7 ms·

I don't buy ebooks, and this is just one reason. This is the complete list: 1. For some reason they cost a similar amount to print books Sometimes a bit less,

by wlll 8y ago

I don't buy ebooks, and this is just one reason. This is the complete list: 1. For some reason they cost a similar amount to print books Sometimes a bit less, sometimes the same, sometimes more. Distributing a physical book means you have to print, handle, store, transport, store again, handle again and transport again (using a simplified model of the journey a book takes to the end user). That costs money, and it costs effectively $0 to get an ebook to a user. I don't see that saving being passed on to me, the consumer. Not only that, you're generally paying for less than you get with a physical book in terms of rights and (IMO convenience) 2. You can't (or maybe you can) lend them freely. Last I checked there were limits on lending with the kindle/amazon. Maybe that's changed, but I don't want to have to think about that, I just want to lend the book to someone. 3. You can't give them to someone. Maybe this has changed since I last looked, but passing on the book to someone else and it now being "theirs" isn't possible. Again perhaps that's changed these days. 3. Cognitive overhead Can I do this stuff? Can't I? How do I do it? I don't want to have to think about that. Last week I gave a book to my daughter by just putting it on her desk. It was easy. 4. Longevity In 10 years will I still be able to access my books? 20? Yes, because they're over there, on a shelf. If ebooks cost a fraction of what they cost today then I would totally consider them. It's a tradeoff. Right now ebooks don't swing the balance towards them.

