Luddites.

Perhaps. But I've tried reading manuals on screen, thanks to penny-pinching manufacturers who stick a PDF in the box instead of a proper printed manual. It's okay, for a few minutes at a time, but I'd not want to read something like Lord of the Rings that way. Not even on a small thing I can hold at a comfortable distance from my face.

Like I said, I like the physical experience of handling and reading a printed book. It's not something that can be replicated with plastic and microchips.

I'd agree with you when you talk about "proper" books, but when it comes to technical manuals, (which I've been rreading a lot of lately) they tend to get out of date, and since I only use them for reference an electronic copy is far more convenient.

When I was typing my reply I was thinking just that. From personal experience of actually writing a user guide, it was out of date before it shipped. Perhaps it wasn't the best example.

In fact, I suspect e-readers for user guides and manuals are where the market will be. I don't think they'll ever fully replace printed novels or decent reference works.

Right now, at this moment, no. I don’t think we have the *right* solution to the problem. We have part-way there products. They are not even half way to anything good yet.

I have looked at the Sony book readers in Waterstones, and the displays are no better than my Newton. I actually think they are worse - they flicker alarmingly every time you change a page. This says “unfinished”.

I also feel that the whole 1984 Amazon debacle shows that your content is not yours. Anything you buy could be easily taken away with no warning.

So, no. I am in no rush. I may change my mind in the future, but for me to be interested, the displays have to improve, be in colour, and be bigger.

One final question for the Academics: how would you quote an e-book? Say you need to cite a quotation, which would be in a certain edition of the book on known pages, how would you cite that if the source was an e-book? Do they carry page numbers in the traditional sense, given that type sizes can be increased?

Sorry Heather but I agree with Zippy here.

I read a phenomenal amount and whilst I'm more than happy to purchase authors' new works, I can reasonably neither store nor purchase older titles. These titles are available for free and take up no room and whilst there are disadvantages the cost and space savings are killer factors for me.

On my wishlist.
Would make life so much easier. Technical guides are so heavy.

I really like the idea of an e-reader because of the potential drop in cost of books. A book is just like a CD or a video, you own the disk, you own the paper, but you don't own the songs on the CD or the words in the book.

Many people will happily use an MP3 player instead of a CD player, I don't see much of a difference here.

As I said earlier, look at O'Reilly, you can pay a little more and get an electronic copy (three different formats IIRC) with your paper copy, or you can just buy a paper copy, or for a little less you can just buy an electronic copy. This is the right idea.

I want to be able to see books on my desk and on my shelf, but I don't want to lug them up to the uni with me, or off on holiday, or back to my parents for a weekend...



I would guess that it would stay the same as citing a book, or a new method of citing would arise, like that of citing a web site.

The next generation - QUE

I agree totally.


How is that different to an e-book, apart from you need a stylus instead of a pencil or pen, and when you "rub them out", they don't leave an impression?

How is that different to an e-book?

Agreed.

Where they are useful is for students, where they would normally have to carry around a dozen thick, heavy texts (especially law etc.) to classes, they can take the Kindle etc. along, sure in the knowledge that they have the books they need in their back and all of their notes can be written in the margin during the lecture, as they would with a normal book.

If they live off-campus and have a full day, they could end up carrying a rucksack full of books, that is a heck of a lot of weight to trapse around all day, which is bad for their back and posture. Having a eBook makes sense in such situations.

Likewise, taking a big pile of reading material on holiday is easier - although they aren't as beach/pool friendly as normal paperbacks. Get sand in them and you can't shake them out or ignore them like you can with paper... I also wouldn't feel comfortable leaving an eBook of the latest Jackie Collins, erm Dan Brown I mean, on my beach towel, when I went for a swim.

I think they have their uses, but they aren't a drop-in replacement for all books.

Out of interest Heather, have you actually tried reading an eInk screen? You talk about LCD/VDU screens and reading manuals, but eInk is a totally different experience - for a start the molecules are at rest, not constantly refreshing. Electricity is only needed to actually "turn" a page - or when you make notes.

They are supposed to be very paper like to read. That said, I prefer sticking my fingers in different pages so I can quickly flip back and forth between different parts of the book that are related - an eBook can do that, but can be a lot slower, especially as you have to select the bookmark you want, not just flip a finger...

That's fine. I didn't see the point of an iPod until recently. There's always going to be some people for which the e-reader will be the ideal solution.

From my perspective, I have tons of reference books for the various hobbies and interests I follow. I will often have three or four books open at different pages, laid out on my desk while I refer to them. Sometimes I'll photocopy something for closer inspection. I might be flipping back and forth in the open books, referring and comparing across publications. I could do that with an electronic gizmo, but it would be a much less satisfactory answer to my mind.

*copy, in case it vanishes into the ether again*

Dave, no I haven't tried one. I have no desire to, since I am a bibliophile through and through. I will follow the technology's progress, but I am fairly certain I won't actually want to own one.

After the Amazon debacle? No.

I put no, because the way the market looks at the moment it's an easy decision.

But as soon as ALL books are e-books i'd consider it. I can see them being cheaper, better for the environment and easier to carry round a full library.

Same as music - I wouldn't have considered MP3s back in the day where it took 10 hours to download one. Now I like CDs but find MP3s much more practical.

At the moment, no. I don't read that much, mainly on holiday so it is not worth the cost for me. Like others have said: there is something about the feel of a book. Amazon won't interrupt my holiday and snatch the book out of my hands.