Slashdot Mirror
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.'"
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.