Iâm even thinking of buying a new Paperwhite to replace my old Kindle Keyboard. Ah, so many things to spend money on.
Iâd think especially those users are buying old-school books. They want books, and they want them in the format that makes sense for them. Books are only partially changing form.
Until thereâs an e-book I can read in the bath, Iâll still have to pick up paperbacks. I do like my hardcover books (thereâs not a room in my house without some books, and one room dedicated to them) but, Iâll be honest, except for a few cherished ones, when it comes time to retire and downsize, I will probably let most of them go and exchange my library for digital versions.
'xactly. People who read a lot (and varied) will run much earlier into a case where a book is only available on paper or doesnât make sense as an e-book.
An actual switchboard, complete with operators, would be hard to miniaturize; but Iâd love to see somebody break out the MEMs technology and build an array of Strowger-style switches on the head of a pin. Pointless, certainly, since âline-switchedâ systems are enemies of progress and have been almost entirely extirpated by superior packet-switched systems; but surely all cool-looking-but-technologically-irrelevant mechanical and electromechanical systems deserve a second life as adorable miniatures fabricated on fab processes?
I read on my Paperwhite. Before that, a Nexus 7, before that, a Nook STR, before that, a Sony 505.
The only thing I buy on paper anymore are large coffee table style books, art books, that sort of thing.
Why canât you read ebooks in the bath? Live dangerously.
I still do most of my reading off of paper books, but this âin the bathâ argument is old old old. âIâll buy one of those new-fangled auto-mobiles when they sell one that will go faster when I strike it with my buggy whip!â I bet most e-book readers and tablets are more water resistant than most paperback books, and if not, several manufacturers sell waterproof cases.
I primarily use a shonky old droid tablet to read books these days, and as a result, take MUCH shorter bathsâŚ
eeOr, itâs a bit hyperbolic to equate my not wanting to drop electronics in the tub to my being some kind of elderly Luddite! To be honest, I just hadnât kept up with the e-reader technology enough to realize they were reliably waterproof now. (Iâd seen enough water-ruined iPhones to make me leery.) Glad to know this has changed.
Well, expensively. Though I think a good ziplock and some conductive material inside (for touch-only devices) should work fine.
Edit: But why bother with ziplocks, when water resistant sleeves cost about four bucks.
Paper books may suffer from the high humidity and wet fingers alone, but will probably survive getting submerged. They just wonât look pretty afterwards, but thatâs not being broken.
Since getting an e-reader I spend a lot more money on books, both electronic and physical⌠but I think thatâs more a sad commentary on public libraries which coincidentally have crumbled at the same time e-readers and tablets rose in prominence. When I was growing up or in college I used libraries exclusively. But where Iâve lived the last few years the local libraries are only open from 8 to 6 on weekdays and have no weekend hours. The same hours I work.
The main reason I buy physical books is so I can lend them. If more of my friends had e-readers, or if I did not have to engage in moral arguments whenever I sent them a file (âitâs no different than lending a book as long as we donât read it at the same time and/or I destroy my copyâ) I would buy only ebooks.
I wouldnât want to take my ereader to the bath, but I wouldnât take a print book either. The idea of reading in such a location is foreign to me. I have no idea whether this is a statistically significant use case with respect to explaining sales trends. But, I have to grant you that a single damaged print book (even if it is a total loss) less heartache than a destroyed $100+ piece of electronics. Last time I went camping I took a print book for the same reasons, even though it was physically heavier.
Zip lock freezer bags. Iâve never managed to actually drop it in the bath, but certainly works for keeping the moisture at bay.
Iâm planning to get one of these for that:
http://waterfi.com/waterproof-kindle
Yeah â I recently read âHouse of Leavesâ (donât know why I didnât until now), and was annoyed that I couldnât buy it on my Kindle. But when I gave in and bought a paper copy, I completely understood why â I donât think the various typographical tricks used would really work in an ebook, at least current ones.
I can personally attest that reading a kindle in the bath is not all that difficult unless you are a very young child or are very old and frail
Absolutely. Like Besterâs âGolem 100â and Selbyâs âLast Exit To Brooklynâ, the fact you have to almost physically fight the book to read it is an important part of it. House of leaves really took that to another level. I ought to get my copy down & re-read itâŚ