angrygoat 8y ago
I agree with all of this, but I'd add: 5. Visibility A physical library can be browsed, including by a visitor, and serve a useful social purpose. I often find it interesting to see what books someone has on their shelves, and it can lead to interesting discussions. I can't recall a time when I've discussed the contents of a Kindle library with someone.
- handoflixue 8y ago
  If you so desire, Kindle has GoodReads integration. I don't personally bother, but when I talk books with people online they'll occasionally link me their list :)
ellius 8y ago
I mix eBooks and physical copies, and I agree with your list, but here are a couple advantages of eBooks: 1. Space -- I have an entire closet full of books. Every time I buy another physical book, I am slowly crowding myself out of a little more space in my apartment. Electronic copies take up no physical space. 2. Can read anywhere (using my phone). I don't like this for every book, but some books are good for reading in little bite-sized chunks. I read a page here and a page there while I'm taking a break at work, waiting at the post office, whatever. The constant availability makes it a lot easier to increase my reading bandwidth vs. trying to always have a physical book on me. Plus variety--I have hundreds of books in my pocket at any given moment, and can choose whatever I'm in the mood for.
- wlll 8y ago
  Regarding space, totally, and I realise I am fortunate that I live in a reasonably sized suburban house (at least in terms of space). If I lived in a house share, in SF or in Tokyo I might feel differently. The one thing I would say is that I do have to dump books sometimes due to space. That's no bad thing, there's not a hell of a lot of books that I actually want to keep forever.
- trentmb 8y ago
  Between ebooks and my local public library, I purged my entire personal (physical) library.
wolco 8y ago
Piracy is a good option for popular titles and for more smaller titles usually you can get an epub version outside of the amazon store so buying is still a good option.
- wlll 8y ago
  I once looked into cracking the DRM on Amazon ebooks (that I had bought legitimately). It worked, but was a PITA.
  - ozzyman700 8y ago
    No idea what you tried but I use the deDRM plugin in Calibre and it is very easy. If gen lib doesn't have the mobi, epub, or pdf I just buy it on amazon, and strip the drm so i can send it directly to my friends.
    - wlll 8y ago
      It was using Calibre. I may have different ideas about what is a PITA to you though. Whatever, the effort involved, + my other points didn't move the needle far enough for me to choose books.
- NoGravitas 8y ago
  A good option, but unfortunately technical, is to buy ebooks and strip the DRM so that you can keep them outside of the store's ecosystem, back them up, read them in your choice of reader, etc. This is also useful for library ebooks.
bewo001 8y ago
While I love the convenience, especially while travelling, I'd add 5. Fraudulent publishers; you can't easily see how 'thick' the book is. Some 'novels' turn out to be 70 page short stories.
bunderbunder 8y ago
To the price thing: The fact that you have to store print books is a factor in why they can be cheaper. It costs money to maintain inventory - both the physical costs associated with warehousing those books, and the opportunity costs associated with devoting space to them instead of other books you might sell more profitably. That creates an incentive to cut costs on books that aren't moving quickly, in order to get them out of your warehouse. No such incentive exists for ebooks, so the incentive to keep on charging the sticker price in order to keep yourself out of a JC Penny's situation becomes relatively stronger. Not to say that this isn't a valid reason to like print books. Just wanted to point out there can be legitimate economic reasons for this sort of situation.
andrewla 8y ago
All your points are dead on. I'll throw in these cons as well: 5. visibility (as noted by angrygoat) and browseability is terrible. 6. Flipping through an ebook looking for something is impossible. 7. Illustrations or drawings are rendered terribly. The list of pros of ebooks: 1. It's just a better experience. Ebooks are lighter than their equivalent books, easy to use one-handed, fonts can be adjusted, you can carry as many as you want with no extra weight, you can search within a book, you have access with wifi to your entire library at any point in time without having to fill up a cramped apartment. Browsing for books to read is terrible, but I can browse at my local B&N and then buy the ebooks on Amazon (which makes me terrible, but what can you do). In balance, this means that I've switched almost entirely to ebooks. The objections that you give (1-4) are the ones that are fixable by hoisting the Jolly Roger. This a step I am reluctant to take but if point 1 keeps going in this direction, then I can't really convince myself that I can justify the cost. A literally out-of-print book [1] selling for $13 is so outlandish that it makes my head spin. A book where the e-book is twice as expensive as the paperback [2]? What on earth is going on here. [1] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009FKTTMQ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009FKTTMQ [2] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003XT605Y https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003XT605Y
- bunderbunder 8y ago
  > The objections that you give (1-4) are the ones that are fixable by hoisting the Jolly Roger. I think that that's solving the wrong problem. Just pirating ebooks that are offered under crappy Amazon and B&N style licensing agreements may get you a book that's more palatable to you, but it doesn't do anything to improve the ebook market itself. There are many, many publishers selling DRM-free ebooks out there, and manufacturers of e-readers that don't try to lock you in. If people who don't like DRM aren't willing to help them make money at what they're trying to do, they're going to go away, and DRM is going to become an even more pervasive problem because of it. It's true that their offerings can be more expensive. They're smaller outfits and can't afford to be vicious with economies of scale the way Amazon can. This is one of those spots where "freedom ain't free" is a statement you can take quite literally.
  - andrewla 8y ago
Myrmornis 8y ago
I have a large collection of technical books on my ipad. I can choose to read any one of them at any time in any place. I just need my ipad. This is both fun and educational. You appear to have completely missed the point of ebooks.
- webninja 8y ago
  What app do you use for this?
- wlll 8y ago
  > You appear to have completely missed the point of ebooks. And that point is?
  - Myrmornis 8y ago
    That they have a much higher density of information per kilogram than paper books.
    - wlll 8y ago
      That's not "the point" of ebooks, it's just one attribute they have. I'm well aware that you can fit lots of ebooks in one device, but so far I've not been particularly limited by the information density of regular books.
      - Myrmornis 8y ago
        No, ok, fair enough, but it’s pretty easy to imagine scenarios where the information density makes a difference. Any working trip away from your home/office bookshelves, for example.
rb808 8y ago
I do both, but for cost - often there are specials. www.informit.com often has 2 for 1s or 50% off on black friday etc where I have loaded up. I still prefer books, but have run out of space at home.
elliekelly 8y ago
