for me to enjoy them, and I make plans for purchases with a 20 year time frame, because again, I think I'll be arround long enough to enjoy them.

But the question is, what effect will the end of print books be?  Well, I just extrapolated out as far as I could.  The Roman Empire lasted for thousands of years.  During its existence, who could accurately predict its fall?

I hope our nation and the West lasts at least as long, and will continue for another 1000 years, at least.

But as a wise man once said, "This too shall pass."

72 Scofflaw!

??
Not sure which part you are referring to.  According to Amazon's customer service, i have the write (as the purchaser of the book) to back up my purchase.  I could be very wrong, but i believe the most recent SCOTUS decision stated that actually backing up electronic media wasn't illegal, but the creation and distribution of programs specifically targeted to get around encryption was (please let me know if i'm way off base here). 

In the second section i was referring to "Free Books" like the ones that you can download from Baen's free library (http://www.baen.com/library/), fiction press, etc.  There are a ton of places to get free books released by the authors to promote the rest of their books. 

73 I sell books for a living at Barnes & Noble, and I see no problem with ebook sales outstripping paperback sales. The fact is that books are made so cheaply today that one could guess they're actually designed to fall apart and disintegrate in ten years. Also, there is simply a tremendous amount of waste in the old system of paperback sales - I won't miss seeing all that go away.

What I'm hoping for, but I fear it won't come to pass, is the growth of at least a niche market for nicely made hardcover books again. It's not unimaginable: vinyl is enjoying a resurgence (an expensive resurgence) of sorts as music CDs gasp their last breaths.

Love 'em or loath 'em, ebooks are here to stay.

74 I always enjoy the irony of Luddites posting comments on websites. God forbid that the Kindle should despoil the majesty of one's Danielle Steele novels. This is the same shit people were writing on blogs when the world moved away from hand scribed papyrus scrolls.

75

I still go Record shopping.  Every City I visit.  Every time I have a few x-tra bucks - online and in-person.

also.  I have never downloaded anything but free porn.

76 ...this means no e reader for me.  I like to get what I pay for.

77 The reason why I'm resisting a Kindle/Nook/e-reader is that while I read quite a bit, I'm becoming choosier about what I anticipate wanting to read again when the book is finished. Maybe this means I'll be one of those old guys you see next to the public library's newspaper racks (assuming libraries survive the coming muni budget crash), but I get most of my books for free for the 2-3 days I want them. I can't see spending $5-10 a book for that kind of perishability.

78 What I'm hoping for, but I fear it won't come to pass, is the growth of at least a niche market for nicely made hardcover books again. It's not unimaginable: vinyl is enjoying a resurgence (an expensive resurgence) of sorts as music CDs gasp their last breaths.

My youngest son just turned 11 a couple weeks ago. As part of his gift from my parents, he received a 70's vintage "DeJay" record player and some albums that they came across when cleaning out their cabin. Since then, the nano and the touch have sat on a shelf while we scour shops and craigslist for old vinyl. It's been fun, but the music sounds like shit. I'm sure the novelty will wear off soon and we'll be stuck with a bunch of the same stuff we were throwing away 25 years ago.

79 There will always be hard copies of books. Always.

80 Sadly, Kindles and print-on-demand will put an end to remainders -- deeply discounted "new" books left over when the print run exceeds the demand.

Likewise, once people prefer digital and only buy hardcovers they intend to keep forever, the universe of used books becomes finite and ever dwindling.

I shop for book bargains as a sport and adventure, the way real women shop for designer shoes. I'll miss them once they're gone.

I'd guess half of my 100 favorite books were discovered by accident, where 50 cents or a dollar seemed like a reasonable about to gamble, and one winner could cancel out a dozen losing bets.

These e-books make it easy to buy what you know you want, but impossible to be delighted by what you don't know.

81 If you lose a copy of my novel after I get it to you (either free as it is now or for $$ as I hope it will be in the future), I will replace it free of charge as long as I live (and will ask my heirs to do the same). That's how all online purchases should be conducted.

Once I wanted to get a of copy of genealogy software for my laptop, so I purchased it online. A representative from the company emailed me the next day and told me that login phrase from my desktop computer was valid and that I didn't need an upgrade. They refunded my $20. Do you think I will ever change from Legacy genealogy software or recommend any other software? Never. Great customer service.

Online publishing is inevitable. If you knew the amount of paper, time and shipping costs traditional publishing consumes, you'd be shocked and disgusted. Bookstores are basically consignment stores that never purchase any book until it sells. The "returns" and "pulping" that goes on is crazy. E-publishing is the only answer. Eventually publishers will print only the very top selling e-books.

82 Here's one of my novels:

http://tinyurl.com/womangentlewoman

83 Its bad news but its inevitable I love real books I can hold in my hands, but I fear the days of fairly cheap printed books are ending rapidly. I don't want an E-Reader, but soon I'll have no choice.

84 Amazon does allow loaning of books I think for 2 weeks but you can't access them at the same time.  Just like a real book.

That said I don't own a reader and really don't think I want one.  Part of the pleasure of a book is holding it.  Having it open and being able to flip back (I read tons of technical and historical texts) to a section is a must.

