Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Ebook sales continue to fall as younger generations drive appetite for print
theguardian.com ^ | 14 March 2017 | Sian Cain

Posted on 03/15/2017 2:26:32 AM PDT by Berlin_Freeper

click here to read article


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081 next last
To: Berlin_Freeper

I doubt if that is true in America.

Our grandkids, grand nieces/nephews prefer Kindle or other ebooks.

One grandkid goes to a private school and she has zero text books. We bought her the biggest and premium Ipad 3 years ago. All of her text books and reading come via her Ipad.

She carries a thin paper notebook and her I Pad instead of a 40-50 pound backpack loaded with text books and note books.
One of her sibs goes to a different private school. That school requires the IMac and paper books. The kid struggles with a huge backpack weighing 40-50 pounds and has had back aches for two years.

My wife is an avid speed reader. She prefers books, and she checks out 5-7 books a week from our local library. She does not want a Kindle. I prefer a Kindle and have fiction, research books to LS’s book and other Trump books on it.

Our siblings and in laws, who read books prefer the Kindle. One SIL and her husband spend a month in Floriduh every year. Instead of a ton of books she uses her Kindle. Her husband is a news junky, and he takes his Amazon Fire 8 tablet to read their local, state and national news while in Floriduh. He uses it for their emails and messages.

Fortunately, we have two books options, paper or electronic.


61 posted on 03/15/2017 7:08:42 AM PDT by Grampa Dave ( Remember during Trump Tower Spygate, there were No American fingerprints; just Obama's...!!!!:))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BlueLancer
I dropped a few hundred euros worth of books into the clothing donation bin on the corner. I wasn't going to carry them farther than that.
62 posted on 03/15/2017 7:10:02 AM PDT by Berlin_Freeper (Happy Nobama!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies]

To: mad_as_he$$

Sure you do but it’s just a single wipe.


63 posted on 03/15/2017 7:12:55 AM PDT by xp38
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Berlin_Freeper

bkmk


64 posted on 03/15/2017 7:14:32 AM PDT by spankalib ("I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: mewzilla

Gotcha beat...we have an almost 300 year old copy of the Magna Carta...like you I love books...they got me thru a difficult childhood, PLUS in an emergency you will always have FUEL. :*)

My Kindle would be useless.


65 posted on 03/15/2017 7:24:04 AM PDT by goodnesswins (Say hello to President Trump)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: Flatus I. Maximus

People who claim to love the smell of old books must not be allergic to mildew, like I am.

Funny that there’s so much commentary on this article in a *web* forum. I’m wondering how many “I only read print books” commenters also type and mail letters to editors?
_______________

I still don’t find the appeal of a physical book. I’m more interested in the content of the book and the ease of reading it.


66 posted on 03/15/2017 7:35:06 AM PDT by LydiaLong
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 58 | View Replies]

To: cyclotic

Ebooks are now overpriced. Even young people can recognize that value per dollar isn’t what it used to be.

I bought Ebooks when I could get the ones I wanted for the price of a new or used paperback.


67 posted on 03/15/2017 7:35:46 AM PDT by dangerdoc (disgruntled)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 53 | View Replies]

To: Berlin_Freeper

This article motivated me to look a Amazon Kindles.

They all have approx. 6x4” screens, too small for me to struggle to read text on.

A reading area of 6x8” would be doable for me, but I don’t see one of those.

I’ll stick with dead trees for now.


68 posted on 03/15/2017 8:07:22 AM PDT by PLMerite
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: PLMerite
"They all have approx. 6x4” screens, too small for me to struggle to read text on."

Slightly larger than most paperback books. However, the text was still too small for my wife to comfortably read without magnifying assistance.

So she reset the font size upwards and now reads her Kindle Fire comfortably without any additional magnification. The increased font size remains set on her Kindle for all books that she has; she doesn't need to reset it for each one. The only time that she has to play with it again is when Amazon pushes through a patch/update for the Kindle program and it resets to default. But she just sets it back to her level of font and goes on reading.

