The letter “E,” has more meaning today than ever. Simply placed in front of a word can
change the way an action is carried out.
“E-file,” a way to file important text documents electronically over the
Internet. “E-books,” which will be
the topic up for discussion, gives us an entirely different way to read and
educate ourselves.
Will the introduction of “E-books” make traditional books
obsolete? Or is there still hope
for the good old-fashioned way to read a novel or textbook?
·
Convenience-
Being able to access books, whether they are for leisure or required
reading for school electronically, offers a convenience to being able to access
the material simply by pulling it up on a smart phone or tablet.
·
Cost
Effective- Save time and money.
Sites where e-books can be purchased, and in the case of textbooks,
rented, can be significantly cheaper than purchasing a traditional book, which
can be a huge draw to potential consumers on a budget.
·
Versatility-
Downloading e-books to a smart phone or tablet, allows the consumer to load
multiple books at a time, without the hassle of having to keep up with multiple
copies of different novels.
In a study done in the UK at the
University of Leicester in 2005, 85 percent of respondents reported they were
aware of e-books. Among these
respondents around 49 percent reported made a trial use of them, while 38
percent of respondents reported having purchased at least one e-book (Gunter 2005). Although this study was done seven
years ago, it does offer a lot of insight as to how much knowledge there is out
there about e-books and their uses.
One can only imagine with the increased technology that has been
introduced since this study was conducted how much the use of e-books has
increased.
I spent an afternoon at Barnes and
Noble and while there asked 25 people their take on e-books, and which type of
book they prefer. Of the 25
people, 15 said they much rather turn to e-books. Some of the reasons included, saving time and money. Not having to deal with crowds and were
able to browse the selection of new books from the comfort of their own home or
office. 7 people reported they
have tried an e-book at least once, but enjoyed walking the aisles of the
bookstore and buying whatever caught their eye. The remaining 5 reported they had never used an e-book and
weren’t sure they ever would.
From my own experience, I can say
that I much prefer e-books. I like
being able to have more than one textbook on my computer for school, and taking
them with me wherever I go without the added weight and hassle. As far as reading for leisure, it does
make it easy to pull out my smart phone whenever I have a free moment to myself
and catch up on the latest novel I downloaded.
So I pose this question to the
rest of you. Which type of book do
you prefer and why? And do you
think traditional ways of reading stand a chance to technology?
Works Cited
Barrie Gunter, (2005)
"Electronic books: a survey of users in the UK", Aslib Proceedings,
Vol. 57 Iss: 6, pp.513 - 522
James,
ReplyDeleteI too like to read my text books in an e-book format on my Kindle Fire. It makes it so much easier to carry my books to class, to highlight and annotate important parts in the book, and the glossary is only a click away. The price factor of e-books is what caught my attention. I used to spend over $300.00 a term on textbooks. I now only spend between $30.00 and $70.00 on textbooks for the term. It is so much more wallet friendly!
On the other hand, if I am reading a novel for pleasure, I really prefer to walk down the isles of the book store and pick it out by hand after skimming through books for an hour. There is something special about turning a paper page, about the smell of a new book, about the fold of the page that you make when you turn the page, the sound of the page turning...Its all a nearly magical experience, one that I just don't get from my Kindle.
Great blog party post James!
Danika,
ReplyDeleteI too have saved SO much money since turning to e-books for my textbooks. I really like being able to have all of my textbooks in one place and not worry about trying to lug around 4 or 5 books at one time. It has also saved me money because now my dog can't chew the corners of my textbooks! She is notorious for doing so and has made it hard for me in the past when I try to sell back my textbooks.
I really love the money saving factor.
DeleteI too know how it feels to have the value of a huge $300.00 textbook go down in a moment of destruction--haha! Mine was not devalued by teeth, but rather by crayon! I sold it anyway, so some Anatomy and Physiology student is studying anatomy and my toddler's beautiful works of art!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIt really depends on the philosophy of use:
ReplyDeleteFor school I like ebooks because they are searchable on my laptop. When I need to find something it takes me a few seconds instead of a few minutes.
When I am reading text for my hobby which is pottery, it needs to be in paper, as an Ereader, laptop or tablet would quickly become destroyed in the dusty atmosphere. I'm notorious for touching my books with clay on my hands leaving finger prints of dry clay on the top corners of the pages in my pottery books. Luckily I usually throw porcelain which is pure white and doesn't stain.
When I'm on a plain, it's better to have a paper book because the captain sometimes has the passengers shut off all electronic devices.
When I want to save something, it must be paper. Paper is the only thing I trust in my library, because it's stable. Electronic media is not stable, nor is it time tested.
Betsy, my girlfriend reads trashy romance novels. Her and her friends trade paper backs constantly. So there's an advantage to a cheap paperback copy of a book.
So I guess I don't have just one preference. I like both for different uses, and each for their own capabilities. I purchase a lot of books. This last year I think I bought probably around fifty books. At least half of those were for school.
Ben, As a reader of 'trashy romance novels' (maybe you should read my blog!),although I buy them in ebook format and the inability to loan them out is my #1 gripe!
DeleteI like both uses as well :) As I mentioned above, I also use the e-reader for school. I mostly keep my entertainment and personal readings to real paper books.
DeleteHi Ben. I don't know what I would do without my laptop for textbooks. I love to be able to search for things so easily, and keep mutiple textbooks in one place without the added weight and hassle of paper textbooks.
ReplyDeleteI can see where an ereader would get destroyed with the dust and clay. Just like with everything else, there is a time and place for E-readers. Everyone is entitled to their preference, and whatever works the best for them is the way to go.
I prefer my books to be in paper. I am slowly coming around to using some e-books. I've read 2 books now on my iPad. The more I read the e-books the easier it is for me.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if I'm ready to switch my textbooks over to e-book. It sure sounds like it would save me some money though. I might have to try one text book this next term to see if it is something I can handle.
I sure hope that our traditional ways of reading stick around. Sometimes it is so nice to escape while reading a book and the smell of the paper. I am certainly not ready for my paper books to go away.
I enjoyed your take on e-books! Great job!
I'm with you. There is something about curling up with a paper book. I just get tired of looking at a screen all the time. I have heard that some iPads make the screen look like an actual book but I'm not sure.
DeleteHi Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteThanks for checking out my post. You should definitely at least try one textbook as an e-book. There is just a little asjustment to reading on a computer screen or your ipad. But, in most cases the e-textbooks allow you to highlight and take notes on each page, so it just makes for an all around more organized way to keep your notes in tact, in my opinion. I know it helps me, because I am not flipping bck and forward between pages in my textbook and my notebook.
I hope you have the same luck if you decide to try out an e-textbook.
James, where would I look to find the online textbooks? Any information would be helpful and appreciated. Thanks for encouraging me to try something new!
DeleteJen
Hi Jen! Check out coursesmart.com, there is also ecampus.com (but I am not too familiar with that one.) Not every textbook comes in an electronic version, but more and more an=re starting to. Good luck! I hope this helps!
DeleteI like the topic you've chosen, James! I was actually given a Kindle Fire for my birthday, last November. I've read a handful of books on it, and love the convenience of it! If I'm looking for a book I simply go find it, and download it in a matter of minutes. On the other hand, I'm one of "those" people, that miss the feel of a paperback novel in my hands, and the simple satisfaction of being able to turn or dog-ear a page. I've never considered buying textbooks on my Kindle...but now I'm curious! The Kindle Fire doesn't have page numbers...is that ever a problem with having to find an assigned reading in a textbook?
ReplyDeleteHi Chelsea! Glad to see there is someone else out there that enjoys the convenience of reading on a tablet! It does save a lot of time and in most cases money.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest I have not reun across the problem with page numbers on my e-textbooks. I either look at my books on my iPad or my computer and they both show the page numbers. I can see how that may make you a little hesitant to try it out. The only advice I can offer is for you to try and utilize the search option on the textbook. If a professor assigns an entire chapter or a story, you would most likely be able to find exactly where to start reading simply by typing in the name of the title of the story or chapter. May take an extra second but shouldn't be too much of a hassle. Hope this helps!
