E-Books Are Easier

[poliphilo]

I used to collect books obsessively. Look how well-read I am! Look how my book shelves groan! Have you noticed the complete (well nearly complete) set of the collected works of Thomas de Quincey? But it's ages since I bought myself a printed book. Instead I finish one e-book, go clickety-click- and there's the next.

As a student I was told that a single glance at a person's bookcase would tell you when they gave up thinking. No longer true, is it? OK they might not be displaying anything with a publishing date later than- say- 2007, but that could just represent the year they went digital. 

Comments

[kamomil.livejournal.com]

I am trying to learn HTML and CSS. I made leaps and bounds after I got a good book - well the PDF of one. Browsing through the w3.org website only got me so far, which was not far enough.

[jfs.livejournal.com]

Try http://www.w3schools.com for some really good, interactive and well structured (and free :-)) html and css tutorials.

[kamomil.livejournal.com]

I have used HTML since 1997. I learned a lot since as well, but this book tied everything together beautifully, regarding HTML 5. I had learned some things about it, but the book made it make sense in a way a tutorial was not able to for me :)

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I don't think I'm going to attempt that but i applaud you for doing so....

[kamomil.livejournal.com]

I guess my point was, no matter the topic, a good book can help a lot. I have always loved reading.

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

Ebooks definitely take up less room and don't harbour so much dust. There are still some things I prefer to read in physical book form, but almost 100% of my fiction reading is ebook these days, unless it's a re-read of something I already own.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

For me it comes down to ease of access. If I want a book in physical form I have to place an order and wait a day or two- or go find a book shop. If I opt for an e-book all I have to do is push a button and it's there on my reader in seconds.

[porsupah.livejournal.com]

Mm, I've been almost purely a digital bunny for a while now - partially for the sheer convenience of not having to lug ever more boxes into and out of storage (and conversely, being able to keep my digital collection with me in its entirety), partially the environmental issues in producing so much paper, then shipping it often halfway around the world to some distributor, then maybe another long journey to me, versus just enabling a brief spurt of data.

The portability is superb, too, of course - I can have almost unlimited books and comics on my iPad, with no regard for weight. Which can be significant enough with normal books, let alone reference tomes like the Grzimek Animal Life Encyclopedia, spanning some 17 hefty volumes - or, under 1GB. =:)

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I have a lot of old books- Victorian books, Edwardian books- and they're attractive objects in their own right. They have heft and history- and they smell nice.

On the other hand I used to spend a great deal of time tracking down rare and out of print items- also current titles the local shop had chosen not to stock- and now almost everything and anything that was ever put into print is just a click away.

[davesmusictank.livejournal.com]

Despite having an e-reader i still read more books but i am a bit of a curmudgeon that way.