it’s the accessibility, stupid.
Posted June 13, 2012
on:It isn’t news to any of you that I’m completely old fashioned. I ain’t into hand-made doilies or anything, but nostalgia and I are very good friends.
it’s not news to anyone that I have a total “book as object” fetish. The feel of the paper, the marks on the spine, the condition of the book as a physical and visual record of its journey. Don’t get me started, I could seriously talk about this until the cows come home. Oh wait, I have.
but thanks to a few recent experiences I’m rethinking my “they are evil!” stance on e-readers and tablets.
shocked?
Here’s how it happened:
A while ago I donated some money to a Kickstarter project called Save the SciFi that is buying up the rights to vintage Scifi and reprinting them. Yay for old books getting new life! For my donation, I get a handful of free books. But the organization is only doing ebooks. So if I want to actually get anything for my money (other than supporting something I believe in), I aughta get with the program.
Met an author at an airport over Memorial day weekend. I didn’t know who he was, he didn’t know who I was, our flight was delayed, we randomly got talking. I said I was into Scifi, he was a SciFi author on his way to a con. He’s a happy mutant, his stuff is digital only. If I want to read him (and I’d like to), I better get with the damn program already.
I subscribe to a few print magazines. Sometimes they show up mangled or rain soaked in my mailbox. Sometimes so mangled that they are in an oversize Post Office envelope with an apology from the post office for destroying my mail. Apology is nice and all, but it’s still really hard the read the articles when the magazine is torn in half and the front cover is missing. most print mags offer a free online subscription if you buy the print, or you can just buy online version a little cheaper.
I don’t even care that ebooks are a little cheaper than print. I truly don’t believe that an e-reader would be a more convenient reading device for me than a print book. I don’t find books heavy or expensive or cumbersome. I find their weight in my handbag to be quite comforting, actually. ( it was funny on the airplane, the flight attendant told everyone to turn off all electronic devices, and there was an audible groan as people were forced to turn off their e-readers. I pulled a paperback out of my purse and enjoyed the flight.)
This is all about accessibility. If it’s an out of print title that hasn’t been printed since 1945, yes, I’m still going to be on the search for a print copy. Chances are, an iffy condition, binding glue flaked, moldy copy. I’ll buy it (hello, nostalgia fetish!) but an electronic copy would be nice, so I can actually read the damn thing without having an allergic reaction. Print magazine? I like the print versions, and they make great packing material and liners when i’m done with them. But electronic sure would be handy for when the act of mailing the stupid thing to me destroys its readability.
I will never stop buying print books. I will never get rid of my print books. My home will always look like a library exploded.
I don’t believe print books or brick and mortar bookstores will ever go away. I don’t believe electronic publishing is a credible threat to traditional publishing. They are simply two different modes of production and communication.
but again that magic word pops up: accessibility. A growing list of things I’m interested in (hello Lightspeed Magazine!) are primarily available electronically. The only person getting hurt by my obstinacy is me.
39 Responses to "it’s the accessibility, stupid."
I say try it. You can get a used e-reader for pretty cheap these days. I have a nook – original version and a tablet. There’s no good reason for two but we love gadgets in our house. I never thought I’d like e-books but found out I actually love them. What I really love is being able to carry several books without hurting my shoulder when my bag gets too heavy from all the books I’m convinced I need to carry with me. As for the plane, I always carry a paperback so I don’t have to shut my book off. 🙂
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I don’t know what I’d do without my Kindle Touch. I buy far, far more books now than I did before I had it. It also introduced me to books like Wool.
The only time I find myself preferring a paper version anymore is if it’s a book where I’m constantly flipping back and forth between the index.
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I avoided ereaders for quite a while, but I got one for Christmas the year before last and it really is about accessibility…
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My wife and I had a conversation about this actually recently. We both ageed that we do not think that eBooks will replace books. As much as some people think that they will. There are to many die hards out there myself included that LOVE a feeling of a paperback in your grasp.
