04-18-2002, 01:53 AM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,228
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Ebooks - Do you use them?
Ebook readers have been out now for several years and have really failed to take off as much as I would have liked. You still cannot legally read Clancy, Grisham and thousands of others without lugging around paper.
There are however thousands of ebooks available. Books by Jack Welch, Stephen King, Jeff Kirvin and Michael Crichton just to name a few. Some so old they are in the public domain, others published simultaneously with the hard cover editions. Personally, I have not read a paper book in two years, and I read quite a bit. I am just now more selective since my choices are limited. Still, I've found some gems, books that the book stores wouldn't consider carrying, or bury so far in the stacks you'd never know they existed.
So, how about you? Do you prefer to curl up at night with your Pocket PC and read, or do you still prefer paper?
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04-18-2002, 02:17 AM
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Oracle
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 952
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So far it has been e-books for my sci-fi needs. Baen.com has exactly the right price point for e-books. I still have to buy paperbbacks for some mystery/detective series I've been following but i'm hoping fictionwise will soon fill that void.
Don't Panic!
Bobby
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04-18-2002, 02:21 AM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 168
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Never bought a paper book since I discovered Peanut Press about 2 years ago.
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04-18-2002, 02:41 AM
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Pupil
Join Date: Apr 2004
Posts: 27
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One of the main reasons I haven't yet upgraded from my EM-500 is that there is no new Pocket PC that would make a better e-book reader. The screen can't be beat and I like having a jog wheel to change pages.
Having said that, I too have not read a paper book in over a year. I've purchased a few books from peanutpress (great reader), but there are so many great public domain books out there that I haven't read yet. I'm currently reading The Count of Monte Cristo (converted to a .pdb file so I can use the peanutpress reader to read it)
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04-18-2002, 03:01 AM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 3,060
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I don't want to expand this into another digital rights discussion, but it sure seems to me that Peanut Press has a very simple, workable solution to fighting piracy. I'm not about to give the software key -- my credit card number -- to anybody else, so they can feel pretty sure only I will be reading their books.
Their selection is okay, but with tastes as broad as they are, I know it's tough to please everybody. As long as they keep carrying Dave Barry's books, though, I'll be pleased.
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04-18-2002, 03:15 AM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 53
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the only paper books that I have read since I bought my jornada are computer geek books. I would love to curl up to a nice book on COM or MFC on my pocket PC , but only fiction....
There is just nothing better then a self lit screen to read without disturbing anyone.
I too wish for more mainstream books.
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04-18-2002, 03:37 AM
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Sage
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 792
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How about some text books in an ebook format? I had to read the Gospels for one of my classes and having it in an ebook was rather cool. I actually remembered what I had read and the end and my mind didn't wander. Maybe it was the material or that it was on my iPAQ, but I think that being able to get my college textbooks in an ebook for a couple dollars extra would be cool. I would be willing to pay $5 - $10 more to get both a physical book and an ebook version of some text books (specifially non-science/math books).
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04-18-2002, 04:16 AM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 64
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All I read now are ebooks as well. I'm a fluid engineer (translates to working offshore 14 days a month) & I can easily carry all of my books with me. There is nothing more convenient.......
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04-18-2002, 04:18 AM
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Philosopher
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 513
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I try do it on many nights. Sometimes I'm so tired, though, I clonk out in the middle of reading something. The next morning it's a mad hunt around and under the bed for the missing PPC...
On the plus side, I've been finding the PPC's beeping alarm to wake me up better than my radio clock (which I've gotten used to sleeping through), especially when it's still there lying next to my ear. Hmm, I think I'm gonna stick a Soundbug on my headboard and see how well that works...
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04-18-2002, 06:06 AM
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Pupil
Join Date: Mar 2002
Posts: 40
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ebooks
I like reading with Reader. It brings me back to my school days when I always had a book in my back pocket. You know, to read during class. The free books are cool, but it's not realistic to expect much more of that unless they are in the public domain. Many current best sellers or just popular books are not available or are more expensive than paper (go figure). I suspect that publishers and distributors are afraid of the loss of market on the paper side. That is a legitimate concern, but eventually, someone is going to decide that they can do OK etailing books with out the big markup and price ebooks at less than paper. I can wait for that, or use the library. Going digital has big market ramifications it is going to take a while to sort it out. The music people are in the same boat.
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