Books vs. eBooks

Both of these definitions are taken from Wikipedia.

eBook: An e-book (short for electronic book, also written eBook) is the digital media equivalent of a conventional printed book. Such documents are usually read on personal computers, or on dedicated hardware devices known as e-book readers or e-book devices. Many mobile phones can also be used to read eBooks.

Traditional Book: A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of paper, parchment, or other material, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf, and each side of a leaf is called a page.

Which comes to my questions. With eBooks on the rise (take the iPhone commerical for example, showing its ability to act as a reader for them), if it came down between having to choose between traditional and electronic, which would you choose? Could you see traditional books getting completely wiped out in the tech paced world of today, even if it took a few decades? What do you think of the idea of even putting books in an electronic format? Would it just be better to get rid of traditional books entirely, since it would save so much paper?

Traditional books > eBooks 100%.
'Tis much, much more relaxing to read pages than stare at a screen.
I can't really see them ever being totally wiped out.

I don't really see the point of eBooks to be honest.
I mean, what's the point of haivng a book on your phone? You can take a traditional book with you wherever you go, too.

I don't think I could ever choose. I'm all for being more environmentally-friendly and taking full advantage of all the technology that's available, but for me, an eBook just wouldn't be the same as a traditional book. Part of the reason I love books so much is because of how tangible they are. I like going to the store and coming home with a bulging bag full of stories. I like looking at the book covers, the different fonts. Reading wouldn't be as much fun for me without actual books.

But I could see eBooks becoming more and more popular. If it came down to an issue of money, eBooks would probably be more practical.

Traditional books all the way. It's just not the same, reading off a screen. Reading too much text off a screen hurts my eyes, anyway.

I don't see a problem with ebooks versus traditional books. The only reason that I prefer traditional books because ebooks are difficult to read off screen. A lot of fanfiction I read, I print out, because it's easier on my eyes. But either way it's still a story being told, no matter what form. :shifty

My eyes hurt if I read on a screen too much, but other than that I don't have much against it. I mean people used to write on papyri or wax tabula, and now we're writing on paper. Our society keeps evolving and so do our ways to store information.

I dislike eBooks.

Nothing will ever replace a physical library with all it's nooks and crannies and it's smell and the physical touch of books.

The Doctor:

I dislike eBooks.

Nothing will ever replace a physical library with all it's nooks and crannies and it's smell and the physical touch of books.

Agreed

Though i think libraries are dirty after visiting my scummy one too much :lmfao

Traditional books are much better.

Definitely traditional books, ebooks give me a headache and my room would be bare if ebooks were the only things available. And this may sound sad but I'd have a lot of free time on my hands if it couldn't be spent perusing book stores with a cup of Starbucks :P

Traditional books all the way. :con:

I do enjoy reading things at my computer, but only if it's like mibba stories. If it's a published book, I'll just go see if anyone has it.

YaoiRox666:

Traditional books all the way. :con:

I do enjoy reading things at my computer, but only if it's like mibba stories. If it's a published book, I'll just go see if anyone has it.

Published books in the physicality are much more practical too, because you can carry them around in your handbag etc. You can't carry around a ton of printed out fanfiction or a laptop around with you all the time without looking a bit....dorkish. :XD Plus that stuff gets heavy after a while. Online fiction is such a luxury to me.

TRADITIONAL books all the way. I think it is too much when reading off of another screen, and I like to feel the pages, not a machine that is getting hot in my hands.

:]

I would like to bring this discussion back.

I bought an e-book online the other day because I couldn't find a copy of it anywhere.
I started thinking about what people thought of them.

I actually didn't mind it. I read the whole thing in two days (which is fast for me, since usually I'm a slow reader). I mean, I still love my bookcase full of actual books, but I think that e-books are good, especially if you want to read something and can't find a copy. I was so excited when I realised that I could buy it online and get a digital copy almost instantly.

However, I wonder if e-books, or any form of online books open up to the distribution of it online, similar to illegally downloading music. Is it a good thing because more people are reading it, or a bad thing because authors/publishers lose money?

I mean, there are lots of advantages. Portability, availability, etc.
What are the disadvantages of e-books, besides not being physically books?

I prefer having the physical book in my hand but due to a lack of money I use my iPhone as an ebook reader

Theres advantages of both to be honest, like, I'm going to Kenya for a month and have to carry everything on my own, so for the plane I'm taking ebooks as the amount of books I could get through I wouldn't be able to carry. However I love the feel of the book in my hands and I love being able to see how many I have.

Having been at university for a year and a half I'm not sure I understand the anti-eBook rage anymore When you're researching an essay it's impractical to carry a stack of books to the library and back every day. It's difficult if 200 people are writing the same essay and there's only 1 copy of a given book in the library (if it isn't lost/in terrible condition). It's much more efficient when you can search an eBook or an online copy of a journal for specific phrase rather than waste time reading what isn't relevant.

Not that I'm saying I'd choose between one or the other; I like both and it'll be some years before I can afford an e-reader or anything like that. And I do try to buy my (physical) books second-hand because I'm somewhat aware of the large environmental cost involved in producing them. And it's hard to be sentimental about the 'smell' or 'touch' of books when you've read as many mouldy, mildewy cheap old paperbacks as I have.

Matt Smith:

Having been at university for a year and a half I'm not sure I understand the anti-eBook rage anymore When you're researching an essay it's impractical to carry a stack of books to the library and back every day. It's difficult if 200 people are writing the same essay and there's only 1 copy of a given book in the library (if it isn't lost/in terrible condition). It's much more efficient when you can search an eBook or an online copy of a journal for specific phrase rather than waste time reading what isn't relevant.

EXACTLY. How awesome would it be if you could subscribe to this massive international academic library with books in many different languages and you could just borrow books from it whenever you want regardless of where you are? That would make my life.

I have a Kindle and can obviously buy eBooks with it, since that serves as its purpose. But after a while it gets annoying just looking at the screen, it's not back-lit or anything but I like flipping pages and having books fill up my shelves. So, traditional books any day over eBooks, I don't have a thing against eBooks either, they're very convenient if you ask me.

I actually like both. i have a Nook but that 'never' stops me from buying books. Lol. I can still go into any bookstore and be willing to spend $100 on books easy. I like ebooks because I can carry more than one book around with me, that would be great with traveling. I also like regular books because I like turning the pages and it's easier to go back to a certain section of I want. Plus I can lend them to people. I love them both and neither one is going to replace the other for me.