E-Books

Aug 26, 2009 22:17

So, having picked up a free Embedded Systems e-textbook, I am reminded of my greatest complaints about e-books ( Read more... )

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Comments 17

forest_grump August 27 2009, 20:17:24 UTC
I like the concept of an e-book, but unlike our dear poster of this thread, I find books to be things to read fully involved. I don't worry about the spine failing, I have many books that I have read several times over the past 20 or 30 years and very few have fallen apart. Those that have I consider good soldiers who have given their all to my enjoyment. I also like to argue with authors by writing my own thoughts or comments in the margins. That way when I re-read a book I read not only the author's thoughts, but my thoughts on those thoughts as well. It gives me more to think about. Have my thoughts on a topic changed over the years? If not, have I changed as a person over the years. A book that I thought had deep meaning when I was 20 I might find childish and trite in my 40's but it is nice to reflect on the thought processes of my youth. If I read e-books, I would have to carry a pad to write on and create a filing system to archive those pages. Kinda defeats the purpose of e-books at that point.

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smarriveurr August 27 2009, 20:24:06 UTC
Interesting take. I think my OCPD just rules my approach to books... though there's any number of books I look at nowadays and wonder what on earth I saw in them when I was younger. Usually I just attribute it to youthful exuberance and move on - after all, in my case, if I had a different opinion long enough ago that it's not clear in my head still, I must've been a literal kid.

Of course, it also implies that I'm not much of a critical reader. Everything I see tells me that I'm SUPPOSED to want to question things and note them down and... yeah. I think I'm just too lazy for that in my leisure reading.

Kind of interesting, though, because we're basically at two ends of a spectrum, but coming to the same conclusion. A bit of another nail in the Kindle coffin.

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