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Dog-eared paperbacks vs. annotated e-books
June 23, 2008 | 7:47 am
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By David Rothman
So why should people keep buying paper books in the era of E?
"My books, like my record sleeves, CD cases, and even, now, the bought tracks on my iPod, bear temporal and personal significance way beyond their content," writes Louise Tucker in the Fifth Estate blog. "The Penguin Classics, read and reread, are dog-eared and littered with the marginalia of my student and teaching days. The used guidebooks are bookmarked with tickets, restaurant cards and free maps from local tourist offices. And the cookery books not only list the ingredients but are spattered with them. I keep these books because they are memorable, or useful."
Even allowing for her publishing ties—the Fifth Estate blog comes from the Press Books group within HarperCollins UK—I would agree. Oh, to track down my original copy of The Great Gatsby, the one with the partly green rectangle on the cover: the same color as the light at the end of Daisy’s dock! While I love E, I’ll never entirely forsake P.
Closing the E-P gap—or trying to
If ways can be found to annotate e-books more conveniently, blend them in with social networks, and otherwise personalize them—well, that would somewhat close the gap with P. But it won’t entirely bridge it. While E will be growing, the Tucker post makes a cogent case for P’s sticking around as an alternative. Unwittingly, moreover, she is arguing against DRM. Most people want keep their purchases, whatever the medium; and DRM only lets you rent them.
Close to home: Speaking of P vs. E, I’m curious if anyone would consider buying The Solomon Scandals as a trade paperback for a bit more than the regular price—but then receive access to the nonDRMed electronic edition? No promises here: I don’t speak for Twilight Times Books or even for Thackeray II. I’m just curious. Yes, you’ll want to read excerpts, not yet online, before deciding anything.
Related: Book Search as a product, by Peter Brantley.
Technorati Tags: HarperCollins UK,Press Group
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Comments:
Remember when CDs came out? I certainly argued that nobody would buy them. After all, we already had a huge investment in existing stereo equipment, a massive base of vinyl records, and (here was the real catcher) records were useful with beautiful artistic covers we could frame, information about the bands, sometimes posters inside. CDs were tiny and not suitable for framing at all.
How many vinyl records were sold last year?
Sure paper books will survive, but people who buy them will be like people who buy vinyl records.
Rob Preece
Publisher, http://www.BooksForABuck.com
David,
In answer to your question about paying more for a trade pb with an e-copy without DRM, my answer would be no. I would buy either the ebook or the pbook, but not both.
Except for the convenience of reading ebooks, I don’t see where they have a collectible value — or are likely to ever have one — or even a “used book” resale value (again, or are likely to ever have). Consequently, I see no reason to purchase both a p and an e version of a title. OTOH, I do see value in owning a first edition print version of say Sinclair Lewis’ “It Can’t Happen Here” as a collectible/investment and an e version for reading so as not to damage the pbook.
Although I am not in favor of DRM, I would be willing to live with DRM for ebooks if the ebooks were sold at a price that recognizes that DRM significantly decreases the retail value of the book. But even DRM-free ebooks are less valuable to me than pbooks. ebooks don’t proclaim silently and without overtly bragging to visitors that I am a person of broad tastes, wide-ranging interests, and superior knowledge — something my pbook library can convey silently. ebooks lack that awe factor that pbooks can convey.
You know what I mean — How many people have been silently impressed by that first edition of Mark Twain sitting on your library shelf (even though you may never have read the book) versus Aristotle’s writings that are on your ebook device but no one can ever know about unless you boast about it? What is that worth in dollars in the marketplace?
So, as I said earlier, I would buy one version but not both versions and would see no reason to pay more to get both versions. Instead, I would look for the cheapest version unless I thought the author would become a valuable commodity to collectors, in which event I would buy the most collectible version.
And if the book is written by a new-to-me author, I might not buy any version until I found it on the bargain table. Books are no longer inexpensive commodities.
I for one would never, ever, ever write in a print book. That ruins the experience for me. The last thing I need is my stupid, messy handwriting cluttering up a shiny, pretty book. I would be more likely to annotate an e-book, actually. Different strokes, I guess.
When cd’s appeared they swept the market fast; when mp3′s appeared they swept the market fast; when ebooks appeared they fizzled fast, and the mass adoption of them is always 3 years ahead; I have heard this for many years now, so I am skeptical;
I started taking out my Sony Reader rather than the 770, since being summer it’s nice to read outside. In 3 years of reading everywhere on the 770 I had one inquiry about it, in several months with the Sony I had 4. But, when people looked at it, saw the slow page turning, heard about needing to spend $$$ and then high prices for e-books – and no, people did not want Gutenberg – the interest fizzled.
And I have not talked about drm since the discussion did not get there.
So yes there is interest, but the ask prices for devices and ebooks is way too high for now.
I’m with you, Ficbot. Even with paperbacks, when I was done reading them there was barely a crease in the spine. I put the Brodart covers on my hardbacks to preserve the quality of the dustjacket.
I used to be fussy about the condition of my treebooks, but it was such a hassle making sure everything was pristine. I like that the condition of my ebooks isn’t an issue.
On the other hand, I’ll miss the personality of a good used book. Sometimes being able to see the history of readers and used bookstores on it could really give it some charm that you won’t see in e.