69 posted on 03/15/2017 8:15:54 AM PDT by BlueLancer (Ex Scientia Tridens)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 68 | View Replies]

To: BlueLancer

When my Kindle Fire warns me it is nearly full, I upload whatever to the Cloud. I haven’t counted, but there are thousands of books there. I can go drag one out whenever I want.


70 posted on 03/15/2017 8:21:59 AM PDT by reformedliberal
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 51 | View Replies]

To: dangerdoc

I’ve honestly never looked at the price. Why would you pay more for something that has no production cost?

I read a lot but don’t often buy books. I usually hit the library.

Sometimes I’ll buy a book at the airport.

that reminds me, got a trip next week. Gotta get some reading material.


71 posted on 03/15/2017 8:34:09 AM PDT by cyclotic
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 67 | View Replies]

To: BlueLancer

“Slightly larger than most paperback books. “

I had my eyes lasered some years ago and I went from near-sighted (great for reading) to instant old-man eyes where I need reading and computer glasses. I’m not going to make myself crazier trying to read mass-market paperback “pocket books” any more. It’s hardcovers and trade paperbacks for me now. Or an e-reader of similar size. :)


72 posted on 03/15/2017 8:38:59 AM PDT by PLMerite
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 69 | View Replies]

To: mad_as_he$$

Agree with your reasons but also like to read in bed and that is much easier with an ebook. Something about the lighting and angle with bifocals just doesn’t work for me with paper books anymore.

Also ebooks save your place and help you search for phrases and/or characters.


73 posted on 03/15/2017 8:46:45 AM PDT by Let's Roll ("You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality" -- Ayn Rand)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Malsua

“We don’t go anywhere we might have downtime without it.”

Making sure I have downloaded and/or synced my current book from tablet to phone before leaving home is new part of my errand running schedule. :-)


74 posted on 03/15/2017 8:49:46 AM PDT by Let's Roll ("You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality" -- Ayn Rand)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Berlin_Freeper
I use Calibre plus "Apprentice Alf's DRM Plugin" to remove DRM from all my ebooks. That way I can read them on my Android phone, tablet, computer, Kindle, or Smart TV. I can also back up my ebook collection to whatever media I choose.

Calibre is the best ebook management program out there. Check it out HERE.

The best Android ebook reader is Moon+ Reader Pro.

75 posted on 03/15/2017 9:04:51 AM PDT by 10mm
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: mewzilla
Young’uns may have figured out that ebook purchasers don’t actually own the ebooks they buy, and you can resell dead tree editions you don’t want.

Yep. Books is books - paper or screen, but if I'm going to pay money for it I want to own it. I'm also cheap, so most of the books I buy are used which means they are of the dead tree variety. Plenty of free e-stuff out there to read though. Gutenberg.org has like an entire civilization's worth of publications available for FREE! What a great world we live in.
76 posted on 03/15/2017 9:16:07 AM PDT by Garth Tater (What's mine is mine.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: TheNext
Ebooks cannot be highlighted

Mine highlights just fine. Choice of colors, too.

Highlights stay there no matter what device I open it in. I can read on my phone, pad, laptop or desktop. It knows where I left off, too.

I can change the color of the text to be black on white, white on black, or Sepia.

I can change the font to one of eight choices.

I can change the size of the font to suit my device and/or whether I remembered my reading glasses or not.

I can even change the line spacing.

Best of all, I joined Book Bub and get notified when books I like are discounted or free. Last year I read over 30 books and paid less than $20 for all of them, total. How, pray tell, do ebooks squander any more time than print books?

77 posted on 03/15/2017 9:41:16 AM PDT by Crusher138 ("Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: naturalman1975

ICAM!


78 posted on 03/15/2017 9:45:20 AM PDT by Jean2
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: mewzilla

Just out of curiosity (because I’m getting ready to epublish), what do you see as a fair price?


79 posted on 03/15/2017 12:24:32 PM PDT by Lee'sGhost ("Just look at the flowers, Lizzie. Just look at the flowers.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 28 | View Replies]

To: VanDeKoik

#9 With the coming thin flexible screens coming out soon, I bet someone will create a dual page “book” with 2 screens.


80 posted on 03/15/2017 12:30:04 PM PDT by minnesota_bound
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson