eBooks: Fad or Future?

[The Doctor]

So, in recent years we have seen the rise of eBooks and eBook readers. Devices like the Sony reader, the Amazon Kindle, and the Barnes & Noble Nook have hit the market and started a wave of people who read on them. The Apple iPad seems to be Apple's attempt at making something that could be used to read eBooks, and many more readers are on the way.

My main question is this: Are eBooks just a fad? Or are they the future of books?

My answer is yes and no. As a proud owner of an Amazon Kindle, I can say that eBook readers are dead useful to have. I can convert fanfics and stories I find on the internet for use on the Kindle, and download a new book whenever I want. I have 23 books and stories on my Kindle, including (but not limited to):

Bret Hart - "Hitman" (Book)
Dashiell Hammitt - "Detective Stories" (Book)
Ben Roberts - "The Robot War" (Fanfic)
Justin Sikes - "Terrornova" (Story Found on the Internet)
A novelization of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Fanfic)
And much, much more.

If I turned all the books and stories I have on my Kindle into actual books and put them into into a suitcase, I wouldn't be able to lift it. I would probably need two. The Zelda novelization and Terrornova are books that would be about the size of a set of encyclopedias if turned into print. The Kindle allows me to store a ton of books into one thin package, and take them with me wherever I go. Plus, if I ever want a new book, I can just go to the Amazon website and get it for ten dollars or less. It's delivered instantly to my Kindle. And if I'm not sure about the book then I can download a free sample.

However, as much as I love my Kindle, I don't think traditional books are going anywhere any time soon. For one thing, people are skeptical about eBooks. "Why should I get something to store books when I have a bookshelf?" seems to be the question all skeptics ask. For another, many people enjoy reading traditional books because of the feel of the pages and feel that something is lost when they are deprived of that. For another, readers are very expensive. My Kind cost $250, I believe. That is indeed a lot of money, and then you have to buy books for it. All of these things work against eBooks.

I believe that eBooks are here to stay, but aren't going to take over the reading industry any time soon.

What do you think?

 

[Барбоса]

eBooks are here to stay and they have been instrumental in getting the current generation to read but they will never replace traditional books.

There is a tactile pleasure to be derived from owning an actual physical copy of a book that an eBook can never replace. In a similar way CDs and DVDs and their physical descendants will never disappear.

People like to have a collection and Kindles, iPhones and Nooks are not the best way to display it.

 

[Leafy]

My school is looking to replace all textbooks with kindles. So obviously e-books are here to stay. Instead of having a 5 pound textbook for each class we can carry around that small electronic. Much more convenient than the books.

But regular books are going to last as well. I like using Kindles, but I enjoy reading a classic book a lot more. I don't know why but it makes the story more enjoyable.

 

[Mufasa]

Reading large amounts of text on electronic screens hurts my eyes. My eyes hurt from just reading forum posts sometimes. I really wish they could make them were they were there was virtually no additional eyestrain.

I do think they are the future though. It's just so much cheaper to produce copies of books that way. Ebooks are also going to make it to where anybody can publish. So ultimately I see them as a good thing. I just want them to work on the technology a bit.

 

[HBK-aholic]

I really want a Sony Reader, they look amazing and for someone who reads as much as I do, and is running out of space to keep books, they're even better. The main problem for me is the price. The one I want is around £200, and that's before I've bought any books for it. Can you imagine how many books I could buy for that? I'd rather just sit and read as opposed to something I can read them on.

 

[Alex]

Doc you said it, they're here to stay but won't replace traditional books. You see there's always going to be a book/ comic etc that you won't be able to download and the only way of reading it will be to find a physical copy. My dad collects old books (19th century etc) I doubt he'll be able to download these to an eBook.

 

[Brilliant Human Being]

I believe that eBooks aree the future, purely because they fit in with the way we live our lives now. Put simply, no-one has the time to read any more, everyones always on the go, and the time to read by oneself has been gradually decreasing. Of course I speak in generalisations, because there will always be some people who find the time to read books, and this I admire them for; and there will always be people who prefer to read books in paper form.

However, for the vast majority, eBooks will fast become the most practical way we read books, suc as reading on the train and such. I realise that people already read books on the train, however, an eBook would be so much easier, no messing around to find the page where you were; no inquisitive glances from other passengers as to what your reading, etc.

eBooks, I believe, are simply the next logical step in the world becoming gradually more technological. Finally, kids are more likely to read books if they have something like a Kindle as opposed to an actual book aren't they?

 

[Deexter Jorgan]

Ebooks are to Books what MP3 are too CD's sure we are going to save a load on paper and have an unbelieable database of great legendary material.

But the bad part is the same thing is going to happen, People are going to start downloading free material no matter how much they are going to encrypt it

but as stated before they are the next evolution for a green society, we all want to make sure that we do things paperless and by putting books on ipads and tablet pcs we are saving the planet one tree at a time.

But we will end up losing more financially in the future writers will end up getting the same issues as song writers and singers because of boot legging and illegal downloading and there is nothing that the law can do about it if they take this step.