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awrigley
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Does anyone think that there is an (immediate) future for eBook readers? Personally, I like books for: novels, atlases, photography. But I also have a bookshelf laden with tome after tome of such enthralling titles as: Programming Microsoft ASP.NET 3.5 SP1 - Advanced Topics (Microsoft Press) by Uber Nerd Dino Esposito. In fact, I have all the ancestors of this book since ASP.NET 1.0. Such books usually extend to over 1000 pages and are out of date in 6 months. Also, I own them solely for reference in my work. As such, they are ideal candidates for an eBook reader that is easier to read than a computer screen, and is easier to search than trying to use Dino's rather poor index. But my fourth edition The Tale of Peter Rabbit is as priceless to me as it was to my Great Grandmother. Andrew
This post was last edited by awrigley, 03 Sep 2008, 10:12
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timellis
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Andrew I used to have stacks of computer books also when I managed a network, but long since deposited in a skip. I agree that factual books, reference, etc are good for keeping in portable storage media, but I couldn't cope with eBook readers for novels. I think it's a generational thing. Kids now will probably love them, but for us oldies, there's nowt so comforting as a proper book. My garage is overflowing with them, and I'd feel like I was throwing away my babies if I got rid of them. 
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tomkeal
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I think the concept's OK, and it would solve the age-old problem of having far too many books and far too few bookshelves. The main problem is the often draconian restrictions on copying eBooks. If I can no longer lend a book to a friend or family member, or borrow one from them, then it's a big step backwards. Tom
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astormont
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I think the e-Readers will take off. Yes definitely for the iPod generation used to getting whatever they want music wise in downloadable format. But maybe for the more decrepit too? Speak for yourself timellis! Some of us oldies might just cope. Just think we won't have to strain our weak and weary bodies lugging heavy suitcasefuls of books on holiday - just pack the Reader. I hope there is a place for both. You could still buy paper copies of books that you enjoyed in electronic format but that you wanted to keep in hard copy for lending, flicking through, stroking lovingly etc.
Am I right in thinking that e-Readers like the Kindle and the Sony could make getting published easier - cutting out the middle men?
Anne
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benkelly
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Kindle etc make no difference. The hardest work is selling your book. Cutting out the middleman is already an option, but without marketing, your book won't sell regardless of how great it is. Right now, getting published is simple, for next to nothing you can be on Amazon, it's how you use that and promote your work that matters.
"Suck it up, say thank you and move on."
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awrigley
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Quote: timellis, Wednesday, 3 Sep 2008 10:42...there's nowt so comforting as a proper book. My garage is overflowing with them, and I'd feel like I was throwing away my babies if I got rid of them. Have you written a garage full of books?  Andrew
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timellis
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Andrew Yeah, I wish  ! Apart from all my management, research, sociological, psychological, and other factual books, I have library of Historical and Science Fiction/Fantasy. 
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awrigley
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Aha! A polymath.
If you are interested in psychology and presumably writing, there is one book that is an absolute must:
The Seven Basic Plots (Christopher Booker).
It took him 34 years to write and it is quite simply fascinating. I have not read anything so interesting since I discovered someone called Sigmund Freud (worth a look at too).
It is built largely around Jung's notion of archetypes, the basic structures of the unconscious. This in itself is interesting to me, as Freud and Jung enjoyed a life long mutual hatred, so the other side of the coin is new to me.
I have been reading it for 3 months now and as soon as I finish will go back to the beginning and start again.
It is, in a word, priceless.
Andrew
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timellis
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Got the Seven Basic Plots  . Very good . If you're writing one of them (a plot that is), it's worth reading if only for the examples .
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tomkeal
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There's an interesting roadtest video of an e-book reader on the BBC News Magazine site today. The screens look surprisingly good for reading - much better than a normal computer screen. Tom
This post was last edited by tomkeal, 17 Sep 2008, 17:25
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awrigley
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It uses 'digital ink' apparently (as opposed to a pile of pixels, which can never get enough contrast ratio as they operate by combining blue red and green colours). The minute there is one that is A4 size then that is the end of my library of technical reference manuals. Death to all lumberjacks! But I would never ever buy a novel in anything but print... Long live lumberjacks! Andrew
This post was last edited by awrigley, 18 Sep 2008, 16:01
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eBook Readers vs Lumberjacks
03 Sep 2008, 10:10
