Rant

Ebooks out sell physical books according to amazon.com

Posted 22 months ago|3 comments|682 views

TAGS

books , amazon , ebooks , digtal , physical

Written by

RLwoods
Victorville, CA

According to amazon.com, the number of ebooks sold via the website has exceeded the sales of hardcover books by a lead of %43. Why is this? What is it about the prospect of the kindle and the ebooks in general that make this trend increase in popularity?

The concept of the eBook is not a new concept, and I am sure that there is atleast one person before me that knew that you could download PDF's of novels and other texts via less reputable sources and even get them on cds. Why have they suddenly become more popluar?

The advent of the kindle was a decision on the part of amazon to harnas the power iof the ebook trend. What I do not understand is that the trend has not only come up, but is starting to surpass sales of hardcover books in major book outlets.
I do not have a eBook reader, so I can not really say. However, there is one concept that I can see that would make it much more viable, and that is the prices of the books drop conciderably when you pay for an ebook versus a hardcover or even a soft cover format.

There is a sever reduction in price. But I just don't think that this is the main reason. The rising value and conversation has the earmarks of a trend that I don't think is going anywhere. So what is the driving factor that faovors this new reading medium over the physical one?

There are so many elements for me that I see that are lost as we slowly switch to this medium. Some of which are of my own breed of insanity I must admit, such as the feel of book in your hands giving weight to what you are reading or the smell of an old book that you have had in your family for generations.

There are so many others though that I can not help but see as a problem later. One is the element of sharing a book with kids and discussing it together, there is a subtle element that is lost when you have to readjust your screen so that the kids can see it, and then turn it around again so you can see it. Not to mention the lack and complete destruction of real illustrations. The art of the still illustration will at some point be completely lost. We wont be able to get a picture book for our kids that does not have cartoons in it. This is ofcourse we continue to follow our ever growing need to see flashing screens to keep our attention.

The biggest thing that we appear to lose is that there is a seemingly large group of people that don't read anymore, and when they do they only skim. They don't have any real depth to what they are reading. There is just something about studying something and cracking open a book and learning about the Pythagorean theorem a versus ctrl+f and a search for the terms "measuring distance between two points on a plane". This digital format only caters to our current ADD stricken society and only kills any interest in depth. This I feel will make students one dimensional with a subtle but strong lack of interest in how the world functions around them except what they have majored in.

People growing up being able to talk physics with Einstein and not be able to tell the difference between a cow and a pig. they studies physics not biology.I realize that this may be an exaggerated analogy, but still, does the concept not send chills down your spine?

Go, Go read a book, not an ebook, pick up an encyclopedia and read something, anything, just don't download an ebook and search for what you are looking for.

for link to the original article
http://www.techtree.com/India/News/Kindl...

for other articles i've written
http://rlwoodsiii.blogspot.com/

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Colorado
Westcliffe, CO

22 months ago: I just purchased a Kindle 2 a few weeks ago and I am more than impressed.

The page looks like paper is not a lcd computer screen. It doesn't hurt your eyes and can be read in sunlight. It has lots of other cool functions but I do not use them much.

I read all of the time and the kindle makes reading easier and fast plus i can add notes that I can sort through latter which is easier than writing in the margins of a book and than having to go back. I can also get new books very cheap with encourages me to buy more than I normally would and it makes more money for the authors and publishers because digital form requires less capital investment.

Do not get me wrong, I love old books and I still read books because older titles are not in print and it is cheap to order online. But there is nothing wrong with kindle books and it will allow more authors to become published rather than the famous ones that are only famous because they got a huge media blitz .

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Alex_

22 months ago: RL - great post. I have actually been thinking about this topic. I mildly collect old books plus I have always been an avid reader. Last night, I was thinking that soon the used book stores will be something of the past. I always wanted to own one because I loved books so much. I actually obsessively buy them if I'm somewhere and they are cheap (yard sale, thrift store, etc.).

I've been looking at a Kindle. I do like the note factor. But RL, I absolutely agree with your statement of depth or the awesomeness of teaching a kid to read, seeing them holding a book, not an electronic device.

I'm cheap. So, I never pay full price for even a soft back book. I love James Patterson, Patricia Cornwell, those types of books. For $20 I picked up 8 hardbacks and a couple soft ones from the Goodwill. Full price on the hard back is $27, so I saved over $100. It's this point that prevents the Kindle. Can I buy used Kindle books?

Colorado - good point about publishing. I am writing a book and have all the big dreams of others sending out manuscripts. Sometimes I wonder if by the time I get published it it'll be a "real" book.

Interesting points all around. Very pertinent topic.

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markbyrn

Moderator

22 months ago: Hate to break the news here but a book and printing press is no less an example of technology than is an electronic book reader. In fact, there were Luddites back in the day who attacked the advent of the printing press - wouldn't it be better for junior to learn to read from a beautifully handwritten papyrus scroll and OH the humanity, calligraphy will become a lost art.

And what irony that we'll debate this subject on what is arguably the most revolutionary form of communication technology that human kind has ever devised. If future generations learn how to read or write from an iPad or some other tablet device and you're whining about it, get a grip grandpa. In fact, consider that you have probably written more in one year than you probably would have written by hand in a lifetime without a computer and the Internet. The Internet and all these "new-fangled' iDevices have almost certainly done far more to spur literacy than retard it.

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