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Old 07-21-2011, 12:01 PM
 
12,735 posts, read 21,774,364 times
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Technology is something serious. Neat invention.
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Old 07-21-2011, 12:21 PM
 
Location: Houston/Brenham
5,819 posts, read 7,231,565 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by glorplaxy View Post
People dont read books as much as they used to. Books are old media, going the way of vhs and vinyl records. Times change.
Not totally accurate, especially as Borders is concerned. Books still sell millions, but between Wal*Mart (sells bestsellers for 1/2 of what a Borders does) and Amazon (convenience, price), the old brick&mortar stores are just hard-pressed to remain alive.

Further straw breaking their back was e-books. Amazon sells more ebooks than DTB (Dead Tree Books).

Quote:
Originally Posted by testmo View Post
i dont know if i will ever get into reading a book off a computer/hand held screen. i like the physical presence of a book, the smell, being able to browse a collection, turning the pages, ease of flipping through pages to look at footnotes/citations, and being able to highlight and make notes in the margins.

maybe im a snob but i also just like looking at all my books
I used to be the same way. Love books, love turning pages, love holding. Literally had thousands of books in my house.

Then I discovered a Kindle. I never thought I would say this, but I love my Kindle, and will NEVER go back to DTBs. The ease of reading, the convenience of having hundreds of books with me... I could go on and on, but once you have a Kindle, you will not go back. My parents, avid readers (77 & 80 yrs old) saw my Kindle, played with it, and ended up buying their own. Again, they would never go back. We trade ebooks all the time.

Oh, and I gave 95% of my books to the HPL for their book sale. Only kept a few special ones. And regained two rooms full of shelves.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Seoid View Post
I totally agree. I love the simplicity of reading on paper.

And sometimes I just get tired of looking at a screen. I do it all day at work, I'd like something tangible and not back-lit.
Kindles are NOT backlit. They use a special display called pearl e-ink. Very easy on the eyes, no backlit eye strain at all. I read 2-3 hours a day.

The first couple hours reading on a Kindle are different, because it is so new. But after an hour or two, you are just reading. You don't really even think about what you are reading ON, you're just reading. It's a book and you read. The fact it's a Kindle just fades away, and quickly.

There is a reason so many avid book lovers have Kindles. They would NOT read on them if they weren't a seamless method of transitioning from DTB to ebooks.

There will always be a place for paper books--coffee table books, illustrated books, etc. But for the average book reader, e-readers ARE the future.
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Old 07-22-2011, 12:38 PM
 
1,290 posts, read 5,437,134 times
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Other than a few collectible leather bound books of my favorite titles, or the hard backs for series that I greatly enjoy, I now read all my books on a Kindle.
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Old 07-22-2011, 12:46 PM
 
Location: Metromess
11,798 posts, read 25,183,065 times
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My favorite Borders in Fort Worth closed a few years ago. I especially liked its CD store. Sorry to see the whole shebang go down the tubes.
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Old 07-22-2011, 12:51 PM
 
2,548 posts, read 4,052,054 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SouthernBoy205 View Post
These days we are so computer and game friendly. I think the love of books by children is fading.
I hope you're wrong. My kids do love video games and anything with a screen, but they love books equally well, if not more. I agree that kindles etc. aren't great for kids; they don't understand the difference between different types of screen content. They need a physical book to "get" the idea of a book.

I love my Kindle, by the way. Mainly because I am an anti-hoarder. Even though I'm an academic I don't fetishize books. I hate clutter. The kindle keeps a lot of stuff in a little, portable space.
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Old 07-22-2011, 12:53 PM
 
2,548 posts, read 4,052,054 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by astrohip View Post
Not totally accurate, especially as Borders is concerned. Books still sell millions, but between Wal*Mart (sells bestsellers for 1/2 of what a Borders does) and Amazon (convenience, price), the old brick&mortar stores are just hard-pressed to remain alive.

Further straw breaking their back was e-books. Amazon sells more ebooks than DTB (Dead Tree Books).


I used to be the same way. Love books, love turning pages, love holding. Literally had thousands of books in my house.

Then I discovered a Kindle. I never thought I would say this, but I love my Kindle, and will NEVER go back to DTBs. The ease of reading, the convenience of having hundreds of books with me... I could go on and on, but once you have a Kindle, you will not go back. My parents, avid readers (77 & 80 yrs old) saw my Kindle, played with it, and ended up buying their own. Again, they would never go back. We trade ebooks all the time.
A bit off-topic but how do you trade e-books? I thought that was one drawback of kindles.
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Old 07-22-2011, 01:24 PM
 
Location: Inner Loop
789 posts, read 1,527,634 times
Reputation: 353
Default Save the Trees!

I hate the fact that bookstores are closing at the rate they are. I look forward to going to the store to pick up the next book I will read. Like many others have said, I love the feel and smell of books. I am also very interested in all things tech, so when I heard of the Kindle and Nook, I had to see what it was about. I must say the base Kindle impressed me greatly. With it's non back-lit display (that didn't hurt my eyes), I was sold, sold, sold. It was just beautiful, in a tech way, to look at. I also saw the full color Nook, which had plenty of other built-in features, and was equally impressed. I would go with the Nook for the simple fact that it has web access, and the book reader feature (not that you couldn't do the same on a regular Pad computer, but I'm not a fan of them). Also, I always think of the trees. I'm not close to being the biggest environmentalist, but when I have a chance to change something that helps the planet, I am all for it. I love my books, but these devices just help me save the trees.

P.S. Did I just write a review?!
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Old 07-22-2011, 01:33 PM
 
Location: Inner Loop
789 posts, read 1,527,634 times
Reputation: 353
Default Will someone please think of the children!, and other things.

Quote:
Originally Posted by houston-nomad View Post
A bit off-topic but how do you trade e-books? I thought that was one drawback of kindles.
I'm not sure, but I'm sure they are just simple text files that you can just copy and trade, if you know what to do. I don't have one yet, so I couldn't help much. If you know someone that knows anything about computers, I'm sure they could easily help you with that. With computers there is always a way to get around something.

I also wanted to say something in response to something I read earlier, about kids not getting into books. If a parent wants their kids to get into books, it really isn't that hard. I don't know of any proof that actually holding a book makes you fall in love with them. So whether it is on a Kindle, or an actual book, probably doesn't matter. If you read, and you stress to them how important reading is (meaning not letting them play games 6 hours straight), then they will appreciate reading . Just my opinion.
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Old 07-22-2011, 01:49 PM
 
90 posts, read 130,365 times
Reputation: 72
the going out of business sale is today, hit borders up!
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Old 07-22-2011, 03:35 PM
 
12,735 posts, read 21,774,364 times
Reputation: 3774
The Kindle sounds real promising.
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