A few days ago there was a discussion in another thread about whether there were any practical uses for blockchain and someone mentioned eBooks & other digital content. An author/creator could upload the content and then the "right" to access it could be bought, sold, rented, gifted, loaned, etc. I don't know enough about blockchain to know whether that's actually feasible but it was the first proposed use I've come across that seemed like it might actually have potential.
ozzyman700 8y ago
I pirate ebooks for this reason. If I like the book or the book has valuable illustration done in color I will purchase the physical copy, otherwise backing up my calibre library according to 3-2-1 is easy peasy.
- panzagl 8y ago
  No, you pirate because you're selfish and self-entitled.
  - hyperman1 8y ago
    The same thing can be said about the publishers who add DRM. They dont want to loose money? I don't want to loose my book!
  - ozzyman700 8y ago
    Thank you so much for the analysis, I will file it accordingly. I must be very self entitled for downloading a digital representation of a book which I have paid for.
criddell 8y ago
I never understood the argument that ebooks should cost less. The price of a good usually isn't determined by the cost to manufacture and sell. Why should books be different? For me, I'll pay more for an ebook than a paperback because it's a more valuable format for me. Aside from being more compact and searchable, I can select a larger font. If it's more valuable, why shouldn't it cost more? One thing we do agree on though is that DRM on books should be banned. At the absolute minimum, it should have a failsafe built in so that users never lose their books and when copyright expires, all protection is removed.
- wlll 8y ago
  Good for you that you get more value out of them. I won't pay more though, because I personally have less rights and convenience with ebooks. There's also an element of being taken for a ride here. I can afford the $8 snickers bar from the minibar in the hotel, but I won't buy it because I feel like someone is taking the piss. Attempting to use their position to extort me. Same for ebooks. When your costs are lower, but you're charging more, I'm not going to buy the book because though I can afford the book I feel like I'm being somehow extorted.
  - panzagl 8y ago
    How are you taken for a ride? The kindle version is almost always cheaper than the retail price of the physical version, and usually cheaper than the discounted price as well.
    - wlll 8y ago
      I can find examples on Amazon where the ebook is less, the same as, or more expensive than the physical copy.
      - panzagl 8y ago
        Well, yeah, there are no absolutes, but it's usually something like the book has just been remaindered and not a permanent situation or is a textbook. In general if you're picking up something current the ebook is a few dollars less, which seems right for printed material.
jetti 8y ago
I have only really been buying books from Manning lately. When I do, I end up getting the physical copy + eBook combo. It costs a little more than if I were to just buy one of those items individually but what I have found is that I can offset the cost by selling the physical book if I don't like it or don't have a need for it anymore. The ability to do that helps offset the cost of both.
andrepd 8y ago
Correct your first sentence and I agree with everything you said. I don't buy ebooks at amazon. I have hundreds of books in my collection. You will never catch me buying a book with drm on it. Get drm-free ebooks from a store or from project Gutenberg-type places.
- vsl 8y ago
  Publishers can request DRM-free regime. Tor does on both Amazon and iBooks as a matter of policy, there are others.
paulie_a 8y ago
I like having a physical book, but the ebook is nice sometimes. I typically only buy the bundle now. Physical book + non DRM ebook. The last few times have been the same price. The ebook is more convenient sometimes. If they don't include the ebook in a suitable format I'll just pirate it.
maldusiecle 8y ago
Do ebooks cost a similar amount to print books? If you limit what you're buying to recent bestsellers and the like, sure. But many ebook sellers, including Amazon, routinely have massive sales. I've bought ebooks for $2 or $3 apiece. I don't see similar discounting for physical books unless they're secondhand and well-worn--and usually even in that case the price doesn't go so low. I use ebooks for books I think it's less likely that I'll reread, when I can get a bargain.
- wlll 8y ago
  It depends on the book. A few months ago I bought "Kitcen Confidential (Anthony Bourdain). Back then ISTR the ebook was similarly priced. Now it's way cheaper. I can go on Amazon and find ebooks that are cheaper, the same price, and more expensive than the print versions.
amerkhalid 8y ago
I love my Kindle but because of similar reasons I am usually reluctant to buy any book on it. In my mind, whenever I buy a book for Kindle I assume it is long term rental and one day it would go away. The things I like about Kindle are: 1. Reading at night. This is number one reason for me. With Popsocket on back, I can hold Kindle for hours in bed. Without Popsocket, it is awkward to hold while laying down. 2. Waterproof. You can read paper books in hot tub or pool too, so this is not that important. 3. Personal Documents. You can send pretty much any text/blog post to your Kindle via browser plugin. A lot of reading I do at night is blog posts. 4. Text to Speech. When I really want to be lazy, this is great then. A few years ago when my Kindle Keyboard died, I tried going back to paper books 100% but I didn't read as much as I was reading on Kindle. So I am back on Kindle with the assumption that I will lose all my books sooner or later.
HappyJoy 8y ago
(4) Is the reason I do buy ebooks sometimes. If I know I'll never read the book again (paperback sci-fi usually), I'm more than happy to trade rights for convenience.
headcanon 8y ago
To me, ebooks are an alternative to amassing huge quantities of paperback sci fi novels that I'll likely never read again. I also get to read them on my phone which often means the difference between me reading them at all or not. For any book I'll likely want to refer to again, art book, graphic novel, etc. then print is far better for the reasons you say. The general question I ask is, "Would I buy this in hardcover?" If the answer is no, then I'll get the ebook.
lisper 8y ago
On the other hand, with e-books, I can put 5000 of them in my pocket and carry them around with me.
celestialjeu 8y ago
All of this is why my primary use case for ebooks is actually borrowing them from the library. It's super convenient because I don't have to worry about returning it on time -- it'll just disappear from the my device! But if I'm going to buy a book I almost always want a physical copy. (I've bought digital of a few of my favs that I often re-read on vacation but I do own physical copies of them too)
0x5f3759df-i 8y ago
Seems like most of the downsides you list are solved by DRM-free ebooks
mrmuagi 8y ago
I use ebooks and physical books, but I am regretful of some physical books mainly because: 1) They take a lot of space. I have bookshelf's full of them. 2) They can get damaged by humidity and mold. 3) I am prospecting travelling/moving/migrating, and I will likely sell/donate my books in this case. That being said I want to support the authors I read, and wish I could buy the digital book directly from the author (100% of the money goes to him/her), and get an electronic copy.

