E-books vs Real Books: What’s the verdict?
Like many other bloggers I’m a big fan of reading books. I’m also fairly involved in the online world, so I do a lot of online reading.
While I subscribe to the theory that there’s nothing quite like the feel / smell / taste of a “real” book, I’ve also had times where I’ve invested in a course etc, and the material has come in e-book format.
Sometimes these E-books have been really great, quality reads. Othertimes… well, let’s just say the concept of ‘book’ is being tainted. Some of these should honestly be renamed E-just-wasted-my-money-and-time. Or perhaps something like E-hee-hee-another-sucker! is more appropriate.
Recently there has been an absolute proliferation of titles such as:
- How to be Rich!
- Make Thousands Online
- Affiliate Secrets
- Shhh – What they never told you about Adsense!
etc, etc ad nauseum.
My question is: Are e-books at risk of being continually devalued by the copious poor quality e-books on offer out there?
Does it depend on the subject matter? How do we weed out the great e-books among the bad?
Personally in regards to the e-books I recommend, I’ve always been an advocate of printing them out. Doesn’t this defeat the purpose a little though?! It can be really hard to just pull open a PDF and scrolley scroll on down to some reference point you wanted to re-read vs flicking to a page in a book.
I’m not so sure I’m ever going to be a big fan of reading fiction online either. Maybe kindle readers can shed some light on whether or not this concept (digital format) works.
Maybe we should just rely on informative E-books with great credible recommendations, and keep real books as the delicious tangible suckers they are. Come to think of it, I kind of like the crinkle of a newspaper, too…..!
What are your thoughts?
E-book review: Thirty Days to Change Your Life Think and grow rich Richard Branson: Secrets of a global icon Reflecting on uniqueness
August 9th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Though I like the idea of e-books, I cant seem to really make use of them. I download and save them, but unless its a technical book, I rarely open them. I prefer to read when I’m curled up on my chase lounge, sitting in my back yard, or in bed – I’m not taking my laptop to bed. I stare at the screen enough to work, blog, pay bills, write letters, buy and sell, conduct research and so on. Its more relaxing for me (and my eyes) to read for pleasure the old fashioned way.
Carla´s last blog ..Two Great Green Living Blogs
August 9th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
I consider the word “eBook” to describe trashy, overpriced and overhyped PDFs. The word is dead to me now, and will soon be for millions of customers due to the get-rich-quick model which promotes writing an ebook in 1 to 7 days max with no editing.
Kindle versions of books that have gone through legit publishers or rigorous processes of self-publishing, editing, and typesetting are of course quite different, and perhaps the future of electronic book publishing.
Duff´s last blog ..Good News: You Can’t Have it All
August 10th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
Hi Ross,
I still prefer the real books. I like the feel of the paper, the sound of turning the pages and dog eared corners. If I want to highlight, I do, and sometimes I write in the margins too. (I realize I can do all of that with an ebook (if I print it), but for some reason, it’s just not the same.)
One ebook I read recently that I think is well worth the price is written by Lori Hoeck titled, “Think Like A Black Belt”. (She has a blog by the same name.) Her ebook is self defense tips that can save our life as well as the lives of others. I found it to be a no fluff, filled with great content find.
Although I’ve been disappointed with some ebooks, if I know the author or those who are making a recommendation, I’m more apt to buy it.
Barbara Swafford´s last blog ..Looking Into The Future
August 11th, 2009 at 9:21 am
@Carla – I find myself in a similar position – I read e-books when I first get them, though rarely return to them… This is why I advocate printing them out, but I also think this is counter-productive to their original purpose!
@Duff – There are already so many cheapy trashy e-books around and I’m certain that this situation will get worse… The ‘write your own e-book’ phenomena does not help it’s name either… I’ve heard pretty good things about kindle but haven’t tried it as it’s not supported in Australia yet. Cheers for your comments.
@Barbara – I’ve also read some e-books that are pretty good, and certainly several that I recommend, but nothing quite beats a real book, right?
August 12th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
Hi Ross – I like the way I can skim though an ebook quickly – but I don’t want to read anything too meaty on my computer screen – for that I prefer to sit in a comfy chair under a window, i.e. well away from my computer. I’ve bought one ebook, and it was a waste of money.
September 10th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
There is no substitute for pages in binding as the world attempts to transform to ebooks. I suppose they are cheaper to produce but there is something about reading a “file” of a book compared to that of actually feeling the pages.
October 31st, 2009 at 2:41 pm
I still like the actual physical book. The only really long material I read is from Steve Pavlina.