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Is the hardcover novel dead?



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Wed Jul 15, 2015 9:21 pm
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Lefty says...



This is just my opinion, but I'm rather of against e-readers and e-books. It's actually one of the few things I feel really strongly about. There's something about pulling a book off the shelf, running your hand over the cover, cracking the spine and flipping the pages of the written word. The smell of old books. Seeing all of your favorite books line the shelves. Something you just don't get with e-books.

One of the main things I don't like about e-readers is you can't flip the pages. Maybe there's a button that digitally makes it look like you're flipping a page, but it's not actually flipping a page. With a real book, you get to see the progress you've made. How much you've read, how much you have to read. It's more rewarding. I tend to get sucked into it more too, if it's on paper.

And I'm also afraid that e-books will make bookstores go out of business. If everyone starts reading e-books, bookstores probably will go out of business. Just like the video stores. My family used to go into the movie store all the time, flip through the tables of dvds, pick out a new movie... I haven't seen a movie store in maybe a year. :/ I like supporting my local bookstore and if I can splurge, I try to buy it from there rather than on amazon for cheaper. And I just don't like reading off of a screen, no matter how much it looks like a book. I like to hold the paper in my hands. So much so, that I print out just about every work I review on YWS. So anyway, I am definitely pro-hardback. Well technically, I prefer paperbacks, but you know what I mean. Hard covers are fine, but paperbacks are usually smaller, lighter, cheaper and a little easier to read because they're more flexible.
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Thu Jul 16, 2015 5:30 pm
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ClackFlip says...



@LeftyWriter
Well said. *Applauds.*
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled, was convincing the world he didn't exist.
And like ash in the wind, he was gone.
The man who lived.
The myth long forgotten.
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Fri Jul 17, 2015 4:56 am
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Blues says...



I think there's nothing more exciting than walking to the bookshop, ready to buy some books. Buying a book from amazon of any kind (let alone e-books!) isn't as fun because there's less effort needed to actually go and buy the books themselves ;)
  





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Thu Sep 10, 2015 6:38 pm
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steampowered says...



Advantages of an e-book:
*Usually fairly cheap to purchase.
*You can take it anywhere with you - you can carry around far more books in your Kindle, say, than if they were all hardcover.

Advantages of a hardcover book:
*It actually looks like a book.
*You can smell the pages. I love the fresh smell of new books and the musty smell of really old books (don't sniff library books though; they often seem to smell rather dubious)
*You can open it. And close it. And open it again. Opening and closing books is a pleasure which is vastly underrated.
*You can insert your favourite bookmark (or leave it splayed open on the bed and hope your mum won't tell you off)
*You can bury yourself in it when you don't feel like talking, looking like an anti-social bookworm rather than an anti-social technology addict.
*You can leave the book lying around with a bookmark in so it reminds you that you still need to finish it.
*Staring at the pages won't make your eyes so sore.
*You don't have to recharge it.
*People might steal Kindles, but it's unlikely anyone would ever want to steal a book.
*You can easily share it with your friends.
*Did I mention it actually looks like a real book rather than simply text on the screen?

I think it's fairly clear which side I'm on. Long live the hardcover novel!
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Sun Jan 17, 2016 8:12 am
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FeatherPen says...



I love that e-books have encouraged some of my non-reading friends to read more and audio books are fantastic too, for the same reason. However I will always love the smell of a book and personally am not fond of reading a book with batteries.

Did you know it was a common opinion that the paper back would never take off? But on the other hand hard backs still exist.
I like @ steampowered points, particularly; You can bury yourself in it when you don't feel like talking, looking like an anti-social bookworm rather than an anti-social technology addict.

My dream is of having my own house with walls full of books, so they had better not die before then. :smt003
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Sun Jan 17, 2016 11:28 pm
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Sins says...



Ah, the e-book vs. hardcover book debate. A battle that has been raging since the dawn of time, the dawn of humanity.

I view the whole e-book/hardcover thing like music. Are music downloads overtaking physical forms of music in terms of sales? Yes. Have physical forms of music been wiped out? No.

CD's are still around, as are vinyls. Heck, vinyls are making a full-forced comeback. Like this, I don't think hardcover books will ever cease to exist, or anything like that because there are too many people in this here world who are in love with physicality. I may be one of these pesky old-timers, admittedly, but I try to look at this from an unbiased viewpoint.

I certainly hope hardcover books don't get wiped out completely because I love me a good old paper book.
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Mon Jan 18, 2016 6:09 pm
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Stori says...



A point in real books' favor: They make wonderful heirlooms and keepsakes. Whereas one's children and grandchildren could just buy an electronic reader when they're old enough, it's not the same as being given a book. Seeing the inscription on the first page- "This book is for:
Given by:
On this date:"

I even read that in historical times family records were kept in the back of a Bible. That's not really something you can replace with an e-reader...

There's also the issue of Braille books. No doubt in the future we'll find a way of having a device that can form any word or phrase instantly, but unless I'm mistaken we aren't there yet.
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Mon Jan 18, 2016 6:38 pm
Lightsong says...



I love having books. Touching them in intimate ways, flirting at them lovingly, and allowing myself to get aroused by their smells - I better stop. ;)

That being said, they're expensive for budding worker like me, so I'll find the free e-book version if they have one and I'm not short of money. The pleasure of reading will never be the same though.
"Writing, though, belongs first to the writer, and then to the reader, to the world.

The subject is a catalyst, a character, but our responsibility is, has to be, to the work."

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Thu Jan 21, 2016 9:03 am
Dracula says...



I don't believe you can truly experience the joy of books if you read a story on something that is not a book.
I bought a cactus. A week later it died. I got depressed because I thought Damn, I am less nurturing than a desert.
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Thu Jan 21, 2016 10:09 am
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Auxiira says...



Ahem. So.

I assume, firstly that by hardcover you mean paper books, because paperbacks and hardbacks are yet another thing.

I travel quite a bit and have moved way too many times, and though I love a good paper book, I also love my kindle. I get the impression of a cover with my case for it, and they've made it so that if definitely feels like you're turning a page. The lighting lets me read at night without disturbing other people as much as having to turn on a lamp. It keeps my page for me if I fall asleep reading, and I can look up words I don't know instantaneously.

Don't get me wrong, I love having a paper book in my hands, but I haven't found much difference between a book and a kindle that would make me stop using my kindle. If I love a book, I'll buy a paper copy.

In terms of braille books, @Stori, there are already devices that allow blind people to read as with a paper copy (also used for texting and computers and the such like). Also, I remember reading that as braille books are more expensive than print book, the sight-impaired are more likely to listen to audio books.

As for "truly experiencing the joy of books", @Dracula I have never felt a difference in my "joy" between reading an e-book and reading a paper book.

There have also been studies to show that though when e-readers first came out, sales took a slight decline, book sales rose straight back up without a problem. Rather than worrying about e-readers putting small bookstores out of business, you might want to look to the huge commercial ones, like Barnes and Noble, or Waterstones, @Leftywriter

Seeing as most people know a kindle from an iPad, I still look like an antisocial bookworm, and I don't have people judging me on my reading content. I could be reading Harry Potter for the 15th time. I could be reading Mein Kampf. I could be reading a theology. Know one will ever know.

I also don't break my back whenever I decide to read Game of Thrones again, or some other hefty content.

Again, don't get me wrong, I plan for my future house to have a fully stocked library and to be filled with the smell of books and I definitely have The Prisoner of Azkaban in my rucksack right now, but I still love the convenience of an e-reader.
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