by wlll 8y ago

angrygoat 8y ago

I agree with all of this, but I'd add: 5. Visibility A physical library can be browsed, including by a visitor, and serve a useful social purpose. I often find it interesting to see what books someone has on their shelves, and it can lead to interesting discussions. I can't recall a time when I've discussed the contents of a Kindle library with someone.

handoflixue 8y ago
If you so desire, Kindle has GoodReads integration. I don't personally bother, but when I talk books with people online they'll occasionally link me their list :)

ellius 8y ago

I mix eBooks and physical copies, and I agree with your list, but here are a couple advantages of eBooks: 1. Space -- I have an entire closet full of books. Every time I buy another physical book, I am slowly crowding myself out of a little more space in my apartment. Electronic copies take up no physical space. 2. Can read anywhere (using my phone). I don't like this for every book, but some books are good for reading in little bite-sized chunks. I read a page here and a page there while I'm taking a break at work, waiting at the post office, whatever. The constant availability makes it a lot easier to increase my reading bandwidth vs. trying to always have a physical book on me. Plus variety--I have hundreds of books in my pocket at any given moment, and can choose whatever I'm in the mood for.

wlll 8y ago
Regarding space, totally, and I realise I am fortunate that I live in a reasonably sized suburban house (at least in terms of space). If I lived in a house share, in SF or in Tokyo I might feel differently. The one thing I would say is that I do have to dump books sometimes due to space. That's no bad thing, there's not a hell of a lot of books that I actually want to keep forever.
trentmb 8y ago
Between ebooks and my local public library, I purged my entire personal (physical) library.

wolco 8y ago

Piracy is a good option for popular titles and for more smaller titles usually you can get an epub version outside of the amazon store so buying is still a good option.

wlll 8y ago
I once looked into cracking the DRM on Amazon ebooks (that I had bought legitimately). It worked, but was a PITA.
- ozzyman700 8y ago
  No idea what you tried but I use the deDRM plugin in Calibre and it is very easy. If gen lib doesn't have the mobi, epub, or pdf I just buy it on amazon, and strip the drm so i can send it directly to my friends.
  - wlll 8y ago
    It was using Calibre. I may have different ideas about what is a PITA to you though. Whatever, the effort involved, + my other points didn't move the needle far enough for me to choose books.
NoGravitas 8y ago
A good option, but unfortunately technical, is to buy ebooks and strip the DRM so that you can keep them outside of the store's ecosystem, back them up, read them in your choice of reader, etc. This is also useful for library ebooks.

bewo001 8y ago

While I love the convenience, especially while travelling, I'd add 5. Fraudulent publishers; you can't easily see how 'thick' the book is. Some 'novels' turn out to be 70 page short stories.

bunderbunder 8y ago

To the price thing: The fact that you have to store print books is a factor in why they can be cheaper. It costs money to maintain inventory - both the physical costs associated with warehousing those books, and the opportunity costs associated with devoting space to them instead of other books you might sell more profitably. That creates an incentive to cut costs on books that aren't moving quickly, in order to get them out of your warehouse. No such incentive exists for ebooks, so the incentive to keep on charging the sticker price in order to keep yourself out of a JC Penny's situation becomes relatively stronger. Not to say that this isn't a valid reason to like print books. Just wanted to point out there can be legitimate economic reasons for this sort of situation.

