The eBook Backlash

Hugh Pickens writes "The NY Times reports that people who read ebooks on tablets like the iPad are beginning to realize that while a book in print is straightforward and immersive, a tablet is more like a 21st-century cacophony than a traditional solitary activity offering a menu of distractions that can fragment the reading experience, or stop it in its tracks. 'The tablet is like a temptress,' says James McQuivey. 'It's constantly saying, "You could be on YouTube now." Or it's sending constant alerts that pop up, saying you just got an e-mail. Reading itself is trying to compete.' There are also signs that publishers are cooling on tablets for e-reading. A recent survey by Forrester Research showed that 31 percent of publishers believed iPads and similar tablets were the ideal e-reading platform; one year ago, 46 percent thought so. Then there's Jonathan Franzen, regarded as one of America's greatest living novelists, who says consumers have been conned into thinking they need the latest technology and that e-books can never have the magic of the printed page. 'I think, for serious readers, a sense of permanence has always been part of the experience. Everything else in your life is fluid, but here is this text that doesn't change.'"

Comments

Re:That's why I like the basic Kindle

[Anonymous Coward]

The advantages are less when comparing to paperbacks, but there are still size advantages

One big size advantage is the size of the text. For many of us, the fixed size of test in printed books is not a problem. But for people who's eyesight has diminished, it can be the difference between being able to read for any significant amount of time and not. My mom is a lifelong, voracious reader. But about 8 years ago, her reading dropped significantly because she had eyesight problems. When the original Kindle came out, I got her one and showed her how to make the text larger. It has (forgive the pun) rekindled her interest in reading. She's now got 3 Kindles, is back to the 1+ book/week pace and loving it again.

Re:That's why I like the basic Kindle

[spd_rcr]

Completely agree.
I'm reading way more now on my Kindle Touch than I was before. While the cost of books is about the same regardless the format, physical vs e-book, I only like to keep really good hardcovers in our library. With the Kindle I can find a quiet seat almost anywhere and immerse myself because I can carry it anywhere and when one book is finished, I just select the next book and carry on.

Tablets are not e-book readers, they're little computer screens. I don't like reading anything for very long on the computer, even code I want to go over, I'll print out to review. If it's not interactive,

Re:This is why I prefer the iPad:

[fyngyrz]

I wonder in what shape your iPad will be in, say, 10 years time :) Spill some spaghetti sauce on it as well, in the name of science.

See, on the face of it, that seems like a good question, but it's actually very misleading. My iPad will have been replaced with an iPad3, coming out next week. And that, likely with an iPad X, when they tempt me again. And of course we still have the books in the cloud, and they're on the Mac Kindle reader, on my SO's two kindles, and my iPod (yeah, I actually read on an iPod... large fonts FTW.)

So the longevity of the reader (beyond a reasonable lifespan, which I have confidence they will generally reach, my current iPad is a v1 from day one and it's doing fine, as are all my other Apple products) isn't the issue, because the books aren't tied to the hardware.

If in fact something happens, I can have a new reader for $79+$4 overnight (Amazon prime!) Who knows how low that will go in the next few years, or how much more powerful they'll be. Or both. Perhaps I'll be grateful if someone spills spaghetti sauce on it. Maybe I'll even do it on purpose. :)