Comments on: Ebooks: What We Lose With Them

By: Tyson F. Gautreaux

Tyson F. Gautreaux — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:23:51 +0000

Websites RSS feed doesn’t work in my browser (google chrome) how can I mend it?

By: Marion Gropen

Marion Gropen — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:28:23 +0000

Glad you liked it!

Marion

By: Robin

Robin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 20:19:27 +0000

As one who is still learning about all the aspects of e-publishing, I found this to be a very interesting post, Marion. Thanks for taking the time to write it.

By: Marion Gropen

Marion Gropen — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 22:07:48 +0000

My reading speed is also reasonably fast, so the page turning speed can be annoying. On the other hand, sometimes I hit the button as I’m easing onto the end of the page, and it works well for me.

Given a choice, I prefer the e-version, in general. But that said, I still buy plenty of pbooks.

By: Marion Gropen

Marion Gropen — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 22:06:11 +0000

I love ebooks, but I’m not anti-book in the least.

On the other hand, I think that paperbacks tend not to be such a satisfying object as an object, as hardbacks. And when I want content in the most convenient form, that has become the ebook. For me.

By: Bob Gagnon

Bob Gagnon — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 17:25:22 +0000

I find all the tech points against e-reading intriguing. I don’t own an e-reader, but I have followed e-reading developments, including Sony’s e-reader web site. The titles I find there are not interesting, mostly dumb pop titles and that sort of sets the tone for me with e-reading. I especially lke Walt Shiei’s last comment “I will always opt for the print edition”.

But all those tech freaks out there won’t agree since they are naturally either anti-book or don’t have any positive feelings about books and type.

I am a 100% book lover and can’t seem to stop buying them, either new or used varieties. A printed article recently converted me to a low carb diet that has helped me get my blood sugar metrics back into the normal range of 4 to 6 with the overnight fast! So books are good for me!

But I do use online GIs and CIs! So the very best solution for me is combining online and tacky print books!

By: Walt Shiel

Walt Shiel — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 14:17:26 +0000

Good points all, Marion. I’ve owned a Kindle for 18 months now, but find I use it less and less for anything except short-form reading.

Here are a few other shortcomings of all e-books (regardless of format or device), which I’ve blogged about:

(1) When reading, I tend to flip back (to check something or reread a passage) and forward (to see how far I’ve got to go to the chapter end or to see how long the passage I’m currently reading is). I also might hold my place with my finger while checking the ToC or index to find out if the topic is covered in more detail elsewhere in the book.

(2) I share a Kindle with my wife. If I stop reading a book and then she starts reading the same book…I’ve probably lost my place (unless I remember to set a bookmark, although that is more cumbersome to use than a simple physical bookmark in a “real” book).

(3) I tend to read fast (especially fiction), so the slow page turning bugs me. At first, I liked being able to use the largest font size to read without my reading glasses, but that has lost its appeal since it results in so little text displaying on a page.

We offer all our books in various e-formats and do print-to-ebook conversions for many clients (mostly Kindle conversions lately). We always test our Kindle designs at the mid-size font as well as at the smallest and largest sizes to make sure the design still provides an acceptable reading experience

I own a lot of e-books in various formats. But, given a choice, I will always opt for the print edition.

Walt Shiel
Publisher, Slipdown Mountain Publications LLC

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