4 ms·

Physical books are gone. The people who actually read books have already switched to e-books. I haven't bought a single physical book since i bought the first i

Physical books are gone. The people who actually read books have already switched to e-books. I haven't bought a single physical book since i bought the first iteration of the amazon swindle. Some people who also read books will try to refute this argument, saying they still buy love and read physical books. So do i. I love physical books. I love them as a commodity. I love holding them, reading them, putting them on display after finishing them, but sadly, it's simply not convenient for someone who really reads. When i finish one book and want the next in the series, when i find out about a book that i am actually curious about what it is saying, i will simply get the e-book. The desire to read and convenience simply wins. I thought the last iteration of the generic ebook reader was my last purchase because it had the backlight, but now they came up with the yellow backlight so i have to buy this. Blue light causes macular degeneration and yellow light is so much more comfortable. Ebook readers are like a dream come true. When they came out, i thought wow, truth is probably solipsism.

ghaff 7y ago
You're over-generalizing. Yes, for just reading text eBooks work great--especially for travel. But I still buy tons on physical books as well where the graphic design (photos, etc.) is relevant.
- vbezhenar 7y ago
  Why PDF is not suitable for you?
  - ghaff 7y ago
    First of all, many books are not available in a PDF format. Secondly, for something like a cookbook, I like putting post-it tabs, writing notes, etc. Thirdly, some books are a larger form-factor than a typical tablet and the printing has a tactile dimension to it. To be clear, I like eBooks and frequently buy them. But I don't find them a 1:1 substitute for printed books.
    - mavhc 7y ago
      What you need is a larger screen, and a pdf reader that has bookmarks and annotations
      - ghaff 7y ago
        I own a larger tablet--which I don't particularly care for because of the weight--and I've tried various software. YMMV but I still prefer physical books for certain uses.
      - bpicolo 7y ago
        I'm in a similar boat. I use an e-reader for reading on the train when I have one hand available, but it doesn't at all replace physical books. Physical books are a more delightful product.
        mavhc 7y ago
        With their excessive mass, volume, price, lack of availability, and lack of search?
rossdavidh 7y ago
Physical books are not "gone". The word you are looking for is "dominant". Physical books dropped down to about 80% of the new book market in 2012, and since then have held steady or even gone back up, closer to 90% in recent years. The used book market is, of course, even more dominated by physical books. The preference for physical books over e-books is actually higher among younger readers than older readers (who appreciate being able to increase the font size in e-books). https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/19/physical-books-still-outsell-e-books-and-heres-why.html https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/19/physical-books-still-outsell...
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- MiscIdeaMaker99 7y ago
  Totally anecdotal here, but we bought several physical books for our nieces and nephews this Christmas. These were all requested by them, too. Totally didn't expect that.
iamnothere 7y ago
I read mostly physical books and intend to keep doing so. I prefer unusual, rare, and out-of-print books, and I'd rather keep a physical copy of those on hand. I will acquire a "backup" ebook copy if I can, but often there is no ebook available. Ebooks make a lot of sense in certain cases (school books, technical reference, genre fiction).
djaychela 7y ago
I disagree - I think you're extrapolating from your own experience into everyone. I sell a moderate number of books I've written each month (nothing special, but it's about 1/10 of my income), and that's print only. They're definitely not dead in schools, and lots of people have said they like having a physical book to read from. In addition, despite owning a kindle, I always buy physical books, not ebooks. I don't own the ebooks, and the kindle reading experience is convenient (in terms of transporting many books with me), but it's not as good (for me) as a paper book. I read books - in fact aside from work, it's about the only thing that I -do- do.
mplanchard 7y ago
This seems like a hasty generalization based on your experience. My wife and I definitely “actually read books”. Between the two of us, we’ve read more than 50 books over the last year. Almost all of these have been physical purchases. Some were library rentals, and a very few (one or two) were ebooks. We have a lovely local bookstore where I can put a book on order, then take a quick walk from the office over lunch to pick it up. It’s more convenient than getting it delivered and gives me an excuse for a nice walk. Alternatively, I can walk from the office to the library and pick up whatever I need there. Certainly that is more than convenient enough for us.
justinclift 7y ago
> Physical books are gone. At least for art books, the physical version is much better than the electronic equivalent. Examples: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cosmic-Motors-Daniel-Simon/dp/1848566891 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cosmic-Motors-Daniel-Simon/dp/18485... https://designstudiopress.com/product/abakan-2301/ https://designstudiopress.com/product/abakan-2301/ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-John-Harris/dp/1781168423 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-John-Harris/dp/1781168423 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-Jim-Burns-Hyperluminal/dp/178116844X https://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-Jim-Burns-Hyperluminal/dp/17811... For those amazon ones, take a look at the reviewer comments. One of the reviewers has a video showing the contents of each so you can see the book in detail. Very nice. :)
billpollock 7y ago
No offense but this is simply not true. Our print sales go up every year.
EliRivers 7y ago
The evidence shows a trend of increasing print books sales. Do you have counter-evidence, or is this all based on you extrapolating from yourself?
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]

ghaff 7y ago

You're over-generalizing. Yes, for just reading text eBooks work great--especially for travel. But I still buy tons on physical books as well where the graphic design (photos, etc.) is relevant.

