Thursday, September 11, 2014

eBooks and Printed Books: the current state of these two arts

Mike Shatzkin posted another of useful blog posts today, here

He wrote, among other things, that printed books are not going the way of the Dodo as have CDs or videos which are now usually found online. This is because printed and eBooks have different uses for different people and because there are so many types of books.  For example,  when I cook I set my iPad up on a stand (ironically a stand manufactured to hold a printed book for a typist) and I thereby dispense with pages flipping closed. I also read this way for the same reason as I eat breakfast or lunch - it is an ideal way to read a newspaper or a novel without having to deal with keeping the book open at the right spot.  Also when I find myself standing in a long line, or waiting for some reason or other for someone else to act before my turn comes, I pull out my iPhone and open a book or newspaper and read. I cannot carry a book around easily, even the wrongly name pocket books.  Very few printed books actually fit into any pocket I have and the few that do (mostly those produced by Shambhala - though I don't know if the make those little tiny ones anymore)

But, on the rare occasion when I have leisure, there is not much better than sitting in a big comfie wing chair and reading a printed book.

What he said that made the most sense to me was that heavy readers - and I suspect all readers - will for the foreseeable future, and do now, read both eBooks and printed books. Some types of books work well only as printed books, others work best as eBooks, most can be presented in both formats.