I love seeing some of the older books in a rummage sale and seeing the journey that they have been through. I will say I have been tempted to buying one, but I have not went to ranks of the ereading army.
Great post Andrea..:)) I am glad that there are readers like myself out there.
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I still don\’t have an e-reader, but the kindle did allow my 8 y-o to get her Wheel-Mouse story out there and sell a few hundred copies, so I\’m warming to them.
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“I don’t believe print books or brick and mortar bookstores will ever go away. I don’t believe electronic publishing is a credible threat to traditional publishing. They are simply two different modes of production and communication.”
Yes, yes, yes! I read eBooks; I read print books. I will not stop reading print books just because eBooks exist, nor will I stop appreciating their physical, tangible presence. And as someone who lives outside the Anglo world, accessibility for me also means being able to find and read books that I would otherwise have a difficult time tracking down.
As for accessibility of out-of-print books, I think that eBooks have the potential to ensure that a book never need be unavailable ever again. Books go out of print because it doesn’t make sense for publishers to keep printing them. Many books fall between the cracks this way. There is no such issue with eBooks, and though this will certainly create some overflow problems, I think that the benefits greatly outweigh the possible negatives.
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It’s not an either/or decision. I have thousands of books, but I read ebooks on my iPad, too. I would prefer a real book, but sometimes the ebook will do the job just fine. I just received a copy of Philip Jose Farmer’s GODS OF OPAR just published by Subterranean Press. I wanted to read Edgar Rice Burroughs’ TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR (the book PJF’s OPAR books are based on). AMAZON had a ebook version of TARZAN AND THE JEWELS OF OPAR available for FREE. The download took seconds and within moments I was reading about that fabulous, forbidden lost city. You can’t beat that!
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One of my daughters remembers me declaring, a few years ago, that I’d never want an alternative to paper books. Maybe I did — but I’ve since yielded to the convenience of being able to carry a library in my purse. . . . On the whole, though, I still prefer paper (when I don’t have to schlep it), especially if I want to go back and check something or re-read a favorite passage.
Our family is somewhat topsy-turvy. My parents, both in their late 80’s, have a Nook and a Kindle; my two daughters, ages 16 and 20, both despise digital alternatives and take great sensuous pleasure in paper books.
As a (self-published) author, I’m very grateful for ebooks. It’s a lot easier to persuade someone to take a chance on a book the price of a latte.
Speaking of which — do you take review requests? My current release, Twin-Bred, is science fiction, and I’d love to see what you’d think of it….
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1 | Michael
June 13, 2012 at 10:09 am
I think that as we continue to figure out how digital content distribution works (I really feel like the book industry needs to look at what the music and home video industry has done in recent years for a good example), things will get better. Like you, I still want to collect physical “dead tree” editions of some books–simply put, it’s easier to get them signed if I should meet the author and I just like displaying my favorite books on a shelf. Plus you can’t beat the smell of new books…if only they’d make a scented candle.
I really think the book industry is dropping the ball by not including an option to download a digital copy of any physical book I purchase. I’d be willing to pay a dollar or so more to get a download of the book for my e-reader in the same way I can pay a bit more and get the DVD/Blu-Ray/Digital Edition of a new movie when it hits stores. In that case, I’ve also got the option to buy just the bare bones DVD and just the Blu-Ray. I wish book publishers would figure out a way to make this work and do it. After all, keeping digital editions around doesn’t cost much once you have the initial cost of producing it….
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Redhead
June 13, 2012 at 2:18 pm
a candle that smelled like new books? If Yankee Candle made that along side a coffee scented candle, they’d finally make some $ off me!
having the option to buy a book as a print/e bundle is genius. The pubs will figure this out eventually. . . right?
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Michael
June 14, 2012 at 10:57 am
I’m never going to assume that the publishers will learn. But maybe if we keep mentioning it to them, they might eventually figure it out. 🙂
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Redhead
July 4, 2012 at 11:04 am
have you seen this? some finally figured it out!
http://angryrobotbooks.com/2012/07/supporting-independent-booksellers/
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