“There’s just something about an eReader. I love to inhale the subtle scent of… plastic. They make me happy seeing them all lined up on the… counter. Charging. On a rainy day, nothing beats a fire in the fireplace, a cup of your favorite hot beverage, the sound of rain pattering against the window pane, and the… silence of your finger swiping across the screen to the next page.”
Said no one ever.
Note: this is a revised post from 2-20-2012. Additionally, links in this post may be affiliate links which will provide me a small commission at no extra expense to you.
Confession:
Ten or fifteen years ago, when I first heard about “e-books,” I assumed they were for things like tutorials or rare books unavailable in other formats. Some said they’d replace physical copies. I laughed. C’mon. Try inhaling the wonderful scent of ink and paper while losing yourself in your Kindle. It’s not going to happen. Well, not unless you maybe have one of these awesome candles burning beside you. Just don’t inhale too deeply. You might burn your nose! I digress. I really couldn’t ever see physical books being totally replaced by digital books, and I still agree with that in many respects.
I want the real thing, baby!
It’s no secret to those who know me at all. I like real books. I want the pages to bend in my hands. I smell them. Really. Look, some people like heroin. ME, I’m an ink junkie! I love the weight of a book (particularly hardcover!), the covers, the rows of comforting friends on my shelves waiting for me to have a moment to step into their worlds and visit for a while. I’m not the only one.
Not only that, I think there are solid reasons for us to keep printing good books. Can you imagine what would have happened to places like the Library of Alexandria (assuming it hadn’t burned… bear with me here) or would happen to the Library of Congress if hard-copy books are allowed to go the way of the laser disk? Remember those? Movies on disks about the size of record albums? In even a hundred years, what are the odds that anyone will be able to find a way to play one of those suckers?
Computer formats change so quickly. Punch cards gave way to giant floppy disks that were actually floppy. Then rigid ones. Then CDs, and those shifted to “memory sticks” which we now call “thumb drives” and SD cards. With Internet speeds what they are, people don’t even need those most of the time. We just download from “the cloud.” What happens when that cloud becomes a storm?
And what about the thousands of digital books that never made it into print. Popular books today might be worthless tomorrow–and vice versa. Think about books that were flops when they were first published but subsequent generations fell in love with them. What’ll happen if there are no hard copies for later generations to discover in an old, musty, delightfully-scented second-hand bookstore?
The eBook Advantage? Is there one?
I think so. After all, I write books that become eBooks. I own a Kindle and use a Kindle app on my laptop. I purchased my first Kindle in order to help me check formatting for my own digital books. I figured that if people want an eBook, they want a quality reading experience. And in that process, I learned a few things–like how I LOVE to use it for research. Hypocrite much? Maybe, but…
Picture it. I’m in the middle of a Madeline book and I’m looking for the perfect sesquipedalian word to use in a particular instance. Thesaurus.com failed me. My next choice–The Well-Spoken Thesaurus. I can reach for a hard copy and search through it for half an hour, which does have the advantage of giving me that ink and paper high I claim to love, but it’s a lot of work. When I’m in the middle of writing my book, I don’t want to thumb through half a million pages of someone else’s to find the one thing I need. Look, the search feature alone in any Kindle/eReader makes it worth owning one (or at least using the app on my laptop!).
But wait! That’s not all!
Kindles also have that wonderful portability aspect. I was that kid–you know, the one who packed a suitcase of clothes and one of books for every trip. Yeah. That was me. With an eReader, you don’t have to add chiropractic visits on your return from vacations to the budget. One little Kindle holds enough books for one trip–even for the most voracious reader. Which I am. In fact, this mug was created for me. I’m sure of it.
Ebooks are also excellent ways to try new authors (assuming the publisher is reasonable about pricing. For just a few dollars (sometimes less than one or even FREE), you can discover if you really want to invest in the entire works of Ima Greatwriter.
Furthermore, the educational field alone is a perfect place to replace many books. Textbooks. Oh, yes. I see the day when people will rent textbooks that are downloaded to ereaders instead of printing giant tomes that are only used once or twice before advancements or time passage makes them obsolete. It’s really a win/win for everyone. Publishers will make more than ever because updates are cheaper and they won’t lose as many sales to resale. Students will save massive amounts of money and won’t be tearing out their hair because the book their sister purchased last semester won’t work for them this semester. Not that this has ever happened in our house or anything.