vbezhenar 7y ago
Why PDF is not suitable for you?
- ghaff 7y ago
  First of all, many books are not available in a PDF format. Secondly, for something like a cookbook, I like putting post-it tabs, writing notes, etc. Thirdly, some books are a larger form-factor than a typical tablet and the printing has a tactile dimension to it. To be clear, I like eBooks and frequently buy them. But I don't find them a 1:1 substitute for printed books.
  - mavhc 7y ago
    What you need is a larger screen, and a pdf reader that has bookmarks and annotations
    - ghaff 7y ago
      I own a larger tablet--which I don't particularly care for because of the weight--and I've tried various software. YMMV but I still prefer physical books for certain uses.
    - bpicolo 7y ago
      I'm in a similar boat. I use an e-reader for reading on the train when I have one hand available, but it doesn't at all replace physical books. Physical books are a more delightful product.
      - mavhc 7y ago
        With their excessive mass, volume, price, lack of availability, and lack of search?

rossdavidh 7y ago

Physical books are not "gone". The word you are looking for is "dominant". Physical books dropped down to about 80% of the new book market in 2012, and since then have held steady or even gone back up, closer to 90% in recent years. The used book market is, of course, even more dominated by physical books. The preference for physical books over e-books is actually higher among younger readers than older readers (who appreciate being able to increase the font size in e-books). https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/19/physical-books-still-outsell-e-books-and-heres-why.html https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/19/physical-books-still-outsell...

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
MiscIdeaMaker99 7y ago
Totally anecdotal here, but we bought several physical books for our nieces and nephews this Christmas. These were all requested by them, too. Totally didn't expect that.

iamnothere 7y ago

I read mostly physical books and intend to keep doing so. I prefer unusual, rare, and out-of-print books, and I'd rather keep a physical copy of those on hand. I will acquire a "backup" ebook copy if I can, but often there is no ebook available. Ebooks make a lot of sense in certain cases (school books, technical reference, genre fiction).

djaychela 7y ago

I disagree - I think you're extrapolating from your own experience into everyone. I sell a moderate number of books I've written each month (nothing special, but it's about 1/10 of my income), and that's print only. They're definitely not dead in schools, and lots of people have said they like having a physical book to read from. In addition, despite owning a kindle, I always buy physical books, not ebooks. I don't own the ebooks, and the kindle reading experience is convenient (in terms of transporting many books with me), but it's not as good (for me) as a paper book. I read books - in fact aside from work, it's about the only thing that I -do- do.

mplanchard 7y ago

This seems like a hasty generalization based on your experience. My wife and I definitely “actually read books”. Between the two of us, we’ve read more than 50 books over the last year. Almost all of these have been physical purchases. Some were library rentals, and a very few (one or two) were ebooks. We have a lovely local bookstore where I can put a book on order, then take a quick walk from the office over lunch to pick it up. It’s more convenient than getting it delivered and gives me an excuse for a nice walk. Alternatively, I can walk from the office to the library and pick up whatever I need there. Certainly that is more than convenient enough for us.

justinclift 7y ago

> Physical books are gone. At least for art books, the physical version is much better than the electronic equivalent. Examples: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cosmic-Motors-Daniel-Simon/dp/1848566891 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cosmic-Motors-Daniel-Simon/dp/18485... https://designstudiopress.com/product/abakan-2301/ https://designstudiopress.com/product/abakan-2301/ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-John-Harris/dp/1781168423 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-John-Harris/dp/1781168423 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-Jim-Burns-Hyperluminal/dp/178116844X https://www.amazon.co.uk/Art-Jim-Burns-Hyperluminal/dp/17811... For those amazon ones, take a look at the reviewer comments. One of the reviewers has a video showing the contents of each so you can see the book in detail. Very nice. :)

billpollock 7y ago

No offense but this is simply not true. Our print sales go up every year.

EliRivers 7y ago

The evidence shows a trend of increasing print books sales. Do you have counter-evidence, or is this all based on you extrapolating from yourself?

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]