6 ms·

I think books, actual physical copies, will see a resurgence as more people recognize how difficult it is for the human brain to handle the constant firehouse o

I think books, actual physical copies, will see a resurgence as more people recognize how difficult it is for the human brain to handle the constant firehouse of information the digital age overwhelms us with. Books are often times consumed at a leisurely pace, typically don't feel like a bombardment of spastic information, and offer a sense of accomplishment after completion. They let the mind explore, they make us think, they make us feel all sorts of emotions, but all at a far more reasonable pace. I have the hardest time imagining that the constant stream of news and social updates modern technology provides is actually healthy for us, I simply can't imagine we've evolved fast enough to keep up.

norea-armozel 10y ago
I must be an outlier here because I prefer reading online sources to books. And for anything in book format I prefer audiobooks. I'm not sure why this is the case for me because I use to read many books as a kid and teenager. The access to the Internet gives me more options for different kinds of information (where else can you get access to the rough draft of a research paper if you're not a researcher or college student?) which I think is why I prefer reading online sources. Books are often my second option when the information I'm looking for is hard to come by (aka old).
ng12 10y ago
> actual physical copies What does that have to do with anything? I agree with the rest of your post, and I actually think that's magnified by my Kindle since I always carry it with me so I can zone out on the subway or during lunch.
- thelegday 10y ago
  check out richard stallmans notes on ebooks: https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/the-danger-of-ebooks.en.html https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/the-danger-of-ebooks.en.html i am an ebook fan myself, but it has some valid points, one of which is ebooks are digital and it is really easy to censor or erase information that way. in the past you had to track down and burn physical books, now you can just send a request to kindle over the network
- sharkweek 10y ago
  I think the point I was suggesting was that actual physical books will have a sudden appeal versus any technology at all. E-readers are pretty great, but my guess is people will turn back to physical books as an act of escapism from holding a tech device.
  - lb1lf 10y ago
    I think you are onto something. I work in tech and am a recovering gadget addict; my hobbies (notably photography and ham radio) includes lotsa tech, too. Picking up a book (of the dead trees variety, not on my Kindle) makes me relax, free from interruptions. (When I sit down to read, I leave my phone in another room). A quiet, interruption-free hour in the company of a good book works wonders for my well-being. (I then run back to my phone to see what I've missed, alas)
    - MontanaBrown 10y ago
      Eh, I enjoy a physical book (especially the smell of one), but it's easier for me to read on the kindle as I get older, since I have the backlit one, I don't even need to be in a heavy lighted area. Even in bed, if I have a physical book, I have to get additional lighting on my book (hook light on bed frame) as the light above the bed is shadowed by the book itself when I'm sitting back in bed. The back lighting itself is a large part of the appeal, to be honest.
      - lb1lf 10y ago
        >The back lighting itself is a large part of the appeal, to be honest. That is understandable. Personally, I still love my (non-backlit, but with an integrated reading light in the cover) Kindle; however, I suspect this is in large part because I spend the better part of my workday staring at a backlit display and so would do just about anything to avoid having to do so on my time off. My wife got a backlit one for Christmas and now call me a luddite for sticking with my backlit-less one. Imagine being called a luddite for using a thingy with a 3G modem in it... :-)
    - InitialLastName 10y ago
- prostoalex 10y ago
  eReader market is smaller than tablet market, and they're both smaller than phone market, so safe to assume a good amount of reading is done on phones and tablets, which, unless set up properly, will bombard the reader with opportunities for interruption.
  - petra 10y ago
    It's not excatly about marketshare. Heavy readers read most books, so if they choose to use an eReader that would sway the statistics.
hackermailman 10y ago
That and the vast majority of negative reviews I see for (technical) books on Amazon are solely due to the Kindle version quality/fonts looking terrible.

norea-armozel 10y ago

I must be an outlier here because I prefer reading online sources to books. And for anything in book format I prefer audiobooks. I'm not sure why this is the case for me because I use to read many books as a kid and teenager. The access to the Internet gives me more options for different kinds of information (where else can you get access to the rough draft of a research paper if you're not a researcher or college student?) which I think is why I prefer reading online sources. Books are often my second option when the information I'm looking for is hard to come by (aka old).

ng12 10y ago

> actual physical copies What does that have to do with anything? I agree with the rest of your post, and I actually think that's magnified by my Kindle since I always carry it with me so I can zone out on the subway or during lunch.

thelegday 10y ago
check out richard stallmans notes on ebooks: https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/the-danger-of-ebooks.en.html https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/the-danger-of-ebooks.en.html i am an ebook fan myself, but it has some valid points, one of which is ebooks are digital and it is really easy to censor or erase information that way. in the past you had to track down and burn physical books, now you can just send a request to kindle over the network
sharkweek 10y ago
I think the point I was suggesting was that actual physical books will have a sudden appeal versus any technology at all. E-readers are pretty great, but my guess is people will turn back to physical books as an act of escapism from holding a tech device.
- lb1lf 10y ago
  I think you are onto something. I work in tech and am a recovering gadget addict; my hobbies (notably photography and ham radio) includes lotsa tech, too. Picking up a book (of the dead trees variety, not on my Kindle) makes me relax, free from interruptions. (When I sit down to read, I leave my phone in another room). A quiet, interruption-free hour in the company of a good book works wonders for my well-being. (I then run back to my phone to see what I've missed, alas)
  - MontanaBrown 10y ago
    Eh, I enjoy a physical book (especially the smell of one), but it's easier for me to read on the kindle as I get older, since I have the backlit one, I don't even need to be in a heavy lighted area. Even in bed, if I have a physical book, I have to get additional lighting on my book (hook light on bed frame) as the light above the bed is shadowed by the book itself when I'm sitting back in bed. The back lighting itself is a large part of the appeal, to be honest.
    - lb1lf 10y ago
      >The back lighting itself is a large part of the appeal, to be honest. That is understandable. Personally, I still love my (non-backlit, but with an integrated reading light in the cover) Kindle; however, I suspect this is in large part because I spend the better part of my workday staring at a backlit display and so would do just about anything to avoid having to do so on my time off. My wife got a backlit one for Christmas and now call me a luddite for sticking with my backlit-less one. Imagine being called a luddite for using a thingy with a 3G modem in it... :-)
  - InitialLastName 10y ago
prostoalex 10y ago
eReader market is smaller than tablet market, and they're both smaller than phone market, so safe to assume a good amount of reading is done on phones and tablets, which, unless set up properly, will bombard the reader with opportunities for interruption.
- petra 10y ago
  It's not excatly about marketshare. Heavy readers read most books, so if they choose to use an eReader that would sway the statistics.

hackermailman 10y ago

That and the vast majority of negative reviews I see for (technical) books on Amazon are solely due to the Kindle version quality/fonts looking terrible.