James,
ReplyDeleteMy preference depends on the use of the book usually. I buy ebooks mostly for novels and books I am not sure if I want in print form. If it is a real keeper I will then rebuy it in print form, usually used. I currently have 161 books on my Kindle Fire. Books containing information, like alternative energy or building texts, books about agriculture or nutrition, or my Bible all must be in print so I can write in them. Once I was perusing the library of a friend and I noticed a title that was missing from my library. When I opened it up the book, there was my handwritten notes in the margin! I deface all books that are important to me.
I have not yet tried e-versions of text books. I buy all textbooks used if possible so I get them pretty inexpensively. However the difficulty of keeping up this term has showed me the convenience of having my books on a device! Danika's mention of crayon in the textbook made me giggle as the text I bought for this class has some wonderful crayon artwork scattered throughout. At the low, low price of $1.50 plus shipping, I hardly notice it!
Jennifer,
DeleteI completely understand your choices of when to use e-books versus paper books. 161 books on your Kindle Fire? That is impressive. Have you read all of them? As I mentioned before I am not too big of a reader, but I would really like to get into the habit of reading more often.
E-textbooks come in handy, like I have said before. But, I have yet to find an electronic version of a book at $1.50. So if that was the case I would definitely order the paper textbook. I am stationed in Hawaii so everything I find online through Amazon or half.com they always charge me an insane amount for shipping!
Hi James, I can understand your passion and appreciation for E-books. You have all very good points with convenience, versatility and cost efficiency and although I’m not a major environmentalist, I do believe in saving our natural resources to the best of our ability and E-books is another way of doing just that. I also enjoyed your attention grabbing comment on how you put an “E” in front of anything today and it now has a new meaning.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit, I’m one of your 20% who have never used an e-book and I’m not sure I ever will. My mom, my aunt, my cousin and many others I know loves theirs, so you never know, I may move over to the 28% who have tried it.
I enjoyed your post!
Hi Margie. Thanks for checking out my blog. I actually started laughing when I read your comment. I don't know how I could have forgotten, quite possibply the most important aspect of having electronic versions of books, saving natural resources! Thanks so much for pointing that out to me.
DeleteMaybe one day you will decide to try out an e-book, but don't feel bad if you don't. We all have our preferences!
Hi, James. Thanks for posting on this topic! My husband has a Kindle and has published books on Kindle, but I haven't even tried to read anything on it. The discussion of textbooks is convincing. When I travel, I have to take all my teaching books with me, so in addition to my pleasure-reading book and my back-up pleasure-reading book, I could have five other books in my luggage. I'm getting tired of lugging them around and paying for it, if I go by plane!
ReplyDeleteLike Jennifer, I write in my books, which is an important time-saver when I'm teaching (if only publishers would stop producing new editions every year!). However, if I can annotate the e-text, I should be fine. I wonder if publishers give "desk copies" of e-texts?
Because I have a kind of apocalyptic world view, I am also cautious about moving completely online as a culture. Electricity can be interrupted by things like solar flares, so I can envision a catastrophic event in which we lose access to computers. What happens if all of our wealth of knowledge is kept only electronically? Suddenly, we would have to start over from scratch. For this reason, I'm with Ben in emphasizing the need for a repository of books. As libraries downsize and go electronic to save costs, it will be increasingly important to insist that some kind of book record continue to be maintained. I asked an EOU librarian about this, and she said that libraries in the Summit system currently share the responsibility for maintaining book records, so librarians are not unaware of the potential problem. Nancy
Hi Professor Knowles! Thanks for stopping by and commenting on my blog part post.
DeleteI think you especially would enjoy the convience of electronic textbooks, just for the simply fact that you bring your teaching books with you when you travel. You would definitely cut down in the amount of space your books take up, as well as save money one baggae fees. You are able to annotate in them, but it may take some getting use to, like all things.
I will say that both you and Ben have opened my eyes to the "what if" factor of loosing important informaiton or documents saved electronically. When you mention the possibility of having to "start over" as a result of a catastrophic event, it really puts it all into perspective. Thanks again for your comments and insight!