85 I will purchase an e-reader when I can borrow a book from the library on it. Hoping that day will come sooner rather than later.

86 86 I will purchase an e-reader when I can borrow a book from the library on it. Hoping that day will come sooner rather than later.

The digital library has been around for a couple of years and the books can be read using the Sony Reader.  My local library has had the service for several years and it's awesome. 

87 I have a question for those of you who own an e-reader (of any kind): is there a way that you could scan a book onto a computer, convert it to PDF and then download it on the e-reader? I am just wondering.

88 Everytime a Kindle owner downloads an e-book Amazon counts it as a sale, even if the book is free.

89 It's great for me. As an amateur author I pull in an extra 100 bucks or so a month. I couldn't do that with traditional paper publishing.

http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003FVB83E

90 To answer your question Dave (8 yes the Kindle can read PDF files.

But it's a lot of work to scan an entire book.

91 Bigpale how did you get your stuff published on there and how do you get it publicized? I could put something on Amazon but who would even know it exists?

92

71  Calibre is the answer to your concerns about losing access to your eBooks. I have all my books backed up on my laptop, and Calibre manages it wonderfully.

Quoted for truth.  Although I would go one further and put them on disc.

93 Remember when Microsoft sold music downloads? Remember how people's music disappeared when Microsoft decided to get out of the business?

I want a book whose continued existence does not depend on the financial health and goodwill of the publisher.

I want a book that cannot disappear from my shelves if some raghead savages threaten the publisher.

I want a book that cannot disappear or mutate if some liberal fascists tell the publisher that its contents are politically incorrect.

The Kindle is handy for reading ephemera while traveling, but that's about it.

94 Libraries have ebooks now.  You can easily go back & forth and you can SEARCH.  Calibre keeps a copy for you on your local hard drive & you can transfer ebooks back & forth.  They're lighter than books.  Have multiple fonts & sizes.  e-ink resolution is astonishing and easy to read for hours at a time.  Big pictures, diagrams, etc. don't work well and no color yet.

They're 100-200$ & you get out of copyright classics galore online for free.

One thing they don't seem to do yet is the low $ used (couple of years old) market.  I just bought all 7 of Harry Turtledoves GingerLizards for 25$.  Couldn't find them in the local library and it would have been ~70$ on Kindle.  Plus I can sell em back for something. 

check http://www.mobileread.com/

There's probably some way to syndicate the moronosphere over but I haven't tried it yet.

95 Matticus- these suggestions might not all be up your alley, but...
Classics- Hemingway, Conrad?
Sci-Fi - The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (very libertarian), or a Bradbury collection
History - Alison Weir's 'Life of Elizabeth I' or one of my all time faves, "Churchill: A Life" by Sir Martin Gilbert
Fantasy - The Lord of the Rings or Gormenghast (Long read! Great descriptions though).
Misc/Random- Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest", "To the End of the Solar System - The Story of the Nuclear Rocket", Nero Wolfe mysteries by Rex Stout, Orwell's "Brave New World", de Toqueville's "Democracy in America" most Mark Twain, Ayn Rand (short periods of boredom interrupted by stretches of excellent exposition & observation, particularly in the case of Atlas Shrugged).

I LOVE books. Glad you've rediscovered them. =)

96 Posted by: karenm at January 28, 2011 06:54 PM (2y90e)
I am pretty sure my nook allows you to do that too. I prefer to own, not lend, so I haven't tried it. But I recall them mentioning something about library access when we bought them.

97 I just spent fifty bucks buying some out of print books I wanted to read from used booksellers via Amazon.  The Kindle is great, but it doesn't have everything.  It won't in my lifetime either.

That probably says more about me than Amazon or the Kindle.

98 to answer the question from 92 I published 40+ books and the told friends and family, etc, on facebook. oncei sold afew they appeared moreon search results and it snowballed from there. for example, searc for dr seuss under kindle books and at least three of my books will pop up because they are similar. Im writing this on kindles browser right now

99 I just got Kindle. Red my first book  and I am impressed. Anyway , I will continue to read paper book also

100 I got my Nook about six months ago. I'm a voracious reader, so I'll toss my two cents in.

Pros: I don't need to drive down to B&N or wait a week for a book to come in the mail. E-books are usually cheaper than the 'physical' form. They obviously take up less space, which is great since my second bedroom was being overrun with bookshelves. I can browse books, look at their ratings, and read samples, just like on Amazon or B&N's website. I can download the classics for free, or a few bucks at most. I can lend some books, and download others from the library's site, and I can read them on my computer too. I don't have to worry about losing my place because it remembers the most recent page I've read. I don't have to worry about being bummed if a page gets ripped or my cat chewed up the cover (it's happened). I can read pdf files, too. Oh, and it's a fun conversation starter.

Cons: B&N has a pretty relaxed return policy -- I have no idea if there's any such policy on ebooks. I have to remember to keep my ereader charged. It's crashed once (although no data was lost). I can't give away or loan a book to someone without an ereader, and I can't resell the books. And yes, there is a certain something missing from having an actual book in your hands.

But overall, at least for me, the pros far outweigh the cons.

101 altın çilek - fx15 - leke kremi - yudali - zayıflama hapı - ozon yağı