Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

No one buys books

elysian.press

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

151–160 of 752 posts

Re: No one buys books

#151

Post by dripton »

ethbr1 wrote: post #88
echelon_musk wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The older I get the less I trust myself to know how to administer or even to care how to work any current or future reading e-device. A printed book requires light as just about it's only dependency! I definitely agree with you about the distractions of digital devices. Switching to a book is a focused mode.

When I'm on vacation, I always read paper books. Because I want minimal complexity. (Usually in the tropics, often with rum and a hammock) Dead tree books' short term failure modes are water and fire, and once failure is confined to emergencies-that-are-already-emergencies they impose no additional cognitive burden. Also, I suspect the physical friction involved in "swiping away from" paper books helps reset my dopam…

I'm just the opposite. One of the worst things about vacations was having to carry along all those books or take a detour to a bookstore (if there were any) to buy more. Now I just carry a single small e-reader. It's a great savings in terms of cargo space.

I don't consider an e-ink reader very complex. You charge it once in a while, download books to it once in a while, and otherwise it's basically a book except it remembers what page you were on.

Re: No one buys books

#152

Post by vram22 »

paxys wrote: post #101

Can't help but feel for the publishing industry considering how shafted they got by tech. You distribute books all over the country? Amazon can do it better and cheaper. You print books? Well we have e-books now. You have a massive back catalog? Google just scanned all of it. You do marketing? Authors now have their own followings on social media and can reach them directly. You give cash advances? Fans on Kickstarte…

I saw the second part of your comment coming, while reading the first part - in my mind's eye :)

Uncanny valley, or maybe I just read the signals and interpreted them right.

Re: No one buys books

#153

Post by Koshkin »

alexpetralia wrote: post #128
skydhash wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use my iPad and my Kobo for digital reading. I have paper version of "important" books (stuff I'd like to read if I don't have power), but some are unwieldy (Algorithms by Cormen et Al). I prefer e-ink for reading, but it's too slow for my learning workflow. I highlight and mark interesting stuff, that I export later to condense and reflect upon. And that is cumbersome on an e-reader. There's also the matter of siz…

I recommend the Fujitsu Quaderno. Great for marking up textbooks on A4 size pages, and far lighter than a book itself.

An Apple-esque expensive stuff. (A pen sheath, $32.)

Re: No one buys books

#154

Post by WolfeReader »

karmakaze wrote: post #141
roughly wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do the same - I far prefer paper books for reading, and mostly because it makes an enormous difference in my ability to focus. Re: the ecological side - I'm not actually convinced that a paperback book is markedly more of an ecological burden than an e-reader and the rest of the associated infrastructure. I think it's possible the e-reader pencils out in the long term, but I think a full lifecycle accounting of the…

This is not good news. I just got my first eInk reader today and first thing I did was go through all the navigation setup pages. I have one professional development book and was going find a work of fiction to start. Hope it works out.

A lot of the posts here are just individuals' opinions, not universal experiences. Yours may well be different!

Personally, I carry an e-ink reader everywhere and read it every time I get a spare minute or so. It's done wonders for my reading habits. And unlike this topic's creator, I basically set the font and formatting once and almost never mess with them again.

Re: No one buys books

#155

Post by roughly »

karmakaze wrote: post #141
roughly wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do the same - I far prefer paper books for reading, and mostly because it makes an enormous difference in my ability to focus. Re: the ecological side - I'm not actually convinced that a paperback book is markedly more of an ecological burden than an e-reader and the rest of the associated infrastructure. I think it's possible the e-reader pencils out in the long term, but I think a full lifecycle accounting of the…

This is not good news. I just got my first eInk reader today and first thing I did was go through all the navigation setup pages. I have one professional development book and was going find a work of fiction to start. Hope it works out.

Everybody's different! I prefer to read on paper, I know many other people who prefer to read on their kindle. Whatever works for you is the right answer for you!

I still use ebooks when I travel - I'll usually have one or two actual physical books with me, but I'll also have a few loaded up on my iPad in case I get bored or finish them early.

Re: No one buys books

#156

Post by joshuamcginnis »

gizmo wrote: post #42
joshuamcginnis wrote: post #38

I'm currently writing a book about independent thinking and I have zero expectations that it will sell even a single copy. However, the net gain I will get from having completed the goal of writing the book is invaluable to me personally.

I have read a couple of books on that subject and they all disappointed. I will gladly buy your book if it's original work.

That's encouraging. It's definitely not fluff and original. The feedback would be valuable even if you don't end up liking it.

Re: No one buys books

#158

Post by bhaney »

bjelkeman-again wrote: post #70
joshuamcginnis wrote: post #38

I'm currently writing a book about independent thinking and I have zero expectations that it will sell even a single copy. However, the net gain I will get from having completed the goal of writing the book is invaluable to me personally.

I had this idea for a hard science fiction story that I have been thinking about for years. Nobody else is going to write it, so I started. 20 000 words in my beta readers say it is good, so I think I will continue. And I don’t expect to sell it, but I want to know what happens and so do the beta readers. So on we go.

Can I be a beta reader? Always looking for more good hard sci-fi.
Post reply on HN