E-Books or Paper Books

[Daddy Todd]

Take a look at Mobipocket eBooks and MS Reader eBooks... Those are eBooks a lot of people have probably lost access to.

**Raises Hand** and some that were Adobe's locked PDF format from the early '00's. The early SCE e-books I bought are now unreadable. That got me out of the e-book world for the better part of a decade.

When I came back, I made sure to figure out how to unlock the books I BOUGHT lest the format-provider decide to stop supporting my books again.

 

[JD]

I've saved all of my epub e-books from my Nook onto my laptop. As long as I have something that can use the epub format will I still be able to access them? Could they still take them away or block access to them if I have copies that aren't on my Nook?

 

[Daddy Todd]

I've saved all of my epub e-books from my Nook onto my laptop. As long as I have something that can use the epub format will I still be able to access them? Could they still take them away or block access to them if I have copies that aren't on my Nook?

Yes, they could "take them away" if B&N should go out of business and stop supporting the proprietary DRM they layer on top of epub. In other words, your Nook epubs are only readable on a Nook (or B&N-provided applications) that can be unlocked with your B&N account.

If B&N goes away (which isn't unthinkable, at this point) the ability to read your books could go away.

 

[tomswift2002]

I've saved all of my epub e-books from my Nook onto my laptop. As long as I have something that can use the epub format will I still be able to access them? Could they still take them away or block access to them if I have copies that aren't on my Nook?

Yes, they could "take them away" if B&N should go out of business and stop supporting the proprietary DRM they layer on top of epub. In other words, your Nook epubs are only readable on a Nook (or B&N-provided applications) that can be unlocked with your B&N account.

If B&N goes away (which isn't unthinkable, at this point) the ability to read your books could go away.

One major advantage of physical over digital. Plus this can also occur if you travel to another country and the publisher in your country doesn't have the rights in the other country.

 

[Markonian]

This one favours e-books for several reasons:

1) Storage: My shelf was about to burst, then I stopped buying physical books and my BF and I begun to get rid of my physical Star Trek collection.

2) Travelling: At the moment, I'm living in a foreign country. Imagine I'd have to buy all the dead trees individually and then send them home! Instead, everything is on three handy devices: Kindle, laptop, smartphone.

3) Cost: E-books are significantly cheaper than most printed editions, esp. for books no longer available.

4) Availability: New reading sustenance is just a few clicks away, unlike printed editions. Without Kindle, I wouldn't have gotten old books like Distant Shores. Also, standing in the street waiting for my friend to arrive, I can just flip out my smartphone and continue reading - sparing me to carry a book around.

5) Handiness: No book marks, no back slapping shut when I lie it down for a moment, no different sizes of books making storage a nightmare - just a file on multiple devices. Book marks - good riddance!

6) Vanity: By the Sword of Kahless, this is 21st century technology at its best! Next thing I want to see going the way of dinosaur after printed books are physical cables. "Would you kindly die?"

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

If B&N goes away (which isn't unthinkable, at this point) the ability to read your books could go away.

That's why I buy in Kindle format. I know they won't ever go away. Amazon's just too well entrenched for that.

And I believe they're the only ones who offer an app for desktop computers in which to read. I don't have a Kindle itself, but there are Kindle apps for iOS devices AND OS X, so that's why I chose that one.

 

[tomswift2002]

And I believe they're the only ones who offer an app for desktop computers in which to read. I don't have a Kindle itself, but there are Kindle apps for iOS devices AND OS X, so that's why I chose that one.

The Kobo has an app for desktop computers as well, along with iPhone, iPad and I believe Android support.

 

[Daddy Todd]

And I believe they're the only ones who offer an app for desktop computers in which to read. I don't have a Kindle itself, but there are Kindle apps for iOS devices AND OS X, so that's why I chose that one.

The Kobo has an app for desktop computers as well, along with iPhone, iPad and I believe Android support.

B&N offer Nook for PC. I have it installed, but rarely use it.

 

[JWolf]

The best way to keep your digital books in order is to buy in ePub and strip the DRM.

 

[nickyboy]

I only buy ebooks.

I will buy some of the books in paper for 'my collection' so I will buy all of the The Fall books in ebook and paper.

 

[Avro Arrow]

3) Cost: E-books are significantly cheaper than most printed editions, esp. for books no longer available.

Significantly? My experience has been that for a "recent" single novel eBook, you usually save about $1 off the paperback price. (I will grant that savings for TPs and HCs are often a little more substantial.)

And as for older out-of-print books... whenever I go looking for a specific book, I usually tend to find it is not available. I was hoping that I would be able to get more OOP books this way, but I guess perhaps the publishers feel the effort to digitize more obscure older books isn't worth it?

 

[tomswift2002]

Afro, I would have to say that there's even less of a difference between the price of a new book in ebook or paperback format. It's closer to about fifty cents.

And I just did a search for "Ghost-Walker", and while the paperback is out of print, the last list price I could find for the book was $5.95. The ebook is currently at $7.99.

 

[JD]

For the Nook most of the new paperbacks are the exact same price, and the Nook versions of new hardcovers tend to be about $3-$4 less.

 

[Avro Arrow]

Afro, I would have to say that there's even less of a difference between the price of a new book in ebook or paperback format. It's closer to about fifty cents.

For the Nook most of the new paperbacks are the exact same price, and the Nook versions of new hardcovers tend to be about $3-$4 less.

I was just going by my experience as a Canadian Kobo user. To use the recent Trek books as an example, the Chapters list price is CA$9.99, and the price in the Kobo store is CA$8.99.

But yes, to be fair, if you are a Chapters iRewards member and you buy the paperback at Chapters' website (5% discount), then you pay CA$9.49, and the difference is fifty cents. And if you buy the paperback in-store (10% discount), then you pay CA$8.99, and the price is the same as the eBook version.

 

[Anika Hanson]

All ebooks. They are just more practical and convenient for me. I have a kindle paperwhite, a Nook, an iPad, an iPod touch and a galaxy tab. I only tend to read on my kindle though. I've been reading ebooks exclusively since 2010.

 

[Infern0]

Ebooks for me.

I actually prefer paper, but its outweighed by the convenience that you get with E-Books, particularly in NZ where finding Trek Lit in print is nigh on impossible unless you get lucky at a second hand bookstore

 

[Csalem]

I was in the anti-ebook brigade for the last ten years or so until last week when I got a Kindle and am now in love with it. I think in future I will buy paper books that I really want to keep and keep ebooks to those whimsical purchases or the special Star Trek ebooks.

 

[CaffeineAddict]

I used to read dead-tree editions, but about three years ago i got a Kindle, and have never really looked back. I read far more on the kindle than I ever did before, so its more convenient than having a massive library. For example, I've read 61 books since January.

 

[Third Nacelle]

I have a Kindle, and I love it, but it's nice to buy real books now and then to have something on my shelves. E-books have replaced paperbacks for me, but I don't think they'll ever replace hardbacks.

 

[JD]

I just thought of another advantage of e-books over paper books. I don't have to worry about broken bindings, damaged covers, or torn pages with e-books. I tend to be very picky about the condition of my books, so things like that drive me friggin' nuts.