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Posted by: superstitious Aug 7 2009, 08:12 PM

A friend of mine and I were talking this morning about http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2009/08/hello-cutie-new-sony-ereader-scores-on-style.html and http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00154JDAI/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=3254143881&ref=pd_sl_177pa6cuyf_e. I was surprised that he wanted one. His loft style apartment is full of bookshelves, most of them completely full of books. He LOVES books. How could he want a reader?

See, I love reading but for me, it goes beyond the text. I love the smell of books. I like the sound of pages turning. I find the dog-ear folds charming.

I don't know why I'm having such a weird time with this.

Any other paper sentimentalists out there?

Posted by: Buttsex Aug 7 2009, 08:15 PM

Do you like the taste of books too?

Posted by: brooklyneast05 Aug 7 2009, 08:19 PM

yeah all the way. i love books. i like to own them and i want them to be new when i read them. i don't like the library for that reason. returning and touching f*cking nasty old books. i'm a sentimentalist about all paper stuff though from books to newspapers to magazines. i want tangible stuff to read. i spend so much time looking at a screen the thought of having to look at one to read a book for enjoyment makes me feel sick nearly.

Posted by: Teesa Aug 7 2009, 08:21 PM

^lol. i love checking out library books, but a lot of people hate it because they feel like they're not clean and stuff.

i like the feel of holding books and turning pages too. i also like bookmarking my pages with random things.

i sat next to someone who had an e-book reader thing and i dunno, i guess it's cool, but my eyes would get too tired from looking at a screen. maybe those are more portable and whatnot, but i would feel like my vision would be going faster if i spent a lot of time looking at those things.

Posted by: superstitious Aug 7 2009, 08:23 PM

I get that same sickly feeling when thinking about giving up paper. To this day, I prefer news on print over reading news online.

In the long haul, staring at a screen for just about everything (computers, cell phones, e-readers, etc) can't be good for your eyes. It also seems so cold. Part of the allure of reading is the physical character of the book itself. At least for me it is.

edit: haha Teesa. I was typing about eyes as you were, I guess. :)

Posted by: brooklyneast05 Aug 7 2009, 08:32 PM

i think i read somewhere that they actually don't have that much research to back up that looking at a screen causes your eyesight to deteriorate. but i was like wtf and didn't believe it. i'll look for that later.


and i agree with you rebecca. news in print > online news. i love reading the newspaper. the best thing about the school year probably the is free new york times every morning before class.

Posted by: Teesa Aug 7 2009, 09:31 PM

being a news editorial journalism major, i should be advocating for print everything, but i love online news so much better. i check a bunch of news sites a day and i love the interactiveness of everything.

Posted by: superstitious Aug 7 2009, 09:34 PM

I read tech related online articles, online comics and a few other things through RSS Feeds. I really like Google Reader.

That being said, I like to read the news news on print.

Posted by: mipadi Aug 9 2009, 12:20 AM

I think it's inevitable that e-book readers will eventually replace paper books; it might not happen for a couple of generations (I do think it'll be a slow process), but it will happen. But I prefer "real" hardcopy books over e-books, for several reasons:

1. Amazon's Kindle has already had numerous DRM (digital rights management issues). Some books can only be read on a certain number of readers, some can only be downloaded a few times (even if you legitimately purchased them), Amazon has deleted books that they suspect have been pirated, and with DRM, the "right" to read a book you bought can be revoked at any time. At least when I buy a paper book, the seller can't come to my apartment and take it back from me. Plus you can't (easily) share e-books. I often swap books with people, and would miss being able to let someone borrow my books, or borrow someone else's books.
2. I like feeling like I'm turning pages, too. I like paper. I like being able to write notes in the margins. I like the look of a well-worn book. I like the look of hardcopy books on my bookshelf. I like piling books up by my desk because they don't fit anywhere else. I even like boxing them up and carry around a box of books weighing 50+ pounds. E-book readers rob me of those little joys.
3. Real books don't need to be recharged; their batteries don't go dead unexpectedly. (Downside: I can't read "real" books during a power outage once the sun goes down.)
4. If I'm walking somewhere with a book in my bag, and I get caught in a downpour, it doesn't matter if the book gets a little wet. (This happens a lot, since I don't own a car, and unexpected rainstorms are common in Troy, NY.)
5. Sometimes it's nice to get away from electronic devices.

Posted by: Saeglopur Aug 13 2009, 03:59 PM

Well, still. There's bibliophiles around the world... people who love the physical copy of a book in their hands, the smell of books (am I the only one who flips through a book and smells the pages? No!). I love books, I surround myself in books! Hell, I have two memberships to two different libraries (because I'm a loser, who does that seriously?) and having an emptiness in my room because of lack of books is just upsetting. Though E-Book Readers are pretty cool, especially when I'm on a long car trip and I finished my two lone books I brought with me, I'd have more to read.

Posted by: jcp Aug 13 2009, 04:04 PM

tldr.

I have seen the kindle. I thought it was a paper replacement for the product. It looks like paper! I love it! and i want one!

Posted by: synatribe Aug 13 2009, 04:48 PM

I love the feeling of a new book, although many of them I really dont end up reading, I just love purchasing a new book with the nicely cut pages.
I have an obession with clean books, I hate it when the corners start to give into the pressure of my unholy backpack. That being said, I guess Im a sentimentalist.

Posted by: kaijubot Aug 13 2009, 10:31 PM

we got my grandfather a kindle for his birthday and if you look at the screen, it's exactly like looking at paper and not like looking at a "screen" at all. it's pretty amazing, tbh.

anyways, unlike ... everyone else, i have absolutely no sentimental attachment to books. i mean, i like them, don't get me wrong, but if i had a kindle, i'd probably end up using it all the time. as it is, i've been torrenting books i want to read for free and don't mind reading them off my computer at all.

1) books are heavy.
2) books are more expensive.
3) books are bulky.

Posted by: schizo Aug 14 2009, 03:41 PM

That's how I feel. If I'm reading a book, I'm most likely doing it because I don't want to be on the computer.

And books are just...nice. They smell good and make you look smart if you have a huge bookshelf full of them.

Posted by: elletricity Aug 14 2009, 04:07 PM

Real books. I can't help it, there's something about reading a book that doesn't translate to the screen.

Posted by: superstitious Aug 17 2009, 12:26 PM

See, I had a different impression and didn't feel like it really looked like a book. It's nice to read a different perspective though.

Posted by: shadowfax Apr 13 2010, 10:18 PM

I don't mind either mode actually. I prefer buying or borrowing books if I can get a copy and if they're cheap. I like reading books when taking public transit so I don't have to play eye-tag with the person sitting across from me. After I found out about the Stanza app, I read books on my iPod Touch. There were so many classics that I had missed out on so I downloaded them free e-book websites and Project Gutenberg. I read a couple of Jane Austen novels on them (and boy, are they long) and really enjoyed it. You can change the colors and font size to make it easier to read. I find that I get through the book faster than if I'm reading it on the computer or in my hand.