> Sure ebooks can have precise text placement, just use a PDF. Not so hot on most e-ink devices, but yeah, you can use a print format to achieve print-like doc

> Sure ebooks can have precise text placement, just use a PDF. Not so hot on most e-ink devices, but yeah, you can use a print format to achieve print-like documents that throw the middle finger at your screen's dimensions/resolution with sometimes-nice results. > As for indexed vs full text search, an eBook can have both, and many do. Ah, but their indices are usually more of a pain to use than an index in a real book. Like footnotes, but even worse. As with full text search, though, it might beat the dead-tree if you're on a laptop/desktop (bigger screen that can show the index to the side of the text) but at that point there's not much distinction between an "ebook" and anything else one might read on a computer. > No argument on the price, though it didn't hold for works out of copyright. Unless they're not originally written in a language you can read, in which case odds are good that the best translation is still under copyright. In fact, it's not uncommon for there to be several copyright-protected translations all of which are better than any of the public domain ones. So technically, yes, you can go to PG and grab a ton of classics for free. Practically speaking, for non-[language(s) you can read] works, if it's worth putting in the time to read it you'll be well served by buying (or borrowing) a newer translation. All those 19th century ones have a way of being both less accurate and less pleasant for a modern reader.