Submitted by Majda...
A sturdy bookshelf used to be the staple of a great home office. Where else were you going to keep your industry texts and files of paperwork? But now that we've fast-forward to July 2010 (really, it's July?!?), we can enjoy the spoils of paperless billing, scanning everything to your hard drive and even reading an entire library of books - everything from fiction to references via libraries and ibook apps.
Personally, although I'm an avid reader (on and off), I haven't yet splurged on a Kindle or iPad. The only ebook reading I've done has been downloading pdfs to my computer and reading through them when I have a chance. I must admit I do forget about them sometimes. As a result, I still have a bookshelf full of my favorite reads sitting in my room.
But even if I did move my humble library over to the Kindle or iPad, I think I'd still want to keep my favorite titles (there's a lot of them) on a shelf.
How about you? Would you ever choose e-copies over hard copy books? Has your library already made the move over to digital? Or are you like me and want to have the best of both worlds?
Supplimentary reading:
* Digital Books Start A New Chapter
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_09/b3973111.htm
* Reading speeds on iPad, Kindle and printed books compared
http://www.techradar.com/news/portable-devices/reading-speeds-on-ipad-kindle-and-printed-books-compared-700962
5 comments:
I want an iPad so badly!!!!!!!
with that said i think that digital books lack the true joys of reading.
I remember going to the library as a kid and loving sitting amongst the kiddy toys and getting to choose my 3 books. then being old enough to go to the 'big people' section with tall shelving all around me with a wealth of new exciting information for me to explore and now being able to choose 5 books.my dad would take us home and i would be so excited to show my mom what i had chosen and wanted to get into it straight awy. i loved the library and loved books. and as time passed i obsessively bort books - which i honestly dont read as avidly as i wud have wen i was a kid. but just the choosing of the books in a bookshop and the tiny excitement i get when i realise (while reading the newspaper) i have quite a few of 'sunday times' recommended readings. tho it may not mean much it just feels good. and i've bort books when ever i travelled somewhere even if it was just a meeting in another city, and in every book i write the date, my name, and something important about the day i bort it or who i came from if it was a gift. so every book has an experience and a memory even before i read it and get the next thrill out of its story.
'real' books come with a whole different experience and it is something i would want my kids to enjoy too. so even though i really want an ipad as well. i would never stop collecting the real thing. mmm. so i would also go for the best of both worlds.
but aside again. can i really afford digital reading??!! and whats next?!!
I love, love love books! I buy them compulsively! I love the smell of crisp new pages, I love carrying one with me and stealing a few minutes in between meetings or whatever to read them. I also had the same childhood experiences of libraries as Jerusha. Nothing compares to the excitement of having nabbed the latest Nancy Drew or Famous Five title and knowing that the first return date stamp on that front page is yours and that everyone else who reads that book will be reading your left overs!
Digital literature has the disadvantage of cost. It's more feasible to get a book to every child than an iPad or even a desktop for them to use so I think books are in it for the long run as far as widespread literacy campaigning goes. I attended a book distribution weekend in rural Mpumalanga in May where a whole lot of corporates donated books and sports kits to an organisation that works on improving literacy around the country. Might their money have been better spent on buying enough computers for every pupil? Would they be able to have the same impact with the same amount of money? What would the residual running costs be as compared to maintaining libraries with physical books at schools? I think as far as the developing world goes books are here to stay!
I'm torn here. (Pun intended)
On the one hand there are so many good things about books. You can hold them, write in them, highlight your favourite parts, gift them and collect them. On the other hand there is the environmental side, where for every 500 pages printed a tree had to be felled. I don't know if electronic waste is as bad as paper waste. But if I'm going to be a greenie I might as well go all the way. YAY FOR E-BOOKS!
And in case you all are wondering, Yes I will never stop referring to the environmental situation if I can. LOL!
wat size pages r u refering to A5 or billbord? carbord or cheap-toilet-paper-like paper? and how wud u feel about recycled paper books then?
ok. im just trying to annoy u. and im such a stats skeptic. on a personal note, u have been coming across as more of a greenie that i recalled. good for u. if u dnt stand for something, ul fall for anything hey.
but i think u also posed an important point, how bad is electronic waste? i have no idea and would be really interested in finding out. They use plastics, lithuim/kryptonite/something batteries, and dont certain screens give off a certain amount of heat energy which can cors a butterfly to flap its wings faster resulting in a series of events which causes a tshunami in Asia....?
What's the price of a Kindle or iPad??? If they were R1 000 or less then I might consider buying them. But honesly I love the way books feel & smell. I love the artwork on the front cover. I love putting post-its all over the book. And even if you could highlight certain sections of a book, I don't think that it would be the same.
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