andrewla 8y ago

All your points are dead on. I'll throw in these cons as well: 5. visibility (as noted by angrygoat) and browseability is terrible. 6. Flipping through an ebook looking for something is impossible. 7. Illustrations or drawings are rendered terribly. The list of pros of ebooks: 1. It's just a better experience. Ebooks are lighter than their equivalent books, easy to use one-handed, fonts can be adjusted, you can carry as many as you want with no extra weight, you can search within a book, you have access with wifi to your entire library at any point in time without having to fill up a cramped apartment. Browsing for books to read is terrible, but I can browse at my local B&N and then buy the ebooks on Amazon (which makes me terrible, but what can you do). In balance, this means that I've switched almost entirely to ebooks. The objections that you give (1-4) are the ones that are fixable by hoisting the Jolly Roger. This a step I am reluctant to take but if point 1 keeps going in this direction, then I can't really convince myself that I can justify the cost. A literally out-of-print book [1] selling for $13 is so outlandish that it makes my head spin. A book where the e-book is twice as expensive as the paperback [2]? What on earth is going on here. [1] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009FKTTMQ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009FKTTMQ [2] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003XT605Y https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003XT605Y

bunderbunder 8y ago
> The objections that you give (1-4) are the ones that are fixable by hoisting the Jolly Roger. I think that that's solving the wrong problem. Just pirating ebooks that are offered under crappy Amazon and B&N style licensing agreements may get you a book that's more palatable to you, but it doesn't do anything to improve the ebook market itself. There are many, many publishers selling DRM-free ebooks out there, and manufacturers of e-readers that don't try to lock you in. If people who don't like DRM aren't willing to help them make money at what they're trying to do, they're going to go away, and DRM is going to become an even more pervasive problem because of it. It's true that their offerings can be more expensive. They're smaller outfits and can't afford to be vicious with economies of scale the way Amazon can. This is one of those spots where "freedom ain't free" is a statement you can take quite literally.
- andrewla 8y ago

Myrmornis 8y ago

I have a large collection of technical books on my ipad. I can choose to read any one of them at any time in any place. I just need my ipad. This is both fun and educational. You appear to have completely missed the point of ebooks.

webninja 8y ago
What app do you use for this?
wlll 8y ago
> You appear to have completely missed the point of ebooks. And that point is?
- Myrmornis 8y ago
  That they have a much higher density of information per kilogram than paper books.
  - wlll 8y ago
    That's not "the point" of ebooks, it's just one attribute they have. I'm well aware that you can fit lots of ebooks in one device, but so far I've not been particularly limited by the information density of regular books.
    - Myrmornis 8y ago
      No, ok, fair enough, but it’s pretty easy to imagine scenarios where the information density makes a difference. Any working trip away from your home/office bookshelves, for example.

rb808 8y ago

I do both, but for cost - often there are specials. www.informit.com often has 2 for 1s or 50% off on black friday etc where I have loaded up. I still prefer books, but have run out of space at home.

elliekelly 8y ago

A few days ago there was a discussion in another thread about whether there were any practical uses for blockchain and someone mentioned eBooks & other digital content. An author/creator could upload the content and then the "right" to access it could be bought, sold, rented, gifted, loaned, etc. I don't know enough about blockchain to know whether that's actually feasible but it was the first proposed use I've come across that seemed like it might actually have potential.

ozzyman700 8y ago

I pirate ebooks for this reason. If I like the book or the book has valuable illustration done in color I will purchase the physical copy, otherwise backing up my calibre library according to 3-2-1 is easy peasy.

panzagl 8y ago
No, you pirate because you're selfish and self-entitled.
- hyperman1 8y ago
  The same thing can be said about the publishers who add DRM. They dont want to loose money? I don't want to loose my book!
- ozzyman700 8y ago
  Thank you so much for the analysis, I will file it accordingly. I must be very self entitled for downloading a digital representation of a book which I have paid for.

criddell 8y ago

I never understood the argument that ebooks should cost less. The price of a good usually isn't determined by the cost to manufacture and sell. Why should books be different? For me, I'll pay more for an ebook than a paperback because it's a more valuable format for me. Aside from being more compact and searchable, I can select a larger font. If it's more valuable, why shouldn't it cost more? One thing we do agree on though is that DRM on books should be banned. At the absolute minimum, it should have a failsafe built in so that users never lose their books and when copyright expires, all protection is removed.

wlll 8y ago
Good for you that you get more value out of them. I won't pay more though, because I personally have less rights and convenience with ebooks. There's also an element of being taken for a ride here. I can afford the $8 snickers bar from the minibar in the hotel, but I won't buy it because I feel like someone is taking the piss. Attempting to use their position to extort me. Same for ebooks. When your costs are lower, but you're charging more, I'm not going to buy the book because though I can afford the book I feel like I'm being somehow extorted.
- panzagl 8y ago
  How are you taken for a ride? The kindle version is almost always cheaper than the retail price of the physical version, and usually cheaper than the discounted price as well.
  - wlll 8y ago
    I can find examples on Amazon where the ebook is less, the same as, or more expensive than the physical copy.
    - panzagl 8y ago
      Well, yeah, there are no absolutes, but it's usually something like the book has just been remaindered and not a permanent situation or is a textbook. In general if you're picking up something current the ebook is a few dollars less, which seems right for printed material.

