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Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | (show all) GeneT Ely Kid Reged: 11/07/08 Loc: South Texas How Long Will Printed Books Be Available?       #5633740 - 01/20/13 06:34 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I recently received a notice from Sky Publishing that their Pocket Sky Atlas is being offered in an E-edition that we will be able to read on our mobile communication devices. I see where all this is going. It is just a matter of time when printed material will go away and be replaced by electronic distribution. I tell all my friends that if they are considering buying a printed book, they should go ahead and purchase it. I am looking at my collection of astronomy books. There are at least 40. I don't want to read or use them via electronic media. These books are among my best friends. I am not anti electronic media. I read a lot of news items on my Android Tablet. Taptu is one of my favorites. However, it is just a matter of time when printed books will go away, and be replaced by some photons. Post Extras:       helpwanted Post Laureate Reged: 07/04/07 Loc: Phoenix, AZ Re: How Long Will Printed Books Be Available? [Re: GeneT]       #5633795 - 01/20/13 07:05 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   While I have a very large collection of Astro books in my Library, I would love to have The Pocket Sky atlas as digital for my iPad! Edit: I just looked for it, it's only available for the Kindle... Where is the ibooks version? Edited by helpwanted (01/20/13 07:08 PM) Post Extras:       stevecoe "Astronomical Tourist" Reged: 04/24/04 Loc: Arizona, USA Re: How Long Will Printed Books Be Available? [Re: GeneT]       #5633797 - 01/20/13 07:06 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Gene; I disagree. I believe that printed text on paper will be available for many years to come. It may certainly get more expensive, but it will be there for those of us who want to enjoy reading a book. Clear skies; Steve Coe Post Extras:       desertstars Reged: 11/05/03 Loc: Tucson, AZ Re: How Long Will Printed Books Be Available? [Re: stevecoe]       #5633964 - 01/20/13 09:40 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Gene, from what I've been seeing (as an insider, an independently published author) what you fear is not going to happen in the near future. As for expense, I don't think that's going to happen either. Print-on-demand (POD) technology, when properly used, actually makes paper books LESS expensive to produce that used to be the case. Post Extras:       turtle86 Pooh-Bah Everywhere Else Reged: 10/09/06 Re: How Long Will Printed Books Be Available? [Re: helpwanted]       #5633994 - 01/20/13 09:54 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: While I have a very large collection of Astro books in my Library, I would love to have The Pocket Sky atlas as digital for my iPad! Edit: I just looked for it, it's only available for the Kindle... Where is the ibooks version? You could just download the free Kindle app for iPad. I've been meaning to do that myself... Post Extras:       faackanders2 Pooh-Bah Reged: 03/28/11 Re: How Long Will Printed Books Be Available? [Re: GeneT]       #5633997 - 01/20/13 09:58 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   As long as people will buy them. Post Extras:       RobertED Carpal Tunnel Reged: 07/11/03 Loc: Johnston, RI Re: How Long Will Printed Books Be Available? [Re: faackanders2]       #5634018 - 01/20/13 10:08 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I can't afford an iPad or Kindle anytime soon!! I will hold onto my prized astronomy books, until some future generations try to pry them from my cold, dead fingers!!! Post Extras:       turtle86 Pooh-Bah Everywhere Else Reged: 10/09/06 Re: How Long Will Printed Books Be Available? [Re: turtle86]       #5634025 - 01/20/13 10:12 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Gene, I understand your pessimism and certainly the market has changed in the past few years. Still, I don't see printed books going away any time soon for a lot of reasons. To name a few, books don't need a power source, computer screens can't really compete with large format printed atlases and art books, and books make great gifts. I enjoy my Kindle and iPad very much, but I still find myself buying plenty of printed books. From what I've seen here and other places, it looks like plenty of other people also enjoy both printed and electronic media. Post Extras:       BobinKy Post Laureate Reged: 04/27/07 Re: How Long Will Printed Books Be Available? [Re: turtle86]       #5634095 - 01/20/13 10:53 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   One of the things I like to do is stand in front of a bookcase and sweep the book spines. I find that pretty hard to do with electronic media. My electronic stuff is forever getting lost--deleted, buried in endless file structures, outdated . . . I like the old fashioned box: Box Of Organized Knowledge Post Extras:       droid rocketman Reged: 08/29/04 Loc: Conneaut, Ohio Re: How Long Will Printed Books Be Available? [Re: BobinKy]       #5634175 - 01/20/13 11:48 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I hope they never go away, I love books, the feel ,the smell, the act of holding one. Ive got over 450 books and counting, Ill never part with them. As a child ,my favorite place to be was the library. Post Extras:       bumm sage Reged: 01/07/11 Loc: Iowa Re: How Long Will Printed Books Be Available? [Re: droid]       #5634197 - 01/21/13 12:09 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   I can't imagine books completely disappearing. As electronic formats evolve, printed books will long outlast anything saved on computers, kindles, etc. I sometimes wonder if maybe younger folks will eventually "rediscover" printed