But there’s a drawback to ebooks, of course.
Look. As quickly as things change, my guess is we won’t want out-of-date hard-copies of most textbooks, but I do fear what will happen when history is revised into whatever is currently popular (sound familiar) with nothing left to prove that things are being taught to one particular bias. Let’s face it. All historians are biased. No matter how hard they attempt to be objective, everyone has a bias. It’s not possible to be completely objective. However, if generations are taught by ever-increasing narrow opinions defined by “correct opinions” (That’s quoted from Jane Austen’s Persuasion, not a modern speaker), without a record of previous thought, what’ll happen to so-called objectivity then?
What’ll happen to the poor students who can’t get through their cram session without an infusion of ink and paper into their bloodstream via inhalation?
Again, I confess to having a bias.
As an author, I have a strong connection to my hard copies. I love to look at my shelf and read the titles and think, “Whoa… those are all my books! A box comes in–a new title. Those shiny covers call to me and sing, “We’re here! Let the party begin!” Of course, I want to walk into a bookstore and see them on the shelves. It gives me a kick every, single, time!
However, I’m realistic. I’m not writing great fiction intended to delight readers of today and the future. Wynnewood, perhaps, may be a little more timeless due to the historical and fantasy elements, but the Rockland Chronicles were written to encourage today’s Christians. What we fight against today may not be an issue in a hundred years.
Yeah… but…
Digital books are easy for me to produce. I write, edit, edit some more, and then some more, do very little interior “decor”, upload, done. Then I sit back and that’s the end of it. Until I learn I’ve left out a hyphen or a comma or something. I fix it. THEN it’s done. At the end of every month, I get a deposit into my bank account and all is well. I don’t have to keep a huge stock of books, don’t need wrapping supplies, and the USPS doesn’t have copies lying around the dead letter office somewhere because their machines destroyed it–or worse, some employee just had to know how something ended. It saves my readers money and on most books, I get a decent cut of the profit. We all win!
However… I don’t get quite the same thrill to see another book on the spreadsheet as I do when I get an email from my publishing company in my inbox–or better yet, I get an email requesting I send one, signed–informing me that someone has just made the choice to give one of my books space on her bookshelf. That book may have temporary space on that bookshelf, I’d never expect that it would stay indefinitely, but temporarily is pretty cool, don’tcha know.
And c’mon… let’s face it. You know I’m over here in my house thinking, “Does she love the scent of the ink on the pages? The whisper of paper as she turns to read the next sentence, the next paragraph, the next chapter, the end?”
Someone might make an app or other device that has the physical book smell to plug in like Glade Plug in to the wall to substitute for the book actually being in your hands. Lol
usb glade. Cool idea.
Chautona, I don’t truly believe true book lovers will ever totally abandon physical books, but ebooks and audio books do have a place in our love affair with reading.
I was just reading how physical books do something different in the brain tht requires different skills than e-reading. Fascinating stuff.
I love my Kindles – yep, I have eight or nine of them around the house, of course I am only using the latest one at the time. I give my mother-in-law one to use to try and bring her into the modern era as well! Holding a regular book was starting to hurt the ball of my hand, a problem that I don’t have with my Kindle. I can also turn down the lighting on my Kindle and read at night and not bother my husband. I can loan my books to friends and they come back to me all on their own!
The drawback to the Kindle is that I can’t donate the books that I don’t want to keep to anyone. I’ve talked to Amazon about this, but they haven’t come up with a way for me to give my read books to the library or to the Salvation Army or to a Church library. I wish that the e-reader companies would come up with a way for us to be able to do that. If we can loan them, there should be able to be a way to give them away.
With the Kindle Fire I can also read, play games, surf the web, do my e-mail, etc and not clutter up the walls with rows of bookshelves and game consoles and lap tops etc… It’s all right there on that tiny little device! What a wonder! Kim
There are definite advantages to Kindles. I think Amazon might want to consider making “giving” or “donating” to be something publishers can choose. We can choose if the book can be loaned, so why not donated?