jetti 8y ago

I have only really been buying books from Manning lately. When I do, I end up getting the physical copy + eBook combo. It costs a little more than if I were to just buy one of those items individually but what I have found is that I can offset the cost by selling the physical book if I don't like it or don't have a need for it anymore. The ability to do that helps offset the cost of both.

andrepd 8y ago

Correct your first sentence and I agree with everything you said. I don't buy ebooks at amazon. I have hundreds of books in my collection. You will never catch me buying a book with drm on it. Get drm-free ebooks from a store or from project Gutenberg-type places.

vsl 8y ago
Publishers can request DRM-free regime. Tor does on both Amazon and iBooks as a matter of policy, there are others.

paulie_a 8y ago

I like having a physical book, but the ebook is nice sometimes. I typically only buy the bundle now. Physical book + non DRM ebook. The last few times have been the same price. The ebook is more convenient sometimes. If they don't include the ebook in a suitable format I'll just pirate it.

maldusiecle 8y ago

Do ebooks cost a similar amount to print books? If you limit what you're buying to recent bestsellers and the like, sure. But many ebook sellers, including Amazon, routinely have massive sales. I've bought ebooks for $2 or $3 apiece. I don't see similar discounting for physical books unless they're secondhand and well-worn--and usually even in that case the price doesn't go so low. I use ebooks for books I think it's less likely that I'll reread, when I can get a bargain.

wlll 8y ago
It depends on the book. A few months ago I bought "Kitcen Confidential (Anthony Bourdain). Back then ISTR the ebook was similarly priced. Now it's way cheaper. I can go on Amazon and find ebooks that are cheaper, the same price, and more expensive than the print versions.

amerkhalid 8y ago

I love my Kindle but because of similar reasons I am usually reluctant to buy any book on it. In my mind, whenever I buy a book for Kindle I assume it is long term rental and one day it would go away. The things I like about Kindle are: 1. Reading at night. This is number one reason for me. With Popsocket on back, I can hold Kindle for hours in bed. Without Popsocket, it is awkward to hold while laying down. 2. Waterproof. You can read paper books in hot tub or pool too, so this is not that important. 3. Personal Documents. You can send pretty much any text/blog post to your Kindle via browser plugin. A lot of reading I do at night is blog posts. 4. Text to Speech. When I really want to be lazy, this is great then. A few years ago when my Kindle Keyboard died, I tried going back to paper books 100% but I didn't read as much as I was reading on Kindle. So I am back on Kindle with the assumption that I will lose all my books sooner or later.

HappyJoy 8y ago

(4) Is the reason I do buy ebooks sometimes. If I know I'll never read the book again (paperback sci-fi usually), I'm more than happy to trade rights for convenience.

headcanon 8y ago

To me, ebooks are an alternative to amassing huge quantities of paperback sci fi novels that I'll likely never read again. I also get to read them on my phone which often means the difference between me reading them at all or not. For any book I'll likely want to refer to again, art book, graphic novel, etc. then print is far better for the reasons you say. The general question I ask is, "Would I buy this in hardcover?" If the answer is no, then I'll get the ebook.

lisper 8y ago

On the other hand, with e-books, I can put 5000 of them in my pocket and carry them around with me.

celestialjeu 8y ago

All of this is why my primary use case for ebooks is actually borrowing them from the library. It's super convenient because I don't have to worry about returning it on time -- it'll just disappear from the my device! But if I'm going to buy a book I almost always want a physical copy. (I've bought digital of a few of my favs that I often re-read on vacation but I do own physical copies of them too)

0x5f3759df-i 8y ago

Seems like most of the downsides you list are solved by DRM-free ebooks

mrmuagi 8y ago

I use ebooks and physical books, but I am regretful of some physical books mainly because: 1) They take a lot of space. I have bookshelf's full of them. 2) They can get damaged by humidity and mold. 3) I am prospecting travelling/moving/migrating, and I will likely sell/donate my books in this case. That being said I want to support the authors I read, and wish I could buy the digital book directly from the author (100% of the money goes to him/her), and get an electronic copy.