books. Marty Post Extras:       RLTYS Post Laureate Reged: 12/18/04 Loc: New York (Long Island) Re: How Long Will Printed Books Be Available? [Re: GeneT]       #5634409 - 01/21/13 06:52 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   There will always be a demand for printed books. I have a Kindle but still prefer to hold a book in my hand. Rich (RLTYS) Post Extras:       ianatcn member Reged: 05/26/10 Loc: Hampshire, UK Re: How Long Will Printed Books Be Available? [Re: GeneT]       #5634536 - 01/21/13 09:11 AM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   The first astronomy book that I saw was my grandfathers copy of Robert Ball's The Story Of The Sun. My grandfather was not an astronomer but had a sharp and enquiring mind. That book at age 8 had a profound effect on me. The full page coloured plates of flames leaping off the sun stuck in my mind. I will go out of my way to add printed books to my library and will continue to do so. I have started buying some of the Cambridge University Press print on demand reprints of rare astronomy books, like the 1st edition of Webbs Celestial Objects. They give me a great working copy to make marginal notes in and hilight in a way I wouldn't dream of doing to my old volumes. I am also looking into getting a Kindle or similar to have these reference works with me wherever I go. But and it is a big but, when I settle down in the chair of an evening it is always a printed book I have with me. I hope there will always be a place for them but do share Gene's concerns that like it or not technology will make the printed book more expensive and harder to come by in the future. Post Extras:       RobertED Carpal Tunnel Reged: 07/11/03 Loc: Johnston, RI Re: How Long Will Printed Books Be Available? [Re: droid]       #5635035 - 01/21/13 02:03 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: I hope they never go away, I love books, the feel ,the smell, the act of holding one. Ive got over 450 books and counting, Ill never part with them. As a child ,my favorite place to be was the library. Amen to that, brother!!!! Post Extras:       faackanders2 Pooh-Bah Reged: 03/28/11 Re: How Long Will Printed Books Be Available? [Re: BobinKy]       #5635246 - 01/21/13 03:49 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Agree. Electronic format standard changes over time; often making them obsolete in the long term. And books will outlast a CME or EMP. Post Extras:       MikeBOKC Post Laureate Reged: 05/10/10 Loc: Oklahoma City, OK Re: How Long Will Printed Books Be Available? [Re: faackanders2]       #5635410 - 01/21/13 05:31 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Books will never go away at my house. I have about 2,700 of them. I expect they will keep me busy for a few more years . . . Post Extras:       GeneT Ely Kid Reged: 11/07/08 Loc: South Texas Re: How Long Will Printed Books Be Available? [Re: MikeBOKC]       #5635471 - 01/21/13 06:11 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: Books will never go away at my house. I have about 2,700 of them. I expect they will keep me busy for a few more years . . . Post Extras:       GeneT Ely Kid Reged: 11/07/08 Loc: South Texas Re: How Long Will Printed Books Be Available? [Re: stevecoe]       #5635482 - 01/21/13 06:18 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: Gene; I disagree. I believe that printed text on paper will be available for many years to come. It may certainly get more expensive, but it will be there for those of us who want to enjoy reading a book. Clear skies; Steve Coe Believe me, I hope that you are right. Books are my best friends. A few more thoughts--when we read that book sales are now about 3 percent in electronic publishing, that does not seem like too much. However, brick and mortar book stores are on a thin profit margin. They have to pay rent, pay employees, pay shipping and so on. If three percent of book sales comes out of their gross due to electronic media, it makes their business model shaky. I am buying up some printed books just to ensure that I will have them. My personal book collection consists mainly of Bible commentaries, theological works--and of course, astronomy books. Post Extras:       GeneT Ely Kid Reged: 11/07/08 Loc: South Texas Re: How Long Will Printed Books Be Available? [Re: RLTYS]       #5635492 - 01/21/13 06:24 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: There will always be a demand for printed books. I have a Kindle but still prefer to hold a book in my hand. Rich (RLTYS) I agree. I would much rather read a printed book than one on my Tablet. I do find it handy when traveling reading some of my favorite news apps on my Tablet. Tablets are designed to present reading materials in a much nicer reading format than found on a lap top or desk top computer. Post Extras:       faackanders2 Pooh-Bah Reged: 03/28/11 Re: How Long Will Printed Books Be Available? [Re: GeneT]       #5635951 - 01/21/13 11:26 PM Edit   Reply   Quote Quick Reply   Quote: Believe me, I hope that you are right. Books are my best friends. A few more thoughts--when we read that book sales are now about 3 percent in electronic publishing, that does not seem like too much. However, brick and mortar book stores are on a thin profit margin. They have to pay rent, pay employees, pay shipping and so on. If three percent of book sales comes out of their gross due to electronic media, it makes their business model shaky. I am buying up some printed books just to ensure that I will have them. My personal book collection consists mainly of Bible commentaries, theological works--and of course, astronomy books. I was heart broken when my favorite brick and mortar ookstore "Borders" went out of business , due to amazon on line sales . Now there is only Barnes and Nobles. 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