A few things I love with my kindle is… 1. I can adjust the font size. I am so blind. On my kindle I need the font size second to largest, this makes it so I can comfortably read. This also works with early readers you can make it so it is easy on their eyrs to read. 2.I love that we can have several people read the sacme book at the same time. We have 10 in our family. It is so fun to sit down and all read a story together Where everyone can follow along. 3. The books last. We wore out two copies of each Harry Potter book. They were read so many times. 4. We have less fighting over books. I no longer hear that is my copy of Micheal Vey or whatever book it is. 5. It takes less room. We have nearly 2000 books in our ecollection. We just moved. My kindle saved my back and this house is smaller so I dont have to worry about where to put all those books. 6. Instant gratification. If I want to read a book or buy a book. I purchase it and bam I can start reading it. 7. It has encouraged me to try many, many new books. 8. My new city library is a major dis appointment in our small city. Before we hhad a county library. If there was a book ANYWHERE in the county they would order it in and bam you could check you. With an e-book you have so many places to look to borrow a book. I would say our city library has only 1,000 books.
I still love physical books. I think Physical are much easier for picture books. Also it is not easy to have a ebook autographed.
I understand so much of this comment! I don’t know how I missed it when you posted it, but I get you.
And through Authograph you can get a digital signature for your ebooks! 😀
I too prefer the “real” books of ink and paper. I have very few. For one thing, I can’t afford them. For another, my hands go numb when I hold them for very long. And lastly, I, like you, am a fast and voracious reader. I can’t afford real books at the rate I read and the library doesn’t buy Christian books at that rate either. The Kindle has made things a lot easier for me. There are a lot of authors I would have never discovered without it, including you. I am amazed at how the books in a library or even a book store are dictated by a list someone puts out that says these are the ones to buy. I have some favorite authors that everyone likes and then I have some that I have never seen in a bookstore or library. Yet, I also agree with you about hoping the printing of books never stops.
Isn’t it beautiful how there are advantages to both?
I give a resounding amen to all you said! I am all for the real deal rather than ebooks (nothing beats those books on the shelf!), but I actually read quite a number of ebooks. Mainly because it is cheaper 🙂 And if I really love it I’ll get print copy.
And I can’t even write my name right! *facepalm*
I’m so glad I’m not alone
Oh, yes, I love physical books. However, aside from the enormously high cost of postage overseas, there is the indisputable fact that a Kindle is much easier to hold one-handed and turn the pages one-handed when you are nursing a baby! Also, if you’re reading in bed, a Kindle is easier, especially when the bedroom is so cold you can hardly bear to have a hand out from under the covers. (With a Kindle, you only have to have one hand out, and can switch off frequently to warm the other! Yes, our bedrooms get quite cold in the winter–they are unheatable.)
Oh, why are they unheatable? That’s fascinating (and the wheels are turning!)
I’m with you on almost everything. I’m not a fan of modern hardbacks. The covers seem to be almost plastic and way too heavy. Give me some of the (really) old hardbacks and I’m good; otherwise I prefer paperback. But I do love that I can take a few hundred books (including almost all of yours!) with me everywhere I go on my Kindle!
YES! I love the feel of hardback as long as it has a dust jacket. The glossy hard ones are nice to look at, but not to feel. I prefer matte covers.
But for travel… nothing beats the Kindle!
I’m definitely with you on this. I adore my book shelves. I have a definite hierarchy going on – hardcover being reserved for the most elite and well-written authors, a sort of dedication to their greatness in my mind. Softcover is reserved for those authors who choose not to print to hardcover and those I still adore.
Since purchasing a Nook and then a Kindle, I have a new order – e-books as a way of testing the waters for new authors. Frankly, there are some books I’ve read on my shelf that did not deserve the price I paid. E-books offer me a way of screening new authors I might be interested in without paying the increasingly exorbitant price associated with ‘real’ books. I’ve found it decidedly useful, especially as I am one prone to the adventure of discovering new authors, but a bit financially underfunded in the process. My heart says “yes,” but my bank account screams at me to stop.
You sound a lot like me. I found that in my books on pirates and such, having them on Kindle made it so much easier to find what I needed.
Brilliantly written. 🙂