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Americans still opt for print books over digital or audio versions

pewresearch.org

31–40 of 74 posts

Re: Americans still opt for print books over digital or audio versions

#31
Physical books are great. No ads, no battery to charge, no worry the content is going to be censored because somebody somewhere decides they don't like what they say. No worry they're going to be removed from my shelf. I can lend them to whomever I want. I can mark them up. The book in its current form is perfect. We don't really need to change it.

And then there's the whole experience of going into a bookstore and just looking around. It's wonderful. One of the last things our society has yet to fuck up.

Re: Americans still opt for print books over digital or audio versions

#32
post #5

I haven't purchased a DRM'd ebook in 8 years.

I buy "licenses" to read DRM'd ebooks all the time. Even though I disagree with DRM, I still want to reward the author/editor/illustrator/translator/etc for their artistry.

As for whether I leave the books in their DRM'd state or not? No comment :)

Re: Americans still opt for print books over digital or audio versions

#34

Watching TV/Movies through any device is a bother, I have to sift through all the advertisements/brand placements for that device to find anything, and most of the time it's the same 20 movies repeated over and over in every section. Reading on a E-device is a bother, I have to sift through all the "sponsored" books and whatever other crap the ebook reader company decides to add, and be at the whims of whatever they…

I sort of get your point but I feel like its also a bit curmudgeon-y. In order to have the movies, shows, whatever, it has to be paid for somehow. Also, I think there is something to be said for discovering things. If you just have an API, what is the interface then? Is it like millions bespoke vibe-coded clients? That sounds like a bother too. How do you know in advance if a movie is something you want to see? I guess Dario or Altman can decide for us but what if they become a bother?

Re: Americans still opt for print books over digital or audio versions

#35

Watching TV/Movies through any device is a bother, I have to sift through all the advertisements/brand placements for that device to find anything, and most of the time it's the same 20 movies repeated over and over in every section. Reading on a E-device is a bother, I have to sift through all the "sponsored" books and whatever other crap the ebook reader company decides to add, and be at the whims of whatever they…

You can solve all the problems you describe; it just takes some setup.

>Watching TV/Movies through any device is a bother, I have to sift through all the advertisements/brand placements for that device to find anything, and most of the time it's the same 20 movies repeated over and over in every section.

Pirate streaming sites[1] are more convenient, have fewer ads, and offer more selection than commercial streaming; they are much less reliable than the following options, however. Torrents have no ads, highest quality, and the largest selection, but you have to download each file manually. Good for preservation, less convenient. Stremio[2]+Torrentio[3]+Debrid[4] allow no ads, highest quality, a large selection, and streaming. This is my preferred option—this is the Spotify of movies and TV.

>Reading on a E-device is a bother, I have to sift through all the "sponsored" books and whatever other crap the ebook reader company decides to add, and be at the whims of whatever they decide they want to do with "your" device that day.

Kindle jailbreak[5] + KoReader[6] + Z-library[7] extension allow you to seamlessly download any book you'd like, directly on your Kindle. No ads, no Amazon connections, and your subsidized device[8].

>Cell-phones are a bother, they are just devices optimized for stealing your attention, money, information, or all the above.

GrapheneOS[9] comes with zero Google services or telemetry by default, and without stock bloatware or notification spam, combined with robust permissions, it goes a long way toward making your phone feel like a tool. I recommend Olauncher[10] for a distraction-free home screen.

>Pretty much everything tech related anymore is a bother.

I feel you. All of this takes effort and knowledge that people shouldn't have to acquire just to have a decent experience with their own devices. But these options exist, they are getting better, and the more people adopt them, the less leverage companies have to keep enshittifying.

[1] https://github.com/fmhy/FMHY/wiki/Streaming

[2] https://github.com/Stremio

[3] https://github.com/TheBeastLT/torrentio-scraper

[4] https://github.com/Viren070/guides

[5] https://github.com/KindleModding/kindlemodding.github.io

[6] https://github.com/koreader/koreader

[7] https://github.com/ZlibraryKO/zlibrary.koplugin

[8] https://redlib.catsarch.com/r/kindle/comments/1s69qnh/

[9] https://grapheneos.org

[10] https://github.com/tanujnotes/Olauncher

Re: Americans still opt for print books over digital or audio versions

#36
post #7

Watching TV/Movies through any device is a bother, I have to sift through all the advertisements/brand placements for that device to find anything, and most of the time it's the same 20 movies repeated over and over in every section. Reading on a E-device is a bother, I have to sift through all the "sponsored" books and whatever other crap the ebook reader company decides to add, and be at the whims of whatever they…

Reading plain EPUBs on whatever device has been a fairly good experience in my opinion, given that that is more or less just going to be the physical book in digital form. Then again, the only way I think people actually find those are through free online downloads and not any actual store front. Given the choice between 'tainted digital experience' and 'plain analogue experience', I can't blame consumers for choosin…

That was a thing already, in the 1960s and 1970s lots of pulp paperbacks had ads for cigarettes and cheap cologne between chapters, for example.

Re: Americans still opt for print books over digital or audio versions

#37

Because they are better in almost every way.

Physical books burn - just ask the Library of Alexandria. Ebooks have so many more ways to be preserved and replicated.

The be fair the parent said "almost." I see this more as a backup of the physical book. Other than search, the experience of physical books is superior, I think, for most people for most uses. You can come up with counterexamples like certain aspects of studying textbooks, etc., but I think this is true in general.

Re: Americans still opt for print books over digital or audio versions

#39
post #5

I haven't purchased a DRM'd ebook in 8 years.

I buy "licenses" to read DRM'd ebooks all the time. Even though I disagree with DRM, I still want to reward the author/editor/illustrator/translator/etc for their artistry. As for whether I leave the books in their DRM'd state or not? No comment :)

I thought this too for a long time. But I have since raised my estimate of the harms of DRM, and lowered my estimate of how much entertainment these artifacts provide. There is enough to read now without putting up with abusive relationships.

Re: Americans still opt for print books over digital or audio versions

#40
I’ve found that I have a hard time remembering what ebooks I’ve read, whereas the physical form of a print book makes it stick in my memory more.

Some kind of physical “totem” that came with an ebook would be an interesting idea, like a bookmark or a postcard-sized note.

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